Saturday, June 23, 2012

Fiber Fair!


Today (for our Anniversary weekend), Keith took me to the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair in Grayslake, IL. (He was SUCH a good sport!)

There was this cool shag rug... I'm not sure where I would put this in a house but I probably have enough yarn to try to make one of my own!


I made sure to go to the show with cash. Not only would it be easier to make purchases, but also to help me limit how much I brought home! I only made three purchases:

1) Some 85% Alpaca, 10% merino, Sari Silk and Firestar fiber from Illini Alpacas. This coco brown fiber is so soft, and the flecks of color from the firestar and sari silk make it very unusual. I cannot wait to spin with it!


2) Some Bluefaced Leicester (BFL)/Silk roving in Vineyard Batik from Fiber Optic Yarns. Their booth was filled with amazing colors of yarn and fiber, some that were so vibrant I would expect them to glow! (Indy was pretty interested in this one.)


3) I have been trying to be really good about not purchasing yarn that I don't have a project in mind for, but I couldn't resist this sparkly dusty blue lace weight merino/silk blend dyed byGrinning Gargoyle. She also had some Mink Yarn (!!) but not in any colors I loved. The mink was so soft and amazing, that it would be a joy to knit with. Unfortunately it also had a price tag to match the luxury.


In addition to the wealth of fiber, there were tons of accessories, buttons, beads, bag handles, and yarn bowls. It was a dream for a knitter, especially when her husband was being such a good sport. (There was also music, food and live animals to keep non-knitters entertained.)

The fair also had some prize winning llamas and alpacas... I liked the cria the best, but Keith was partial to the one sitting in front of the fan.



I got to hold a 16 week old angora rabbit. Keith did not try holding it so we don't know if he is allergic to rabbits like his is to guinea pigs, but maybe we will add some of these guys to our family in the future.


Last (but not least) I got to try out a Kromski Fantasia spinning wheel in the Susans Fiber Shop booth. They were so helpful and nice, and insisted that I sit down and try spinning. Apparently the work I have been doing on my drop spindle has prepared me for my first wheel spinning, because they told me that I was spinning very evenly!


It was really hard to not buy the wheel (for me, not for Keith), but I know that I loved spinning on a wheel. Of course, this is the first spinning wheel I have ever tried, but it is also one that I was interested in anyway.