summer flowers

summer flowers

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Great Basin Fiber Fair

I spent last night writing down all the things I have finished in the past couple of months.  I feel better about my craft, I guess that I really am getting something done.  I'll try to share some of it with you when I get pictures taken.

Today I am just going to show what I did this weekend.  I had a wonderful time at the Great Basin Fiber Fair.  It seems to just get better each year and I was amazed at the place this year.  It is held in the Salt Lake Equestrian Center arena.  Not the best venue, but I am pleased with just how nice it is.  We have booths around the perimeter of the arena, but at the rate it is growing, they will soon need more space there.

My rainbow warp at the Fair
I had thought I could let people weave on the loom I brought, but I decided I wanted to have the towels for myself and I wove most of the warp.  I think I will get five towels off the warp...maybe I can "gift" a couple.

The warp is 8/4 cotton and makes my heavy towels.  I had one man feel the finished towels that I had in this weight and he said they were "man" towels.   I mostly used black weft and wove in random, or border stripes in them.  I think that there is one more on the warp and I will probably weave the full weft in rainbow stripes for a plaid like effect.
A bit of the weaving with a yellow stripe
I had a lot of fun talking to old friends and students, some I only see a couple of times a year.  It makes me want to go to more of the festivals to "meet-up".  I was also able to meet new people and hopefully get some people to take my weaving classes, I love making new weavers. Several of them talked to me about the looms they have and how they can get them working and make things on them, I hope I was able to send them in the right places to get them going.  

And yes I did make some purchases, I should have kept them all in the car instead of taking the first day's purchases home.  It's like I forgot how much I had purchases and on the second day I started all over again!
Two Days Full
I knew I would not get away from Carolyn's booth easily.  I love spinning her hand-painted rovings.  They draft beautifully and her color lines just speak to me.  I started by getting two more braids of "Jumbleberry" (I have two from her fiber club and want to try a "faux ikat" warp), Then I spotted "Peacock" I wish there were more of those, I only got two and may have to contact "Greenwood Fiberworks" for more (I have a beautiful blue cone of yarn that I accidentally bought two of, so I need a multi-colored yarn to weave with it), then I felt the new 50% yak/50% silk...wow...I got three braids of "Bountiful" and I don't know what I will do with it, but right now just rubbing it on my body is enough.
I was also mesmerized by a couple of her "Carded Sparkle Batts".  Her daughter often does them and I really enjoy spinning them, although I seldom have plans for them when I purchase. These are purple and red...they look like the "Red Hat" ladies...maybe that means that I need to do something for Mom with them.
I also succumbed to some yarn she had.  I first of her hand-pained yarn I bought was some sock yarn last summer and I really enjoyed the color movement as I knitted it.  This time I got 2 skeins of "Calypso" a wonderful combination of lavender, green and blue.  It is an alpaca/silk combination and is 875 yards per 100 gr skein.  It should weave up great...I don't think there is a repeat that I could use for "faux ikat", so it will probably just be a random color piece.

I discovered a "new to me" knitting shop in the valley, "Knittin' Pretty".  She carries a great selection of yarns, but the "Mountain Colors" called to me and I got two rovings and two skeins of Weaver's Wool Quarters.  I love the colors in this companies line.

I spotted a new spindle at "Greensleeve's Spindles" the first day...on the second day it was still calling to me, so I finally bought it.  I think it is perfect to spin that wonderful yak/silk for a lace weight yarn.

I also got a button from my favorite glass button artist...Jodie Mcdougall Studios, but this is an assignment from her.  I need to design and weave a bag to put this wonderful button on.  It has two koi swimming at different levels in the button...what a great challenge to make something to show off this button!

The last thing is a couple of bobbin lace pillows, book, and bobbins.  A woman was selling the lot for a good price, and I plan to take it to bobbin lace guild to pass it on to someone starting out.  It is a great price for a couple of pillows, a really good way to get started.  And I have too many pillows for me to work on.

Well, this blog ended up being a shopping list, but maybe in the next year there will be some of the woven, spun, or knitted pieces from this collection of fun.