I had all of three days between STITCHES United and Blue Ridge Fiber Fest. This festival in Sparta, North Carolina, is only in its second year. The six-hour drive put it right on the edge of doable. It was worth it.
The drive up was lovely. The mountains are beautiful most times of the year. Of course, in June the hills are freshly green. There is one piece of the drive that is six miles of very winding road. I'm sorry there was no easy way for me to grab a picture of my Garmin's screen while I was driving.
Sparta is a small town. There is one hotel, which is where I stayed. Fortunately, there is a nice locally-owned restaurant right out front. It was definitely the place for breakfast — if you walked in at the wrong moment, it was hard to find an empty table! I must remember for next year that many of the businesses in Sparta are cash-only. I don't mind it; but I need to know before I leave. Fortunately, one of the locals was able to point me towards an ATM.
The festival took place at the fairgrounds while the classes were about a mile away in a wonderful old Victorian house. The class section was extensive — knitting, crochet, weaving, spinning, dyeing, basketry, felting. For example, there was a class on how to get a purple natural dye from lichen. There was a beginning spinning class. There was saori weaving and band weaving. Much diversity!
The market for this festival was excellent. Really excellent. Worth the six-hour-drive excellent. I made a few purchases.
I knew Clarksville Weaver Randie Felts was going to be vending. She and I shared a hotel room, so as to reduce costs. I saw her work last year at SAFF but did not buy anything quickly enough. This time, I came prepared. In the end, I bought two pieces.
While I do understand the basics of weaving, I do not have the skills and color sense Randie does. Every piece in her booth is beautiful. If I tried to mix yarns in the warp as she does, I am sure I would not be even close to her level of success.
I walked the whole festival, including the tent area, the barn, and the indoor arena. I found another irresistible item at the booth for Alpacas at Cherry Run.
In spite of having motifs of alpacas and Peru and mountains on it, the shawl is cotton. The price was very good (under $30). I initially admired that shawl thinking it would surely be expensive. When it wasn't, it became an impulse purchase. I love the dramatic patterning. And the colorway will complement many outfits.
My final impulse purchase was another cotton shawl.
This one was handwoven in India. Proceeds from the sale of these traditional textiles greatly benefit people in these developing areas. I had a lovely talk with the lady staffing the booth. She said the extra money makes many things possible, such as sending girls to school. None of the textiles had blue. Apparently, this area had no indigo dye tradition. The edges of the cloth are unfinished. However, this is a fine-weave cotton. It will work well as a shawl, but it could also be perfect as a large towel for drying glasses or wiping iGadgets.
Overall, this is an amazing show, especially for only being in its second year. I highly recommend it!
The drive up was lovely. The mountains are beautiful most times of the year. Of course, in June the hills are freshly green. There is one piece of the drive that is six miles of very winding road. I'm sorry there was no easy way for me to grab a picture of my Garmin's screen while I was driving.
Sparta is a small town. There is one hotel, which is where I stayed. Fortunately, there is a nice locally-owned restaurant right out front. It was definitely the place for breakfast — if you walked in at the wrong moment, it was hard to find an empty table! I must remember for next year that many of the businesses in Sparta are cash-only. I don't mind it; but I need to know before I leave. Fortunately, one of the locals was able to point me towards an ATM.
The festival took place at the fairgrounds while the classes were about a mile away in a wonderful old Victorian house. The class section was extensive — knitting, crochet, weaving, spinning, dyeing, basketry, felting. For example, there was a class on how to get a purple natural dye from lichen. There was a beginning spinning class. There was saori weaving and band weaving. Much diversity!
The market for this festival was excellent. Really excellent. Worth the six-hour-drive excellent. I made a few purchases.
I knew Clarksville Weaver Randie Felts was going to be vending. She and I shared a hotel room, so as to reduce costs. I saw her work last year at SAFF but did not buy anything quickly enough. This time, I came prepared. In the end, I bought two pieces.
While I do understand the basics of weaving, I do not have the skills and color sense Randie does. Every piece in her booth is beautiful. If I tried to mix yarns in the warp as she does, I am sure I would not be even close to her level of success.
I walked the whole festival, including the tent area, the barn, and the indoor arena. I found another irresistible item at the booth for Alpacas at Cherry Run.
In spite of having motifs of alpacas and Peru and mountains on it, the shawl is cotton. The price was very good (under $30). I initially admired that shawl thinking it would surely be expensive. When it wasn't, it became an impulse purchase. I love the dramatic patterning. And the colorway will complement many outfits.
My final impulse purchase was another cotton shawl.
This one was handwoven in India. Proceeds from the sale of these traditional textiles greatly benefit people in these developing areas. I had a lovely talk with the lady staffing the booth. She said the extra money makes many things possible, such as sending girls to school. None of the textiles had blue. Apparently, this area had no indigo dye tradition. The edges of the cloth are unfinished. However, this is a fine-weave cotton. It will work well as a shawl, but it could also be perfect as a large towel for drying glasses or wiping iGadgets.
Overall, this is an amazing show, especially for only being in its second year. I highly recommend it!
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