Peterborough Fiber festival 2024
It is springtime in Ottawa, and the trees are migrating in my driveway. So now is the time to watch for fibre festival announcements!
1) Signs the migration has started by the trail of leaf debris and the new summer location of the portable forest (in front of the kitchen window). I just wanted to show you that spring has finally sprung!
Today I want to invite you to join us on a trip to Peterborough Fibre Arts Festival & Sale 2024. So set your alarm clock for 5 am and I will meet you in the driveway at 6 am!
2) 6 am, a light drizzle, but the new grass seed should be likening this weather. The sun is just starting to arrive. (Kea hatchback, with new tiers and a few other repairs)
I have an audiobook ready to go, and a heavily caffeinated Mountain Dew drink, Glenn brought his book (and a spare). We will pick up bagels with cream cheese on the way! We are driving west across the Canadian Shield, old rocks abused by glaciers, lots of trees and the occasional lake and streams. This time of year has those amazing colours, of ambers, rusts, browns and hints of green to come. Unfortunately, the rain is dulling them somewhat. However, I am sure you will enjoy the scenery anyway.
3.1 3.2) Rocks and trees of the Canadian Shield
There are sections of the trip where you can see beaver ponds, lodges and dams, but let’s skip ahead so you don’t have to enjoy the full 3.5 hour drive of scenery.
We arrived at the sports centre where the sale was taking place around 9:30 am. They were just finishing up the setup and would be opening shortly (10 am)
4) Spring Daffodils
Peterborough is always ahead of us in weather and is enjoying spring flowers, here is a lovely clump of Daffodils about to open, and there was a smaller clump in full bloom.
5) admission desk sign for Fiber festival
While I waited to go in, (Glenn read) I spotted this vendor in an asymmetrical nuno felted vest and was sure to get a shot.
6)Nuno felt asymmetrical vest
At 10 o’clock they let the hordes in!
As we waited we could see vendors photographing something just inside, to the right of the doors
7) The Kawartha Hooking Guild had a display and demo just as you entered.
Ah, that explains that mystery!
The space is in a large gym within the sports centre. The booths are arranged around the edges of the gym as well as a centre double row of booths with a wide aisle between them. I am looking for the Black Lamb and Olive Sparrow in a quest for two types of felt backgrounds. But let’s stop a moment at the booth next to the rug hookers.
As the Wheel Turns:
8) This booth has refurbished secondhand wheels and spinning accessories
You may see a couple of the smaller items that followed me home. She had a Lendrum wheel, which we both thought would be gone by the time I made it around the show, it took a little longer but it sold. She also had a woolly winder for a Lendrum but it sold separately.
Let me pull you away from the wheels, the next booth was 3 Dogsknits and they had yarn and braids of fibre.
9) shopping at 3 Dog Knits booth, love the skirt
Wondering on, Lang Pioneer Village had a booth. They also have a Jacquard loom, there was a sample on their table as well as the fabric for the purse was woven on their loom.
10.1-10.2) Lang Pioneer Village Museum display and banner.
11) The next booth is Irish Hill Shop and they had felt.
12) I think this is Etho Makes? Very pretty yarn but I was looking for fiber.
13) Yarnsomiacs had a double booth, with fiber, a picker for sale, batts and yarn.
Next was the Black Lamb, which I was looking for some of her felt ground that I have used for name tags. I got very distracted and was sure I had taken more photos of the booth but seem to have bought needles, a book on felt and the felt I actually was looking for.
14) Black Lamb had a double booth, lots of colourful dyed fibre, most was merino, in both Superwash (dose not wet felt) and regular merino. I also saw cashmere, tussah silk and a lot of felting needles. If you look back at one of my trips to Twist you will see more of the selection!
The next was also a double booth, Kim at Designs. It was full of sewing/hand stitching supplies. It was full of people most of the time I was there. If you can make it through the throng, you can pick up some cool sewing items!
15) Slow stitching, embroidery, quilting, fine needles, scissors and other hand sewing tools in Kim at Designs booth.
If I can pull you away, the next booth was Wool for Ewe.
16) Felting backgrounds, yarn, batts of fibre, felting tools, Kumohimo and Felting kits at Wool 4 Ewe
I think the next booth was called the Living Canvas. It had hand dyed scarves and scarf hardware. It took a while before I could get a shot of it!
17.1-17.2) The Living Canvas Scarves
There should have been a rug hooking booth next, but I thot it was further down, and I can’t find a shot of that one either, I was obviously distracted.
18) Santosha Fibreworks and Farm was a double booth filled with Ashford spinning and felting projects, their own milled felt, various breeds of fibre in natural or dyed,
19) Next was a booth using rescued wood, Turned not Burned. There were lots of spinning, weaving and sewing tools
20) The Artisans Center is a group space with weaving, woodworking, quilting and felting on display.
Now that we are almost all the way around the outside I think you should take a look at this next booth and maybe treat yourself.
21) Cakes, Cookies, and other tasty treats at the Guild Bake Table.
If you have selected a treat, let’s take a quick look at the Guild Demo area.
22) Peterborough Guild Demo area.
I am sure by this point, you are a bit overwhelmed and would probably like to eat your treats? With good planning, there is a seating area up by the windows! You can join Glenn (who was being good and avoided the cake) as he holds my purchases and starts his second book.
23) The Husband Resting Spot by the window and the beginnings of my purchases
Just next to the rest-full-chairs was the demo area we just looked at.
24) The very nice spinner who was doing a fabulous cross body style of long draw showed off her loot to us, she intends to blend the fibre into batts on a drum carder.
It must be old age, or getting up at 5 am yesterday, I think I should leave you resting here until next week, there are still the inner booths and the guild display to wander through. (There will be felt!) so if you don’t mind, I will be back shortly to show you a bit more then we can drive back to Ottawa and see if it has stopped raining!
22 thoughts on “Peterborough Fiber festival 2024”
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Wow what a feast….so much variety on offer. I’d have to be handcuffed behind my back not to walk out with my arms overflowing with goodies….with no where to put them when I got home!
Looking forward to seeing the remaining booths.
Me too Antje. Although I know I shouldn’t my self discipline isn’t strong enough if I visit such a show.
Ann
this is usualy the first large fiber festival of the year, and even though its a long drive 3.5 hours each way, its been worth the tip! i wish i had bot a bit more fiber and i did seriousely consider the Woolie winder for my folding Lendrum. i would have grabed it if it had fit my lendrum Rook wheel!!
Thank you Jan for letting us rest. The journey was fun – whenever you mention a destination I have to get Mr Google to show it to me – I hadn’t realised how many UK place names you have over there too.
I’m not surprised you planned to get there at opening time, so much to see and only so many hours available to do so.
I think your Glenn is a saint. It’s good to see him looking happy and well now.
Looking forward to the rest of the Show.
Ann
Thanks Ann, i will have to ask mr Google to make me a map to include on the next part of the post! you can see the scope of the journy! but as you can see it was worth the drive. i will show you my loot, i was trying to be frugal!
Is Peterborough in Canada?
It is, along with Perth, Cornwall ( also very close to Jan and I) and a host of others.
Yes its about 3.5 hours west of ottawa. its an intersting area of Ontario, haveing post glacial fetures, there are Drumlands, as well as lots of lake near by. i think there are even eskers, which are created by water flowing under a glacer.
i use to be active in an old online weavers guild. it was international, and we had postings about events all over the planet. the Purth weavers guild got me a cuple times with anouncements of exciting meeting happeing. “Purth” is an hour west down highway 7 from where i live in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. it would take me a while before i would catch on that, no, purth didnt have a new guild (i know there are a number of weavers in the area so its quite resonable to think thay would start a fabulous guild). it was the “Purth” Austrailia!!! Again having fabulous topics for there meetings and i was not going to get there in an hours travel!!!!
i will try to remember to add more info so i dont dash anyones hopes that it is a town near them, i remember my disapointment with the rong Purth!
Now that I see there was an new felt supplier I wish I had gone, but I had to do my homework the the felt spiral class. I will be picking your brain later today.
it was not quite what i was looking for in colour but there are 2 options or i could just full an old blanket to make name tages from.
Our purses would have been empty before we’d finished going around – what a fibre feast! Loved looking at the photos, thank you 🙂 The dog knits skirt and felt vest are wonderful.
Yes i was very impressed with so much felting avalible as well as suplys that would get felters excited. there were even 2 booths with needles!!! but im up to 9 boxes of my own, so i only bot more spirals.
if you were at the Almont fiberfest in september, you could probubly get one of those cool skerts too! (just in case you will be in the area!!!)
Looks like another wonderful show. It would be hard to resist all that fibery goodness. I look forward to seeing the rest of the visit 🙂
thanks Ruth, yes i lightened my wallet and wondered home with more tools and some fiber! i will show you shortly!
Goodness me, I could feel my hands wanting to reach out and touch all the fibre lovelies! I’m glad the Lendrum and the WooLee winder sold, I have both and absolutely LOVE them.
Thanks for sharing, Jan! Looking forward to seeing the rest soon 🙂
Vertual shopping is less wallet emptying than in person! and i am sure both the lendrum and the woolee winder will both be loved!
i hope you will enjoy the vertual shopping for the rest of the show. if you want to track anything down i think i have the contacts for most of the booths……. but that would lighten the wallet!
I loved reading your post Jan, and looking at all your photos. What a wonderful festival.
There is a festival at the end of April close to me, and I think I will go. It is always something that I wanted to attend, just reading your post is encouraging me to do the long drive!
I am glad you are enjoying the posts!
Yes LONG drives are all about your perspective and where you live. frends in Toronto will suggest i come down for a vist becouse its only a 5 hour drive, but if i suggest they should come up (we are farther north and east) to Ottawa, they complain “its a 5 hour drive!” and they will have to stop in Kingston over night before driving the last 2 hours!
i suspect that Egnland, Scotland, Whale and Irerland all being closer together the effect is ampilied.
if you bring a good audio book to lsiten to, you will drive futher without noticing the time. or take a camera and look for seanic insperational photograpy spots (you have to leave a bit urly if you are stoping for photos), or note good spots on the way there and stop on the way back. (i have watch a lot of pick a house programs from England, there is some gorgous senory always!!)
i hope you will take your camera and take pictures of the show to show us too!!
Looks like a fantastic festival!
It was fun and worth the long drive. the senory on the drive is much better when its not overcast and raining! at least there wasnt snow!!! if you are ever in the area definatly this is worth checking out!
Wow, you are so lucky to have this show. It was certainly worth the drive. I just drove for 4 hours here in the UK to attend a felt handbag making workshop although luckily I have nearer felt making workshops. Going to exhibitions is so inspiring isn’t it! I can’t wait to see the next instalment.