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The first annual Manitoba Fibre Festival was a huge success! There was so much to see and do that even though it was pouring all day the festival was a buzz of activity from beginning to end. You could come check out the demonstrations, shop in the marketplace, take a workshop, or listen in on the wool show and buy fleeces. No matter what area of interest, there was something for everyone here. People started lining up before the door even opened and we were met with so many friendly faces and all the fibre you could want. There were spindles, yarn, finished items, fleeces and so much more to pick through and I saw a few people who attend Olds Fibre Week as well and got to chat. The wool show had 9 fleeces which also included 1 Angora Goat fleece. My cousin Susan helped me and we organized the fleeces into categories; fine, medium, long, speciality wools (Shetland) and then Mohair. There was quite an audience as I judged each fleece and lots of questions. I had to admit I didn't know much about Angora Goats as my studies have been predominantly in wool but overall every fleece there was in remarkable condition. They were well skirted and relatively free from vegetable matter. I awarded ribbons and got to talk to a few of the sheep producers. The woman who had entered the goat fleece told me she plans on doing the same next year so I'm going to have to read up on Angora goats. I highly recommend this festival. It was very well co-ordinated and there were lots of activities and demos and classes to keep everyone interested. Keep you eyes peeled for the dates on this for next year.  The following weekend I was at the Cream of the Crop Craft Sale. This one has always been my favourite, because it is the kick off to all the holiday craft sales. I got to talk to a lot of other vendors and see some really nice handmade items. Thanks to Jeremy and Lindsay for helping me in my booth and thanks to everyone who stopped by to heck out my items and talk with me about wool, knitting and fibre in general! My next sale will be Oct 26th and 27th at the Senior Centre in the Neil Balkwill parking lot. This is the annual Regina Weavers & Spinners Guild sale. I'd recommend coming to just check out the talent the guild offers, and we will be having coffee & cookies as well. This sale is well known by many as a very good place to pick up quality, one of a kind items. Most items here will be handspun, or handwoven. Also don't forget that if you are interested in learning a fibre skill, I have my class schedule up here. If you see a class you like which doesn't fit in your schedule or you have something specific in mind, email me and I can do private lessons as well.  Kim and Suzuki And last but definitely not least, Knit Natural is hosting Kim from the Wacky Windmill in a fibre-y trunk show on Oct 17th. She is my favourite indie dyer, and I'm likely her biggest customer. The majority of my handspun yarn is from fibre that she has dyed. No only will she be loaded with fibre but she also dyes yarn, sells knitting needle and crochet hooks, SOAK wash, notions, spindles and everything you need to make a beautiful project. You can find out more about The Wacky Windmill on her website www.thewackywindmill.com, or you can check out her groups on Ravelry and Facebook. This is also your chance to buy her items before she heads to Knit City in Vancouver. If you are interested in attending, email me and I will send you directions.
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 This year was a big success for both the sheep and wool shows in Drake Sk. The event kicked off with a wine and cheese sponsored by Granite Quarry Farms with sheep cheese from the Cheesery in Kitscoty. I have to say the maple/chive spreadable sheep cheese was the best I have ever tasted. It didn't hurt that the wine was my favourite too :P I spent the whole weekend surrounded by sheep many of which are common in this province and the prairie provinces in general. Down breeds such as Dorset, Suffolk, N. Country Cheviot and Arcotts are known for their superior meat but I like them more for their wool. Down/Medium breeds have wool that has bulk without the weight. Their staple lengths average 3-5 inches and the fleeces can be quite large. To many of the producers in the sheep industry, the meat is the main focus and their wool takes a back burner, even though it also has a value. The point of the wool show is to show producers that there is another side to their industry and wool DOES have a value and as a renewable resource it can be productive over and over. Rambouillet sheep are also common in this province and their fleeces can be gorgeous. I bid on one that was entered into the wool show and won. Their fleeces fall into the fine category and can weigh between 9 - 14 lbs! Next year we are promised a Targhee fleece :P I am still learning and seeing more breeds this year was great. We had double the amount of fleeces entered this year compared to last and we even had an audience. We had the fleeces categorized by fine, medium (down) and coarse (longwools). Winners were awarded ribbons at the end of the show and I chose a coloured BFL X Corriedale to win the "Judges Choice" Ribbon. Prizes were awarded at the banquet on Saturday night. Special thanks to my friend Lindsay of Wired WhimZee for helping Val and I make everything go smoothly.
 Winners in the Coarse (longwool) category. First place scored a 96%! My friend Val Fiddler from Wooly Wool of the West co-ordinated the show and is a big supporter of the wool industry. She has a lovely flock of sheep and brought a few for the breed display; a Corriedale ewe and her lamb (so cute!), a big, beautiful Blue Faced Leicester and a handsome Black Welsh.
 I also had a booth set up with all my wool items. I sold lots of SOAK, t-shirts, yarn and all my buttons :) I even had one customer say "It's SO nice to see wool at a sheep show!". Thanks to everyone who came out, I can't wait for next year.
Thanks to everyone who came out to The True Knit Art Show today! I had loads of fun and talked to a lot of great people! It's so amazing to see how creative people are in our city. I will see you at the next one :)  I also made this gift set for my moms birthday; 4 spa cloths and some olive oil soap my friend Michelle helped me make. I'm loving simple patterns lately, you can do so much with them. These are totally my moms colours. I will have some gift sets like these for sale at the Cathedral Village Arts Festival on May 25th.   I just wanted to send a HUGE thank you to everyone who stopped by my booth this weekend at Wintergreen. It was a great experience and I learned a lot from customers, marketers and other Emerging Artists. I am very grateful for the Sask Craft Council to give me the opportunity to be a part
of the Emerging Artists program. I received insight on booth design, pricing, advertising, and the chance to sell my items along side other fine artisans in Wintergreen. Participating in a 3 day sale is a new experience for me, it was good to be able to rearrange things and see how people shopped and what items people were drawn to. I am proud of my creations, I work hard and with a passion I love to share. Thank you, thank you, thank you!  The 4th annual guild sale is back! This is the time
of year where the Regina Weavers and Spinners can sell all the things we have been working on over the year. You can do all your Christmas shopping at this sale. Items range from tea towels, scarves, yarn, felted soap, hats, pillows, bags, baby blankets etc and everything is handwoven, handspun, handknit, handmade etc. The creativity you find here is just so inspirational. I was doing spinning demos today and talking to a lot of interested people. We are also open tomorrow Oct 21st from 1-4 in the Senior Centre in the parking lot of the Neil Balkwill Centre. I hope to see you there and did I mention we have coffee and goodies being served all day? That’s what Jeremy goes for :P |
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