PEI Fibre Festival
Linda & Kim - Organizing the Festival
A couple of days before the festival, we got the chance to sit down with Kim and Linda for a quick chat about what was in store. Kim, who owns the mini mill Fleece & Harmony on Prince Edward Island, had long admired the Edinburgh Yarn Festival and wanted to create something similar, but with a Maritime touch, for fibre lovers closer to home. After some delays (first the Covid pandemic and then Hurricane Fiona in 2022), the festival finally launched in 2023, and here we are in its second year!
Kim has a background in business and marketing, with strong knowledge of fibre. To bring the festival to life, she partnered with Linda and Bob, experienced event organizers who ensured everything ran smoothly. The marketplace featured 38 vendors, and visitors could choose from 54 workshops led by both instructors from the region and also abroad.
The festival took place at the Delta Hotel, which has a gorgeous view of the local harbor with small boats and huge cruise ships alike passing by. PEI is known to be Canada’s food island hosting the culinary institute. So, they made sure to plan in longer lunch breaks, to allow festival visitors ample time to explore the local food scene. October also brought Charlottetown’s Scarecrow Festival, which added a fun, spooky vibe. Madeleine and I have enjoyed wandering around Charlottetown, spotting customized scarecrows on every corner, and taking in the charm of the many Victorian era houses.
Vendors
We were excited to interview a diverse range of vendors, starting with Emma from the Paisley Defender. She hand-dyes her own bats and sells them to other passionate hand spinners. She also enjoys restoring antique spinning wheels and uses them to hand-spin colorful and unique yarns.
- Instagram: @paisleydefender
Scott, from Fox Mountain Spindles, uses his woodworking skills to make beautiful heirloom quality tools for fiber artists. He showed us various hand spindles and other helpful tools to make our knitting experience more pleasurable.
- Website: www.foxmountainspindles.com
- Instagram: @foxmountainspindles
Leah from Briggs & Little Woolen Mills shared the history of Canada’s oldest running woolen mill, including how its color range developed after introducing dyes in the 1940s.
- Website: briggsandlittle.com
- Instagram: @briggslittle
Anna is the passionate milliner behind The Hat Junkie, dedicated to mastering and combining a variety of fiber arts to create one-of-a-kind hats. Anna loves to use her antique sewing machine and straw hat maker in her beautiful Victorian style hat studio.
- Website: www.hatjunkie.com
- Instagram: @thehatjunkie
Emma from Botanical Fibres loves hand-dyeing yarns with natural materials. She showcased how the natural dyes she uses interact with different fiber bases to produce a gorgeous colour range of greens, purples, blues, reds and yellows.
- Website: botanicalfibres.ca
- Instagram: @botanicalfibres
Patron Discount - Botanical Fibers
Emma from Botanical Fibers is generously offering Fruity Knitting Patrons an exclusive 20% discount on all yarns in her online store. Her collection features 15 stunning core colors achieved through natural dyes and available in various shades depending on the fiber base and dye bath intensity. Fruity Knitting Patrons can find all discount details here.
Patron Discount - The Hat Junkie
Anna from The Hat Junkie is kindly offering Fruity Knitting patrons a 10% discount on all items in her online store. Her handmade collection features a beautiful range of styles, including straw, felted, and canvas hats, as well as headbands. For those interested in making their own hats, she offers a Felted Beret Kit with an optional video tutorial. Fruity Knitting patrons can find all the discount details here.
Workshops
There was a wide variety of workshops on offer for different hand-crafts catering to various skill levels. For example, you could learn techniques like 2-coloured cabling or Estonian Inlay and Braids or how to perform emergency surgery on your knitting without losing your mind. Other classes included embroidery and even various hand-spinning methods to produce your own yarn.
Vox Pop - Voice of the People
As is our tradition, we fished out some festival visitors to hear them speak about their experiences taking part in workshops and browsing the colourful booths. We met a bunch of different knitters and crafters. One was on a mission to find some Silk-Mohair yarns in the perfect shades to match her tartan coat passed down to her by her grandmother. Another came to learn new felting techniques and buy felting bats. There was even a knitter who came all the way from Australia.
Special Events
Maritime Kitchen Party with Richard Wood
One of the highlights was an evening concert with the world-class Celtic fiddler Richard Wood who has performed worldwide and even for Queen Elizabeth II and the Emperor of Japan. This concert was an homage to the Maritime Kitchen Party. There were tasty snacks and everyone could get up for some jolly community dances led by a caller.
Finding Richard Wood
- Find Richard’s tours here: www.rwood.ca
- Buy Richard’s music here.
- Instagram: @richardwoodlive
The Knitting Pilgrim - Knitted Stained Glass Windows
Finding The Knitting Pilgrim
- Website: www.kirkdunn.com
- Podcast: The Knitting Pilgrim Talks
- Instagram: @kirkdunnknits
Our Presentation
We also talked about the blessings we’ve experienced, like traveling, meeting highly skilled and knowledgeable people, working with family, and having the creative freedom to shape our work and this channel the way we want. It was really fun to reflect on all of this and meet and chat with people afterwards.
PEI Fiber Festival hall!
Anna from The Hat Junkie kindly gifted me this gorgeous orange Maisie hat! It’s entirely hand made and a lot of skill and work has gone into making it. Anna commissioned the fabric from a hand weaver in Lunenburg. It’s made from 100% wool, and the lining is a silk/cotton blend in a pretty blue. Anna used her great-grandmother’s Singer treadle sewing machine from the 1900s to sew this hat together. She also designs her hats to be practical. I love how cute and comfortable it is, plus it’s great for rain or snow since wool is naturally water-repellent – perfect for the upcoming autumn and winter months!
It’s a rare and special occasion that Madeleine and I are here on PEI, Canada and get to visit the Fleece & Harmony store in person. Last time we were here, Madeleine picked up some of their Signature Aran yarn in the “Autumn Birch” colorway which turned into her Good Grandpa Cardigan. This year, I decided to get a sweater’s quantity of their Wildwinds 2 Ply made from a specific flock of sheep on PEI to suit traditional Scandinavian motifs. And I will combine it with some Rowan Kid-Silk Haze.
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Under Construction
I'm Batty for Halloween!
Halloween is just under two weeks away, and Madeleine couldn’t wait to pick up her needles to knit a pair of spooky socks. These are the “I’m Batty for Halloween” socks by Charlotte Stone. Madeleine is using the recommended hand-dyed sock yarn by Malabrigo for the background colour. And a wool-nylon blend for the black bats.
Since these socks are so fun and unique, Madeleine didn’t want them to be entirely hidden behind her Winter boots with their higher shafts. So, she added three extra rows of bats along the sock leg. Madeleine’s gauge is tighter than recommended. She started with the recommended needle size (2.25mm) but had difficulties fitting her foot through the sock once she had knitted the short-row heel. So, after ripping back the heel, Madeleine switched to 2.5mm DPNs beginning at the last two bat rows (1 pattern repeat). The sock fits now!
Do Ewe Yoke? - Zanete Knits
In the last episode, we interviewed Pamir Fine Fibres, who collaborate with nomads and farmers in the mountains of Kyrgyzstan to produce beautiful cashmere yarns. I’m using their yarn for my latest project, and pairing it with a beautiful spin cycle yarn to make a crazy bright colourwork jumper called “Do Ewe Yoke?” by Zanete Knits. If the color-changing yarn has areas with low contrast against the main color, the pattern may look faded or washed out in those sections.
Unfortunately, the yoke has turned out a little too big for me. Instead of sitting flat across the chest, it’s wavy, which doesn’t look very good. But it does fit Madeleine perfectly. So, I decided not to rip back but keep knitting and gift this sweater to Madeleine instead.
What are we wearing?
Andrea is wearing her Ariel Pullover by Claudia Quintanilla on the couch. Madeleine is wearing her Audrey in Unst by Gudrun Johnston at the festival and her Good Grandpa Cardigan on the couch.
Credits
- Richard Wood: Toe Tapper Concert at PEI Fibre Festival 2024.
Thank you very much to the award-winning local PEI fiddler Richard Wood for allowing us to record his concert and use the music in this episode! Find Richard’s Tour Schedule here. Buy Richard’s music here. - A big Thanks to the local PEI musician, The Fiddling Fisherman, for allowing us to use his music in this episode!
Weddings & Experiences: https://fiddlingfisherman.com/
About The Fiddling Fisherman
J.J. Chaisson is celebrated far and wide as a talented
multi-instrumental musician. He has collaborated on award winning recordings, acted as front man for a Celtic rock band, and toured widely as a solo artist. It is not possible to put into words what this young man does with his fiddle and guitar. In the words of Cape Breton fiddling sensation Natalie MacMaster, who’s known J.J. since he was eight years old, “he’s the best musician, entertainer and friend P.E.I. has to offer.” - Michael Bublé When You’re Smiling, from his album “Bublé! (Original Soundtrack from his NBC TV Special)”, ℗ 2018 Warner Records Inc., Provided to YouTube by Reprise
- J. S. Bach, The Well Tempered Klavier, Prelude No. 3 in C-Sharp major, BWV 848, performed by Kimiko Ishizaka, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
