2007 Fiber Competition Information

• Raw Fiber Competition & Sale
• Skein Competition
• Fiber Creations Competition
• Invitational Gallery
• Parking Lot Fiber Sale
• Fiber Division Judges
• Fiber Division General Entry Rules

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Fiber Competition & Sale General Rules:

1. General Entry Rules for the Fiber Division apply.
    
2. Fleeces must be from animals owned by the exhibitor at the time of harvest. Plant fiber must have been grown and/or collected by the exhibitor.
    
3. Entries are "raw fiber" as collected from the source. Fiber that has been washed, dehaired, combed or brushed after harvest will not be accepted.
    
4. Judging is done on the entire fleece; partial fleeces or fleece samples will not be accepted.
    
5. Entries must have been shorn or collected within 18 months of exhibiting.
    
6. Fleeces must be fully skirted, reasonably clean and free of infestation.
    
7. First and second clip Angora goat buck fleeces will be accepted; however, the OFFF Fiber Division reserves the right to refuse or disqualify any fleece that is odorous or might be considered offensive. Other breed buck fleeces are not accepted.
    
8. Prior to February 8, 2008, Any organization may request the opportunity to judge fiber in their appropriate category, according to their own rules, but must provide the judge, rules and instructions & awards. OFFF will not collect materials or implement rules for other organizations. Contact Kristi Gustafson, Fiber Division Co-Chair, for more information or to make arrangements by February 1, 2008 for the 2008 festival.

• Sheep: Fine Wool (< 22 microns), Medium (22-30 microns), Strong
  (> 30 microns)
   
• Goats: Mohair, Cashmere, Pygora and PCA, Other
   
• Rabbits: French, Satin, English, German Giant and American Fuzzy Lop
   
• Camelids: Alpaca, Camel and Llama
   
• Miscellaneous: Cat, Dog, Cattle, Horse, Silk, Yak

• Bark
• Cotton
• Flax/Linen
• Hemp
• Willow/Hazel
• Miscellaneous

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Enter the Skein Competition and show what can be handspun with natural fibers!

Enter for the first time--it's a great learning experience, and skeins are judged by skill level to encourage participation.

Where:
Upstairs, Main Pavilion

Fee:
$2.00/skein

Categories:
See entry form

Skein Judge:
Diane Bentley-Baker

Skill Levels

• (10%) overall appearance
• (10%) preparation for exhibit
• (20%) suitability of fiber to yarn
• (40%) technique
• (20%) suitability of yarn to use

Skein Competition Rules:

1. General Entry Rules for the Fiber Division apply.
    
2. All work must be hand-spun by the entrant and completed within the last 18 months.
    
3. All skeins must be 50 yards or more.
    
4. Skeins must be tied in at least 3 places using figure-8 style ties.
    
5. All sections of the registration form must be filled out completely.
    
6. A 3"x5" information card, fiber sample and sample swatch must be attached to one of the skein ties (swatch not required for youth, child, and novice entries but strongly encouraged).
    

Skein Information Card Guidelines:

• Fiber Source
• Single Natural: from one naturally occurring source (e.g. wool, cotton, alpaca)
   
• Blended Natural: a blend of 2+ natural fibers (e.g. 80% alpaca, 20% silk)
   
• Natural/Synthetic Blend: a blend of naturally occurring and synthetic/manufactured fibers-must be at least 50% natural fibers (e.g. 90% wool, 10% nylon)
   
• Type(s) and percentage blend of fibers: please note type/breed/strain if known (e.g. Icelandic wool, tussah silk, organic cotton, etc.)
• Color
• Natural Color: any naturally occurring undyed color, including white
   
• Dyed: any fiber dyed with natural or synthetic dyes--either before or after spinning
   
• Comments on natural color or dye: note type of dye, whether commercially or hand-dyed, color blending or dye techniques, etc. (e.g. dyed with indigo, purchased space dyed roving, or all natural colors blended from one variegated llama)
   
• Technique
• Singles: single strand--not plyed
   
• Plyed: 2 or more singles twisted together
   
• Novelty: special techniques (boucle, beaded, slub, etc.
   
• Describe techniques used for preparation of fiber, spinning, and/or plying: describe how fiber was prepared (e.g. hand-combed, drum-carded, commercially processed roving, etc.), spinning technique (e.g. long draw, drop spindle, etc.), and/or plying technique (e.g. Navajo ply, boucle, etc.) as applicable.
   
• Intended Use
  
  Describe a suitable use for your yarn based on its characteristics-include technique and/or project (e.g. knitted sweater, woven scarf, or hooked rug).
   
• Include a swatch (4"x4" suggested size--may vary with intended use--not required for youth, child, and novice entries but strongly encouraged). Swatch may be made by a person other than the entrant but please note this on the information card.

Fiber Creations Competition

Where:
Upstairs, Main Pavilion

Judges:

Skill Levels

Rules:

1. General Entry Rules for the Fiber Division apply.
    
2. All work must be original and completed by the entrant within the last 18 months.
    
3. All entries must be made from at least 75% natural fiber.
    
4. A 3" x 5" information card should be attached to the entry and may describe the fiber source, type of fiber, color and technique.
    
5. Yarn may be either handspun or commercially prepared

Categories

• Hand-knitted, Machine Knitted or Crocheted
   
• Felted
   
• Woven
   
• Other Fiber Applications

Subcategories will be determined by the judges, per entries.

Raw Fiber

WOOL: Virginia Nollmeyer, Bozeman, Montana
Virginia grew up raising sheep—Targhee Columbia crosses and Shetland breeds. For the past 10 years, Virginia has run the Montana State Wool Lab, conducted wool research, taught wool related classes at the university level and judged commercial and breed specific classes.

PYGORA & CASHMERE: Peggy Tigner, Brownsville, Oregon
Peggy began raising Pygora goats in 1995 and expanded to include PCA and Colored Angoras in her herd. She has taken goat fiber classes through Texas A&M University, is a certified Colored Angora inspector and has judged Pygora and Mohair fiber competitions. Peggy teaches hand spinning and fiber arts classes.

ANGORA MOHAIR: Teresa Bricker, Salem, Oregon
Teresa raised Colored and White Angora goats and is a hand spinner. She served as president and regional director of CAGBA and was involved in creating the CAGBA Judge’s Certification Program. She is a certified inspector.

CAMELID: Paula Shull, Silverton, Oregon
Paula is an artist, teacher, judge and frequent contributor to Spin Off Magazine. Her research and experiment findings have been published in "Shuttle, Spindle, Dyepot" for the Handweavers Guild of America.

MISCELLANEOUS FIBER: Sally McCarrick, Rainier, Oregon
See Invitational Artists

Skein Judge

HANDSPINNING: Diane Bentley-Baker, Eugene, Oregon
Diane has been a spinner for 35 years, earned a Certificate of Excellence in Handspinning and has completed the NwRSA Judging course. She knits, works with natural dyes and has taught spinning and yarn design. Her first novel, "Child of Light" is dedicated to themes of spinning and natural dyes.

Fiber Creations Judges

KNITTING: Sally McCarrick, Rainier, Oregon
See Invitational Artists

WEAVING: Sue Fariso, Portland, Oregon
Sue has been involved with fiber most of her life, having learned to knit at age 8. She has been a spinner for 25 years and a weaver for about 20 years. She has served on the board of the Portland Handweavers Guild and is currently a partner at Ruthie’s Weaving Studio in Portland.

FELTING: Carin Engen, Graberville, California
Carin loves to experiment in all the fiber arts, including quilting, felting, spinning, dyeing, beading, knitting, embroidery, clothing design, paper-making and willow furniture making.