I went to Frechen and all I got was yarn, friends and compliments

The Third German Ravelry Meet is currently underway - I was able to go yesterday with four other ladies from our knitting group in Essen. As Frechen is only an hours drive from here, it wasn't too big an effort.

We arrived too early and drank a coffee in a cafe nearby, then headed to the Meet. It was already crowded, especially around the yarn stands, so I quickly ran through the area to get an overview, and then sat down with a friend to knit.

At some point the Finnish Delegation arrived (three Finnish ladies living in Central Europe) and so I sat with them, knitting, for a few more hours. We then had a bite to eat and the Finns took off to Cologne.

And whoops, it was already 6 pm! So we decided to head home.

That doesn't sound too spectacular, does it? Well, it wasn't. It was a nice big knitting meeting with nice yarns to buy... I wasn't that excited. Especially after hearing what some of my friends had seen in Ravelry Meets around Europe, this one measured as very "provincial" and very loosely coordinated. For 18 euros admission fee I would have hoped for more program, at least a warm welcome or a goodie bag with more than 10 grams of yarn (I'm not kidding!).

Oh well, been there, done that. Now I have a burn to organise my own meeting in Essen: if that was supposed to be a Germany wide meet, I'm sure I could whip up a similar event for NRW with the help of some friends... let's see.

Things I liked:

1. Meeting Finnish knitters with a great taste for bad humour
2. The pretty weather
3. The funny yarn pool
4. The nice Dutch gentleman who sold me Filigran lace yarn
5. Yarn carrybasket made from a bra one of the Finns had
6. Compliments I got on my Lanesplitter
7. The yarns I bought (I know, I broke my promise, but I'm back on the cold sheeping track now)