A Learning Experience - DFW Fiber Fest 2016 Recap
Do you ever have those days when you feel like you're channeling a frog? Your mind just jumps from one thing to another before all of sudden you're thinking about how much flights would be to travel to New Zealand...
Since that seems to be me today we are going to hop through the weekend I had at the DFW Fiber Fest and hopefully we will make it to the other side of the pond and not end up in the deep dark forest.
Let's begin with just saying that DFWFF is a well oiled machine. I had no problem checking in, buying a last minute ticket to the keynote or getting to the vendors and classes. Parking was free and getting around wasn't too difficult despite the construction and Texas access road system.
And I have to say the classes were hands down the best part of the whole weekend with the vendor hall coming in a close second. I took classes from Lorilee Beltman on vertical color strand and Romi Hill's class on adding lace to your knits. The teachers were amazing and everyone that I spoke to had nothing but nice things to say about the quality and quantity of the teaching. The only "bad" thing I have to say is that they must have gotten a bit confused on the season because they were blasting the air conditioning. I think there was a picture of me with icicles on my nose.
On the other hand the vendor hall was a comfortable and inviting area and I am not just saying that because you were hooked by the yarn that you could see from the entrance - Must Stash Yarns ahem. The real feat was that the committee did a very good job at getting a nice variety of vendors to come sell their wares despite there being two other big yarn events the same weekend - Stitches South and YarnCon.
There was stuff for making yarn, holding your yarn, making yarn smell good, stuff to make yarn into other stuff and lots and lots of yarn. One of my favorite features, however, was a good sized area smack dab in the middle of the vendor hall that you could set up your wheel and spin (yes they had a wheel check room) or sit in a padded chair and knit or crochet. I had a great time sitting there and knitting while I waited in between classes and just for a rest and people watching.
Now I did my fair share of splurging on yummy yarn but there were a few things that would go in my list of "must haves and don't miss outs".
From left to right. Project bags from Diane Couture of Yarn Owl. The fabric is lovely and these bags and needle savers are lined - a must if you want the bag to stand and the needles to not poke through. Diane's prices were very affordable for the size and the quality. Obviously I couldn't pass them up. Second would be Bijou Bason Ranch yarns. Every time I see Mango Salsa all I can do is sing "I See Fire". I wish you could feel the softness of the yak down and bamboo; it is like touching a cloud. By the way mango salsa and I have plans so stay tuned. Last but certainly not least is a skein of Must Stash Yarns OCD Perfect Sock in one of her self striping colorways (this is Tarts & Vicars). It is a little more pricey but with good reason. When this hank is wound into two equal cakes the stripes will match exactly for each sock, thus OCD. I love this idea and will be testing it...remember type A person here.
Well I think we have frog jumped our way across the pond with only getting a bit wet. Check back for more in depth posts about vertical color striping, lace and what I am doing with all that yummy yarn.
Cheers and happy knitting!
The Knitastic Ninja