Fun
Nash Yarn Fest: We Had a Big Time
Dear everybody,
What is there to say about last weekend in Nashville? Nash Yarn Fest was the biggest thing our small team has ever done, by a very long way. More than a year in the planning, full of to-do lists with ever more unexpected items—who knew that many, many sand bags were needed, to keep tall signs from falling over? we do, now!—plus more communicating, to more people, by more means, than we have ever attempted, even on our chattiest days.
But when last Thursday finally arrived, and we gathered at the Fairgrounds in Nashville for the start of vendor load-in, our dreamy dreams of Nash Yarn Fest came to life, a life of its own, and we just rolled with it.
We had a big time! The photo album carousel above is a good start, but it does not begin to capture the beauty of the booths, the smiles of the attendees and vendors, the sweet musical stylings of Missy Raines and friends and the Little Fox Yarnovers—not to mention a DJ who knew just what we wanted to hear.
We have thanks to deliver, and to be delivered continuously to:
Vendors and Sponsors
What a group! Thank you for having faith in MDK’s ability to deliver a professional event on our first try. Whether you were coming across the ocean, from another state or Canada, or from across town, thank you for being so game, so welcoming to us and to attendees, and so brilliant at making the things you make, and at presenting them so beautifully. And thank you for being unfailingly nice to the event’s staff and volunteers. Kindness matters; it matters so much. Thank you!
Attendees
Thank you attendees, from near and far! Having attended a fair few fiber festivals ourselves, we know the community of knitters, so we expected the crowd to be fantastic—yet you surpassed our expectations. Your knits were awesome, your flair was flashy, your smiles and hugs were the warmest. And you were funny! And patient when we need to figure something out!
To get a flavor of the event from the POV of attendees and vendors, we highly recommend the #nashyarnfest hashtag on Instagram. It’s so, so fun.
Team MDK
We wish, wish, wish we’d had the good sense to take a group photo of the Nash Yarn Fest staff and volunteers, before and/or after the event. That would have been a thing to do. We are so proud to be associated with you.
Something wonderful happened when you all put on your earpieces and STAFF lanyards and t-shirts. It was a wonderful moment of Let’s Do This Thing. Every last one of you understood the assignment: making Nash Yarn Fest as fun as possible for absolutely everyone. We’re in awe of how strong you were for thinking on your feet, for being nice no matter what, for solving problems like they weren’t problems, for arriving early and staying late, and for racking up tens of thousands of zippy steps on concrete floors.
MDK Readers aka You!
Without everyone who reads and shops with us, we wouldn’t have been able to make Nash Yarn Fest happen, not in a million years. Your steadfast support of our many experiments over the years gave us the courage we needed to take a leap into organizing a bighearted event of this scale. Thanks to you, we thought we might could, so we did.
Whether you were physically at the event or not: you were there. Thank you.
Nash Yarn Fest 2026: Stay Tuned
Whee! We want to ride this ride again. We’re working on dates, and we’ll let you know as soon as we can.
We’d love to see you in Nashville next spring.
Love,
Ann and Kay
What a fantastic event!!! I loved every minute of it and my husband and I had a grand time in Nashville!!! Well definitely come again next year!!! Congratulations on a very successful event!!!
What a wonderfully gracious post…as yours always are. I’m so happy to hear you’ll be doing it again. I couldn’t be there this year, but plan to be there next year!
I WAS there and wow. I have worked on events before, so I have an idea of the vast list of to-dos y’all signed up for. Team MDK, take a bow. Superlative in every way.
Congratulations MDK, especially those incredibly dedicated organizers! And wow! Thanks for all the photos – a special thanks from those of us admiring (and wishing we could be there) from afar! ❤️
You put on a wonderful event and I got to see friends from near and far, some I hadn’t seen in YEARS! I can’t wait until next time!
Being a vendor at Nash Fest was a dream. I am still riding high on Nash Fest fumes! What a blast it was to meet my inspirational idols! I LOVED every minute of it- including the road trip from Boston. We met sooooo many cool people, who I will now call friends. Thank you Ann and Kay for your vision! THE MDK TEAM ROCKS!
My favorite moment at the Fest was spending ten minutes away from my wife and sitting with Natalie Chanin while she spoke to me about hand sewing and watched me take a turn on the swatch appliqué. Thank you so much for the gift of a beautiful, inspiring Saturday, you guys! I will never forget any of it.
This was my favorite yarny event ever!!!! Thank you for all of the hard work put into making it do for all of us attendees!
It took me a while to figure out just exactly what it was that made Nash Fest different from all the others but I finally put my finger on it. It was the name tags. They sent a very clear message that everyone who was there was meant to be there and that we were meant to be together. Putting that name tag on was the abracadabra moment where we were transformed from people AT a yarn festival to people who WERE a yarn festival. Of course, that wasn’t the only magic that happened but it was the one thing that I felt the most and that, for me at least, made the sum greater than the parts. I loved every minute of it.
YES!
Aw Karen! We were determined to have name tags, in large part because of a certain person’s inability to remember names when excited (it me), but also to make it easier to talk to strangers! Thank goodness for Hannah’s cute drawing of a name tag for the stickers—it was so meta! xoxoxo
The other thing was I finally got to meet YOU in person!
My friend and I had a great time! There is nothing like strolling through booths, seeing, feeling and smelling all the yarny goodness! There really was something for everyone’s taste! The entertainment and speakers were especially good. Can’t wait to see what you come up with next year!
Bravo, and kudos to the entire team!!!! The photos revealed all the Beauty, joy, and talent. They solidified my belief that we are about art, not craft or hobby!!!
What a great, fabulous weekend! You all did a job unlike anyone else.
Our group got together on Tuesday to show off the goodies that we got to other others knitting crew and a comment was made that resonated with all of us that went. It was that we came home, filled with joy and knowledge of our craft. It refilled our souls
This means the world to us, Lisa. [wipes tear for real]
I had not been to Nashville before. My friend Larraine and I had a wonderful time! NYF was her first yarn festival. The music, venders, speakers and fashion show were great! We’ll see y’all next year.
I loved seeing these photos. I wish I could have been there.
Knit on
It was awesome! I was so looking forward to Nash Yarn Fest and it did not disappoint.
Lots of fun, as I knew it would be. Thanks MDKers for working so hard to make this a wonderful weekend. And thanks to all the wonderful people (vendors and knitters) who showed up in good spirits.
Fabulous time with all the wonderful people. I agree with Karen that the name tags made the difference. (I got the shirt, too) There was staffer Pam who saw my tag and said “oh, you’re Lucy” and it was so good to meet the wonderful person behind the notes. And getting to see again or IRL so many women and men we knew from Shakerag, or Instagram or The Lounge.
Thank you too for providing a venue for so many very small businesses to show, share and sell. I met amazingly talented people producing quality products. And thank you to all those vendors who took a chance on a start up event – you gained a lot of new customers.
(Last but not least – a special shout-out to everyone who help Sarah Z untangle a full skein of Chrominum yarn – it took a village…)
It was a fantastic event and weekend! I’m so glad I was there and look forward to coming back!
Looks lovely. Keep doing all these fun events. Hope to be there next time.
I missed this years event…regrettably! So please please please host the Fest next year! I can’t wait!
I had so much fun at Nash Yarn Fest. My husband (not a knitter) enjoyed chatting with people. I had not been to a knitting event since 2019 and this is just what I needed to fill up my knitty soul. The festival was so well done and everyone was so welcoming. I loved that we had name tags to make it easier to chat with others. Great job!!
Thank you for THE most fun yarny weekend ever! I’ll be back every single time.
I couldn’t be there, but your wonderful heart felt report plus many great pictures left me with a glow as though I had been there. Thank you, and super congratulations.
This looked incredible, thanks to all the effort by MDK staff. Would like to attend next year but uncertain about crossing the border.
Looks like a ton of fun! I can feel the fiber from California. Thank you for sharing the good vibes.
I’m so sad I could not make it this year:( I am intent on attending next year!) There was a picture of Arne and Carlos! It would have been so incredible to meet them in person! It sounds like it was a fantastic event and I WILL be there in 2026!!
It was such a GREAT weekend! I can hardly wait for the next. Thank you for all your hard work.
Thank you for sharing ! bises,
“Whether you were physically at the event or not: you were there.” I love this idea! Thank you for expressing it.
Looks like a great time in Nashville. I want to be there in 2026.
It was the absolute best!!!!!!!!!! Staff was amazing and kind – seeing you two just thrilled me and thank you for being gracious with a couple selfies. Vendors were amazing. Hubby and I loved our first trip to Nashville. Can’t wait for next year!!!!!
It looked wonderful!! Congratulations!! I am so sad I was out of town and had to miss, but yay for an encore in 2026!!!