Review of Wool Tribe 2016 + Kate Davies' EYF Offer

Cover image courtesy of EYF

For those who can't make to Edinburgh on 18th and 19th March for the Yarn Festival the 2016 festival companion, Wool Tribe, offers an insight into the city's woolly delights without the need to amass air miles. In fact the £8 book has proved so popular for pre-orders that at the time of writing this post it has sold out online. Note to EYF - please publish some more!

If you weren't one of the lucky ones who ordered a copy to post or pick up at the festival then here's what you missed out on.

A stand out for me is the feature on craft, coffee and cake in Edinburgh, with maps accompanying recommendations of places to visit whilst you are in the city. I'll certainly take this with me next time I'm up in Scotland's capital - hopfully it won't be too far in the future.

The other features are a look at Scotland's 'wool trail' of woolly things to do; a guide to the native sheep breeds in the country; and an article from Louise Scollay of KnitBritish about the appeal of knitting podcasts.

Looking through the advertisers and lists of vendors in the book I discovered some retailers appearing at EYF that I hadn't heard of before. At the back of Wool Tribe is a guide to the marketplace, where the selling of all things woolly will be going on, along with a list of the companies exhibiting. Most have websites. Although browsing online isn't the same as looking at and touching yarn in person, it is a good way to discover different brands and products new to the market.

Of course what most people bought the book for were the six original patterns.

These are:

Inglis Mitts by Ysolda Teague

Image courtesy of EYF

Stevenson cowl by Gudrun Johnston

Image courtesy of EYF

Burnet hat by Karie Westermann

Image courtesy of EYF

Dunedin shawl by Lucy Hague

Image courtesy of EYF

Spark hat by Jo Kelly

Image courtesy of EYF

A Wee Neckerchief by Jo Kelly and Mica Koehimos

Image courtesy of EYF

Whilst all the patterns are are well-written and beautifully photographed, Westermann's Burnet hat pips the others to the post to become my favourite. It's quirky, looks fun to knit and, very importantly, warm to wear.

The date is in for next year's Edinburgh Yarn Festival - pop March 10th & 11th in your diary and don't forget to order next year's Wool Tribe early before it sells out.

Kate Davies EYF offer

Davies released in her most recent email newsletter a very special offer for customers who can't make it to EYF. All items bought from her online shop this weekend will be postage free with the order code EYF2016. Yes, that includes worldwide postage too!

Funyin image courtesy of Kate Davies

Davies recently launched two pattern and yarn packs for the festival: Funyin, a hat inspired by a design inspired by an onion (three degrees of separation); and Miss Rachel's Yoke & Gauntlets, decorated with a delightful fair isle pattern.

Miss Rachel's Yoke image courtesy of Kate Davies

Rather than buy a yarn and pattern kit I'm going to buy the Miss Rachel's Yoke pattern from Davies' Ravelry store and purchase the yarn separately from Davies, taking advantage of the free postage offer. I have some yarn left over from her seven skeins club and hope to use that in the sweater, cutting down the amount of yarn I need to purchase.

Have a very happy knitting weekend!