The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival is one of my favorite events of the year. Do I go to many events in general? No. But it’s still a great one with lots of stuff to look at!
As I got ready for this event, throughout August I slowly worked through cataloging my stash in a new way. Working through this helped to give me perspective on what I have currently, and what I may be looking to add to my stash to work on soon.
I also reviewed the class list when it came live. There were quite a few I was interested in taking! I ended up taking only one, as the class fee’s for these hands-on courses can get on the pricier side especially since I’m working part-time currently, but it was a full day of diving into a brand new craft!
Attending festivals and events for such a solo craft as knitting can be so rewarding. Going to these events can help you make new friends, learn new techniques or hobbies, or find new patterns that you may never be exposed to thanks to the online algorithms!
Prepping for the Event
So you’re going to a crafting festival? Well, you gotta know what you have on hand! First, you want to make sure you have a home for any new acquisitions that come back with you. I, in fact, do not have room for any of the items I purchased this year. 😅 But I digress. It’s nice to know what’s on hand so that you don’t end up buying any doubles. You’ll also avoid picking up any new items for projects you already have the yarn for!
I always try to go to these festivals with an open mind. While I do make a list, with yardage and size requirements, I don’t let myself get too disappointed if I can’t find anything that really hits the mark for me! As much as I want to shop from these amazing vendors as much as I can, you also don’t want to end up with a product that you never end up using. Again… calling myself out here as I’m working to destash some yarn I literally bought at the 2021 festival that just isn’t the vibe anymore.
Here’s a quick example of what I usually include in my loose shopping list. I build this list with Evernote, and on top of syncing between my devices, I’ll also take screenshots of the note on my phone. I’ve gotten burned too many times at Stitches Midwest in a big ass building that blocks my cell service and have been let loose without. my list!
Don’t put your heart and soul into this list! Just like pirate code, it’s more of a guideline than an actual rule. If there is anything that we can’t find on-site, there is a dyer online somewhere (or at your local yarn store) that is perfect for our projects.
Botanical Dyeing Class
This class I took on Friday was an all-day class! When I booked I was honestly so worried about having to stay up all day and pay attention. I was also middle of my first trimester and was extremely fatigued and needed a nap every afternoon, so it makes sense I was worried about this! Although I was being a little ridiculous about this, it was still a very long day of paying attention. Thankfully, it was a lot of let’s tend to the pots, now we wait for 15-30 minutes while that processes.
I had taken a dye class before, but we focused a lot more on acid dyes and speckling I believe. We didn’t do any “dye baths” in that class. I also remember it being at a hotel in Chicago, and literally, the entire conference room was encased in saran wrap. 🤭 Floors, tables, chairs, walls. Literally ever-y-thing. I still have the skein I made in this class! It is not the vibe, haha. It’ll be interesting to see how it looks if I ever do end up knitting it up!
What drew me to botanical dyeing was the sustainable aspect of the craft. We live on five acres, so the idea of being able to forage our own yard for items to produce dye with sounded really freaking cool. I’ve also thought about doing some small batch dyeing in general, but the thought of acid dyes sort of terrifies me. About any dye made from these plants will be able to be washed up fairly easily!
When I left this class I was chatting with a few others about if we’d be doing this soon when we got home. I was on the side of “maybe next year.” And then I immediately left, purchased a few tools, the ingredients I needed for mordanting, and dyed up a few skeins this past weekend.
Shopping Recap
The marketplace was SO BUSY on Saturday! I mildly wish this event was a little later into the season so I could see everyone wearing their knits, but I can deal.
You’ll see up above what I was shopping for this weekend. Because I had already gone through my stash, I know that I already have about 11 big projects planned for myself. Instead, I was determined to shop for yarn for the babe. Spoiler alert… I got zero yarn for the babe. 😂
The yarn from Bumblebee Acres that has the boucle and mohair in it together will for sure be a hat of some sort. I’ve been obsessed with a lot of the designs that Chelsea Yarns puts out with this concept so I can get at least one hat out of that! Otherwise, I have all sock yarn, so maybe it’ll end up being used on the 3D printed sock knitting machine a friend is putting together for me!
I also snagged a pound of wool for spinning during the silent auction as well as the yarn fiber poster. My goal for the wool is to spin it into a fingering weight yarn, enough for potentially a Boxy sweater by Joji Locatelli, and then dye it botanically myself! Big crafting goals with this one, but it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for years!
Cozy Cottage Stay
This was my first Airbnb experience! I’ve designed a few rental properties like this, so it was a joy to finally stay at one for a few nights. The property was a little farther away from the festival grounds I would have liked, but a 30-minute drive was better than an hour and thirty-minute drive after a full day of class!! Thinking about next year – and who knows what that will look like for me as we will have a 9-month-old, but I would probably only spend one day there.
I always confuse this event with Rhinebeck, because the market is only open on Saturday & Sunday for Rhinebeck, but here it was open on Friday too! I took advantage of this and did my barn walk through Friday evening after my class.
Although with an 8-hour class I didn’t really have the brain power to make responsible purchases, it gave me a little head start on my dedicated shopping day on Saturday! Normally whenever I’ve attended the festival on a Sunday it’s been a last-minute decision the morning of. Especially for 2021, there were just some things I was thinking about still that morning that made me make the trip back out. This wasn’t needed this time, as I’d already walked the two barns at least 3 times each, so I knew nothing was calling my name.
I’m lying though. There was an absolutely beautiful drop spindle but since I have a wheel I knew I had zero need for a drop spindle outside of the fact it was absolutely freaking beautiful.
Knitting (or sewing, or dyeing, or spinning) can be such an isolating hobby. That sounds really harsh, but it is, even for an introvert like myself! Attending a knitting or fiber festival can be such a rewarding experience, even if you don’t want to chat with anybody! It’s so great to see what everyone is working on, selling, or learning and to get a boost of creative inspiration for yourself! Do you plan to head to a fiber fest this fall? Let me know in the comments below!
