The look on Karens face says it all!
Today I had the pleasure of attending Fibres West in Abbottsford with my good friend Karen. This was the 2nd edition of this show, since the first one last year was such a great hit. The show focuses on many of the fibre arts including knitting, crocheting, spinning, weaving, dyeing, felting, basketry, quilting, embellishments, and more. Upon entering we were immediately impressed at the vastness of the space that housed the exhibit. We decided we needed a plan and so decided to do a lap of the premises before buying anything. The were many displays for spinning and weaving and this seemed to be the majority of the exhibitors. We were in luck though as Knitopia (a local yarn shop) had brought a sizable display and there was enough yarn to keep us happy. There was a lot of sock yarn as well – seems to be the thing this year? In our first lap, I was lured in by the HiyaHiya circular needles. Not only did they have a selection in the 60″ length, there was a pair of 0.7mm needles there in that length! Don’t say it Anne – we were on our first lap so i didn’t buy them, but I have to say that I was being drawn to them the entire time I was there. You have to see these needles. I have some beads that wouldn’t string onto my sock yarn that would have easily slipped onto these needles. The nylon cable between them was gossamer or spider silk it was so fine. I’m certain it’s finer than human hair. And 5′! I could probably fit 1000 stitches on there with ease! I’m not sure what I would be knitting with that many stitches on a needle so fine, but I ‘m sure it would be way cool. I remember when I was doing a little history research and discovered that they used to knit socks and royal clothing in yarn so fine you had counts of 20-28 stitches per inch! They must have had needles like this to do it.Perhaps I should get a pair and make one of those wedding ring shawls or christening gowns. The ones where you can pull the shawl or gown through a wedding ring! Hmmmm ….
Lynn trying to get me some wool from Knitopia - nope, I don't have enough already!
Susan and her spoils!
Okay, enough about the needles – I passed them by – Anne, you would have been proud. Karen, though, found some yarn she is currently using and had it put aside for after our first lap. We both enjoyed oohing and aahing at the displays and had to feel everything. I’m not sure how many residents know this, but the lower mainland and the Islands around Vancouver Island, have quite a few alpaca, llama, and sheep farms. As a result, there are a lot of spinners and dyers of fine quality fleece. The alpaca is to die for it is so soft and there were quite a few displays of it. It was a good thing I left my funds at home or I would have been bankrupt within the first hour. Of course there were deals on almost everything form Kasmir Cashmere to spinning wheels. We bumped into a few friends from our Sunday knitting group and everybody was having a great time. Susan got a great deal on a pure merino wool that she is planning on making a scarf and vest out of. Keith surprisingly bought only 1 thing, and Sharon ha yet to pick up anything when we saw her. The show also had a list of classes being doe upstairs. There was a very interesting cable class that I would have liked to do, but I’ll have to do that another time. If you’re local to Vancouver (or just over the border in Washington state) it’s worth the trip to go check it out. Admission is only $7.50 for adults and they have regular door prizes. If you want more information click on this link to view their website. Unfortunately tomorrow is the last day, but judging from the response they might do it over 3 days next year.
The 0.7mm out of the package - can you see the beads on it?
You didn’t really think I could spend 3 hours there and not buy anything did you? As it turned out, Karen decided not to get the wool, but I got the needles. Sorry Anne – they were too cool to pass up. Now to find someone who’s getting christened!
Hugzzz 😎