Twist Fiber Festival Summer 2024

I made it to the Twist Fiber Festival this year and I wanted to share some of my experiences with you, so you can decide whether it’s worth making the trek or not 😊

In today’s post, you’ll learn more about:

• The first visit to the Twist Fiber Festival
• The booths that I was drawn to
• Items I purchased
• Impressions about yarn
• How I handled the overwhelm!
• Tips if you plan to visit

Read on for all the fiber goodness!

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My first experience visiting the Twist Fiber Festival

I’ll start by saying that this wasn’t my first rodeo. I’d been there several years ago when I was helping the Montreal Modern Quilt Guild help Craft de Ville and the team at Twist Fiber Festival in raising quilting and fabric as an interesting fiber to explore.

Cinzia (from Deux Petites Souris) came up with the great idea of having a sample quilt on hand for them to try hand quilting. It was a hit!

Since I was part of the booth team, I didn’t venture out that much. I remember walking around the show and finding there was a lot of yarn – ha! Shocker, I know 😉

I’ve been caught off guard when the festival was being held and was otherwise occupied. This year, I made a note to save that weekend for a visit.

I’m so thrilled that I didn’t miss out.

It gave me the chance to catch up with quilty friends and discover some new notions that had me dreaming about possibilities the entire drive home – ha!

What I was drawn to

Atelier Perluette

I was instantly captivated by the display of thread spools at Atelier Perluette’s booth. I was even more captivated when I discovered it was linen thread. I’d never heard of linen thread. What about you?

I was tempted to purchase a spool there and then. But showed some reserve, and said I’d probably be back after I walked the floor (spoiler, I was 😉)

Trailhead Yarn Co.

The next stop was Trailhead Yarn Co. I’ve seen them on Instagram for quite some time and I’ve always been curious about their goods. It didn’t take me long after I entered their booth before I was tempted. It was when I turned to my left and noticed their bundles display that I knew I was going to be taking one of those pretties home.

After lots of debating – I ended up with these two 😉

Chatting with friends

Next up was running into lots of quilty friends at some of my favourite fabric shops: Tamara Kate Design, Craft de Ville, Élégante Virgule, and picked up some fabric goodies along the way too.

All about yarn

Initial impressions

Then it was all about yarn. And I’ll be the first to admit that I was overwhelmed by all the options. Think about fabric and all the substrates, that’s how it felt but for yarn. And I felt very much like a novice. Which is totally cool and very exciting. But also, very intimidating as to where to start.

How I handled the overwhelm

So, I do what I do best with fabric, I felt it – ha!

Yup, I went around touching everyone’s different fibers to see what felt good to the touch. If I’m going to be spending hours with it to knit the project, and then hours while wearing it, then I want to make sure it feels good to the touch.

That was my objective: find what feels good to me.

What I discovered

And I did!

Turns out I like the pricey stuff 😉

Silk and cashmere to be precise.

Either on their own or combined, they both feel lovely.

What caught my eye

I found my faves at La Maillerie and Ma Laine Maison.

I even curated a bundle of yarn to make a sweater I was envisioning in the kiosk and was headed to check out when I hesitated.

Insert all the rational excuses you say to yourself to talk yourself out of bigger purchases. It was an internal mental debate of the rational vs the creative. The rational won out. And then I thought about this imaginary sweater the entire drive home – lol.

Tips if you plan to visit

Here are some of my top tips if you plan to visit the Twist Fiber Festival.

Check the vendor list

Check the vendor list to make sure the driving commitment is worthwhile. The vendors change from year to year, so there’s no guarantee your past favourites will be there. I was surprised to see some shops that I was really curious about visiting, so checking the vendor list encouraged me even more to visit.

Check the weather

Check the weather. I knew it was going to rain that day, and there were concerns about heavy rain. With a 4-hour round-trip, I made sure to get there for close to opening and left before the heavy rain was scheduled. Even with that, I got caught in rain and the drive was a little scary at times with so much water on the highway.

Bring an umbrella

Bring an umbrella. Since it did rain, there is part of the venue that is held outside under tents, so you’ll be exposed to the elements if you’re moving between those sites. I also had to line up at entry and I was one of the few who had an umbrella and there was no tent covering the line-up.

Have a game plan in mind

Have a game plan in mind. I was very curious about yarn and planned on getting to know the different types and knew I might pick some up. What I wasn’t anticipating was the cost. I didn’t want to just drop hundreds of dollars on yarn without even knowing what I really needed. Having never made a sweater; I figured a little pause on the yarn purchase was probably wise. Maybe set a budget for how much you want to spend, as the temptation is real!

I hope this roundup of my latest exploration of the Twist Fiber Festival was fun and helpful to you! If there’s anything I didn’t cover that you’re curious about, feel free to leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to share some insight!

xo,

Shannon

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