FOR all those looking for something different to buy as a Christmas gift - why not buy a ticket for next year's Yarndale wool and yarn festival?

Organisers of the annual award-winning weekend event at Skipton Auction Mart have confirmed next year's dates as September 27 and September 28.

Tickets can be bought on line, or at the weekly Yarndale Social at Skipton Town Hall, where knitters and crocheters meet up to chat and make beautiful things together.

This year's 12th  Yarndale,  at the end of September,  saw people once again come to Skipton from all parts of the UK and across the world, including from Australia, New Zealand, the US, Germany and Hungary.

Together, they took part in a joyful celebration of all things woolly and to share their love of making with friends and like-minded people.

Over 200 exhibitors displayed their beautiful products, with TOFT, a craft company specialising in knit and crochet kits and home to Edward’s Menagerie and Alexandra’s Garden collections of crocheted animals, flowers and vegetables, earning the accolade of Best Stand 2024.

Visitors admired the huge Yarn Meadow installation lovingly created from individually crocheted flowers that were sent in by knitters and crocheters from around the world as a response to Yarndale’s annual worldwide creative project.

This year’s creative project was designed to raise funds and awareness for Martin House Children’s Hospice with a total of £1,205.35 donated over the show weekend, with Ewemake raising an additional £2,661.27 for the same cause.

In addition, Skipton Rotary raised £2,205, and Oxfam raised £300 from their bag creche as well as 100 sacks of donated yarn to be sold in their shop.

New to Yarndale this year were free 'making space' creative making sessions, where people were invited to take a moment to make with others, to learn new techniques and share experience, as well as learning mending techniques with Kim Searle of Darn It Workshops to highlight and celebrate the repair process and chatting and making with the North Yorkshire Yarn Trail.

There was also an entertaining and informative series of free talks focussing on the provenance and sustainability of British wool, and live music from two singer songwriters Meghann Clancy and Jake Keating.

Organiser Emma Sandoe said: “It was a thoroughly enjoyable weekend and we were so pleased to welcome our exhibitors and visitors who had travelled from far and wide to share their love of wool focussed making. One visitor from overseas told us that they had travelled by plane, coach, train, another train and then on foot to join us!

“We hope that everyone enjoyed our workshops, talks, music and creative making sessions and we’re already looking forward to Yarndale 2025.

“Thank you to everyone who took part in our Worldwide Creative Project, helping to raise much needed funds for Martin House. We will be announcing our 2025 creative challenge and charity partner next year.”

“We will also be opening applications for exhibiting at the show and leading a workshop or talk on January 6 including details of how to apply for our Yarndale Start-Up Bursary in Memory of Jenny Machin and our new business stands”.

Tickets for Yarndale and more details are available at: www.yarndale.co.uk.

Yarndale Social takes place at Skipton Town Hall on Monday evenings, 6.30pm-8.00pm. Free to attend, no booking required.