For those of you who don't know, I started There and Back Yarn in November 2017. I have always been a creative person, and I learned how to crochet when I was young, but in the UK I really came into my skills as a knitter, and wanted to do more: pattern design and yarn dyeing, specifically. Once I knew we were moving back to Manitoba, my main business goal was to get into Manitoba Fibre Festival, an event I loved before we moved, and knew had absolutely exploded; so much so, that they moved too, from St. Norbert (a lovely but small venue) to the Red River Exhibition grounds, and their fair hall there. So that was my Big Thing. When they accepted me as a vendor I was so stoked, but also so nervous. The fibrecraft community in Manitoba (and surrounding provinces) has become more and more visible, and likely grown a great deal in the recent past as people get more excited about all the beautiful local goodies, and the amazing yarns and fibres you can get your hands on at Fibre Fest and other festivals and shops. I finished dyeing my last skeins a month before Fibre Fest and then tried to turn my focus to the wood working aspect - I sell a few handmade wooden sundries like nostepinnes and crochet hooks - but I am definitely a novice wood-turner so having my father in-law (who's an award-winning wood carver and MAD skilled) handy to step in when I need help was key for me. Buuuuut he is also a farmer so as most of you know, that means a bonkers schedule in the fall, and though we did manage to find some time, I didn't get to do quite as much wood work as I wanted. No big though, because what we put together is so beautiful and I'm starting to get a much better feel for it on my own!
Enough with the lead-up! How did it go?
I was so pleased with my booth display overall - my parents in-law randomly had a pegboard that was perfect! - and I am so thankful to my volunteer help: my mom, my husband, and of course, Bernice! Having the Metalstitch duo to rock a festival is pretty much the best. I couldn't have done it without my volunteers, and certainly I couldn't carry all that stuff myself :P The Festival itself was mostly well-organised, I felt: I was disappointed our booth was in a corner that got little traffic compared to some of the other areas (I know my neighbours felt the same), but we did get folks down to squish and admire - and buy! - the yarns so we weren't too hidden. The Festival volunteers were super helpful too, and even jumped the queue to bring us lunch on Saturday :D
I loved the energy and the excitement of the shoppers; everyone was so happy to be in amongst all the beautiful things, and I had a lot of good chats with people who stopped by. I was so thankful to be included in the Festival and I hope I get to come back next year!
Now that I've got my first taste of festival, I'm hoping to do more - I'd love to do another one before Christmas so stay tuned :) Once the yardwork winds down, I'll be able to finally turn back to some more pattern design; I've had LOTS of ideas and no time to put them down so I can't wait to start writing up some of the things in my head, especially the design for the sweater I was wearing Friday of Fibre Fest: honeycomb cables and long cuffs, hooray!
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