NOTE: “Today” and “tonight” refer to Friday, October 4.
SEQUIM –– It’s time again to think about clothing, naturally.
From sheep and alpacas to cedar and even mushrooms for dye, the North Olympic Peninsula is rich with all sorts of imaginable materials for do-it-yourself clothiers and crafters.
“The definition to me of fiber is anything that’s longer than it is wide,” said fiber arts festival Director Renne Brock-Richmond.
That variety will be celebrated by a thick network of spinners, felters, rovers and weavers at the three-day eighth annual North Olympic Fiber Arts Extravaganza this weekend in Sequim.
Hands-on
The festival, which runs from today through Sunday, includes educational demonstrations of fiber processes, hands-on projects with children and adults, sales of local artists’ work, workshops, lectures and wearable art shows.
The fiber fun begins tonight from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. with the opening of the “Strong Stitches: Friendship, Cooperation & Uniforms” exhibit — a display of communally constructed pieces — at the Museum & Arts Center of the Sequim-Dungeness Valley, 175 W. Cedar St.
Displays range from the more traditional raw-wool-knit hats and mittens to an afghan blanket made out of dog hair.
The exhibit’s opening coincides with the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Sequim.
“It’s going to be a lot of artists celebrating their family traditions and the collaborative process that working with fiber can be,” Brock-Richmond said.
Admission is free to the museum and to the Saturday fiber demonstrations at the Sequim Farmers Market on Cedar Street between Second and Sequim avenues.
Wool in the wild
A reception for the many artists showing at the festival will be at the MAC from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Those interested in seeing wool while it is being grown can visit farms that provide fiber for spinning and knitting on the 17th annual Clallam County Farm Tour.
While previous fiber arts festivals have had sheep and alpacas on hand, Brock-Richmond said the farm tour made for a happy coincidence.
“We decided it was better to see the animals out on the farm, where they’re used to cleaning up after them,” Brock-Richmond said.
Workshops, marketplace
Vendors will sell fiber and fiber creations throughout the festival. Vendors include the North Olympic Shuttle and Spindle Guild, Bowerman Basin Ltd., Bumblebeads and unique as you.
Displays of spinning and weaving will be at the Sequim Farmers Market on Saturday. Farmers market hours are from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Knitting and dying displays will be inside the MAC.
Instructional workshops on using mushrooms for dye, crafting bracelets and many other fiber projects are scheduled throughout Sunday at the MAC.
The festival is sponsored by North Olympic Shuttle and Spindle Guild and the MAC, and includes participation by the Strait Knitters Guild, Sunbonnet Sue Quilt Club, Sequim Farmers Market, Peninsula College and other groups.
Here is the festival schedule:
Today
■ 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. — First Friday Art Walk reception for the “Strong Stitches: Friendship, Cooperation & Uniforms” exhibit, MAC.
Saturday
■ 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Fiber Arts Extravaganza at the MAC, with demonstrations of fiber processes in action and fiber arts for sale.
■ 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. — Displays of spinning and weaving at the Sequim Farmers Market.
■ 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — “Strong Stitches” exhibit, MAC.
■ Noon to 3 p.m. — Artists’ opening reception for MAC exhibit.
Sunday
■ 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — Fiber arts workshops, Dungeness Schoolhouse, 2781 Towne Road.
■ 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. — “Strong Stitches” exhibit, MAC.
For a full list of classes, visit www.FiberArtsFestival.org.
________
Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
