In 2020, in mid-March, when everything was set up, lights and other fixtures were in place, and the event was about two days away, the Canadian government issued a ban on large gatherings. Penelope Fibre Arts, the organizer of the event, suffered a significant loss. They had to give refunds to vendors. The vendors who came from far away by land and air, built shelves to display their goods, put up their goods, decorated, put everything in order, and had to put it all away again and go home. This was a significant loss for them as well. Many people had prepared for this annual event, customers had been looking forward to it, and some had come from far away and were already in their hotels.
Many of the vendors did not ask for refunds from the organizers and asked to put the funds aside for next time, but I think the loss was still considerable. I am so glad they were able to hold the event this year.
This event, which is usually held in mid-March, charges an admission fee and attracts only people who really want to do fibre arts, with few casual visitors. The stalls also display a full range of fibres that are not for the general public and can only be handled by those with the right skills. It is very worth seeing.
Hand-knitted yarns also include many high-end products such as rare fibres. There are plenty to choose from, including those ones to swoon for, beautiful hand-dyed colours and blends with unusual fibres. Each shop is so unique that a two-day tour would not be enough to check everything out.
I volunteered to take part in a hand-spinning demonstration. Of course, I did some shopping. However, I had recently moved and was unpacking and sorting through my yarns and wools, I was surprised to find out how much wool stash I had. No matter how much I sorted out, there is still more. I thought I would have to live for another 100 years or so to be able to use it all up. It's so much I could open a shop!
So I limited myself to buying a little bit from the vendors I knew, to support the local farmers.
The lady in the shop was a former member of our guild, she is a dyer who retired from her day job as a nurse and moved to the countryside with her five sheep at home and now runs a big farm with over 50 sheep.
The top grey one is her baby's, so I bought it to try, for about $20, which is about ¥2,000.
The middle one is a combination of merino sheep's wool and silk dyed together.
The bottom one is from an American Targhee sheep, which is very resilient and fluffy and soft. Its staple is also longer than merino, making it easier to spin. It is my favourite variety at the moment.
I tend to buy blue or green ones, so this time I bought one in somewhat different colours.