Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair set for June 24-26 in Grayslake
By LIlli Kuzma Sun-Times Media June 23, 2011 7:42PM
Shoppers at last year's fair were pleased with their purchases of fleece.
Midwest
Fiber and Folk Art Fair
Expo Center, Lake County Fairgrounds, 1060 East Peterson Road, Grayslake
10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 24-26
$10 daily, $25 for all three days, free age 9 and younger www.fiberandfolk.com
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Updated: September 22, 2011 12:34AM
Learning to knit as a child inspired a lifetime love and involvement with the fiber arts for Carol Cassidy-Fayer, of Crystal Lake.
“I was seven when my grandmother taught me how to knit,” she said. “Her parents were French Canadian and she taught me the French knitting terms.”
By age 12, Cassidy-Faver was making sweaters and sewing. She continued to develop her interest and skills, and her adult years have seen successful involvement in several fiber arts businesses — and the growth and success of a prominent fiber fair.
Five years ago, she launched the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair. This year’s event will be held June 24-26 at the Expo Center on the Lake County Fairgrounds in Grayslake.
“I kind of fell into it,” she said. “I started with what I knew, which was fiber arts. I quilt, I sew, I knit, I crochet. We didn’t have a big fiber event in Illinois. So I didn’t ‘specialize’ with the fair. We include as many fiber arts as we can attract.”
The fair offers everything from sales of finished works of art, fabric, supplies, equipment and tools, to demonstrations, workshops, exhibits, contests, live folk music and food vendors. Knitting, weaving, crocheting, quilting, felting, beading, and more, are all included in this expansive fiber event. There are three kinds of workshops — all day and half day (advance registration recommended), and the one-hour “mini’s” (no registration required). The fair website, www.fiberandfolk.com, provides complete information on the workshops.
New features this year include a fleece competition, which will appeal to fiber artists who create their own yarns and fabrics, and some casual fashion modeling.
“The fleece is sent in and then judged on its quality. There are so many different breeds of sheep and the wool can be so different. For example, Navaho wool is good for rugs, but not for sweaters,” explained Cassidy-Faver. “For the modeling, we’re working with some community theater actresses, having them model some designs, encouraging them to do some improv, sing a song, recite a monologue, or strike a pose.”
The Expo Center will host 115 booths, a market and ongoing workshops. Acoustic music will be featured in the background. Food vendors and a music stage will be featured outside the building.
The live music offerings will include Compass, David Hawkins, Dean Milano, Russ & Diane Ward, Guyz with Bad Eyez, Mark Hobbs, Bear Creek, Jim Fine and The Beaumonts. This year’s featured acts are Small Potatoes, Pete Jonsson and Trillium.
Mim Eichmann will perform both as a soloist on hammered dulcimer inside the Expo Center and outside with eclectic quartet, Trillium, which performs a mix of folk, bluegrass, Celtic, swing, ragtime and a little country.
“We’ve played every year, so this will be our fifth,” said Eichmann. “Of the places it’s been, this is the best— a huge space to see the different booths. For the most part, the exhibitors are people who make these things, who spun or wove it, they make their own looms an knitting needles. Inside, the music is more ‘in the air,’ not amplified, as people walk around.”
There’s a good reason for having indoor and outdoor vendor areas.
“Because fibers are very sensitive to odors, we keep the food outside,” said Cassidy-Faver. To emphasize her point, she added: “I once dyed mittens for my kids with Kool-Aid and they retained the smell for eight years!”
Last year about 4,000 people attended the fair. Since its inception, people have come from 49 states and several different countries.
“The only state missing is Delaware,” Cassidy-Fayer said.
She hopes the fair encourages people to explore fiber arts.
“It feels good to make something with your own hands,” she said.
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