National knitting event coming to Calgary for the first time

Getting ready for Knit City Calgary Stephen Avenue is beautiful this time of year but a promotional yarn-bombing has left it even a little more colourful than usual.

In years past, Knit City started in Vancouver and spread to Toronto and Montreal but this year is the first time the weekend fibre festival is coming to Calgary.

"So many of the people that come to the (Vancouver) show come from Calgary," said Fiona Mclean, Knit City organizer. "So many of our vendors come from Calgary and we just thought that it was, time for us to come to Calgary rather than asking Calgary to come to Vancouver."

Mclean says there are over 90 vendors to shop from at the weekend event that runs August 17th and 18th. But there will also be a demonstration area hosted by Stash Needle Art Lounge where people can see wool spinning and weaving.

"We want to provide a place for our community to gather," she said. "Sometimes knitting is something you do on your own, it can be a lonely hobby but there's so many of us and it's so much fun when we all get together and see each other."

Calm before the storm

Mclean says this is the calm before the storm because while she's checking the space at the Telus Convention Centre in downtown Calgary, vendors get access to the space August 16th and they're preparing everything they're bringing to the event.

Caroline Sommerfeld and her team at Ancient Arts Fibre are loading everything they're taking to the show, but there is still a lot of dyed yarn that has to be dried before it can be packed.

"It's been really, really busy and really exciting because the first time that we will be doing a fiber event, we will also have a storefront open," she said. "So we're having to double everything up and we're releasing a new knit collection.

"We have multiple new yarn bases," Sommerfield added, "including one that's completely Albertan wool growing in Alberta, milled in Alberta, dyed in Alberta, which is really neat so yeah -- (it's) nuts."

Knit City

Sommerfeld has been a major supporter of Knit City since it started over 10 years ago. She's been to wool festivals all over the world and says Knit City tops them all. She's excited to host Calgarians and others from across the country.

"There will be a really interesting set of interactive exhibits on how yarn is made and all sorts of interesting things about yarn," she said.

"Because let's face it, no matter what craft we do, understanding the fibre that we use is really important to how well that works," she added, "so we're going to have all sorts of 'here's how yarn is made, behind the scenes' and then (there are) lots of things to touch and feel and experience so visitors will be able to try out lots of different yarns and get a better understanding of what we're all selling and playing with."

Wool from home operation

Erin Reidy started Lilly & Pine Fibre Arts eight years ago and runs the wool dying operation out of her home.

"Color is my passion," she said. "Bright color really brings me so much joy and I love seeing what the dyes do, I love experimenting and playing around with color, I love seeing what people make with my items."

This is the fourth show she's signed up to be a vendor but this year she's also teaching.

"I'm really excited and I'm really nervous," Reidy said. "Knit City brings in some celebrity instructors and so that I'm teaching is very strange and I feel a lot of pressure but I'm teaching two classes, both on spinning yarn, which I'm really excited about."

Reidy says Calgary has a vibrant knitting community and now there are more people doing bespoke wool dying for knitters.

"Here in Calgary, I have a group of friends, there's about eight of us that all dye yarn or make project bags," she said. "Just in Calgary I'd probably say there's 15 to 20 dyers not including all across Canada and the U.S. and other countries, it's a really big industry."

Event for everyone

Sommerfeld says seasoned knitters and those new to the hobby should attend the weekend event.

"Whether you are a new vendor or you are a new person that's never been to one of these festivals, you're going to have a great time," she said. "There are tons of volunteers to support everybody, there are tons of staff to support everybody, new vendors will have support from all of the vendors there, new customers will meet a lot of really interesting and exciting people so you should absolutely come out and have some fun."

Learn more about Knit City here.