Did you know there are several upcoming fiber-related events in the greater Seattle area?
First off is everyone’s perennial favorite, the Puyallup Fair. In the upstairs crafts pavilion you’ll find everything from knitted items to story quilts, with daily demonstrations of different fiber crafts. The fair continues through September 23.
If you fancy a road trip next weekend, there’s a fall fiber sale at Paradise Found farm on Whidbey Island. The Clinton-area farm will have for sale products ranging from processed and raw fiber to finished garments. You’ll also be able to visit with their alpacas and watch demonstrations all day. For more information, check out their website.
Closer to home, Ballard’s Nordic Heritage Museum will host an outstanding group of internationally known knitting and design instructors at its Nordic Knitting Conference October 5 to 7. The theme for this year’s conference is Nordic Mittens, and all the half-day and full-day courses will focus on different techniques and styles of mittens, from learning to create Norwegian, chevron, and two-thumbed mittens to Sami mittens from northern Finland, Scandinavian church gloves, handspun mittens and wrist warmers, and even to mittens based on textile patterns from Icelandic manuscripts from as early as 1700. Several classes are already sold out, but you can find further information on their website. And looking ahead, Knit Fit is scheduled for November 2 to 4 at the Ballard Community Center. This brand-new knitting festival will feature classes, talks, book-signings, a marketplace (the Fiber Gallery will be there!) and even a little yarn-bombing fun.