This weekend, I got to go to the very first Oakland Fiber Festival! I was so excited to hear this was happening–there seems to be a definite lack of fiber festivals out this way. (Someday, I will make it to Rhinebeck, I swear.) We even had warm weather for the occasion! (Though that sadly limited the opportunites for knitwear.)

There were lots of knitters. I hung around for several hours and it was buzzing the whole time. I saw lots of people I knew, plus a few I knew from Ravelry but hadn’t met. And lots of amazing new people too.

There were spinners too, of course, as well as quilters and felters. There was even a booth with a bicycle powered drum carder. (I want one of those, someday after I get a wheel of my own. It’s probably the only way you’ll ever see me exercise.)

I drooled over some of the fiber–this is from Wonderland Dyeworks–and I really, really want a wheel. Even more than before. There was gorgeous yarn, too. Beautiful colors, and I may or may not have obtained the location of an alpaca farm about an hour a way that has a little store selling their luscious yarn. Just sayin’.

There was even Oakland’s own knitting novelist, Rachel aka Yarnagogo, signing copies of How to Knit a Love Song.

Overall, it was a great way to spend a Sunday. The only thing I would change is setting up an area to sit and knit–there weren’t many shady places, and it would have been nice to be able to pull up a chair and chat. Like I said, I ran into a lot of people I hadn’t seen in a bit–since the knitting group I had been going to dissovled, I’ve been feeling out of touch with the local knitters. There are a couple of other groups I mean to check out–one is near my house, on Tuesdays, and there’s one in Berkeley on Sunday morning. There’s also an Alameda group on Thursdays I might swing by. I’d really like to find a Saturday group that meets late morning/afternoon. A couple of other people seemed interested, and I said I wasn’t going to organize it but…well. Here I go. My only trouble is thinking of a place to meet on a Saturday that would be okay with a herd of knitters hanging out for several hours. Preferably in Oakland and relatively public transit accessible. (I know, I don’t ask for much, right?) I’ll have to think about that.