What: Lambtown Festival
Where: Dixon May Fairgrounds, Dixon, CA
When: Saturday, October 1, 2022
Who: The Husband, Feebs, and me
Why: To fondle yarn, of course
We showed up to the festival around 11. The Husband and I were both surprised that the PETA protesters were absent this year. We hadn’t been to the festival in 2 years, but the last couple of times that we went, they were standing at the gates with signs. We bought tickets at the window, since I didn’t think to purchase them in advance. It was $10 per adult and free to children under 17. Once we got through the gates, there was the usual information booth in the gazebo. Behind the gazebo was a booth set up with crafting stations for kids. The Husband and Feebs headed toward that booth, and I turned right and headed into an exhibit room.
The first thing that I noticed was that most people weren’t wearing masks. This surprised me since the buildings weren’t that large. The vendor stations were set up nicely. There was a good mix of fiber and yarn, with some metal art and fabric crafts mixed in. I specifically set out to find the Houndstooth Fiber Arts booth, but they weren’t there. Some booths that stood out to me were Sincere Sheep, Invictus Yarn, Sea Change, Royal Bee Yarn Co., and Mendocino Fiber Company. The only person that I recognized was Yellyknits, a person that I follow on Instagram. She creates content about inclusivity in the LGBTQ community.
I circled through the first Exhibit hall, without buying anything. I then crossed over to the other building. I went through that hall relatively quickly. I didn’t spend much time perusing the booths, this year. I think that my want to buy yarn was at a low point. I wanted to go and support all of the makers, but I didn’t have anything in mind to purchase before we got there. I circled through the second building and went back to the first one. I purchased three skeins of fingering weight yarn from the Royal Bee Yarn Co. It is a lovely dark green color. It is non-Superwash and according to the shop owner’s mother, it is hand-dyed to the shop owners specifications. I probably could have gotten away with buying only two skeins, but I bought the third, just in case. I don’t have project in mind, so better safe than sorry. Incidentally, the shop didn’t offer me a bag to put my yarn into, and I didn’t have my normal purse with me. My purse was small and I didn’t have my little bag in a bag with me. So, I literally had to carry around the yarn around with me.
After I made my purchase, I headed out to find my people. I found them at the crafting station. Feebs was hard at work making a sheep magnet. I relieved The Husband, and he went in search of food trucks and beverages (sadly, nothing caught his fancy). Magnet completed, Feebs moved onto the hand felting station. It was a really cute setup, where there were sandwich bags with round pieces of fiber layered in different colors. The instructions were to add some soapy water to the bag and agitate it with your hands or against the table to felt it into different shapes. Once you were done, you rinse the fiber out with clean water, shape it into a flower, and wrap a pipe cleaner around it to make a stem and let it dry to hold the shape. Feebs is very pleased with her felted flower.
Once The Husband came back, I went in search of a bag to hold my yarn. If you know me, you know that I am the bag lady. I love bags, baskets, and any other carrier-type vessel. I knew that I didn’t need a new bag. I was 100% sure of this fact. But, I went in search of one anyway. I was back in the first building and came upon the Mendocino Fiber Company booth. They shared a booth with Ephemera Creations. I noticed a bowl of mini skein sets. They were in such beautiful colors. I am not a collector of mini skeins, because I really never know what to do with them. But these ones caught my eye and I decided that I would buy a set. So I purchased the set and they gave me a bag to carry it in! Talk about being efficient! On a side note, the cheapest project bag that I saw, that would fit my 3 skeins of yarn, was $45 or more. I was able to save about $15 by buying the mini set and getting the free bag. That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it!
All in all, I enjoyed Lambtown. I did find it surprising that we were only there for about 2 hours. A good portion of that time was Feebs working on her crafts. I didn’t spend much money, which is always a good thing. I was very sad that Houndstooth wasn’t there. I always enjoy supporting them. I really liked talking to the two vendors that I purchased yarn from. I may see if I can find the Mendocino Fiber Company, or Ephemera Creations when we are in Mendocino, next week.
The next fiber festival that is on my radar is Stitches West, and I am NOT missing it next year! Lambtown has definitely whetted my appetite for more festivals. I intend to start looking for fabric festivals too. Perhaps next year, I will take some Lambtown workshops too. We’ll find out next year.
Loves,
M
Mrs. Collins Makes Stuff 