Fall Craft Fairs for Cariboo Handwoven

After enjoying several Fridays at the Williams Lake Farmers' Market through the spring, summer and early fall, I'm looking ahead to fall craft fairs.  Two special ones are on my calendar, here they are!

First, in Prince George:

I'll be back in the admin building with the beautiful timber beams, First Nations banners and bright natural light.

And next:

At both events, I'll have:

• Wool blankets ($300), including some with a story ($350) and some with local handspun wool ($400)
• Big cotton blankets ($170), and some cotton/wool ones at the Medieval Market ($200)
• Cotton hand towels ($34 each)
• 80/20 towels with approximately 80% cotton and 20% linen ($38 each)
• Wool travel shawls ($150 and up)
• Lightweight blanket scarves in fine cotton with silk, alpaca, wool and other fibres ($150 and up)

If we've met already, please drop in just to say hi. :-)

Enjoy these wonderful craft fairs with so much talent and energy.  Hope to see you this fall!

Another Guest at the Blanket Spa

At the local farmers market a few weeks ago, a musical couple I know visited my booth and talked about their favourite cotton blanket. 'He' bought it for 'her' at the Medieval Market several years ago. They'd taken it on their recent summer vacation through western Canada and north into Yukon. It had endured some pulls in a few threads and they weren't sure what to do. I said "Bring it to me!" Then I could fix it and return it to its original condition.

I've talked earlier about what I call my blanket spa. Any well-loved and well-used blanket or anything from Cariboo Handwoven that needs a little TLC I love to restore and return to happy owners for further use.

Once I had it at home, I examined it carefully and used a darning needle to gently bring pulled threads flat.  This is a delicate procedure that requires pulling the loose thread from both directions and flattening the thread back into the cloth on either sides of the pull. One very large pull had not wrinkled the fabric on either side and was not going to easily fit back into the cloth, so I cut the thread, spliced the ends together and trimmed the emerging ends.

The blanket had a good wash and then went out on the line to dry in lovely Cariboo sunshine on an early fall day.

Then it went for pressing, with any other pulls fixed that I'd missed, and I laid it flat on the floor to rest.

It is rather fascinating to see my early work. Some of it's not bad! What really heartens me is to know that owners are totally happy with their blanket and it's become almost part of the family. I knew I had to return it quickly because it would be missed.

Another guest leaves the blanket spa - restored, revitalized and ready for more years of service.