Copper K Fiber Fest This Saturday and Sunday

Looking for a new hobby? Want to make your own Christmas presents this year? The Copper K Fiber Festival is the place to learn, and they have a great selection of workshops to choose from. A destination fiber festival, taking place in the remote countryside, the Copper K Fiber Fest is taking fiber arts back to its roots with this amazing weekend in the country.

The Fiber Festival will be held at the Copper K Barn outside of Whitehall July 16-17; the event is free to attend, but workshops carry a registration fee and must be signed up for ahead of time.

Many of the workshops are sold out, however, the following are still available to register for at http://www.copperkfiberfestival.com.

SATURDAY, JULY 16:

• Don't Go There! An introduction to resist dyeing with Peggy Doney; $87: This is a three-hour workshop (1 PM - 4 PM) where you can be knotty, zippy, and resist! Using pre-dyed base yarns, in order to layer colors where you want them, you will use a variety of methods to tell the dye "Don't go there!

• Twining with plants growing in the ditch with Billy Maxwell; $60. In this three-hour workshop (1 PM - 4 PM) you will identify and process thread from last year's Indian hemp that is common across North America as the connecting warp to grasses and rushes for the warp.

SUNDAY, JULY 17:

• Spinning: Dialing in your singles and plying with Randy Glick; $80. The goal of every spinner should be to spin the singles that they need to make a truly stunning finished yarn. In order to accomplish this, the spinner should understand the importance of three elements, which will be discussed in this four-hour workshop (9 AM - 1 PM).

• Fleece to Fashion: Step one with Tammy Jordan; $120. Do you have raw fiber you've been wanting to turn into clothing or a beautiful creation but just haven't been sure where to start? Learn where to begin at this five-hour workshop (9 AM - 3 PM).

• Pre-1863 Porcupine Quill Dyeing with Billy Maxwell; $85. Review quillwork and quill dying in North America, as well as native and European natural dyes that were used to dye quills in this three-hour workshop (9 AM-noon).

Advanced Nalbinding with Denise Jackson; $80. For those who mastered Oslo stitch and want to know more, this is the three-hour workshop for you! (12:30 PM - 3:30 PM).

Massages are available this year during the festival! Friday appointments by prescheduling with Christy Yancy only. Saturday and Sunday she will be available by appointment or have a chair set up in the open spin area for walk-ups and is charging $1 per minute.

Vendors attending the Copper K Fiber Fest include Ranching Tradition Fiber, Red Apron Catering, Notiwonk Springs, Stone Cottage Pottery & Farm, The Wool Mill & Serenity Sheep Farm Stay, The 100th Sheep, Feathergrass Fiber, Spanish Peaks Alpacas, Goldieknots Montana, Wandering Pines Ranch, Esther Purl Fibers, Dresow Family Farm, Fair Winds Llamas & Fiber Mill, Lone Pine Wool Emporium, Blue Savannah, Knaturl Knitwear, Desert Panda Fiber Arts, Pinnacle Creations, Harvest Hill Acres/Wild Barn Yarn, Wooly Walkers, Bee's Knees N Knits, McComas Handweaving, Way Off Broadway Farm & Fiber, Valley View Farm, Heart and Soul Alpacas & Spinnery, Athena Spinning, Roving Ram Ranch, Wooly Witch of the West, Slate Falls Press, Raen Works, LLC, Montana Mobile Massage, Flying Wheel Woolery, Botany of Being, Steitzhof Merinos, and more!

Don't miss out on this annual festival of fibers at the Copper K Barn, Saturday, July 16, 9 AM - 5 PM, and Sunday, July 17, 9 AM - 4 PM.