Weavers & Spinners Guild Open Day

I was able to book a last minute Open day table, as being school holidays I wasn't sure if i had a munchkin-sitter.. & if you know me at all, then there's no need to guess i hit the ground running! Up til 2am the night before last-minute labeling, making a banner & checking inventory will ensure my morning start is a little slow off the mark.. i had the wind beneath my wings for the man & kiddos spent the night away, so starting the day in true bachelor-esque style i devoured a mango weiss bar at the petrol station for breakie! life on the wilde side i tell you! the holidays have been supremely nutso, well more so than usual for me, tho I shall not digress.

I don't often choose to drive the M4 to Sydney-town.. i forgot how freekin fast that thing travels.. I'm over the speed limit & being overtaken.. weesh.. my life in the fastlane has hit adrenalin highs these last 3 weeks.. and NO i'm not going to take you there.. but today i'm heading for the NSW Weavers & Spinners Guild Open day.. so, please join me while i muse.
Fortunately for me Sue (above piccy) was in fine form.. I can always count on her to be early & set up with extra time to spare to help me, who arrives with 10mins to spare, set up my table before the insuge.. we had to precariously bulge out the sides of the rather smallish trestle, and have to say that lady is a Gem... and dyes some glorious colour too.
Happy to report the day was a huge success for Wooldancer.. here's some pix of my table, full of yummy colour & texture. My woolly wares [read: batts] were a hit.. i think i sold out before morning tea *-* thanks too to the lovely Ravelers who popped by, said Hi & danced away with some bootilicious fluff too.. It's great to hook up & put faces to avatars.. you are such a friendly bunch :)

I was nigh cleaned out of the ecospun/recycled denim.. handdyed organic merino tops were a hit.. black diamond was swooned, needlefelting kits were popular, a delish Spun Monkey yarn found a new home & there was interest in the Handwoven Tais from Women's Woven Art in East Timor too. Wow!

Thanks so much to my customers who lit up my day, & to the woolly traders and guild members for making me feel so at home.. The day made my holidays! seriously *-* I would have loved to participate in the demonstrations & managed only to watch in awe out of the corner of my eye whilst attending my table: the feltmaking demos, Phil skirting a fleece, and spinners working their wheel magic.. somehow the hackle & combs, weaving & other demos I missed completely.

The entries were a little light-going this year in the Designer Yarn competition. I tied a piece of string on my pinkie so as not to forget to submit an entry next year.. my fav this year was the yarn spun from vintage Vogue sewing patterns & rice paper serviettes [alas i have no pic]. After casting my vote I discovered that it was spun by Jenny aka Virginia Farm/my spinning teacher/ President of the Guild.. Her yarn came a close 2nd to a sweet 2ply feathered yarn. Here is a tutorial on spinning newspaper if you're keen to prep some paper & give it a go.

I also got to see the Ashford Knitters Loom up close & personal & have to say Spun Out (above) Open Day special was calling my name.. but i somehow left w/out it. hmmm, maybe not such a good move.. but heh.. i dream.

what's that? did i come home with stash? i thought you'd nary ask!
i did however come up trumphs in the bleet department.. these things are never planned, my fiber-frollicks are fulfilled intuitively.. i rarely set out with purchases in mind, but i did somehow end up with a generous flock of goats..

1st up Waratah Yarns & Fibers.. i snatched a lovely handdyed kid mohair top, a couple of gaywool dyes, lime throwsters silk, and was happy to hear & chat about the trials of spinning a supercoil yarn.
Next for missA's 7th birthday pressie was a visti to Glenora for a pair of mushroom needles.. then on to a lovely couple for a handmade weave-it loom.
A natter with Freelance fibers always comes up trumphs.. her minimill always has me drooling, so yup.. i weakend & simply had to have her white mohair/soysilk roving & splendid kid mohair/soysilk/merino batts, & a pair of awsome handmade square bamboo knitting needles and strangely a bag of picked dyed mohair ended up in my possession. Anyone notice the goat fetish yet?.. well, if that wasnt enough, at close of curtain I lamented & took home with a 1.5kg curly kid goatie fleece from a lovely local angora stud. oh.. and when i was supposed to be packing up my table, i was in the boot of Pat's car getting her gorgeous 0.5kg washed & carded chocolate romney.. it appears i just cant stop myself when there's a good lot of fiber at my feet..but had no luck gettin my man a b'day gift.. luckily the tunes store was open & John Butler fell into my bag or he would have been pretty dark with me buying myself birthday gifts on his birthday. heh.

Some of you may notice i took my store down while i went trading, so wink wink nudge nudge.. it's back up now, until this friday afternoon when i pack up & do it all again. sigh. i think i could get used to the travelling nomad market lifestyle *-*