On April 23, we decided to take a day trip to one of our favorite places in the #Smokies: Townsend! While any day in the #peacefulsideofthesmokies is a good day, this day was especially wonderful because it was the Great Smoky Mountains Fiber Fair!
I have been wanting to go to a fiber fair for a few years now, because a whole day of fiber just sounds like fun. They are a great way to meet and engage with the fiber arts community, learn about different types of fibers and animals, and see all the beautiful things people are making!
We learned a lot about alpacas from Bespoke Fiber Creations. Many thanks to them for answering all of our questions and teaching us so much about this wonderful animal! I think we were ready to start an alpaca farm after visiting with these folks!
I was really excited to see the sheep shearing demonstration! All We Like Sheep Farm from Knoxville brought 3 ewes and were shearing throughout the day.
They showed us the traditional method of shearing - with actual shears. It is quite an art form to shear the fleece correctly! I admire this young man's talent and care so much!
(P.S. This in no way hurts the sheep! She was right as rain!)
I also learned about a new type of loom, called a Peg Loom, which can be used to create rugs. I have never seen this type of loom before...but all my relatives might be getting handwoven rugs for Christmas now.
We had such a great day, learned a lot about sheep, alpaca, different sorts of weaving, saw all sorts of wonderful yarns and creations, and came away with some great ideas (and fibers) to inspire us for the new season!
Many thanks to the Great Smoky Mountain Heritage Center for hosting such a wonderful event and to all of the vendors who came and shared their time, talents, and love for fibers!
Comments