For fiber lovers, a festival is more than a setting for buying and selling materials--it's a gathering place where artisans, designers, farmers, and friends come together to teach, learn, share, and celebrate this timeless art in a unique 21st-Century marketplace. Join author Joanne Seiff as she details the rich heritage, sprawling agriculture, and unique flavor of eleven fiber events throughout the U.S. From the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival to Oregon's Black Sheep Gathering--and lots of others in between--you'll get a taste of what each festival has to offer through a rich mix of photography, essays, lore, and even a local recipe. Talented designers have contributed top-of-the-line patterns for you to knit, crochet, spin, felt, hook, and dye your own distinctive masterpieces using fibers that are ubiquitous to each festival. Whether you're working with a sophisticated mohair-silk blend or skirting a fleece on shearing day, the twenty-five projects in this book are representative of the best of America's fiber festivals.Perfect for the armchair traveler and fiber enthusiast alike, Fiber Gathering lets you bring America's most celebrated festivals into your heart and home--and inspires you to create clothing, art, and meaning from these time-honored crafts.