Golden Gate Fiber Institute

We came, we laughed, we learned, we ate well, there were door prizes for everyone, and did I mention lots of laughs? The first Golden Gate Fiber Institute has come and gone, and it was a fabulous time, if I do say so myself.

There was great weather, sun, sea air, some fog and some wind, and did I mention the fabulous food?

People were happy, 6 days of classes and 6 evenings of gathering to spin and knit, laugh and talk, see old friends and meet new ones, and did I mention the door prizes? Vendors of all stripes were very generous: there was fiber, yarn, equipment, spindles, more yarn, and more fiber.

Several teachers were new to me: Loyce Ericson taught felted hats, a new hat every day, and they were wild to subdued: a personality profile of each felter.

Darlene Hayes taught a natural dye class, probably under the most challenging conditions of any teacher there, with grace and aplomb. Here are some of the results:



Eye popping colors, the full spectrum, all done in natural dyes with afterbaths, mordant baths and pushing the limits of pH. We are planning to have Darlene come up to our guild for a dye workshop, she was just too fun and too smart for words. She's close to us too, though moving a bit further away soon, so we hope to have her come up sooner rather than later.

The party room stayed up late, Christine, Maia, and a few others who escaped notice were paid back though, when we got up at o'dark hundred for coffee and knitting. All in good fun, and a few sleepy campers are to be expected when you get 60 spinners, knitters and weavers together for a full week.

The whole week was more fun than a barrel of monkeys, and the raccoons tried to make us believe an actual barrel of monkeys had been loosed upon us. Thanks Morgaine, and you can be sure I'll be back to camp again another day.