Oct 6, 2008

Mudfest No Longer

DSC_0077Two years ago I went to the Fall Fiber Festival of Virginia at Montpelier and was overwhelmed by the mud. It was everywhere and it really affected our enjoyment of the show.
This year when DQ and I went back it was bright and sunny and we had a totally different experience. It was wonderful.
Some of the vendors were familiar to me like Dancing Leaf Farm. Dalis dyes yarn so beautifully. The colors just look like a party. DQ was so moved by them that she asked for a gorgeous skein of ribbon yarn to make a slim scarf for herself. It's just a simple garter scarf about 9 stitches wide on size 10 needles but it's a start. I'll be sure to show it to you when she finishes it.
DSC_0086
I also got a little something at Dalis' booth. It was so hard to resist all of the beautiful yarn there but I managed to keep myself to just one purchase for me. Check out this roving in all it's rainbow glory. I'm thinking Baby Surprise Jacket. Won't that be spectacular?

DSC_0075 I was kind of surprised to find so much there that was new to me. I've been to quite a few fibery events and you'd think I'd seen most of the local yarns. Solitude was one of the new to me yarn sellers. The wool is from local farms and the colors were so deep and rich. Just my speed. It was hard but I limited myself to just one skein of wool/silk yarn in a deep turquoise.

Another seller that was new to me was Creatively Dyed. That booth was the story of the day in more ways than one. I stopped because of the colors which were beautiful. I wassn't the only one who was impressed either. That booth was super busy all day long and I didn't see too many people leave with single skeins. It was more a matter of what your arms could carry.

DSC_0076Stephanie of Loop (seen here with Dianne) would certainly agree. I was surprised to see her there since she makes gorgeous batts herself. She confessed to having a bit of a fiber crush on Dianne's fiber. It's that good. There were beautiful braids with wool, bamboo and seawool. I brought home a few and Stephanie... well, the last time I saw her she had a huge pile of braids that she claimed she was going to share with a friend but I don't know. I saw the way she was petting those braids and I'd be surprised if she could part with much.

DSC_0087Another person who had a hard time parting with that booth was DQ. She just loved it there so much that she stayed to "help" all afternoon. If you stopped by there on Saturday afternoon then it's possible that she wrote you up. She even wants to go to Stitches now so that she can "help" in the Creatively Dyed booth. Who knows - if she spends enough time around the fiber fumes then perhaps I'll make a knitter out of her yet.

This is just one skein that I picked up at Creatively Dyed. Believe me there's plenty more at home but I forgot to upload the pictures and it's not all for me anyway.

Overall it was a great day. The weather was glorious, the company was good and the fiber was delicious! How was your weekend?

6 comments:

Teyani said...

those look gorgeous- what fun you must have had :-) There is just something absolutely wonderful about fiber fairs in the fall.
Does Creatively Dyed have an Etsy site?

Anonymous said...

Sorry if this shows up twice, but your site just ate my comment about Gretchen and Solitude yarn. I agree with you about the silk-wool; I made my dad a lovely scarf for Christmas last year out of a pine green color.

Gretchen is the local wool provider at the Dupont Circle Farmers' Market. I think her schedule has her there every other week year-round, but I'm also pretty sure that she mentioned she'd be there most weekends between now and the end of the year.

And the Dupont Circle SnB'ers are planning a Nov. 1 field trip to her farm. You'd be more than welcome to join us, I'm sure...

Anonymous said...

Looks like lots of fun! And what yummy purchases you made. I can't wait to see DQ's scarf.

margene said...

It was our turn to get all the rain, sadly enough! So many colorful pictures and it sounds like a lovely festival!

Laura said...

I bought two braids from Dianna and DQ bagged up my order that day. It was a fun day.

Natalie Rush said...

Looks like so much fun! and it's beautiful fiber!!