Back from the 2011 Wooster Fiber Show

Yesterday was the start of the Wooster Fiber Show, Mom and the two of us spent a few hours going through all the buildings there. It's held at the Wooster Fair Grounds and fills four or five buildings. I didn't need a ton of wool this time, but we still managed to do pretty well --- including a bag of stuff for Dad's fly-tying!

I didn't need natural colors (black, gray, brown or white), so we were on a "color" hunt. We were pretty shock that the prices had doubled in the last year and a half. They've gone from $1.50/$2.00 an ounce to $3.50/$4.00 an ounce. Not to mention that most of the vendors were only selling roving by the half or whole pound. If you found 4oz. balls, it was pretty good. That is not a great situation, as a felter, considering that one doll takes one to two ounces all together. Felting (other than the "quick and easy" applique-type stuff) seems to be a bit out.

My favorite ball of roving is a blend of 80% pink-colored wool and 20% white-colored silk. It's unreal looking and will make a perfect dress for a Princess Flavia. Eventually, I'll get to Flavia and Rudolph . . .

The most useful thing that I picked up was the 14oz. of skin-tone --- already dyed! Up to now, I've been carding two different tones together to make the skin, but that is a bit hard as there are still the two different colors of fiber. They tend to show up a little bit as you're felting them, so I have to be really careful to make sure that one or the other does not dominate the face. This stuff looks really similar, so it should work out. If I have to, I can always card a little something in there to change the shade.

One booth was run by a farm down in Indiana that raises "Cotswold" sheep. I'd never heard of them, but it was really interesting. Wow! They are a breed that comes from the 1st Century sheep that the Romans brought into England. Basically, no hybridizing has been done to them, so they are still remarkably similar to their long-ago ancestors. They are huge and have a staple length that can reach 12"! I got a bunch of colors to try out from there, so I'll post more about them later.