It's FIBER FESTIVAL season and we're presenting a Festival Preparation Guide to help you make the absolute most of each festival you attend. For a comprehensive list of fiber festivals, please visit the Fiber Femmes

Festivals and Events page.

There is a lot to love at any fiber festival but some of The Best Things

include:

~no one gets upset when you fondle the yarn in their hands or even their

sweater

~strangers will look over your shoulder and give wonderful advice on what you could do with that spectacular hank of yarn

~it's perfectly acceptable, nay expected, that you drool over fiber

~people you don't know will volunteer to take your photo so you can be in the group shoot with your friends

~you get to see and pet fiber "on the hoof"

~I've known people to take up impromptu donations so a "newbie" could buy a wheel at auction!

~Most vendors take credit cards, everyone takes cash and some take personal checks.

As everyone knows, the season starts with the Maryland Sheep and Wool

Festival at the Howard County Fairgrounds. The MSWF is the oldest and

largest in the country and is celebrating their thirty-fourth year the first

full weekend in May. Most festivals have either a website or a catalogue; some have both. If they have a catalogue, request one early because you'll need time to peruse class schedules (free and fee), auctions, entertainment, competitions, etc.

Plan your schedule so you'll visit those vendors you simply must buy from early in the day. If you're standing in a vendor's booth and see something you like and want...buy it then. Don't wait, thinking you'll come back later in the day because, chances are, you'll either never find that particular vendor or, more likely, what you wanted will be gone or the vendor will be sold out.

Please, do NOT take any pets to any of the festivals as they will only distract the working herd dogs. Pets, usually, aren't familiar with sheep,

alpacas, goats and other fiber animals and they will bark or, worse, get

loose and attack an animal or be injured by another animal. It's unsafe for dogs as most festivals are very, very crowded. It's easy to step on a small animal, or even a child, so you might want to leave them at home as well, for their own safety's sake.

Go early. Very early. The later you wait in the day, the larger the crowds

grow and the more traffic you have to navigate. For a maximum good time, you don't want to wait in a line of traffic for forty-five minutes trying to park.

Most festivals are held at fairgrounds or in pastures and fields. Wear your most comfortable, closed toe shoes. Trust me, this is not the time to wear those cute sandals because you run the very real likelihood of having your toes run over by a baby carriage being pushed by a slightly distracted Fiber Femmes.

If you want to purchase a tee-shirt, mug or other souvenir of the festival,

visit that tent or booth first thing. At MSWF tee shirts and carry bags tend to sell out quickly and you don't want to lose out on your choice of

souvenir.

Dress in layers or take a small rain jacket. MSWF has run the gamut from

cold to hot and temperatures have ranged from freezing to the upper 80's or higher. Wearing a hat or sun visor is better than wearing sunglasses. As you wander from outside to inside a building to outside again, taking off and putting on sunglasses can be annoying.

A large tote bag to carry your smaller purchases is nice, even nicer if it's

on wheels and some prefer backpacks. If you carry a couple of bottles of

water and a few snacks in the large tote, you can consume them throughout the day, leaving room for your purchases. Even better, leave bottled water in a cooler in the car and visit the car throughout the day to rest, drink water, eat snacks and empty your tote bag. An extra plus...when the tote bag is empty, you'll feel obliged to Buy More Fiber!

Leaving a fold-up chair in the car ensures you'll always have a place to sit, perhaps even knit, while you rest your weary feet. Be aware...food vendors are selling meat - lamb burgers, goat kabobs, etc. so those snacks are extra good for vegetarians.

Signing up for newsletters, contests, etc. is easier if you have mailing labels. It saves you from writing your name and address over and over and...

Have plenty of film or memory cards for your camera. If you're standing in a vendor's booth and want to remember them, take a photo and also their business card. It's easier than trying to remember when you're home and frazzled with exhaustion.

Disinfectant hand wipes and a pack of tissues ensure you'll always be prepared in the bathroom. Speaking of...try and plan your bathroom visit before you have to go. The lines are long and longer still when the trip is an Absolute Necessity.

Most festivals are heavy on spinning wheels and drop spindles. If you've

always wanted to learn to spin or would like to try a new and different type of wheel, a fiber festival is the place. Vendors will have a bit of fiber

already on the wheel so all you have to do is be seated and take it for a whirl. If a wheel is a bit out of budget, try and then buy a drop spindle. It's the age-old method of spinning fibers and you'll be right in step with

antiquity. What ever you buy, spindle or wheel, make sure you buy some fiber as well and four ounce samples of various fibers give you a nice selection.

An added tip...use your first spun fiber to make yourself something really special - a hat or scarf can use up those bits of beginner spinning fiber *and* you'll have a nice memento of both festival and your first handspun.

Fiber also comes as a skirted fleece which is one that's been cleaned of the bits of vegetable matter, lanolin, urine and manure tags and is ready to be hand prepped for spinning. If that's a bit too raw for you, buy roving that's ready to be spun. Roving is sold in clouds, pencil or batts so you might want to buy a bit of all three to determine your preference and get a hand for different fiber preparations.

Please do not take any fleece samples without permission. Selling fleeces is how shepherds make money; the less fleece there is to sell, the less money made. Asking nicely, may land you with a sample but, please, don't be upset if the shepherd says "no".

Fiber Festivals are a great way to network and see the latest and best of everything. It's an inexpensive way to visit hundreds of vendors, fondle

dozens upon dozens of fibers, test drive various fiber equipment and have a fabulous day either with friends or friends you haven't yet met.

Visit the Fiber Femmes Festival and Events calendar and start planning your trips now. Once you start, you'll find yourself scheduling vacation days around the next festival. Don't forget, Fiber Femmes wants to publish your review of festivals so take lots of photos and share the wealth with other readers!

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