Fiber Festivals and New Ikea Loom

It is April and Fiber Festivals start all over New England! Knitters, weavers, spinners, felters... we all get together to meet up and talk wool.  Fiber festivals are fun family events.  Families, older folks, reenacts from all era's. We touch the yarns, fleece, linen fibers, cotton rugs. We buy and trade socks, bags and clothing.  We buy new tools.... combs, wheels and looms.

I make band or tape looms for weaving colorful or plain bands used for trim and necessary drawstrings and ties on clothing, bags and hats. Seam binding, chair webbing... there are so many uses for bands and band weaving is simple and fun.

I was a Ikea last month and saw some nice little picture frames for 99 cents.  They are new and brightly colored.  Usually I buy picture frames at stores, tag sales and thrift stores. Wood are the best. Wood is durable and pretty.  I buy "Skinny Sticks" at Michaels craft stores.  These little sticks are sturdy and thin. You can use pop sticks, but they are wider than skinny sticks and you can pack more skinny sticks into a frame.

My Ikea frames are 4 x 6.  17 Skinny sticks make 17 slots for a total of 34 Threads.  This is a good number of threads to make a multitude of patterns and has enough space to weave those advanced pick up patterns so popular in Europe. You can see some colorful bands on the looms below woven on these looms.

My first Fiber festival is April 21st this year.   There is a lovely festival on the east side of the Hudson River in New York State.  About an hour and a half from NYC, the festival is among farm land and country homes at the historic site... Clermont.  There will be sheep and sheep dogs, sheering demonstrations, weavers, spinners, knitters, felters along with a live band and good foods in a beautiful setting overlooking the great Hudson river.

http://www.friendsofclermont.org/sheep-wool

Also in April is our Connecticut fiber festival in Vernon, CT.  Again it will be packed with live fiber critters and fun people having a good time sharing what we love.

http://www.ctsheep.org/sheep_wool__fiber_festival

Next month in May is the Massachusetts fiber festival in Commington.  A two day event, stay late on Saturday for the pot luck dinner with lots of good foods and time to chat with other fiber people.

http://www.masheepwool.org/

Please find a fiber festival near you or come see me demonstrating tape looms at the above. There are many more festivals across New England and the rest of our great country.  They are fun, informative and the connections made with other fiber people will last a lifetime.

I hope this blog will spark your interest in these wonderful looms and the bands you can create for your costumes and for your modern lifestyle.

New to tape weaving? Check out my book, Tape loom weaving simplified at my web site www.eastknollpottery.com or on Amazon. Fun, easy and portable... weaving on small looms was necessary from Vikings ties to present day hat bands and banjo straps and every society and purpose in between. Check it out, come try it at one of my festivals.  Search the blog here for samples and ideas. Interested in older style looms? Check out my pinterest for historical looms...
https://www.pinterest.com/potterymom1/weaving-band-looms/