I was lucky enough this year go tot Madrona Fiber Arts Festival this year and stay at the Hotel Madrona where the event was being held at in Tacoma, Washington. It was the 2nd year I was able to go and it is a  really great festival. It has a nice intimacy to it  and there is a wide variety of fiber enthusiasts.

It has a marketplace which is free to the public and has a lot of open spaces to sit and knit. Sitting and knitting was the main reason I went. It was great to see friends who were local and had travelled to the event.  Many people attend for the classes but many come to shop and hang out as well.  It was a lovely time, and a different vibe then other fiber festivals I have attended. VK Live and Stitches seem to be focused on classes and shopping, while this really has a more of a feeling of a fiber community. People who attend have a lot of knowledge about fiber, many who attend are skilled spinners, knitters, and weavers, instructors and authors.

In this regard I kind of feel it is the equivalent to walking around in NYC see someone famous, not one cares, everyone is here to see and catch up with each other and take classes and talk about their love of all things fiber.

I ended up not getting any yarn(See! look at me go on my yarn diet!), but did pick up a Joco cup from Churchmouse Yarns and Teas (seriously loving it) and a pattern from Catherine Lowe ( I got to try on garments from her booth for the 2nd year in a row) Her stuff is oh so nice. Next year I will be picking up a sweater’s worth of her beautiful and refined yarns.

and…….

 

Oh yeah, I decided to give myself permission and knit a project out of my queue for Madrona. I finished it up a couple days later (a lot of talking and catching up) but I did manage to take a couple pictures of my new Oonski hat.