Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

I know I'm late putting this article up (or realy early), but I figure if the Capital Press can sit on this story for three weeks, so can I.

I am often surprised by the number of blogs are out there that are dedicated to fiber arts and knitting. When I happen across one of them I don’t discard them and move on. I linger and check them out. The reason is that I just came very close to getting a herd of fiber goats. These would be Cashmere, Angora and Pygora breeds of goats. I wanted to diversify some of my agricultural intentions, and it seemed doable on the small amount of acreage (10) that we own.

A couple weeks ago we went to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival at the Fair Grounds in Canby. This is Mecca for anyone involved in any fiber art. There were hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of visitors, (and unfortunately only two food vendors). There were some amazing things to see at the Festival, and amazing tools as well.

I was expecting to see a bunch of earth mothers and people in home made clothing, but in reality there were men and women from ever imaginable social environment. There were children and great grandmothers working fiber side by side. There were men pumping away at spinning wheels making yarn as thin as thread. There was a woman knitting four socks in the round with one set of needles. There were looms.

This Festival is free admission and free parking. Classes that are offered for a fee and early registration is recommended.

We visited with many of the fiber animal keepers, and after talking about all the fencing requirements we stepped away from the idea. It is said that if your fence can hold water, you might be able to keep a goat in it. Also we heard that animals full of fleece can pass through an electric fence because their fleece insulates them from shocks. We decided we don’t need a pasture full of something akin to human two-year-olds with their disappearing abilities.

Make plans to attend next September if you have any association with fiber arts.