Several months ago news came out that Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival was going to have a sister festival in Silverton, Oregon called Knot Another Fiber Festival. As you might imagine, Alexis and I of course signed up for it immediately because how can you say no to being surrounded by inspiring and amazing individuals that all come together to celebrate a shared love- the fiber arts.
The drive was beautiful and full of much needed catching up, because even though I see Alexis frequently there's something about being in a car for a long drive that gets the stories going. Before we knew it though, we arrived in charming and quaint Silverton. The town itself caresses a river and the local shops are filled with antiques, the works of magnificent local artists, and some spectacular food and drinks.
We even were able to enjoy some perfectly lovely lemon and lavender crêpes at a fun little place called Live Local Marketplace & Café, and I had the best caprese salad of my life at 3 Ten Water Restaurant.
To make us fall even more in love with Silverton, Alexis booked us a beautiful Victorian home to stay in for the weekend of the festival. This charming place was guarded by this noble feline that demanded pets for safe passing upon arrival. We happily obliged the protector of the grounds and came to enjoy their presence.
Making ourselves comfy in our weekend abode, we shared some rosé and did our best to get well rested as we looked forward to what was gearing up to be a fabulous and eventful weekend.
To start the festival off right we took another class with the great and mighty Stephanie Pearl McPhee. In this class we took a look at the history of knitting, timed ourselves to see how many stitches a minute we averaged, and approached different perspectives and tactics to enhance our speed and efficiency.
One of the many things that I was taught in this class was lever knitting. If you're not familiar with what that is, I'll explain to the best of my ability and then hope you realize that it might be best suited to wander over to youtube for a spell. By putting a long knitting needle under your arm or in specially designed belt, you can have one hand holding a knitting needle and the other hand wrapping yarn (similar to throwing style) as the palm of that same hand moves the armpit needle where it needs to go. It looks a tad ridiculous at first but is amazingly fast once you get the hang of it. I approached the knitting style at first as being something I would never use and have entirely changed my mind. If you're looking to switch things up and eventually knit things faster, this is something worth checking out.
It also doesn't hurt that Stephanie Pearl McPhee is hilarious and made it fun rather frustrating. If you get the chance to read one of her books or take one of her classes, I highly recommend it.
After the class Alexis and I strolled around the gardens. Oh, did I forget to mention? Knot Another Fiber Festival was hosted at the Oregon Garden in Silverton, so when we weren't puttering around downtown or taking classes we were able to walk through these majestic landscapes filled with happy and abundant plant life.
Including a pond that had enough frogs in it to make my heart permanently filled with joy. Can you find the frog in this picture?
Once we got closer to the time of the marketplace VIP preview opening we wandered over to the entry and chatted with some other crafters about our hopes and excitement of the fabulous things up for sale. It was everything we hoped and more. The room was filled with indie dyers, glorious fiber and yarn, the exact fiber I was looking for from Homestead Hobbyist, a booth of Plum Deluxe Teas, familiar faces from Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival, and more. To top it off Alexis and I got endless compliments on our Alyeska sweaters (which we both finished just in time for this festival). It was perfect and enough of a full day that when we both got home we almost immediately had to go straight to bed.
On Saturday Alexis had a spinning class with Judith MacKenzie, and I decided to take that time to walk around the gardens more. It was a nice overcast day so I didn't have to fear about bursting into flames with my paper-white skin, and I used the opportunity to snag all these photos for the blog and enjoy the fresh air that feels so rare in the city. By the time I walked back to where Alexis was taking her class I still had about an hour so I sat around a fireplace in the lodge with a group of knitters and weavers talking about craft, travel, and the festi
Once Alexis finished her class we went back to the house to get fancy for the Keynote Banquet where Clara Parkes would be the speaker.
Before I talk about the banquet I need to tell you the story of this blouse. On Alexis' and my walk around downtown SIlverton we found a lovely vintage store called the Silverton Antique Mall. While there I found the lovely blouse you see below and was taken with it immediately. It was under $10 dollars and had that old rustic feel that I want more of in my wardrobe. Alexis agreed that it was a lovely and well-kept antique piece. When we got home I was checking to see if there was a tag for fiber content, and low and behold I come across a surprisingly new-age tag. (50/50 of cotton and nylon incase you were wondering) and also not a vintage piece at all. It was from Forever 21. It was decided they must be hiding all of their good stuff in a room that we don't have the secret password for.
Now to the banquet.
The night was filled with humour and love as people talked about their passions, shared their adoration for the festival, and appreciated the work others have put in to this wonderful world of fiber arts. I met some people I hope to become good friends with, and soaked up the immense joy of being a part of such a lovely community.
Sunday, the final day of the Festival I had the immense honour of taking the wet felted scarf class taught by Allison Harding.
I know I'm often trying to learn new crafts, but this is one that really has taken a hold in my heart. Felting takes what I love about drawing and knitting/weaving and puts it into one immensely fun art form. Allison was helpful, hands-on, and encouraging as everyone in the room made very different, and yet uniquely beautiful scarves from the fiber they chose. It was delightful to see how different of directions everyone went and yet all the scarves were truly beautiful.
It was definitely not a small amount of work to get the scarves to felt and make sure they looked good, but it was fun and is quickly becoming something I plan to do in the future.
My scarf turned out even better than I had imagined. The fibers I chose create a nice haunting glow without being too dark or overstated. I love the fact that I actually want to wear this rather than my first attempt at this art being something that was just a "trial and error". Felting lends itself to a lot of creative freedom, which as you might have gathered from this blog, is my absolute cup of tea.
The festival feels like a huge success on so many levels. Everything from making new friends to learning new skills, and overall bringing back a lot of happiness I didn't realize I was missing in my life lately. If you love the arts and get the chance, fiber festivals can bring your whole world up to new levels.
Stay sweet, stay crafty, and stay tuned.