A Kootenay Fibre Arts Festival on Sunday promises to fuel the creative urges of those who love working with textures and colour.
Organizer Carmen Ditzler says 10 stations will be set up in Wynndel Hall to demonstrate fibre arts that include knitting, spinning on a wheel, drop spindle spinning, wet felting, needle felting, printing on cloth, indigo dyeing, Saori-style weaving, fleece washing and play with paper pulp.
“Our main goal is to create a wider community for people to get together,” Ditzler said on Friday. “We share a common interest.”
A former member of the Sheep Creek Weavers in Millarville AB, Ditzler said she was drawn into the world of fibre arts through her knitting hobby.
“I call knitting the gateway drug to fibre arts,” she laughed. “Fibre creates infinite possibilities.”
Each of the demonstration stations will have a teacher/guide as well as materials “to use and play with,” she said. “Maybe you will discover a new passion or a new combination of materials for your fibre arts realm.”
One of the highlights, she promises, will be an “epic failure show and tell” in which crafters will share unintended experiences.
“Not as much learning happens when just the best results are shown!” Ditzler said.
The festival will also feature a “Stash Buster” in which participants can trade, buy, sell and give away materials, equipment and books.
“Enable someone’s new habit and feed your own,” she said.
Fourteen vendors have signed on for the event and they will be displaying a dazzling array of fibre works and supplies.
A $20 registration fee offers local artisans a full day of fun and learning on Sunday, April 10, 10-4 p.m. at Wynndel Hall.
“I’m hoping that I will have a parking problem in Wynndel,” Ditzler said, “and that this leads to an even larger event in the future.”
More information about this first-time event can be found at kootenayfibrefest.com.
