I’ve just returned from Olds, Alberta, where the annual Olds College Fibre Week is currently taking place. I was only there for the one day but I saw and heard plenty to inspire me for a whole summer of knitting and spinning.

I attended a full day workshop on Colour Blending. We experimented with wool, mohair, alpaca, silk and nylon fibres, in every colour imaginable. The yarn sampler in the picture is the fruit of my labours, on the carders and my spinning wheel, for the day. This was a wonderful chance to experiment. When else do you have every colour of the spectrum at your fingertips to play with? This sampler will be a valuable tool for my future dyeing and blending endeavors.

A good portion of the afternoon was spent in teams of 4 participants. Our mission was to create a unique team blend of fibres and share a portion with everyone in the class. However, there were just 3 drum carders for 5 teams. When my team finally got our turn at the carder the workshop was almost over. We decided to play it anything but safe. We grabbed a sparkly nylon blend and some complementary shades of wool, mohair and sari silk, threw it all on the drum carder and blended it just enough to hold it together. I spun this sample up as soon as I got to my hotel room and it instantly became my favourite blend on the sample card. Look for the purple one with copper highlights and a touch of sparkle, in the middle of the sampler.

Lucy Neatby, the woman behind Fleece Artist, delivered a quirky and informative keynote address in the evening, to finish off a perfect fibre filled day. I’m thinking of attending for the full week next year…there’s still so much I want to learn.

Posted in knitting, spinning