Since I hadn't attended this festival in the past, I was pretty excited. Additionally, I had arranged to help a vendor, Huckleberry Knits with setting up and taking down her booth, and since she is an indie fiber dyer, I was excited to see her yarn up close and in person. (P.S. - it's lovely!)
After hitting a major traffic jam on 1-5 due to an accident late Friday afternoon, I was glad to finally see Saturday morning - gloriously sunny and just perfect for a festival. As you will see from the OFFF presentation I've put together, people were patiently waiting in line early to get a jump on fiber stalking and buying.
I was interested in the animals, as well as the fiber and handicraft. Like our food, we don't really get that many opportunities to see the direct link between animal and our textiles, so that was great to see. I was also incredibly impressed with the dedication of all the owners, as well as others involved in the competitive side of raising fiber animals. Judges worked
hard (!), owners and handlers spent copious amounts of time waiting for their animal to be judged, grooming their respective animals, and then attempting to show off the animal in the best light possible. And everyone did all that in the rain on Sunday; and the OFFF organizers all volunteer their time!
I had a ball seeing all of the vendors, viewing the goings-on in the barn, and visiting as many of the classes as I could. I hope you enjoy the OFFF photos I have on the blog, on their own dedicated page. If you were in attendance, I'd love to hear of your experience at OFFF, so please leave a comment.
January, 2011 update: FYI - if you would like to view the OFFF photo slideshow, it can now be located on my Photography page. Housecleaning (in prep for the new year) necessitated its move. :)
January, 2011 update: FYI - if you would like to view the OFFF photo slideshow, it can now be located on my Photography page. Housecleaning (in prep for the new year) necessitated its move. :)