08 January 2012

Winter Woolfest 2012

On Saturday I was able to stop by the Winter Woolfest 2012 in Wamego, Kansas.  It was definitely worth the two and a half hour drive up there because there was a great turnout!  I was especially surprised by how many vendors there were, considering Kansas does not produce a whole lot of fiber.

The event was hosted at the Columbian Theatre on main street Wamego

right next to The Wicked Stitch, a wonderful LYS that actually stocks spinning wheels!

Not only was the festival filled with local fiber vendors and fiber enthusiasts, but they even had a variety of fantastic classes that were offered for free!  I had planned on attending the one on speed knitting, but my family wanted to explore Wamego and I'm planning on going to squam this summer where Stephanie Pearl-McPhee will actually be teaching the method.

I did however buy a boatload of fiber before I left:

This is 100% undyed alpaca from the super nice people of Alpacas at Wildcat Hollow.  Lisa gave me some of this fiber for my birthday and I loved spinning it so much that I had to buy more.

Some pretty 100% merino wool (yes I bought it just for the colors, just merino is not my favorite to spin with) that was actually not local. --> Thank you to Sara for identifying this as fiber from Frabjous Fibers!

Lastly, 100% mohair from Little Angora House on the Prairie.  This was by far my best buy, not only was it at an amazing price, but the color and the quality is wonderful.  I can hardly wait until I can start spinning it up.

Also, as tempting as it was, we refrained from following the yellow brick road.

8 comments:

  1. Beautiful fiber! Have fun at squam, can't wait to hear about yoru experiences.

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  2. My aunt knows the alpaca lady personally and I agree, I love her fiber! The skein I spun up is so soft and amazing. I'm happy you enjoyed yourself so much! Did you take any of the classes at all?

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  3. and next time you need to follow the yellow brick road, there is an amazing little cafe/bakery at the end!

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  4. Looks like you had a great time! Gorgeous fiber! I'm a huge Frabjous Fiber fan, myself. :) And I look forward to reading all about squam in the summer!

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  5. I didn't end up taking any of the classes, they didn't really have a very comfortable teaching space set up and my family was ready to get out of there.

    Aw man! Now I wish I had followed the yellow brick road!

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  6. Ahh, yes, yellow brick roads probably always lead to something not to be missed! I love everything you chose ... wonderful colors!

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  7. There is no way I could have resisted seeing what was along the yellow brick road. And every chance I would have hidden my disappointment when it turned out to be something really mundane.

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  8. OOOOOoooo. That's a great haul! I'm jealous of your upcoming trip to SQAUM!

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