This Weekend

 I got to venture to the exotic land of Townsend to take a class during the Smoky Mountain Fiber Arts Festival. The Festival as a whole was a huge disappointment. There weren't many vendors, and only one food vendor showed up. And they only had hot dogs and barbecue with a total of 5 items on their menu. Yep. 5.  I was expecting a lot more booths in tents outside instead of crowded into the small rooms at the venue. I was expecting funnel cake and homemade rootbeer. And people shearing sheep and spinning yarn and sitting around chatting and knitting. I wanted it to be a FESTIVAL. But is wasn't. Sad day.

But the class I took was fantastic and I'm super glad I got to be a part of it. It was worth travelling for the class alone, and I would have happily taken this class if it hadn't even been a part of the festival. It was a Shibori Itajime dye class. I may have a new hobby, once I can save up to buy supplies....

I like to be early to things, and I happened to be the first person to show up. I sat down and observed the materials. A lot of them looked like typical dye items: Dye, crockpots, drying racks. But there were also blocks that looked like they belonged on a playground more than in a dye class...

Thankfully everything was explained and we were off. You use the blocks as a resist for the dye when you dye the fabrics. Here's one of my folded and wrapped scarves. (We got to make 4)

And because we all are unique individuals, we folded, wrapped, and dyed our scarves differently. It was interesting to me that some ended up very vibrant and bright, while others came out more muted. 

Finally, this puppy almost made up for the disappointing rest of the festival: