SSS&W Winter Wool Fair

Today was the annual Winter Wool Fair hosted by the Sutherland Shire Spinners and Weavers at Sutherland Uniting Church. I'm not a member, however, I'm a huge fan of the fair. Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos of the fair itself. I personally think the Winter Wool Fair is better than the Sydney Craft and Quilt Show at Darling Harbour for yarnies.

There was amazing work done by the members in the form of woven scarves, crocheted items, knitted items and handspun. Quite a few of the works on display had won ribbons in various shows. Then there's the yummy supplies like commercial yarn, handspun yarn, fibre, various spinning based shops like Glenora Weaving and Virginia Woolworks. There were books, KnitPro accessories, hand dyed yarn. A yarn & fibre lover's paradise really.

I also saw a new exhibitor, Frank Williams who sells spindles on Etsy. He is a retired carpenter who just started making spindles in January this year. He said he'd had customers all over the world buying from him. I played with some of the spindles and fell in love with a Tibetan. It wasn't as pretty as the others in terms of not having a big whorl with a decorative design on it. However, It was simple and made beautifully and it felt like a dream when spun.

So here it is along with the rest of my haul:

The pinky is handdyed 4ply merino yarn from Glenora Weaving. The middle is a 3ply silk from Virginia Woolworks, The right is what I believe is First Edition Fibre roving "Magic Merino" from Glenora Weaving. And the Tibetan spindle in the middle. Below is my first spin to test it out. Ooh pretty!

I haven't done much long draw spinning before. I have only one other attempt on my Ashford Traditional wheel. It hadn't fully clicked yet. I think I'm getting the hang of it now.

So the other half of the reason why I go to the fair, is the yummy Devonshire Tea home made by the ladies there. The scones were delicious. Can't wait to go again next year.