Good Fibrations

This festival is exactly my idea of the perfect summer afternoon. Fibrations is a feast for the sense. The colors always blow me away. I somewhat expect to see the same things as the previous year but when I arrive I'm dazzled. New colors, new designs, new art. Really, that is what I see here. Art, in endless forms. From the way a yarn is dyed to the woven cloth to the felted figures, it inspires me.

As a knitter, I'm hopelessly drawn to the yarn. There were so many yarn vendors this year. As I said, the colors were amazing. It was all I could do not to run from stall to stall, snatching up armfuls of luscious yarn. Some shimmered, some self-striped, some was totally raw. There was mohair, merino, alpaca, silk, linen and probably more that I missed. It made me want to run home and knit like a madwoman. I had the urge run my hands over all the yarn. It was pleasing not just to the eyes but to the touch and that beautiful wool smell.

There were spinning wheels galore. I loved watching the community helping each other, welcoming on-lookers and nurturing new talent. I was a bit surprised though that I didn't see a single drop spindle in use while I was there. Last year I bought my first drop spindle at this festival and I thoroughly enjoyed watching the young women at the stall walk and chat while spinning with their drop spindles. It gave the festival a bit of a medieval air in my opinion.

This year drew far more felters than in previous years and the talent was amazing. The birds in the picture above are actually music boxes. What a lovely gift to listen to the sweet song while holding a soft and beautiful wool bird in your hands. Many of the stalls had such lovely felted items for children. Beautiful felted mobiles, dolls, bunnies, fairy houses; I could have decorated my children's rooms entirely from what I saw there. Of course, there is no one that can compare to the artistry of Saltspring Wool Art. The owl above was just one of the owls he brought. His talent with wool is mind blowing. The feathers even ruffled in the breeze. He had tiny gnomes and owls with amazing detail. I completely admire his gift with wool.

Another highlight was the children's felting station. Some people might feel nervous about letting their child felt with a needle but it was a great set up. The entire table was covered with a large piece of foam so the children didn't have to worry about the foam moving under their felt. I put the piece of roving on the felt sheet and April used one hand to punch up and down with the needle. Together we made her a little sheep and a purple A. It was so fun for me to share my joy of fibre art with my daughter. I will treasure that little piece of art.