most antique malls are quiet enclaves—places where one can retreat to wander through the past, undisturbed except for the hushed movement of dust moats in the filtered light.
on saturday, though, that atmosphere was completely transformed at the antique loft in frederick, when area fiber fans arrived to celebrate the indie artist event
organized by kristi johnson and paul troxell, owners of the adorable eleganza yarns in frederick, MD. kristi is also the dyer behind shalimar yarns, which i am using in my longjohns sock project.
my lace knitting class convened bright and early, before the vendor area opened
and we had an awful lot of fun for the next four hours, working through some skill building tasks and a class project (they were awesome). i got to meet some long-time blog readers (i always love that part of any trip!) and made some new friends as well.
david found a quiet place to entertain himself in between taking photos and wandering the neighborhood (he scouted out good coffee and a great place to have dinner).
sometime just before noon, the vendors opened the doors to the sales area and the crowds poured in
(one of the reasons i don’t have a photo of paul yet is that he was swamped all afternoon at the checkout table, yay)
a delectable assortment of regional fiber producers was on hand, each with beautiful yarns, fibers, weaving, and accessories to display
there was awesome bluegrass music as well
my favorite shot of the day is this one:
looks like the guys took over the demo area, to show us how they “do” a fiber event . . .
at lunch time, we were treated to a scrumptious box lunch from veggie annie
complete with rockin’ brownies (just sayin’)
late in the afternoon, david and i put up the trunk show display
and i talked about the pieces, answered questions, and modeled sweaters and shawls
while we all mingled, looked at patterns, and shared wine and cheese while the sun went down outside
another good day—we were all thrilled with the outcome. the enthusiasm, the crowd, the fun and the fiber—everything came together to make it a special first-time event, with (hopefully) more to come.
ooops, gotta run—i have another class this morning and it’s time to get ready!
34 thoughts on “fun, fabulous frederick”
Anne- What a fantastic atmosphere to hold a fibre event. Doesn’t the mind boggle at all the yarn artists that are out there?
Wonderful.
So glad the Indie Celebration was a success. Wish I could have made it.
Wow! What a wonderful way to spend the day! Looks like the perfect venue for the perfect event!
It was very nice to meet you. I love your work!
Looks and sounds like you are having a fantastic time. Envious here! Would L.O.V.E. to know what sweater Kristi is wearing in photos you have of her. Love the pattern and the style. Is it something accessible??? It is gorgeous!! Hope you can find out or perhaps Kristi reads the blog and comments????? here’s keeping my fingers crossed.
how much fun!!!
What fun for you!!! Wish you could pipe in some of that bluegrass music to your blog post here!
Wonderful, candid shots! Thank you for sharing the experience.
We enjoyed meeting you and had soooooo much fun in your class, Anne! I learned a lot and hope to be able to take another at Spring Fling. Thank you so much — and thanks to Kristi for organizing the event.
Thanks for sharing! It’s so nice to take a peek inside an event in a state far away.
It’s exciting to know you were in the area! Too bad I didn’t know about it ahead of time or I might have had to make arrangements to come enjoy the show as well!
WOW, this looks like great fun!!!
Looks like so much fun! Please bring home all those chickens for me 🙂
Now that is a wonderful way to have a Fiber Fest..two favorites of Knitters..Just looks as though it was a great fun time…
And it was such fun to meet you! There were some truly lovely yarns on display; I couldn’t look too closely for fear my credit card would cry.
Loved meeting you and totally enjoyed the trunk show…the entire event was well planned and a real joy to attend. I left with a ton of projects in mind. Cheers!
looks like fun! i always forget how many patterns you’ve put out until i see a display of one of your trunk shows. i like those pictures though; they’re so colorful and pretty.
Okay, Anne, that’s it. You are now officially on my Must See list for the next two years. (I say *two* because it will probably take me that long to save up enough $ to go anywhere – but it will be oh so worth it.) 😀
How utterly fantastic!!! I loved the Japanese boat…good one…looks luscious too! Hope you’re having a wonderful time!
It looks like an absolutely perfect day! And I bet your classes are going swimmingly. Add a brownie to all of that, and how could it get any better? 🙂
Looks like so much fun. Can I be a stowaway on your next trip?
Will the pink shawlette be a pattern any time soon?
Can’t believe I missed you! I LIVE in Maryland! That’s what I get for paying more attention to the Olympics than to blogland lately! All I can say is, there better be a next year! And I love Frederick too!
Awesome photos! What a fun weekend, and what a great workshop! Thanks so much for all the fabulous tips and encouraging words. 🙂 It was fun hanging out, too. Hope you and David come back and visit soon!
Oh, I had no idea this was going on and here my son took my car down to visit his sister just south of Frederick on Saturday. I could have been enjoying all the yarn fun. I know just where Eleganza Yarns is, too. My daughter and I have visited it on several occasions. This will teach me to check their schedule (and yours) more closely. 🙁
Is David wearing a handknit sweater? Is it a design that you came up with, or is it from a published pattern? My FIL has requested another sweater…so I’m looking for pattern ideas!
It looks like a great event! Have lots of fun!
I loved the pictures of the frost! Beautiful!
The event looks like fun & I love the display of all your gorgeous knits.
Thank you for such an enjoyable class, my only complaint is that it went by so fast! You should have seen all the snow before it started melting.
How satisfying it must be to see all your patterns and samples displayed – what an amazing body of work (art).
Looks like it was a really fun event!
I have to chuckle at the vast difference in meaning between “deletable” and “delectable”. Whoops. I’m sure they know what you meant! Always lovely, your blog.
oh anne, you look smashing in the little rose shawl. cannot wait to knit that pattern!
What a fabulous body of work makes up that trunk show – I was excited to see it just in the photograph… 🙂 I hope you get the chance sometimes to step back and be a bit pleasantly surprised by the sheer mass and beauty of it all!
I am so sorry that I couldn’t come & play in Frederick – it’s so very close to my home, but I was teaching a tartan weaving class all weekend in Waterford, VA. Thanks for all the photos, and maybe next time I’ll get to come & see all your lovelies.
What a fabulous idea to have a fiber show in an antique mall!!! I don’t know that I would have been able to resist for long, though.
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