It has been awhile since my last post, mostly because of this little dudette:
Savvy viewers will recognize that Clara dress (Rav here) from before the holidays… Well, today, I packed up the family and headed to Cypress, Texas (a suburb of Houston) for the third annual Houston Fiber Fest.
I’m not going to lie, I immediately assumed this show was going to be a small potatoes. Compared to the Godzilla-sized Rhinebeck, HFF is hosted in a smaller function room of a venue; it looked pretty anemic in the photos I’d seen. I hadn’t heard much positive talk in the way of local knitters I know (no one has been, apparently), but I feel like, if we want a fiber show here, we need to show up and support it. Houston has a massive quilt show, so I know the crafters are here AND I know we can support this kind of event.
I didn’t take any photos of the actual show – I spent most of my time wrangling kids and trying to shop – but I was impressed with a few things. The vendors and booths were super professional. Each vendor was set up like any booth at a national fiber show. There were a variety of yarn weights, fiber contents, and colors. Independent dyers and yarn stores were represented. There were vendors for project bags and notions in addition to yarn. There was even a booth for spinning/fiber!
Everyone was nice and wonderful to talk to. I ended up getting a few things:
That project bag is my big score of the day. It’s a Diana Couture Serena knitting bag, and I super love it. It’s well made, has a shoulder/arm strap, interior pockets, and an interesting flap/snap closure that allows the yarn to feed out of the bag if desired. A+ for plane rides, where I generally end up chasing the yarn ball under my seat. It stands up by itself and is a cute combo of fabrics. Thanks for a great bag, Diana. You freaking rock.
Another interesting purchase came via Park Avenue Yarns, a “local” yarn shop down in League City, Texas, which is about 45 mins away from me.
The concept here is “maker pride”… Showing off your love of crafting, etc. I love this little kit, which comes with a drawstring bag and two patches (I got two more while I was there). It reminds me of my Girl Scout days, when we’d earn badges for various skills. I can’t wait to see them extend this line. How cool would it be to earn a badge for doing 17 in ’17, or being part of a knit-a-long, or whatever? I love it. Someone stop me from making a sash right now. Actually, I’ll probably end up putting these on an army medic bag I often use.
Aaaand the yarns. Inner Loop Dyeworks is a local indie (and former roommate!) who names her bases after the various neighborhoods in Houston. The two I got, “Ballet Slippers” and “Charcoal,” are DK sparkle bases (Superwash/nylon blend), and I plan to use them to make a sweater for Joey for Rhinebeck. Good luck picking a size, me.
The middle is another local indie (and above LYS owner), Olive Yarn Dye Co.’s Bella Worsted in “Black Cherry”. I liked the unusual colorway (and speckles!), so these will be some kind of hat for me at some point.
The final is Hedgehog Fibers Merino DK in “Genie”, which was chosen by Dougie for a hat. I’m thinking maybe a ludicrously long, triangular elf-like hat out of this stuff. My mom made a few for me growing up, so I kind of think I owe it to him to make it really ridiculous.
I need to get cracking. Between three sweaters and maybe a hat, I have a ton of Rhinebeck knitting to get done this summer!