DFW Fiber Fest

Fiber Festivals, Finished Knits, and a New Adventure

It’s been a hot minute y’all and I feel like I am still catching my breath. So, let’s jump right into it.

This fall, Bean, the Husband, and I attended two fiber festivals, and had a blast both times. First, we went to DFW fiber fest where Bean and I took a dyeing class and a punch needle class:

 

Then we spent the rest of the weekend shopping, hanging out with other fiber artists, and getting inspiration for future knits. DFW is my absolute favorite fiber fest. The people are great, the classes excellent, and the entire vibe is joyful. If you’ve been on the fence about going, I highly recommend it. One of the board members even gifted Bean market cash to spend for representing young fiber artists. Everyone we meet there is so supportive and encouraging.

In October, we went to Rhinebeck, AKA New York Sheep and Wool.

This was one of my bucket-list fiber adventures. Small-town New York in fall was picturesque, especially since we have no “real” fall here in north Louisiana. We got to see the livestock, met some new vendors, and took in the frenzy of arguably the most popular fiber fest in the US. While we had fun, honestly, I prefer DFW by far. This festival was SOOOOO crowded, the lines endless, and good luck getting into a popular vendor booth. It almost felt like being in a mosh pit at times as we were shuffled around through the crowds. We enjoyed exploring, good food and being together, but I think that trip is a one-and-done for us. So, if you have FOMO from seeing all the cool pictures on Instagram, I promise it’s not quite as “awesome” as you might think.

On to finished knits:

Pattern: Aurora Cabin Shawl (available for purchase on Ravelry).

Yarn: Qing Fiber High Twist in the Canyon colorway, Suburban Stitcher Single Sock in the River’s Edge, Nudie Patootie, and Predictability colorways, and Madeline Tosh Merino Light in the Moorland colorway.

Needles: US 4

Notes and Mods: No changes to this one. I love it, but I’m definitely off the shawls for a while. They start deceptively fast, then just get slower and slower. As always, however, Stephen West’s patterns are well-written and creative.

Pattern: Sea Glass Hat (available for free)

Yarn: Jems Luxe Fibers Luxe Sock in the Texas Wildflowers Colorway and Three Irish Girls Adorn Luxe in the Kraken colorway.

Needles: US 3 & 5

Notes and Mods: I knit this as a two-color so it appears to be vertical stripes.

Pattern: Swirled Peace (available for purchase on Ravelry).

Yarn: Madeline Tosh Moreno Light in Betty Draper’s Blues

Needles: US 5 & 6

Notes and Mods: I went up a needle size compared to the pattern which I totally regret. This ended up way too big. The black yarn is something unlabeled I found in my stash. Overall, great pattern, I just executed it poorly.

Pattern: Ranuculus

Yarn: Suburban Stitcher Merino DK in the Pewter colorway

Needles: US 8 & 10

Notes and Mods: I love this yarn and the color. This was the fastest sweater I have ever knit. I’m glad I looked at other projects because the pattern has the most hideous pictures of the sample. She loves it.

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Looking forward to this year, my plate feels pretty full. I have tons of fiber arts goals I want to accomplish, a couple of big trips planned, and will continue to recover after some illness and injuries (that damn Halloween Bouncy House). But the big news is that I’m going back to school!!! I was accepted to Boston University to work on a Masters in Gastronomy. I’m so freaking stoked, I can’t even tell you. So stay tuned for more foodie and fiber adventures to come.

 

 

 

 

 

DFW Fiber Fest 2022 Recap

Last weekend was amazeballs. After wanting to attend DFW Fiber Fest for years, I finally decided that we would finally go this year. Bean was onboard, and the husband agreed that he was not adverse to being my proverbial yarn mule for an afternoon (as long as there would be Wi-Fi at the hotel and cocktails for the remaining days).

So, knowing that we only wanted to pull Bean from school for one day, we opted to head out Thursday afternoon and attend Friday and Saturday. As such, I planned on taking classes in the mornings, meet up for lunch both days, and head back to the convention center for market shopping and socializing.

The festival was held at the Irving Convention Center, and I have to say, you could feel the joy in the air when we arrived. From the yarn-bomb decorations to the cheerful volunteers, everything added to the atmosphere of excitement of finally coming together. I felt like it was well-organized all around as a festival.

Let’s start with classes. I opted for a class called “I Hate Color Theory” by Peggy Doney, which was supposed help students learn more about color theory and complementary colors, which would culminate in the class dying a personal skein of yarn. Overall, the class had potential but seemed to suffer from technical difficulties, missing equipment, and loss of structure. I still had fun, but I think it missed the intended mark.

For my second class, I took “Love Notes to My Future Self: The Art of Keeping a Crafting Journal” by Alissa Barton. The instructor is big into artistic journaling and passed around many examples and offered materials suggestions. I’d say it was more inspirational than instructional, and we finished up with over an hour of class time left. Regardless, I had a good time and will definitely take more classes next year.

After classes and lunch, it was market time! The festival featured a huge and diverse vendor list, and I believe there was something for EVERYONE. On day one, the husband came with us and that’s when we did the most of our purchasing. Without further ado, here’s our fiber haul:

Bean picked up this bag and the matching shirt from Sharpin Designs.

She also picked out this yarn from Black Cat Fibers.

Finally, she chose stitch markers inspired by Harry Potter and Hamilton respectively. I don’t have a picture of it, but she also ended up with a skein of sock yarn a kind knitter was de-stashing during our social time.

As for me:

These gloriously Halloween-feeling skeins from Whimzee Stitches.

This set from Suburban Stitcher.

A sweater’s quantity, also from Suburban Stitcher.

A Peace, Love and Knitting kit from the Bead Biz.

Spinning Fiber from Frabujous Fibers.

Legend of Zelda and Horror Movies stitch markers.

Stranger Things-inspired project bag from All with Love. I snagged the last one. #sorrynotsorry

And somehow, the husband wandered off and came back with an Alpaca in a Christmas hat from Rancho Inca Alpacas, proving that you can’t leave him unsupervised for long.

We also picked up graphic socks and I tucked away a drop spindle for Bean as a holiday gift.

Aside from classes and the market, the festival featured other events and meet-ups, and plenty of places just to stop, knit, and chat with fellow fiber artists, which Bean and I enjoyed. However, since I didn’t want to wear both her and my husband out, we kept our days balanced.

As for hotels, we stayed at the Omni, which was not a festival hotel, and I won’t stay there again. The Westin across the street would have been a better choice, but I was late to the game in booking.

So, that barely scratches the surface of how much we enjoyed DFW Fiber Fest 2022, and we will be back next year. We ate good food, met lovely people, and got to pet all the fiber. What more can you ask for?