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HFM 2023 Classes now open for Pre-registration!

The Hamilton Fibre Forge is so excited to welcome back Robbie Laughlin to the 2023 Hamilton Fibre Market!

If you have never attended a class with Robbie, you are in for a treat!  He is an amazing teacher and has a way of explaining the most complex fibre techniques in the simplest of terms!  See his bio below!

Robbie will be offering three classes.  Two require pre-registration and are limited to 10 people each.  The final one will run all afternoon and will be a first-come, first-serve session!  See below for details!

 

1) Visible Mending on Hand Knits 10:30am-11:30am Max 10 people
Register here!
 
Got a pesky hole? In this class you’ll learn how to patch it using several techniques – darning, a woven patch, and a sewn in patch will be demonstrated so you can choose the one you like best for your repairs – both knit and crochet! Students wishing to follow along should bring some torn knits, or a swatch they have cut a hole into, along with scraps of fabric and yarn, a tapestry needle, a darning egg or a darning loom.  Want to practice your skills? Join Robbie later in the day from 1:30pm-3:30pm during the project 911 session – who knows what else you might learn!
 

2) Embroidering on Knits 12:00pm-1:00pm Max 10 people
Register here!

In this class you’ll learn the basic techniques and embroidery stitches used to embellish knitting (or crochet!) – stem stitch, satin stitch, chain stitch and French knots will be used to create a beautiful flower. Students wishing to follow along will need to make a 5” square swatch using worsted weight yarn, and have several colours of scrap yarn plus a tapestry needle on hand. An embroidery hoop that measures 4-5” is also highly recommended. Want to practice your skills? Join Robbie later in the day form 1:30pm-3:30pm during the project 911 session – who knows what else you might learn!
 
3) Project 911 Drop In 1:30pm-3:30pm
First come, first serve – See you there! 

One of the things people say most about taking classes with Robbie is that they always seem to learn something they didn’t expect to – so we decided to turn that into a class of its own, where Robbie invites you to drop in with your question about a knitting, crochet, spinning or weaving project! He’ll be on hand for a first come, first served drop in clinic, to provide advice and guidance for just about anything from choosing colours, to quick repairs, and ideas for moving forward with your stalled project! Don’t have a question? That’s okay too, you’re welcome to come hang out and work on your project and listen to all the advice and learn something new anyway!
 
*Fine Print: This class is subject to availability, as it is free of charge. In the interest of keeping himself available for everyone, Robbie reserves the right to defer extremely in depth topics to a class or online resource instead! For example, he’s not gonna be teaching you two colour brioche on the spot, but is happy to show you how to fix a mistake you made while doing it.

 


Robbie Laughlin is a knitwear designerand instructor living in Toronto, Ontario. He has designed patterns for Estelle Yarns, Eweknit, Rib Magazine,and many other sources.

As well as working in pattern designand teaching, Robbie works with technology for other designers, dyersand industry professionals – he is available for photography, template building, help with editing,and website construction!

Links
Instagram @robbiekl
Website: https://robbielaughlin.ca/
Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/designers/robbie-laughlin

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Marketplace 2023 Application Now Available!

Applications are now available for our Market Place on March 12, 2023!
Please note that as always, our events focus on the selling of supplies, equipment and notions for makers and creators rather than the selling of finished products.  If you are unsure, feel free to email us at thefibreforge@gmail.com

NEW VENDORS
This year we are offering a limited number of discounted Micro Market spaces to new vendors who are just starting out.  You will see an option to share information with us on the application if you would like to be considered!

 

IMPORTANT DATES

Notification of Acceptance by January 8, 2023 at the latest.
Payment due by January 31, 2023.

Final day for refunds will be February 15, 2023.
Proof of insurance required by March 1, 2023.

READY TO APPLY?

Application is available HERE.

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CANCELLED: Yarn & Fibre Crawl Aug 21, 2022

Yep, here we are again!
We have checked all sorts of weather sources and all of them are calling for rain and thunderstorms tomorrow so we have decided to cancel and there is no rain date unfortunately.
Our mandate is to encourage small, new vendors and many of them just aren’t set up for poor weather events. They all also work hard to produce lovely things with and for natural fibre, and the threat of their hard work being damaged due to high winds or rain isn’t a risk we want to take.
We made the call earlier this time, out of respect to the hosts that would already be setting up, and for all of our vendors and attendees that would soon be packing their vehicles and making plans.
So sorry everyone for this news!

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Yarn & Fibre Crawl | August 21, 2022

We are really looking forward to our Yarn & Fibre Crawl event on Sunday, August 21!  As July’s event was cancelled due to weather, this event is larger with 4 locations and 19 vendors!

Below is a map of the route along with the list of vendors by location, as well as with some food stops marked along the way and here is a link to download the PDF:  Yarn Crawl Aug 21 Vendor Map Version B

 

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Reminder: No Food/Beverages for Sale at the Market

 

There will be NO food or drink for sale on the day – this is a function of our COVID protocols. Please bring everything you need for yourself. There are some food options in the neighbourhood,

Closest Places….

Tim Hortons 418 Sherman Ave N, Hamilton, ON L8L 6P1 | 700m from Cotton Factory
https://goo.gl/maps/gEtu3mMYGn…

Staropolskie Delikatesy | Polish Delicatessen | Lunch, Sandwiches etc | 2km | Open until 3PM
711 Barton St E, Hamilton, ON L8L 3A7
https://goo.gl/maps/cVeMq4MgCS…

 

A Further Drive…..

CENTRE MALL | 4km
East on Barton at Ottawa
Power Centre with a number of food stops and a large food court building at the east end: A&W, Subway, Boston Pizza, Sunrise Diner, Burritos, Pita Pit, Shawarma, etc.
https://goo.gl/maps/NJiEgi4SPK5ysxqR9

HAMBURGR Crown Point 207 Ottawa St N, Hamilton, ON L8H 3Z4 | 3.5km
https://g.page/hambrgrottawast…

Caro Restaurant – Italian | 4km
4 Ottawa St N, Hamilton, ON L8H 3Y7
https://goo.gl/maps/CP8PvUjEqg…

The Hearty Hooligan – Vegan | 3.5km
292 Ottawa St N, Hamilton, ON L8H 3Z9
https://g.page/theheartyhoolig…

The Cannon – Coffee & Brunch | 3.5km
179 Ottawa St N, Hamilton, ON L8H 3Z4
https://g.page/cannoncoffeeco?…

Many more places on Ottawa St North among the restaurants above: pizza, pubs, subs, vegan etc.

Lots of other small local pizza places etc on Barton….google maps will bring them up but they will likely require a bit of driving.

There is a McDonalds quite close…but it has been under construction for awhile and we don’t know if it will be open on Market day.
https://goo.gl/maps/mbLMgmChoo…

 

 

 

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Classes at the Hamilton Fibre Market | March 2022

We are so excited to announce that Robbie Laughlin will be joining us to offer two workshops at the Hamilton Fibre Market!
We wanted to keep them fun, casual and interactive and we think we have succeeded!

1) 11am to 12pm Making Variegated Yarns Shine 2.0 – What can you make with that lovely hand-dyed skein? We offered this class online back in Jan 2021 but what better place to talk about using variegated yarns than at a market place that is full of them!! 🥰 Registration also includes a free download of Robbie’s Fleur de Lis pattern!

2) 12:30 to 1:30pm Robbie’s Nerdy Knitterly Tricks – Every knitter has a well kept secret or two, but in this class, Robbie is going to share all the secrets he’s discovered are not common knowledge while teaching and designing over the years

NEED TO KNOW:
Registration now open and available here on our website.
$20 per class (includes your entry fee,if you have already purchased you can bring a friend! Or email for a refund 😊)
10 people max per class….IF SOLD OUT please choose the waiting list option and checkout….we have the time to offer both classes twice if there is interest ❤

Only three weeks to go!!!

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Upcoming Classes with Robbie Laughlin

We are happy to announce that the Fibre Forge Academy has partnered with Robbie Laughlin again this year to offer classes both online AND in person!!

Visible Mending Class held at The Knitting Basket in Rosemont ON

 

 

Robbie is an awesome teacher.  He is a whiz with tech and many have found his online classes easy to access…not to mention he just has a knack for explaining things in ways that just….make sense! 🙂

 

We have switched to a one class per month model this year.
Every third Sunday from Nov to Feb from 11:00-12:00PM, Robbie will be on Zoom offering classes.
And then, he will be onsite at our Fibre Market on March 20, 2022 at the Cotton Factory offering a few different workshops as well as a help corner for those projects that have you stumped!

UPCOMING CLASSES – Click to register!
November 21, 2021 Thrummed Mittens

December 19, 2021 Finishing Hand Knits

January 16, 2022 Intro to Brioche

February 20, 2022 Colour Theory

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Third Time’s a Charm – March 2022 Fibre Market

Two years after our initial attempt to host a Fibre Market in Hamilton, and after two cancellations (one a week beforehand in March 2020 and the other in May 2020), we are back and trying again!

Everyone knows that “the third time’s the charm!” so we just KNOW it’s going to be great!

Please come and join us on March 20, 2022 at the Cotton Factory for a fun day of yarn, fibre and just being out with likeminded folks!

More details to come but in the meantime, our instagram video says it all!

The best screenshot I could get of all three of us! Check out our IG video on our Instagram @thefibreforge
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Save the Dates! July 25/Aug 22

After a long hiatus and a chance to catch our breath, your Fibre Forge is back and planning some awesome events!!.

We are working on re-mounting the fibre crawls that we did so successfully last summer, and we are so excited!

The first event will be a FIBRE CRAWL on July 25. This will involve a limited number of vendors on 3 rural properties west of Hamilton. If you attended our fibre crawl last September 2020, you will be familiar with our set up! 🙂

The second event will be a FIBRE STROLL that is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 22 on one large property also west of Hamilton, where a limited numbers of vendors will be spread out over the property to allow for social distancing.

Details are coming and the moment we have all our vendors confirmed, we will be sharing that list with you! But, in the meantime, be sure to mark down July 25 and Aug 22 as the two days this summer where you will be able to meet the makers AND squish the fibre!!

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Bite Size Classes – First Month Down!

As January 2020 comes to a close, we want to send out a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been registering for our Bite Size Series classes!

Through the month of January, we sold 88 registrations! Some of those are for classes in Feburary, but let’s not forget that our first class wasn’t actually until January 13 so those sales were over only three weeks!
We are blown away by the support and kindness of our community!

We have received wonderful feedback from folks and our teachers have all been so happy with their classes! People have been very engaged and we have already covered so many topics:

Knitting with Variegated Yarns
Choosing the Right Drop Spindle
Learning the Icelandic Bind Off
How to Choose a good Used Spinning Wheel
Visible Mending

There is much more to come! Please keep an eye on our Spring Schedule for class updates!

In the meantime, we have also branched out to offer longer, more intensive classes…starting with Custom Sweater Fit with Robbie Laughlin! This class will be offered over a Saturday/Sunday in February, one hour each day with homework in between! Class size is limited to 12 people so be sure to register sooner rather than later by clicking HERE