To Market, to Market
Trout Lake
Fibre, Naturally – Paper Like You’ve Never Seen it Before
As a member of the Vancouver Weavers and Spinner’s Guild, I had the pleasure of a volunteer shift keeping watch over the most wonderful collection of Hanji in a cooperative exhibition between our Guild and the Jeonju Hanji Artists Association of Korea.
The Colour of Mine
Emily Carr was a perfect backdrop for this impressive exhibit.
This will be a photo heavy post, my apologies, but I wanted to capture as many different translations of the fibre as I could.
Dream and Hope
528 Circles
Papyririne (Tree Hugger)
Hand knit and Dyed Hanji Paper by Louisa Chadwick
Neither myself or Pearl had tickets to the fashion show and settled for a nice sushi dinner instead. This transformative mulberry tree has been used for centuries in Korean clothing, making an incredibly durable and luminous fibre. And in printing has been maintained in books more than 1,000 years old. Sigh.
My bag of knitting seemed very uninspiring tonight.
Update on Show Schedule
Thank you for reminding me that I haven’t posted my updated schedule for a while! I might have more success selling things if I let people know where I was!
August
15th Trout Lake Farmer’s Market
16th Whistler Market
20th Electronic Arts Centre
22nd West End Market
23rd Whistler Market
30th Whistler Market
September
6th Whistler Farmer’s Market
12th Trout Lake Farmer’s Market
13th Whistler Farmer’s Market
20th Whistler Farmer’s Market
27th Whistler Farmer’s Market
October
4th Whistler Farmer’s Market
10th Whistler Farmer’s Market
11th Whistler Farmer’s Market – End of Season
17th UBC Apple Festival
18th UBC Apple Festival
November
11th – 16th Circle Craft
I may actually consider a vacation after this schedule. Only 90 days to Circle Craft. Production is now in full swing. I must have been slacking before.
Fitting it All In….
Thursday…..outstanding day of coffee shop knitting with Marigold (who finished her fabulous sweater tank). She designed the most incredible sweater on the fly —with earth, compost, grass and tomatoe wool from yours truly. I just need to get her to model it. But here’s a pic of part of it and the crochet hook she carved out of a hazelnut branch….How do I find all these talented people?
Friday was a perfect day and I ended up with a great picnic at Queen Elizabeth Park. The food was outstanding, but then again, Claire has never put together a bad meal. She came by to visit the studio. I’m almost embarrassed showing it to people and have officially dubbed it the “shit hole” just because it is in a basement, but really….it’s where all the yarnie good times happen, so to me it is a gift.
Saturday was full of fibre goodness with the Surrey Museum PicKnit and a knit in the park day. I was helping out Pearl with Birkeland Bros display and unveiled the kits. I was thrilled at how well received they were. While the rest of the knitting world was at Sock Summit, we had a lazy fabulous wooly day.
No, the llama did not fit in Pearl’s van. Don’t think I didn’t try to plan out a quick getaway. I loved this little guy from a far.
On Sunday, the world returned to the familiar with the Whistler Farmer’s Market. The day was perfect MelonHead weather. A taunting of rain, overcast and cool. I had several visits from the local S&B and convinced two crocheters to return to knitting as well as two knitters to walk on the wild side for crochet (you know who you are!).
Our booth was beautiful. A full mix of alpaca and hand dyed and hand spun. Pearl did some needle felting demos while I snuck away to see Mandy’s chat on her new book Yarn Bombing. It was a great presentation and I mananged to snag one of the first handful of copies. Please check out the site and support these very avant garde artists by buying a copy of the book or encouraging your local yarn store to carry copies.
Our display…Yes, yarn lady made her usual appearance.
On Sunday, the world returned to the familiar with the Whistler Farmer’s Market. The day was perfect MelonHead weather. A taunting of rain, overcast and cool. I had several visits from the local S&B and convinced two crocheters to return to knitting as well as two knitters to walk on the wild side for crochet (you know who you are!).
We took our time coming home on Monday, a nice lazy day, but the list of undone from the previous week as well as orders are starting to pile up. Will not be able to post for a few days.
Knit like crazy.
Things I Learned from Filberg This Year
- You can’t make up for lost sleep the day after you get home. Twelve hours of sleep is definitely a waste of time.
- If you avoid the fudge booth, you will definitely lose weight at a 4 day show.
- Follow your instincts. One wrong turn in the car and you can lose friends for the rest of the night.
- Less nature can be a good thing during the show. An intense allergic reaction could have called an early end to the show this year.
- Don’t believe everything you hear. While so thrilled with all the compliments, I have to take it all down a notch, stay humble and grateful that I get to do what I do.
- You will not get any work done at a show so stop putting half finished items in the car, taking them to the booth and dragging them back to the B&B (over and over agan)
- Limit trading. There are so many beautiful things to choose from so many talented people. Pick one thing only. I failed miserably at this.
- Bring twice as much inventory next year. I always run out of things, but this year there were more holes in the booth than usual.
- Customers become friends. I was fortunate to receive photographs and thank you cards from long time customers. Better than the biggest bouquet, I will treasure these items.
- Be thankful for people who volunteer. Filberg is produced by an ARMY of volunteers and I made sure to acknowledge everyone who wore that badge.
Art Yarn makes a great felted bowl,don’t you think?
A pretty princess stops for a rest in the booth.The Island Life
Coordinating all the folks involved in this year’s Filberg Festival was an undertaking of monumental proportion. Two vehicles, ferry reservations and a float plane home for one of us. Incredible.
We were able to all go this year. John, Pearl, Joan and myself. With this small army behind me, everything was ready to go with minimal fuss. Making life so much more pleasant was an unexpected gem; Forbidden Plateau.
Aside from the organic eggs (from their chickens) and the fresh cut veggies (freshly picked from Kim’s garden) and the ice cold water in mason jars that went to the show with us, the accomodation could not have been any more picturesque or Kim and Lorne any more hospitable or helpful.
Downtown Comox at night.
I’m too tired to post more and so many wonderful things happened. I’ll update over the next couple of days with more pics. Thanks to the show crew and the pre show crew (Toni, Marigold)
Hotel Knitting
It was so hot in the village on Saturday, that the hotel was a welcome destination. No canoing, no long hikes, just me and the knitting…John was at the pool and foraging for dinner.
Thanks to Joan’s buttons, I ended up with some pretty cute pieces. The hat pile ended up lined along the bed over a pile of cushy pillows. Not bad for an evening of work. And the view from the balcony in the room was inspiring. All forest! Explains the elvin hats. I am loving this new wool.
The knitting continued at the market on Sunday, but without the breeze of the forest and the fan in the room. Julie had her last lesson. Boo for me. She has been such a good student. You’ll see more of her finished pieces in later blog posts. Customers (regulars and newbies) were in the booth in a steady stream. Texans in for their annual convention.
On a sad note, Bob from Thelma’s Goodies passed away on Friday after a long struggle with cancer. He was a fixture in the market, funny, gracious, a great booth neighbour and I will really miss him. Thanksgiving at the market will not be the same without him to finish my pumpkin pie.
So Much Going On….
Well I have confirmed a list of classes starting at Birkeland Bros in the fall. I am really looking forward to this.
Every Thursday in September from 7-9 is Beginners Crochet. This will be an especially good class for knitters as you will learn how to incorporate crochet techniques into your knit projects.
Every Thursday in October from 7-9 is Advanced Free Form Crochet. I have been using this technique for years in my work and am always amazed at how it continues to evolve.
The first two Tuesdays in December from 6:30 – 9:30 is Radical Spinning, (Stepping Away from Grannies Yarn). Core spinning, unique plying and incorporating recycled materials will be the focus of this class. Details and class requirements -cost and materials will be listed here as well as the Birkeland site in the next few weeks.
There is so much yarn I can’t carry it all to market. It most likely will not appear until after Filberg as it has to be bagged and tagged. Thank God for the chalkboard list in the studio. As long as it’s been chalked it will get done.
Thanks to Marigold for ball winding some troublesome skeins. Seriously, at the studio until 11:30, that’s a trouper.
And the last of the batts to be spun….
I’m looking forward to Whistler this weekend as rest and relaxation before the storm of the Filberg Festival. It’s a good storm though.
Great Places to Knit
Friday’s Knitting
Evening at the first night of Folk Festival. Fantastic music, great food, a big patch of grass with a comfie blanket and some new hand dyed yarn.
Oh yeah……Alchemy…hand dyed BFL.
Saturday’s knitting locale. In the car all the way to Whistler. Sunshine and car knitting. And a visit to a yarn store in Squamish.
Sunday’s Knitting (and more lessons)
Whistler Farmer’s Market. Another beautiful day in the sunshine. My tan this year due entirely to outdoor knitting.
Monday’s Knitting Destination
Pearl’s Knit and Pearl Group at Birkeland Bros. This is an extremely talented group of knitters. It’s a treat to hang out with them.
Tuesday’s knitting – less exciting. In the livingroom. I am trying to knit 22 pounds of yarn into finished product before Filberg. Eight days and counting.
New Things
Well there’s lots of wool, and here’s just a teaser, alpaca, silk and some beautiful chunky BFL… There’s also new roving and I’m just finishing up the last batch of tomatoes. I have also almost caught up on my spinning for Filberg. But the most exciting to me at the moment
I have downloaded my first knitting application. Okay, it’s only a row counter, but there is so much more here I can manage without having to take my camera, laptop, Ipod and cellphone to Whistler. Now I have it all in this cute little device I will damage in no time. The three year warranty should give me some piece of mind for that.
And our second festival of the year….Jazz fest was soul saving and I’m expecting the best time from Folk Fest.
Friday night is going to be a challenge with two markets this weekend, but I know it will be worth it.
On a completely different note, I have managed 3 days in a row at the gym before 7am and will continue this when I start riding into the studio again tomorrow. I am optimistic that the weather and my energy will hold up. Stop by and say “hi” at one of the markets this weekend and visit the new stuff in person.
Enjoy your knitting in some great outdoor weather. I have a huge pile of knitting that I am taking to the Folk Festival.