Yarn and Yap is my social crochet event where we get together to crochet, eat cake, drink tea and chat all things crochet. I suppose it’s a bit like the old ‘knit and natter’ or ‘stitch and bitch,’ only my Yarn & Yaps are way better!
Rewind to pre 2015, before I was officially The Secret Crocheter, and I’m not sure that I would have gone to anything like a Yarn and Yap, particularly not on my own anyway. I think I would have been way too nervous, too busy with my full time job as a primary school teacher, and feeling under confident about whether I was crocheting ‘the correct way’ or not. So if you’re reading this thinking the same thing, I know EXACTLY how you feel!
When I first started hosting Yarn and Yap evenings, a group of 4 or 5 ladies and myself would sit in my lounge with a cuppa and crochet for a few hours on a Thursday evening. It was all very low key and relaxed, and I think everyone enjoyed it….apart from Mr SC who had to go to bed early on that night because he had no where to sit downstairs!
Then The Crochet Cabin was built and my Yarn and Yap evenings took place in there. I can fit 6 or 7 ladies in the Cabin, particularly in the summer when we have all the doors open. Rather than just once a month, I started hosting Yarn & Yap events on two different evenings as EVERYONE wanted to come! It was so much fun getting to know everyone, hearing and seeing what everyone was crocheting, and watching lots of you form friendships with each other.
I’m so proud that I’m now in a position where so many of you want to come to Yarn and Yap that I’ve had to find a different venue that can fit you all in….please step forward Melksham Town Hall! The great thing about the location of Melksham Town Hall is that it’s just a few minutes walk from The Crochet Cabin and has lots of parking close by.
Yarn and Yap now takes place once very 3 months, on a Thursday evening, from 18:45 – 21:00 in Melksham Town Hall. Along with endless cups of tea, coffee and hot chocolate, there are vast quantities of homemade cake from local bakers Sandridge Brownies & Bakes. I’m also joined by my super sewing friend Florrie & Jean who specialises in sewn accessories for crocheters and crafters (and lots of other gorgeous makes) and my other good friend and local yarn shop owner Vixter Woolista. Both of these fabulous ladies put on a splendid pop up shop for you to peruse at your leisure during the evening.
And that’s not all, there’s also a yarn scraps bag to rummage through as well as a magazine swap box. It really is like a proper night out!
But I hear you, you’d really like to come to this but you’re feeling a bit nervous about coming on your own and none of your other friends can crochet. And to make things worse, you don’t even know where Melksham Town hall is or where to park! Okay, so first thing’s first, when you book, I’ll send you some really detailed instructions and pictures of where it is, and where to park. When you get to the car park, they’ll be a friendly face waiting for you there in the form of CABIN CREW member Rach, the new head of yarn winding, who’s kindly offered to wait for any ladies who would rather not walk from the town hall to the car park alone, or in the dark. How nice is that?!
If you’re getting a lift, or parking elsewhere, there’ll be another friendly face waiting for you on the town hall steps…you’ve guessed it, it’s The Secret Crochet Elf; my right hand woman, chief kit packer and all round crocheting superstar. She’ll point you in the right direction of where to go when you arrive, and I’ll be waiting for you at the top of the stairs to give you another warm welcome. You won’t have to walk into the room on your own where everyone goes silent and turns to look at you!
If you’re a regular to Yarn and Yap then I’ll let you go and catch up with a few familiar faces, but if this is your first time, I’ll introduce you to some crocheting folk, and will show you where the drinks and cakes are (most important things!)
It was Lisa’s first time at Yarn and Yap recently and this is what she said, “I just wanted to say that I loved it at Yarn & Yap last night. It did me the world of good to be out with some lovely ladies. Thank you for making me feel welcome.”
If you’d like to find out more info about the dates for this year’s Yarn and Yaps and book your place, click HERE. I can’t wait to meet you!