Hi everyone! I am confirmed for booth space for Fiber Fusion Northwest in Monroe, Washington on October 19 and 20, 2013. I will join the market at this event for the first time, and I look forward to seeing you at the Evergreen State Fair grounds. You can find out more about this event at www.fiberfusion.net. It is too soon for Jorstad Creek to be added to the list of vendors, but that should go up soon.
The next event for Jorstad Creek after Fiber Fusion is Knit Fit, held at the Ballard Community Center on November 2 and 3, 2013. You can find out more about this event at www.knitfit.info. This will also be a first-time experience for me, but since my first booth was held at the Nordic Knitting Conference last year in Ballard, I know I will feel right at home in this wonderful community.
My last two booth events were incredible experiences. I had the opportunity to see a number of customers who found the booth at Madrona and came back to visit me at the Vogue Live! event in April. At Vogue I was able to give a talk about working with locally made yarns and the dye processes used to create the colors and effects with the fibers. I took down my samples from the booth display for a short time, and passed them around to people who listened to my presentation. At the booth I received great feedback about the tonal-dyed kits. I will explore more colorways to offer to knitters at the fall events. One addition to my knitted samples that stood out to fellow knitters was Evelyn Clark’s “Deciduous Leaf” shawl (download-able from Ravelry) made up in the Gotland Fingering yarn (see photo), knit by my amazing friend Kaia Petersen. This yarn weight sold out at Madrona in February! We couldn’t resist showing the shawl anyway, as it demonstrates the amazing sheen and quality of this fiber. The Gotland sport weight sold out soon after. I will not be able to offer this amazing yarn again until the fall when I hope to have a new supply spun up and ready to go.
In June I traveled to Eugene, Oregon, to join vendors at the Black Sheep Gathering. This fun event is very “sheep centered,” so as a fiber enthusiast I felt right at home. The market shares the building with the sheep show, and from time to time sheep owners walk around the market with a wooley friend in tow. My booth was outside in the fresh air. We were blessed with wonderful weather and a huge turnout from the local community. A new lace scarf pattern from the BK Collective, “Ebb and Flow” by Jann Hoppler, was very popular with customers. Knit in a lovely lavendar out of “St. Clement” (a commercially spun merino/silk blend hand dyed by me), both the pattern and the yarn was well received. You can find the pattern on Ravelry, look for patterns from BK Collective. Contact me if you are interested in both the yarn and the pattern!
I managed to get away from the booth long enough to purchase a couple of prize-winning Shetland fleeces from Oregon farms. I am planning on experimenting with this great fiber, contemplating adding it to the other local yarns I already produce. Just a hint, American Shetland is a whole different experience than the yarns imported from the UK – perhaps another bonus from that wonderful sheep-heaven that is Oregon. As I have said before, the climate in Oregon appears to bring out the best in the fiber, no matter the breed.
I cannot express how much fun and rewarding it is to be doing this work. The cherry on the top is meeting so many great knitters and new friends. I appreciate all of the support from family, friends, knitters, and customers. I hope to keep astounding you with color, fiber, and ingenuity!
