TWIST Fiber Festival

Last Friday Terry and I drove to the Quebec town of Saint-Andre-Avellin, about an hour east of Ottawa, for their annual  "fiber festival" that draws weavers, knitters and spinners from all over North America.

My mother, who taught weaving and spinning in her younger years, would have been in her element.

There were workshops in yarn dyeing (something my mother also did).

For serious yarn-people, the festival provides a chance to network.

One vendor was selling whole fleeces of sheep wool - unwashed and uncarded (or untangled) - by the pound.

There was also wool that had been washed and carded  - and either dyed or not -  ready to spin into fine yarn for weaving or thicker yarn for knitting or crocheting.

Seeing this weaving loom brought back memories of the large loom my mother kept in her back porch in her working years.

For me it was interesting to see how this "dying" art of yarn dyeing and spinning is still very much alive, enjoyed by women (and men) of all ages.

Terry was amazed by the wide variety vendors there - all in some way connected to crafts that employ wool fibers.