Elegant Threads Show and Sale 2012

Our annual guild show and sale took place in Qualicum Beach from Nov 30 to Dec 2nd this year.  This event inolves all the guild members.  It is a chance to show off the creative efforts of the past year.  It is also an opportunity to earn just enough money to justify spending way more money on yarns and fibres.  Most of us have given up any pretense of "breaking even".

The sale committee never knows how many items will show up or what they will be.  Dressing the display can be a real challenge.  Part of the fun is discovering what other members have been up to or how they have interpreted an idea.  I love the bags that are an inventive use of small pieces of woven cloth.  They are the collaborative effort between a weaver and a sewer.
The items reflect our different interests in working with yarns and fibre so one can expect to see items that are knitted, felted, woven, or twisted.  The materials use can range from yak to kelp.  If it can be worked with a knitting needle or our hands or woven around a warp then we will use it.

Some of the pieces involve an incredible investment in time.  Take for example some of the garments knitted out of hand spun yarn.  Fibres were dyed, blended, prepared for spinning, spun then plyed then knitted.  It is no wonder that it can be difficult to part with our creations.  In many ways they are like puppies that we have nurtured and grown attached too.  We know their special attributes and we want them to go to a good home where they will be appreciated.  We want the new owner to read the washing instructions, refrain from wearing the tea cozy as a hat (inside joke) and actually use the tea towels.
Many of our items will be wrapped in fancy paper or stuffed in Christmas stockings.  I was told the tea towels are easy to pack in a suitcase and won't break during shipping.  Hand spun yarn will give hours of pleasure.  Hats and mits are always needed.  Sweaters, wraps and blankets are a cozy reminder of the person who gave them.

At this time of year the weather can have a large impact on attendance at the sale.  Living on the wet coast of Canada we can anticipate precipitation of some kind.  It can range from intermittent light showers to torrentail and never ending rain and even wet road clogging snow.  This year we were blessed with intermittent torrential rain but still folks managed to make their way to the show.  We thank them and hope they enjoyed visiting with us and will enjoy their purchases. 
Here we have a satisfied customer sporting her newly acquired Hapi Wrap.