The first Deep South Fibre Festival has been hailed as a huge success.
The festival, which was held at the Gore Town and Country Club at the weekend, attracted more than 500 attendees.
Event organiser Amy Hughes said there were wool-related products everywhere.
"There was a wonderful atmosphere with inspiration and creativity in abundance," Ms Hughes said.
Over 40 people attended as traders, she said.
There was a "huge" variety of yarn, fibre and wool products on offer and even some alpacas and coloured sheep attended, she said.
"A huge thank you to everyone for the incredible support of this event.
"May we continue to spread the awareness of wool and inspire the creativity within each and everyone of us."
Entry to the event was free, thanks to financial backing from Creative Fibre New Zealand and Creative Communities, she said.
The second day of the festival offered 10 different workshops and more than 50 people attended, she said.
The idea for the festival came after she attended WoolFeast Christchurch.
"There’s a wealth of knowledge and skills in our Creative Fibre Southland groups and I wanted to start an event in Gore to share it.
"We have crafters of all sorts in our groups — spinners, weavers, knitters, dyers, flax workers, felters, crocheters.
"These are all skills our grandmothers learnt and it’s important to learn them before it’s too late and they become a lost art."
The event ran over two days and included a trader-style market, displays, discussions, food trucks and workshops.
