My attendance at the Fiber in the Boro fiber festival was entirely unplanned, but oh so worth it!
I’d entirely forgotten that Fiber in the Boro was happening until I saw a post mentioning that this would be the last year the festival would be held. So, I texted my mom quick like a bunny to see if she minded dropping me off at the Fest while she continued on her dog run (she transports rescue dogs) and guess what? She said yes! Whoo boo!
The first place I stopped was the Traveling Yarn Yogi, an older short bus that had been renovated into a mobile yarn shop. They had SO much yarn inside the little bus and I was sorely tempted to purchase something, but I haven’t been able to knit in months and knew the yarn would just languish on my shelves for ages. So, instead, I purchased an adorable pin replica of “Purl” the yarn bus!
Then it was time for lunch, as I hadn’t eaten any breakfast and was famished. Luckily for me, the Smokin’ Buttz food truck was parked near the yarn bus, so I got a super tasty pulled pork sandwich with a side of coleslaw.
And then I was ready to check out the actual fiber fest…
After wandering through the two large rooms filled with vendors of all types, I stopped at Smaywork Design’s booth to watch Cathy spinning some art yarn.
I had made a promise with myself to NOT get into spinning yarn, because as a knitter/crocheter I have amassed a rather large collection of yarns that are just sitting, waiting to be used in a project. And I just knew that if I picked up spinning too, then it would only be more stuff to ‘collect.’
But, since my arm was injured on the job, I haven’t been able to knit or crochet or do much of anything fiber-related and it has been slowly eating away at me that I can no longer participate in something I find so much joy and relaxation in.
So, there I was, mesmerized by Cathy’s seemingly effortless spinning with a drop spindle. She could tell I was interested and was more than happy to explain what she was doing and how easy it was to pick up… even with a brace on my dominant hand, I was able to spin the drop spindle and start spinning!
I mentioned my injury and that I really wished there was a way I could do something fiber-related and Cathy told me that she had a drop spindle she’d be willing to sell me… and the rest, as they say, is history.
My first drop spindle was just $15 and Cathy even through in some of the gorgeous wool she was using for me to practice with… and here are the results:
From the Smaywork Design’s booth, I wandered around just kind of ‘window shopping’ and watching various vendors plying (lol, fiber pun) their trade. I stopped and talked with the lovely ladies of Brick House Fiber Arts and discovered that they hand craft hexagonal knitting needles from, get this, USA sourced materials!!!
I chose to go ahead and get one of their 42” size 7 circular needles, in the hope that I get to use them as soon as my arm is recovered, and look forward to giving them loads more of my business in the future.
If you are looking for a high-quality, American made knitting needle, please check out Brick House Fiber Arts!
After that, I wandered over to the neighboring booths of Deertrace Farm (of Fayetteville, TN) and Arcadia Farm of Seymour (of Seymour, TN) and purchased some wool from each.
I picked up approx. 3 grams of black, baby alpaca wool from Deertrace Farm without realizing how much or little yarn I would get from that amount of wool and was pleasantly surprised!
At Arcadia Farm of Seymour I picked up a mixed wool from two of their sheep as well as some unscented sheep’s milk soap and am really excited to try out both!
Fiber in the Boro was officially over at 4 p.m., but I still had a little while to wait before my Mom would be back to pick me up, so I spent the time sitting out front, practicing on my new drop spindle. We got dinner at McNamara’s Irish Pub in Nashville and headed home.
It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday and I can only hope that this particular fiber festival finds a way to continue on in the future, because it was quite possibly the warmest welcome I have ever received when picking up a new hobby.
Meandering Michelle 