I couldn't resist some lovely Fleece Artist yarns which were a steal at $11.00 for 100 grams of lovely coloured Merino 2/6 sock yarn - one in green tones and one in brown/pink tones, which will look lovely on my feet.
I couldn't spend much more though because I needed to save some money for the Knit Out on Sunday, or maybe just Saturday when I was free. Holli and I enjoyed poking around though because I was looking for ideas for a sweater I'm planning to knit once the one on the needles is done. I found some good candidates, so I'll be looking again in Vancouver when I'm ready.
On Saturday I had some time to spend before I met up with a couple of knitting folks from the GLBT knitting list, so I poked around on Government Street where I saw this shop.
Sweaters by First Nations Canadians have been part of the knitting heritage of BC for a long time.
Finally the hour came and I walked into the QV Cafe and immediately spotted Chris. No, I'd never met him before, but the yarn on the table was a big clue, as was his big smile in greeting. Chris and his partner Jeff are travelling in the Pacific Northwest and we've been planning this meetup since I've known about his plans. It was great to finally meet him and a short while later my pleasure was doubled when Allie arrived with her partner Haley. Allie lives in Victoria, while Chris travelled all the way from Vermont.
(Back: Chris, Jeff. Front: Haley, Allie)
We had a great visit - we talked knitting, we knit a few stitches and Chris vamped with my Hanging Garden Stole which I had brought to show off.
Of course we had to head to Beehive again so that Chris and Allie could check out the sales. Allie got some lovely yarns, Chris added to his collection and I bought two more skeins of yarn, Hand Maiden Casbah - which I have knit with before and at the time swore I would never knit with anything less! I am so looking forward to new socks with these two yarns - they are so delicious on the needles and underfoot.
After our SEXpedition, Chris and Jeff insisted that we visit Butchart Gardens together. It's a gorgeous place, an old quarry that has been transformed into a Garden of Eden starting about 100 years ago. Chris and Jeff were very impressive with their knowledge of the plants we saw in the garden - they have an extensive garden back in Vermont.
Saturday night saw Holli and I attending the special presentation by Sivia Harding, the special guest of the Fibre Fest. Sivia talked about her journey from artist in oils to artist in yarn.
What's amazing is that Sivia has only been knitting eight years. When one sees her work, it's almost impossible to believe that eight years ago she borrowed a video from the Vancouver Public Library and taught herself how to knit. That simple act must have been an amazing cartharsis, to produce the beautiful work she is creating today.
For the Fibre Fest, Sivia was asked to create a special piece - which she had unveiled the night before at a dinner and fashion show. The work is exquisite, and the piece on display was raffled off. Someone is a very lucky person. Sivia's shawl is called Harbour Lights and evokes images of lighthouses and ocean spray.
Of course there was an audience of knitters in attendance. Here's a few of the folk who travelled from Vancouver to see the show.
Sunday morning dawned bright and early. My stepdaughter Holli Yeoh had a booth at the Knit Out in Saxe Point Park, so we had to get out to the site to set up her new tent. We did a great job, but it took a lot of work to get the booth ready for the first customer. We were still organizing kits when they arrived. There was a good number of booths at the Knit Out, with lots of opportunity to buy yarns, admire knitting and visit with the folk who came to mingle and buy. I had some great conversations and enjoyed meeting lots of fibre fixated people.
I'd spent money on Friday and Saturday, so I was a little reluctant to spend even more, but I found some great yarn by Rabbitch of Rabbitworks
which I couldn't leave behind. After all, any yarn named Coffee Bean must have been dyed especially for me.
One yarn which I left at the Knit Out, but which I coveted greatly, was a hank of the most beautiful, natural silver grey, yak and silk blend, lace-weight yarn. I couldn't convince myself that it should be in my stash without an idea to use it, but now of course, I rue the fact that I left it behind. But I know where the vendor lives, and since it's very near where my brother lives in Kamloops, I have the feeling that the next time I visit him, I will be doing a little shopping.
Of course no Fibre Fest could be complete without a little fibre on the hoof. I wish I'd been fast enough to take a picture of the sheep we saw cropping a lawn on our way back from Butchart Gardens. But at least someone knew that we needed to see fibre in its most natural state so they brought a couple of lovely, graceful, miniature llamas to hang out with us for awhile.
2 comments:
hi nigel! it was great meeting you, and briefly meeting holli! loved the write up. (you could have cropped my pic a bit--boy do i look fat in that one from the gardens!)
keep in touch! see you in vancouver, bc in a couple...
xoxo chris (and jeff)
dude, it's time for another post! ; )
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