My LYS and the Fair in Isokyrö

Yesterday was a happy day: first I went to my LYS while hubby was emptying his bank account, then we went to the 18th Century Fair in Isokyrö. It's a fair for professional crafters, and the idea is to be as natural as possible: no artificial materials, the wrappings have to be of fabric or paper, and the sellers have to dress in an old fashioned way. For a reason I have forgotten the fair tries to be 1700-ish, but that's of course very difficult. The fair was really big this year. All the fields around the old church ground had been turned into car parks and there were thousands of visitors.

But first, the LYS, Vörå Handarbetsaffär. It's a miracle. Ever since we moved to this community in 1991 I have turned to the owner, Gunnel Björk, when I need something special. "Oh just a moment", she says, "I think I have one in a drawer somewhere", and then she digs into her stash and up comes a shuttle for tatting, cards for card weaving, a back strap loom, beads, a hairpin for lace, a bobbin winder, and all the other things an experimenting textile crafter thinks she needs. The lady is now in her seventies and still in the shop almost every day.

Oh yes, she has buttons :) Yarns. Not much, but yarns of good quality.

Gunnel is a weaver, so of course there are looms in the shop, and weaving material in a room of their own. There is one more room for weaving material back to the left.

If you need a warp, just call her. She'll string the warp for you late at night after she's come home from the shop.

The last few years her daughter Birgitta has been working in the shop also, so there is hope for the future. And Birgitta's little daughter is a natural crafter, a small girl with an intuitive understanding of textile!

OK, so over to the fair in Isokyrö. Hubby and me used to sell our textiles here at the end of the 90s, and we always liked this fair very much. I always had my spinning wheel and a spindle with me.

First I saw a soldier with his head in a bush:

Then hubby and me saw soldiers with their heads in a car motor:

I wonder if they need those big knives to take care of the problem?

The place was crowded, but all of a sudden I saw a familiar little boy:

My lovely nephew sitting on a not-so-seventeenhundreds bale of straw, and my brother standing beside him! My sister in law had run off with my brother's wallet and the trolley so both brother and son felt a bit worried :) In the background you can see the church from the 14th century.

There was a blacksmith:

And a chef:

And his tasty soup:

I sat in the marquee and felt I like it very much: the fresh air, the people moving about, the not so fancy but tasty food and the not-so-seventeen-hundreds-plate, mug, spoon, napkin and food tray. I like it much better than restaurants I have been to. It's the feeling of being with people you have something in common with. The crafts, or the wild life, the events that bring us together for a couple of hours.

Yes, I bought a mug for myself, small gifts for crafty friends, and a broom for hubby so he can sweep the stairs of our house. Hrm. And I bought a back pack. This year we had time to look at the museum. There are several buildings on the ground, with lots of interesting artefacts, so I'll show you some photos form the museum.

A spinning wheel from Isokyrö:

Swifts:

Woodworking tools:

Wallpaper as they looked at the beginning of last century. The farmers didn't always have money to buy commercial wallpapers, so they used old newspapers:

The fire place was enormous, but it didn't heat the whole house. Those wallpapers were necessary to keep some of the cold out during our very cold winters.

Carpets on the floor were necessary for the same reason. They were rug or wool carpets, and in winter they covered the whole floor.

The beds were nice made up with textiles in day time. I don't know if it was appropriate to sit on this bed with it's white cotton cover, but someone has obviously done so. Cotton became common late, at the end of the 19th century, and it was expensive. Flax was the most common plant material for garments and other textiles.

And now to my own crafts. Oh yes, I have been spinning in July and August, but only about 600 grams because much of my time has gone to washing wool, teasing, and carding.

The skeins to the right are spun from the Estonian Finull I have shown in my blog here and here. I want to make an announcement:

This is the best wool I have ever spun. I have spun for 30 years, so I think that says about everything you can say about wool. Ülle, thank you once again!

The two skeins to the left are the tops I carded together with bits and pieces and spun woolen. I showed the rolags earlier: rolags.