GRYC 2015 Recap

What a beautiful day we had for the marketplace on Sunday! The weather could not have been lovelier for April in Rhode Island. The blue sky in the photo of the barn says it all. Let me take you on a little tour.

First, outside. This is the view when standing in the front door of the barn. Mount Hope Farm in Bristol hosts all types of events, plus is a Bed and Breakfast. They hold a farmer's market inside the barn during the winter, then out in one of those fields during warmer months. There are also many publicly accessible walking trails that reach out to Narragansett Bay.

Turn to your left a bit and you'll see the spot where the spinners set up for the day. If you turned to the right, you would see a yummy food truck from Acacia Cafe, but I unfortunately didn't get a photo. The spinners worked all through the day, eager to share their craft with anyone who was interested. I met several children inside who had spun their very own yarn bracelet that they proudly showed off!

Step inside the barn and you find a dozen or so vendors, all with fabulous items just perfect for a knitting or crochet artist. Of course I had project bags, needle cases and  yarn-themed bags of all types. I love this event because everyone who attends as a customer is an artisan. They understand and appreciate handmade. Many of the knitters also sew, and it's always fun to talk shop with people about your craft. This is one event where the atmosphere is of camaraderie among the vendors, not competition. I loved getting to know my neighbors that day! Who were some of the other vendors? I didn't get photos of all of them, but I'll share the ones I did. Check the official GRYC blog for a list of all the participating vendors.

June of Rising Sun Earthworks makes exquisite pottery. As an avid knitter herself, she has a clever sense for pottery that suits a fiber enthusiast. Yarn bowls, buttons (you've seen some of her buttons on my products!), and mugs with witty sayings like, "Just one more row," or "I knit so I don't kill people," are some of the items you will find in her booth. The sheep yarn bowls she debuted this year are just beautiful!

The yarn loops around the sheep's tail! How cute is that??

Next up is Katrinkles. Katy makes bamboo buttons, stitch gauges, key chains, earrings, broaches, all sorts of beautiful things that relate to knitting. You'll find the perfect button to finish your handknits in her booth.

Look at the mini bunting and size cards!! And, I will forever be a fan because the wooden boxes holding all those cards of buttons are antique sewing machine drawers. Swoon. You will recognize her buttons on some of my projects. I bought some more this weekend so I can make the Christine Haynes dress I've been planning for a few weeks.

Don't you just love all the itty bitty baby sweater samples hung as garland?

Arrow buttons! You should definitely check out her Katrinkles Etsy Shop.

And then there's the yarn. It wouldn't be much of a Yarn Crawl Culmination without Yarn, would it? There were three different vendors, and I'm sorry to say that I only have photos from one, Play at Life Fiber Arts. Quaere Fiber and Dirty Water Dye Works were also there with equally beautiful offerings.

The color! Don't you just want to reach out and touch it? I'm grateful to be included in such a fun event, and look forward to attending again next year!