Bear Paw Retreat of Fiber Guilds

Last Saturday a friend and I took a little trip to Newport, Washington in search of Bear Paw Camp. It was easy enough to find. It is out in the woods and along the Ponderay River, a very wonderus setting - the river breath taking.

After parking and exiting the car we were met by a distinct buzzing sound. It wasn't insects of the woods though, but the excited buzz of lots of women (and a few men) who were happily playing with fiber. I wish I had taken a picture of the piles of loose fiber as tall as me and easily six feet in diameter at the base! And such lovely hues of blue, purple, silver and white. But on with my story...we were there to see Sue Tye.

Sue provides ever-so-soft hand dyed fiber to weavers, spinners and felters and she was at Bear Paw attending a retreat of all the local fiber groups in Northern Idaho and Eastern Washington. I bought a lot of great stuff that day, but my all time favorite item was this felted corsage of mohair locks made by Sue.