Hello family! I am back with a long overdue Saturday Spotlight. This time I would like to shine my light on Maxcine DeGouttes and her Kings County Fiber Festival. When I think of her the first thing I thought is how did we connect? Of course the answer is yarn.
It’s October 😱 already, which means cooler days and nights in most of the country AND fiber festival season. I have always wanted to attend this one but life always got in the way, as it is now…I’m still in Florida so I will miss this again 😟
You guys know I love to support my fiberfriends so introducing Maxcine DeGouttes and the Kings County Fair
1. So tell me about Maxcine DeGouttes and crafting. Do you knit and crochet?
I started crafting at a very young age knitting began at the age of 7, knitting was the first thing that I asked to be taught. I made my first sweater when I was in junior high school, and my first knitting student was my junior high school home economics teacher.
I’ve always enjoyed making beautiful things I suppose knitting at such a young age was a way for me to start expressing myself. Some of my other crafts are egg blowing for christmas ornaments, I did a little bit of sewing, I even tried my hand at needlepoint and embroider. I crochet some but I am truly at home with knitting.
2. The first sweater in high school? Wow! How long have you been a fiber crafter?
In my early years I would say that the interest did ebb and flow, I was always surrounded by fiber artist my mother is a dress maker. I have been knitting for over 40 years.
3. 40 years! We have to meet, I’m sure you can teach me a thing or two. So that’s who taught you to knit and/or crochet, your mom?
I learned it from my mother and other relatives. In the seventies in the New York City public school system you had home economic. Before Title nine the girls were signed up for knitting, crocheting and sewing, after Title Nine you could take woodshop. I was already knitting by the time I got to sixth grade because my mother who learned how to knit in Jamaica, taught me the basics.
4. Yes! I remember home economics, lol wow what a flashback. Kings County Fiber Festival, if I understand correctly that is your baby, meaning you gave birth to it right?
Yes the Kings County Fiber Festival is my baby I started it out of a need something else to do I had a yarn shop for many years, it was a chance to do something different but also to offer the city dwellers a new fiber experience. The festival is a curated experience of independent farmers, sheep herders, spinners, dyers, weavers and needle crafters.
In a shop the focus is coming up with inspiration and encouragement for your customers and my customers were so talented. I needed something else to do so I created an environment that supported an idea.
I approached the Old Stone House with the idea of us working on a project together and that’s how the Kings County Fiber Festival came about. It’s a very curated Festival, all natural fibers with some activities, a buffet for fiber enthusiast to explore. At the time New York City offered nothing like it within the five boroughs, in my corporate days I was so busy traveling for work I would stop at yarn shops on the road. I wanted a yarn show that I could get to by subway or bus an activity within the city limits.
The Kings County Fiber Festival is an outdoor experience on a lovely autumn day in the beautifully redesigned J. J. Byrne Park with over 30 fiber vendors offering the excitement of their magnificent creativity to other fiber artist and early Christmas shoppers. The 5th annual Kings County Fiber Festival is October 8th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Old Stone House in Brooklyn on 5th Avenue.
For the 2nd year Lion Brand has donated yarn for our free Arm Knitting class. For the 4th year the Meet-up group Spin City will hold a Fleece to Shawl Challenge.
5. Man how Awesome is this! I can’t believe I have never been 😟How long has it been around?
This is the 5th year with each Columbus Day Saturday I remember the first time I saw the grounds of the festival the leaves had changed in the park it was a feast for the eyes. This lovely place is the perfect setting for the Kings County Fiber Festival, the vendors begin their setup at 7 in the morning by the time I walk up to the festival it’s a setting that the invites creativity the beautiful colors of the fibers the creative ways that the vendor set-up their booths. Brooklyn is a great place to have the festival.
6. I know it’s coming up soon Oct 8, 2016 so let’s use this time to tell folks what they can expect when they attend.
The Kings County Fiber Festival offers a lot of activities for everyone, as for the fiber enthusiasm they will experience the fiber from start to finish whether it is from sheep or angora rabbit, to yarn or a delicately hand crochet shawl or metal and fiber jewelry, even hand sewn aprons..
There is a whole world of fiber within this Festival we are offering an arm knitting class this year. We are having a Specialty Foods category and one of my teachers is baking bread mail-order. He will be offering tasting and selling his freshly baked bread. Another vendor has some interesting choices in granola.
7. I am excited and sad at the same time. Yarn and homemade bread..what more could a girl ask for. What else would you like my readers to know about you and the fair?
The fiber marketplace of the Kings County Fiber Festival is complete with dedicated artist filled with an endless passion for their fiiber art. The festival is an endless sea of color, texture, and fun. Saturday, October 8th from 10 am to 6 pm is the date and Brooklyn is the place. I hope to see you there.
Well Maxcine DeGouttes thank you so much for taking the time to share with me and my readers. As I stated earlier I won’t be home 😕 but I can let all my fiber friends know so they can attend! Alright fiber friends you know the drill let’s spread the word, tell a fellow fiberfriend.
Knit on my fiber friends…knit on
GG