Michigan Fiber Festival

My sister and I had a great time at Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan on Sunday. It was my fourth year attending the festival and the third time my sister and I have gone together. She doesn't actively participate in fiber arts, but she enjoys seeing all the fiber and animals at the festival. She's much better company than the DH, who was ready to go home about 1/2 hour after arriving the one time he went with me. Sister and I were both pretty tired as her bridal shower and bachelorette party were the day before (poor planning on my part!), but I still managed to do some good shopping. Here's a pic of my loot from the day.



There's 2 oz of black diamond top (which I learned is carbonized bamboo). It's soft and silky and a deep gray color. I've never spun regular bamboo before, so it will be a new experience.












I also got 4 oz of "Michigan Autumn Roving" from Winterhaven Fiber Farm. It's an 80% Merino, 20% silk blend. The picture does not do the deep, beautiful fall colors or the sheen justice. There's also a bit more green than the picture shows.










To spin some yarn for a baby project for my brother and SIL who are expecting a girl in October, I got 4 oz. of "Summer Bunny" from Anne Tullett. It's a beautiful light pink and white blend of Angora, Silk, Merino, and I think one other fine wool (maybe Polwarth?). It's so soft and just begs to be made into a sweet baby girl project.

I bought 9 oz of roving from a Merino/Corriedale cross from Stoney Pond Farm. It's a very dark brown color and very soft. Although I really liked it, I wasn't going to purchase any until I drafted out a little bit. It drafts so smoothly that I just couldn't pass it up! I could just imagine how relaxing it would be to spin such soft, beautifully prepared wool. I believe the tag by the roving said that this was from a sheep who is a "double black," but I can't remember for sure. Anyways, it's lovely and I'm looking forward to spinning it up.




My large fiber purchase (I always try to make one "large for me" fiber purchase of enough fiber to make a sweater) was 1.5 pounds of Jacob roving. My first large spinning project when I first learned to spin about 3 1/2 years ago was some Jacob roving and it was so fun. I'm just now working on finishing a project with this yarn and I love it. I love the heathery texture that the different colors in a Jacob fleece gives and the medium hand is perfect for rustic looking sweaters that I love. It's not too soft and delicate, but not too harsh to be uncomfortable. Anyways, I've been looking for more Jacob roving after having such a great experience both spinning and knitting it. As luck would have it, there was a booth devoted completely to Jacob wool! There was light, dark, and a slightly blended light/dark swirl. The sample knitted up of the swirl was so pretty and heathery and I have just the right pattern that it would look great with.



My impulse buy of the day was 4 oz of 50% Merino, 50% Tencel top in the "Limeola" color from Bonkers Fiber. It was shiny and soft and a color that I don't really have much of in my fiber and yarn stash. I'm not sure what I'll do with it, but I'm betting it will be fun to spin this winter when everything is dark and gray.

Because my budget is limited and the Michigan Fiber Fest is not enormous like some other festivals, my approach has always been to do a complete walk around the festival taking notes about what I see that I like. I then prioritize my purchases and go back through the festival buying until my budgeted money runs out (I go into Fiber Fest like others go into a casino - I take only what I have bugeted to spend in cash, once it's gone it's gone). It would suck to run out of money and then find some fiber that is faboulous. This is the first year I've deviated from that plan. I was tempted by these adorable little sheep that I knew would make a perfect addition to my blossoming sheep collection (click on the pic to make them bigger). Aren't they cute? I earned my undergraduate degree from Hope College, so anything with the word "Hope" on it has a special place in my heart. Hmmm... I just realized that the Merino/Corriedale roving I bought was named "Hope" too!

In addition to all these great purchases, I dropped off over 7 pounds of white alpaca to Zeilinger's for processing. I purchased it off Spin-Sales this winter at a great price and thought I would process it myself. It's beautiful when washed up and carded, but it's a bit dirty and I'm afraid of felting it, so it was taking me a really long time to process even a little bit. Time is one thing I haven't had much of lately. I've finally returned to the real world and realized that if I ever want to spin this alpaca in my lifetime, it would be best to have someone else process it. So, off it went to Zeilinger's to be washed and carded and blended into a 75% alpaca, 25% very soft wool blend. I'm so excited to see it when it's done... but I have no idea what I'm going to do with that much alpaca roving!

That pretty much sums up my trip to Fiber Festival this year. All in all it was a great time, even if it was a bit cold and wet! I'm already looking forward to next year - maybe I'll actually get to take a class or two!