Twist 2015
Elizabeth and I had a great time at this year's edition of the Twist Fibre Festival in St-Andre-Avellin, QC. We spent the week leading up to the festival busily preparing ourselves, dyeing a ton of yarn and putting together some new kits for some of our patterns that include beads.
We had a great time at the show, connecting with other knitters from across the region, and getting a chance to brush up on our French knitting terminology! I now know that a yarn-over is "jeté", next on my list to figure out is how to talk about left- versus right-leaning decreases...
One of the fun things about going to these shows is that we get to meet and re-connect with other artisans and fibre producers - this year our booth was directly across from the Canadian National Fleece Competition for the Canadian Cashmere Producer’s Association. Both Elizabeth and I had the chance to chat with Lori from Redeemer's Garden in Chilliwack, BC, and of course we couldn't resist taking home some of her lovely cashmere - it was too fluffy and soft to leave behind!

I ended up with some unspun "cloud" fibre and Elizabeth brought home a little skein of yarn. Her haul also includes a bottle of cider from one of the local food vendors, a shawl pin from Fancy That Creations by Francine, and a very cute needle-felted duck from Melissa Bellemare.

We weren't able to make it to Twist last summer, and we were happily surprised to see how much it has grown since we were last there. It's a great festival with a diverse selection of classes and vendors. Definitely worth checking out if you are in the area!
Leave a comment
Also in News
Toccata Organic Cotton: Yarn Notes and Pattern Ideas
We're very excited to bring you the first-ever 100% cotton Sweet Paprika yarn!
Like many of you, we really enjoy working with plant fibres as well as wool yarns, especially in the hot summer months. So we spent some time this past winter researching and sampling cotton and hemp yarn bases, and in the end we decided to bring in a small batch of Toccata, a sport-weight organic cotton.
Three books about sheep and fibre
Are you looking to deepen your knowledge of fleeces and fibres? Below, we introduce three books we carry that contain a wealth of information about different fibre-producing animals and sheep breeds, and the best ways to use their fleeces. We hope this selection will support you as you explore different ways to work with a wide array of animal fibres.
Debbie Sullivan
Author