Colorado has a special place in my heart. I have family sprinkled throughout the state, so we had many a family road trip where we crammed ourselves into my dad’s minivan. There are so many memories of hiking, fishing, panning for gold, rafting, and, of course, yarn shopping.
As soon as I heard about a fiber festival in Estes Park, I knew I had to go. However, I always had something else going on the second weekend in June, and I had to put it off for few years. But this year, I got lucky. Once again, we packed up my dad’s minivan and headed west for the Estes Park Wool Market!
We ended up staying in Fort Collins with said family, as it’s really expensive to stay in Estes Park (and not buying a hotel rooms means more money to spend on yarn!). At the behest of my cousin Dan, we took a little detour on our way to Estes through Glen Haven. Off the side of the road is the Glen Haven General Store, that had the most amazing cinnamon rolls. Well worth the stop!
Then we arrived at the main event!
The vendor market was huge, it took us a whole day to get through all of it. Over 70 vendors were there, with everything from raw fleeces to finished goods. Of course, we had to stop at Longmont Yarn Shoppe‘s booth for World Wide Knit in Public Day!
What was really prevalent to me at this festival was the availability of locks and punch needle projects. The locks were thrilling, since I’m still in love with tailspinning. I haven’t ventured into punch needle yet, but all of the samples at the festival certainly peaked my interest.
Most exciting, Mom finally got her spinning wheel! It’s a Louet, we’re pretty sure an S75. Previously loved, as Mom likes to say, but it’s in excellent shape. It used to belong to Chris Switzer, and Mom got a signed copy of her book with the wheel.
Of course, this is just the market. There was so much to see in Estes, I can’t fit it all in one blog post! So stay tuned for more posts that’ll include Estes’ amazing LYS, adorable fiber animals, and a high-stakes fiber competition!
FahrOut Fiber Adventures 
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