What an absolute joy the long weekend at Carry on Crafting (CoC) was! The weather was nothing short of scorchio – hot, sunny and glorious – the kind that makes you forget what day it is and just melts you into pure holiday mode.

If you’ve not heard of Carry on Crafting before it’s a crafting festival that is held usually in July in the South of England Showground in Ardingly, West Sussex. I have been before (you can read about a previous visit here) and it’s a crafting event that I look forward to on my calendar.

This year was my first time glamping and I have to say, the bell tents were brilliant! Spacious, beautifully pitched with sparkly lights on that came on at night, and the beds were surprisingly comfy. With the sun blazing down, they did turn a bit hot during the day (but that’s the same with any tent), but that just meant more incentive to stay out enjoying the crafty fun!

I went as part of a group of about 27 “hookers” – most of us having met through attending The Crochet Sanctuary at different times, and it’s amazing how those weekends have turned into long-lasting friendships. CoC has become a perfect annual get-together where we crochet, craft, laugh, and soak up the atmosphere.

Crafting Highlights

I signed up for the bird bath mosaic workshop, which ran over two evenings – and I loved every minute of it. It was calming, creative, and so satisfying watching my little garden masterpiece come together piece by piece. It’s definitely something I’d like to do again!

I also popped into a drop-in macramé session and ended up totally hooked. There’s something so soothing about working with knots and cords, the teacher was really helpful and the atmosphere around the craft tents was so welcoming and relaxed, it was fun to chat to other session participants too.

Festival, Food & Fibre

The food from the vendors was top notch – everything I tried was delicious and perfect fuel for a busy crafting weekend. Whether it was a cheeky sweet treat from the crepe van or something savoury, like my burger spud, to keep us going, they had us sorted. There was also live music and sheep to see, an ariel display, movie night, bingo and just so much to see and do…

One of the best parts of CoC is always catching up with my fibre friends. It was great to see:

• the lovely Eleonora from Coastal Crochet, whose work always inspires.
• Kitey aka The Yarn Whisperer, always a delight to chat with of course,
• Bex from The Pigeons Nest, who was sharing a stand with Kitey (though didn’t get a photo – must do that next time),
• Justine from Little Box of Crochet, who also happens to be the mastermind organiser of CoC,
• Alice from The Burrow who definitely had one of the best show set ups for her stand.

The Annual CoC Project

For the past three years, myself, Amanda from Mrs G Makes, and Jess from Hook & Cwtch have created a special CoC project for our group to enjoy. You might remember:

• Festival Fade – the asymmetric shawl I designed for our first year,
• Festival Fusion Cowl – last year’s vibrant and textured make, and now…
• The Yarnival Bag – this year’s group project, which I’m excited to say will be released later this month! It’s full of colour, fun stitches and festival flair – can’t wait to share it with you all!

What I Bought…

There were over 100 vendors at CoC sharing their wares as well as many specialist artisans running crafty workshops. The majority of vendors took card or cash payments making it very easy for me to spend on some fabulous things! Here’s what I bought;

• The brand new Crochet Socks that Rock Book by the lovely Anna Nikipirowicz from publishers David & Charles. I was extremely excited about this book for two reasons, firstly as it’s a pre-release copy (it’s not officially available until September), and secondly because it has been on my crochet bucket list for ages to make some crochet socks this will be the impetus I need to get that ticked off.
• Then I bought some yarn from a stall, that I unfortunately didn’t keep the name of, I bought a Schoppel Zauberball a yarn which has been on my list to try for ages, and then some pink 100% Natural Dye Studio Dazzle Sock British Blue Faced Leicester yarn – both of which I’m planning to hopefully use on some socks from the Crochet Socks that Rock Book.
• Then anyone that knows me knows I love any kind of stationery so I couldn’t resist the cork notebook from Alice (aka The Burrow) it has a faux tarot card featuring ‘The Crocheter’ which I had to have!
• Then I bought a gorgeous handmade project basket bag from The Embroidered Fox which I love, love love!

• Then I bought a beautiful little handmade ceramic toadstool (whose stall I also unfortunately didn’t make a note of) but I love toadstools so I couldn’t resist it.
• Then I popped by to see Bex (aka The Pigeons Nest), I love her stickers and knew she’d got some new designs so wanted to get some of those, and I picked up some of her fun slogan pencils too, and I couldn’t resist her ‘Emotional Support Project’ pouch in black and neon orange, it had to come home with me!
• Then from Kitey (aka The Yarn Whisperer) I bought some bright neon yarn and some dark blue yarn, both DK, with the mind to re-imagine our latest collab, Sassy Sardines, in a different colourway and in a slightly different size – a project that I’m excited to get stuck into.

All in all, CoC was the perfect mix of creativity, community, and sunshine. I came back with a full heart and a camera roll of happy memories. If you’re a maker, a crafter, or just someone who loves to be surrounded by inspiration you need to add Carry On Crafting to your calendar.

Although I’m sadly not going to be able to make it next year, due to already having plans on that date, I’m already looking forward to 2027. If you’ve now read this post and it sounds like something you need to get in on there’s still some availability for 2026 show (11 – 12 July 2025) – find all the details on the Carry on Crafting website. 💛✨🧶

Until next time folks! Happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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Last weekend I attended the Carry on Crafting Festival at the South of England Showground in Ardingly, West Sussex. It was a wonderful event and I thought I’d write a post all about the crafty days I spent there.

The Carry on Crafting Festival is new to me and I always like to attend a show that I’ve not been to before to see what it’s like. It is a two day festival, this year on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 July and it’s held about 200 miles away from where I live.

However a superstar friend offered to drive us both down there so I booked a room to stay in locally and we headed off Friday morning so we would be ready for the show start at 9.30am the next day.

Yarn shows and craft festivals always seem to be such great events. A chance to gather with fellow creatives and admire stalls from independent sellers. It’s also a fantastic opportunity to catch up with friends and see some familiar faces!

In fact I bumped into the lovely Eleonora from Coastal Crochet (you can read the designer interview I did with her here) who it was great to catch up with (as you can see I look a bit overexcited!).

I also got to have a quick chat with the lovely Kitey otherwise known as The Yarn Whisperer (my MAL partner in crime) which is always a blast – though we do have a tendency to talk ten to the the dozen and get a bit over excited about things (we may have been chatting about future MAL plans!).

There were loads of many wonderful stands and I did buy a few bits and bobs. As you would expect at a ‘crafting’ festival it wasn’t just yarn (though there were a couple including Kitey’s (The Yarn Whisperer) and Bex (The Pigeon’s Nest).

I will confess to buying some yarn and stitch markers (I can’t help myself!) from Kitey from his tarot collection (to go with some I already have) and some pencils (which I love!) and a fun yarn related sticker from Bex.

I was excited to see in the flesh some of the new kits that Kitey had put together for the Peppermint Pageant. This is the first time a new colourway for one of our MALs has been put together after the MAL has finished. The new colourway is so pretty and I believe will be available in his shop soon once his end of show stock take is done.

The only other bits I ended up buying whilst I was there were some lovely stickers and keyrings to give to my kids and of course the food.

There were several food stands to choose from, prices were reasonable and I would say the sort of prices you would expect at a show. Options ranged from chips, burgers, Mexican food, jacket potatoes and crepes.

The timing of the show was brilliant, being at the start of July meant it didn’t interfere with the school holidays. We were also quite fortunate with the weather; all the stalls for the show are outside and it was nice to have a walk around in the sunshine.

We did have a few showers but it didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits it just seemed to add more fun to the experience.

The South of England Showground is huge and there were plenty of spaces set up with seating where you could stop for a bite to eat or just sit, chill and crochet. It’s so nice to see folks able to get back together again in a relaxed way – something we definitely missed during COVID times.

Many of my friends were camping so we all sat together for most of the time, gathered around their tents, crocheting and laughing so much that my ribs were sore afterwards (what a tonic!). I also couldn’t resist getting a souvenir Carry on Crafting glass – used as a refillable option from the bar. I loved that eco friendly offering instead of plastic glasses.

As there was a large group of hooky friends attending the lovely Jess (Hook and Cwtch) and Amanda (Mrs G Makes) and I decided to put together a special collab. It meant we could sit around working on the same project which is always a special thing to do.

The pattern I created is called the Festival Fade Shawl (which I will be releasing soon) for which Jess dyed up a gorgeous 100g skein to go with five 20g sparkly minis.

This was then combined with a fabulous tote bag, yarn cosy and cute caravan stitch marker from Amanda.

Although I’d already completed my Festival Fade Shawl in the original colours Jess, being the sweetheart she is, dyed me up a new special colourway which meant I could join in crocheting the project too. Such a kind thing to do and I really enjoyed working on it again without having to do the thinking part!

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the show, and although it was a LONG way to travel to it was most certainly worth the trip. I think I’ll definitely be back to Carry on Crafting Festival next year – who knows I might see you there?!

I’d love to hear about any yarn shows you’ve attended recently, and what you enjoyed about them – drop me a comment below.

Until next time folks! Happy hooking and keep calm and crochet on my friends xx

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Please note that some of the links in my blog are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you purchase via these links, but the price you pay is not affected. You can read more about my affiliate links here.