2007 Fiber Arts Festival - Part 2

I also bought some sock yarn at the fiber festival. Now, I know I really need another skein of sock yarn like a hole in the head at this point, but this vendor, Happy Hands, had such vibrantly hand dyed yarns I couldn't pass it up. Here is a photo of some of the yarns from their booth:



The owners are Kim Ogle and Kim Leach, and they are based in Palmyra, Wisconsin. One of the Kims dyes the yarn and the other Kim designs patterns. The sock yarn I bought is on the left, below. It is 75% wool and 25% nylon, and the colorway is called "End of the Day."



My other major yarn purchase of the day was the yarn on the right, above, from Stonehedge Fiber Mill in East Jordan, Michigan (just a few miles from the show).



Now, I have had my eye on this yarn for awhile. I discovered the yarn in the Yarn Shop in Glen Arbor, Michigan a few months ago. Debbie McDermott, the owner and operator of Stonehedge Fiber Mill, mills yarn for many breeders and also sells her own yarn. The yarn I bought is a worsted weight merino and is so unbelievably soft that I have been planning this purchase for several months now. I chose a color called Antique Rose, a heathered coral color. I am planning to use it to make the Bpt hoody from Knitty.

There was another booth that was very interesting called Elizabeth's Designs. Elizabeth Koeppen, of Traverse City, Michigan, sells handpainted yarns and roving.



She wasn't in the booth when I went by, so I don't have much information about her, and I didn't buy any of her yarn, but her friend, who was manning the booth, said that some of her yarns are available in the Traverse City area, including the Inish Knits yarn shop in Cedar, Michigan.

There were also a few animal breeders at the festival. High Tower Farm, breeders of rabbits and pigs, had some angora rabbits and showed how they collect the angora fiber for spinning.



I was hoping to be able to buy some angora yarn but she only had fiber available, and since I am a beginning spinner, I passed on it.

One of the most well-known vendors was Briar Rose Fibers. I had always wanted to see what their yarn looks like. Well, the booth was just crawling with people, so it was a little frustrating getting in to see. Admittedly, they had some pretty yarns but I didn't see anything that really captivated me and the yarns were rather pricey so I didn't buy any yarn.



As we were leaving, I lingered a bit at a booth that sold a lot of lavender products. They were lovely, and smelled lovely too, but we were out of time. I'll have to come back next year!