A touch of autumn

Yesterday was another local Wool Fair and our Shaker Village. I've been really unwell but had promised a friend some time ago that I would drive her there and I only see her a couple of times a year. So we set out at about mid-day, to drive into a beautiful forest-y historic part of the state. It was a gorgeous early autumn day, very warm and with just a kiss of cool breeze - perfect weather for an outdoor wool fair!

Our first view was the gardens, with the bright, irrepressible nasturtiums still in prolific bloom along with asters, chrysanthemums, and blossoming sages.



There was so much going on! Several tours of the buildings, fiber-bearing animals on parade and herding demonstrations, food, vendors, an herbal remedy demo, and flax dressing and natural dying demonstrations, weaving demos, and a garden tour... lots of things I don't even remember!



We walked up the hill to where some lovely lively llamas were on display:



This big fellow was so friendly and also hilarious. He had a big ruff that went all the way down his legs, like a pair of clown pants! He is about 5 - 6 years old.



I also loved this pretty little girl. She is a one year old llama:



She was also really funny because she was very drawn to the camera! Every time I pointed my phone camera at something, she would trot over and get in my face. She really loved to have her picture taken!



The herding demonstration that was on view when we were there was with a young dog and pygmy goats. I didn't get to see the actual herding, because I needed to rest for a bit before going on, but my friend told me that the shepherd said that they don't usually train young dogs with goats because they are more aggressive and will face off the with dog, threatening to butt it, whereas sheep will just run and scatter. Apparently this demo went well; the young dog was well trained and the goats behaved well!



We took a short spin through the vendor tents...







and saw more animals... this time, angora rabbits with their soft eyes and intelligent faces:





I would have loved to pick up some angora blend yarn, but it was fairly expensive - $33 for 130 yards. I'm sure that's a fair price for the work of combing, cleaning, carding, spinning, and dying to produce it... it was just out of my price range this weekend.

Over to the side was a pen of alpacas, happily amusing passers by with their talkative gurgling and soft heads:



This one was very determined to get at a tasty patch of clover just outside the fence:



Next we wandered over to one of the most fascinating demonstrations: Gina Gerhard, Flax Dresser:



She described how the flax had to soak for a long, long time before it could be thrashed and prepared for spinning. Some of it was years old. I've always loved to see period dying with nature dyes. I'm convinced that at sometime in the long life of my soul, I must have participated in natural dying with plants, flowers, and herbs. I'm drawn to it so strongly! Although I have no desire to do it again I want to possess almost all the naturally dyed fiber I see!



Here you can see the varieties of naturally dyed flax. On the very very far right (to the right of the blue skein) is a partial skein of ocher yellow-green. I wanted this with a Big Want. I asked if I could buy it, but was told it was only for display. It was dyed with goldenrod.



On the way back down the hill, we happened upon a weaving display in one of the small out-buildings. A woman from the local weaving guild had set up her portable loom (a really lovely thing!) and had it set for inkle weaving:



That was really all I could manage, energy-wise, so I sat outside the visitor building and enjoyed the beautiful scene while my friend wandered around for a while longer. She got to see the sheep-herding and a llama parade with costumes and some hand-dyed silk scarves. It was all wonderful!

I was happy with the little things I picked up at the fair: some stitchmarkers made from the horns of a Jacob sheep and a finishing needle made from an antler found shed in the woods:



a child-bed sized felted wool batt, which I'm going to use as the natural padding for a blanket for the little guy:



and - a perfect souvenir of this perfect autumn day, a felted lapel pin made from wool wound around real acorns:

In Your Sleeve, People!

Everyone at work is worried about the flu that's going around. The nurses here are scurrying to calm people down and check that they have their flu shots. Someone posted THIS video on the work website. Hilarious! I recommend it to anyone - good family fun!

It is only 2 weeks until the Sheep & Wool Fair. I can't wait. Even though there is no yarn or fiber I could conceivably need, I still look forward to it with an unparalleled anticipation. Every year I'm eager to visit the Vermont Spinnery, Foxfire Fibers, Zeilinger's Wool Company, Grafton Fibers, and Spirit Trail yarns. Not only are the yarns, fibers and tools beautiful but the people are so nice! It's amazing that they recognize me every year, even though we only meet once and they see so many people in the course of their busy fiber-y lives. As you know (If you been following my blog for a few years), I like to slip in anonymously and early and spirit my way through the fair quietly. We'll see if I succeed this year.

I'm almost finished with the Baby Wrap Sweater. It almost reminds me of wrapping sushi, the yarn is so slippery and soft!



As you can see, I decided to go with button wraps on the sides instead of the big bow in the back or front. I thought ties wouldn't be quite so comfortable for a wriggly baby. Next steps: sleeves and cute buttons.

This post wouldn't be complete with a flashing of the stash! Woolgirl had a sale recently on some selected sock yarns and I bought a skein of Dancing Dachs in the colourway, Toadstool. Isn't it lively and vibrant? I don't know yet what it's going to be, but I have high expectations of a yarn called Toadstool. It will definitely have to be something fun.



PS - You won't understand the title of this post unless you watch the video.

Habu and other pleasures

Today was my day to go to the Knit & Crochet Show at the Center of New Hampshire. I took the day off from work and my friend Lori and I got an early start. You already know that I like to arrive early and wait for the doors to open!

We were very excited, even though we hadn't been able to get into any of the classes we wanted. It is still a fun adventure to wander the vendor booths viewing yarn and accessories that you've only read about...



While we were waiting, we ran into CrochetKim (right) and her friend, both sporting her original designs:



There seemed to be fewer vendors this year - at least on Friday. I have a feeling that all of them will be showing on Saturday; they probably figure that's when the hordes will arive. And they may be right, because - after all - the Ravelry meet-up is Saturday! So why did I go on Friday? I am a quiet person, much happier in small groups than in crowds. The slower day suits me much better!

The Elegant Ewe was there, with Marci in a lovely crochet t-shirt doing her part! They were so mobbed with people, I never got to go back and say goodbye.



I also found a Yarn Dyer from Derry, Sereknity Sock Yarns, who had a line of Green Monster yarns honoring the Boston Red Socks and their monster green wall behind the open-air ball field!



We spent a good hour at the Russian Lace Knitting booth, chatting with the globe-trotting proprieter and admiring the delicate yarns and lace models. They had Quivit and Buffalo down, and cashmere cobweb-weight in a rainbow of natural colours. I didn't splurge on any of those, but didn't leave the booth empty-handed either!



We saw some interesting sights that I didn't capture on my camera, like the fashion show, but I did manage to snap the lady who was trying out the giant needles!



After that, I had to settle down with some Dream in Color Smooshy sock yarn - in Butter Peeps and Lipstick Lava. This yarn really is as soft and smooshy as people say! Of course it is, it's Australian Merino!!!!



The next booth that claimed an hour of our time was the Habu vendor!



I can't help it, I love Habu. I love the teensy little folded balls that bloom into full size skeins in a myriad of harmonious shades. I love the natural and amazingly not-so-natural fibers and materials that are somehow spun into knitable threads. I love the surprising unexpectedness of it - the stainless steel mixed with silk, the pineapple fiber dyed dark blood red, the slubby silk with bits of cocoon interspersed at odd intervals... I didn't escape without major budget-breakage:



from left to right, top row:
Rosey copper Pure linen, a crinkly natural paper thin pure silk, pineapple plant fiber - blood red

from left to right, bottom row:
Light green cashmere, mid-green cashmere, red-red 100% stiff cotton (unmercerized), turquoise 100% softest cotton; goldish bamboo, gold very fine silk

My plans are to put the rosey copper linen and the crinkly natural silk together, the blood red pineapple fiber and the stiff red-red cotton together (washy towels), the gold bamboo and the gold silk with go together, and the two colours of cashmere will be opposite ends of the same lace scarf. The soft cotton will be on its own and I hope that I have enough for a little something sweet.

I am a very tired and happy knitter. <3

a bit of Spring....

For me, Spring has only really arrived when the Sheep & Wool festival arrives.



My first experience with this fair was about 8 years ago, when it was held in a hilly field surrounded by woods on the back road to Milford (or at least that's the route I took to Milford). I went with a friend and my little sister. My friend, Nancy, was not a knitter nor a crocheter but she loved pretty things with a passion and had an acquisitive sense that so far has been unmatched in anyone else I've ever met. I mean this in the best possible way of course, and I can say this because we are still friends!

It seems so long ago now, the 90's. Fun fur scarves were still popular and silk chenille yarn was reaching rock-star status. We came upon a booth that sold this yarn in hand-painted versions so beautiful they rivaled the wild flowers...



My little sister clamored for the purple skein, and I - of course - chose one of mixed pale greens. Suddenly, there was change in the temperature. It was like that scene in Sleeping Beauty when the wicked queen appears and the sky darkens. We moved on - the field was blossoming with hundreds of versions of colourful and subtle yarns: enough for a nation - , but the silence was a silence like the eye of the storm.

At the end of our time at the fair, I commented to Nancy, "You haven't bought anything! Didn't you see anything you liked?"

"I only saw ONE yarn I liked." she shot back sullenly, "and YOU took it!" Needless to say, this yarn featured in her Christmas present that year! :)

Now I go to the Fair alone in a feat of deception that borders on misanthrope. As the Fair day approaches, I become quite cadgy about my weekend plans. "What are you doing this weekend?" I'm asked.... "Oh, I don't know, I say, My yard needs an overwhelming amount of raking and my house is an abysmal mess!" (Canny researchers on deception say its always a good idea to use the truth as misdirection rather than an outright lie)

The Fair is held in the Hopkinton Fairgrounds now - a much bigger and more organized venue and much closer to me. I sneak out of the house early - before anyone can call - and wait at the gate. This year I arrived at ten of 9 and the gate was open. I was the 5th car in the lot and the ticket booth window was just opening as I approached from the leaf-strewn path through the woods and over the merry brook's wooden bridge. This is how I know I was the first customer through the gates. Vendors were still uncovering their booths and tents and arranging fibers from the backs of trucks.

My plan was to hit Zeilinger's as soon as humanly possible because last year they were selling a small amount of spun buffalo for an absurdly low price and I was able to snatch it up. This year, alas, no buffalo, and I moved on. The next booth was A Touch of Twist (from NY) and I captured some unusually soft and vibrant lace-weight alpaca for a couple of Ravelry friends who have been uncommonly kind to me. Some for myself too, you ask? Bien sur!

I looked at the goodies displayed by the Rolling in the Dough Bakery about 5 times, (driving the nice girl overseeing the booth crazy I'm sure) but resisted on the theory that chocolate + hands + yarn = NO. I did pick up a blueberry pie on my way out though, to bring back for my boyfriend. Though he - inexplicably - didn't subsidize the yarn-buying this year, like he usually has, he is deserving just for general kindness.

My next stop was Ball & Skein, a booth that I didn't find until my very last stop last year when she was out of yarn and I was out of money! I picked up the Artisan Merino & Silk (in greens) - enough skeins for a light summer cardigan. Our summer here lasts for about 3 days in July, so sweaters all year are the norm. I confess that I also brought out the big guns (the "Card") to get a few skeins of this-and-that for friends or future swaps...

About an hour had passed, so I hurried over to The Irish Ewe, to try to meet up with my new friend Brian. I touched and examined and touched again (see? be very happy that I hadn't eaten that chocolate covered croissant on the way!) every item in the white tent, that was set up like a cosy yarn shop. These Lovelies found their way to the cash register:



as did a smart little handmade wooden tool for measuring wraps per inch. I would go back to the booth twice more throughout the day, but never did meet up with Brian.

I then rolled through the several barns, each with its booth after booth of fiber goodness. At Foxfire Fibers I did major damage to the budget when I found their basket of Sale Yarns. You didn't see that???? That's because... I bought it all!! Bwahahahaha! (no, not really, but my big bag-o-yarns would say differently). One again, a silk & merino mix, bulky weight this time, jumped into my bag to become a summer sweater-jacket. I also picked up some random discontinued sock yarns and the Very Nice Lady showed me the beautiful sock that she was currently making with the very same yarn. I got the Wintergreen Mitten Kit in "drake" and "moss" and the Bird in Hand mitten pattern for my boyfriend's mother, who is said to be a consummate knitter but whose work I've never seen.

After a brief sit-down with a lamb and vegetable wrap and a cup of frozen apple cider, I found the last barn on my search and Carolina Homespun. Last year, my first year buying from her, I got the chance to experience Nature's Palette sock yarns - the colours so subtle and flower/jewel-like - and I wanted more! Instead, I discovered the one-of-a-kind colours of a small-business sock yarn designer that Morgaine was displaying. Each skein (155 yards) was beautifully dyed on a base yarn similar to Koigu or Louet Gems - tightly spun and glossy superwash. The price was correspondingly small (around $12 per skein). I walked through this display case picking flowers of yarns, which I hope I can quickly knit and crochet up into short summer socks to wear with my Birks!



Another treasure Morgaine displayed in a little box almost hidden from view was a variety of lace yarns and although I coveted about six of the colourways, one made it home with me (can you guess which colour I chose?):



This is destined to be a shawl of my own design, based on a Luna Moth that I found one night in front of the old bookshop on Warren Street.

I have more to share about the fair and photos of good things that wanted to come home to my house, but I'll save that for another post.

NH Sheep & Wool Fair Theft

Just saw this on Livejournal, and thought I'd help to get the word out...

The cash box was stolen from Carolina Homespun's booth at the end of
the day on Saturday, May 10 at the New Hampshire Sheep & Wool
Festival. Included in the cash box were cash, credit card receipts,
personal checks for purchases and addresses from customers who were
to have merchandise sent to them.

Carolina Homespun has reported the theft to the police and its credit
card servicing company to ensure the safety of credit card purchases
from theft of the account numbers. However, Morgaine is concerned
that her customers who paid by check be aware that their personal
information may be vulnerable.

More important than the financial loss that she has experienced,
Morgaine's main concern is for the safety and security of customers'
personal information.

If you made a purchase at Carolina Homespun on Saturday at New
Hampshire Sheep & Wool, please watch your accounts for any fraudulent
activity. If customers have any questions or need any additional
information, you can email Morgaine at morgaine@carolinahomespun.com.
Also, if Morgaine was supposed to mail you merchandise, please call
her at 800-450-7786 to provide her with your shipping information
again.

EDITED TO ADD: I just got the news that the cashbox was found by the police and the theives only took the cash - not the checks or credit card slips. So it seems that people's accounts are probably safe... I do feel very badly for this vendor though. She was a nice and friendly person who never saw this coming.

Wool Wool Wool Wool (and Alpaca)

This weekend is the Sheep & Wool Fair! Hooray!



This is always a huge event for me as so many venders gather in one place and I can find unusual yarns and even some unique accessories. This Fair is quite small compared to those in other states, but its friendly. Each year, the venders say, "Oh, I remember you! I saw you here last year!"

Here are some of the exhibitors who will be there - many of them have websites (I've linked to some, but for most you'll have to Google their names to find them) and the ones that are in Bold print are the ones I've bought from:

Blue Flag Herbal, Jean Bates-goats milk soap & related products
Spring Flag Herbal, Bev & Ben Chadwick- beeswax products & honey products
Maple Winds Farm, Victoria Collins-yarn, spinning wheels & maple syrup
SMM Embroidery, Ron & Dolores Figuly-custom embroidered products
Times Remembered, Pat Franklin-yarn, fiber, finished products, patterns & kits
Maple Creek Farm Fine Wools, Eileen Garges-hand dyed yarns & accessories
The Country Crafter, Judy Goodwin-spinning, weaving & knitting supplies
Zhong Guo Cha, Judy & Philip Guard-tea, tea ware, tea chest, imported from Asia
Leslie Wind Jeweler Ball and Skein, Leslie Wind-bronze & silver jewelry
The Spinning Bunny, Nancy Benda-fibers, rabbits, soap, hand cream, spindles
High View Farm, Boreen Billig, Will-Ewe Farm, Laurie Willey-wool products
Journey Wheel, Jonathan & Sheila Bosworth-Journey wheels and accessories
The Fiber Studio, Melanie Connor-knitting, spinning & weaving supplies
The Fiber Fetish, Michelle Day-fiber,knit items, handcrafted soap
Windfall Farm, Ann Desmet-traditional rug hooking kits, mitten kits & fiber
This and That Farm, Donna Herrick-fleece, roving, batts, yarn, locker & punch
The Yarn Farm,Dan Korngiebel-sheep supplies & equipment
Ink Drawings by Gene Matras, Gene Matras-ink drawings-prints,cards & shirts
Moat Mountain Farm, Robert & Roberta McClellan-splint baskets, broom & kits
Decadent Fibers, Pat Bull & Chris Moran-wool, yarn, needle felting kits

Nick's Meadow Farm, Bartlett Yarn, Susan & Lindsey Rice- wool products
Stonesthrow Farm, Katherine Smith-covered fleeces, blankets & sheep coats
Mostly Merino, Margaret Wilson-sweater kits, hand dyed yarn & stationery
Long Ridge Farm, Nancy Zeller-Earthues natural dyes, CVM & Romedale fiber
Dorchester Farms, Kenneth Abert-angora, wool & sock yarn
Spin-A-Bit, Sheryl Amaral-felting kits, books, supplies
Ward Brook Farm, Ingrid Byrd-rainbow dyed roving & yarns & natural
Black Sheep Designs, Sharon Costello-felt making kits, books & supplies
Grafton Fibers, Linda Diak-custom spinning/felting fibers, spindles, kits
Shepherd's Flock, Kathy & Rick Hege-sheepskin products
Jordan Family Farm, Jeff Jordan-custom shearing, spinning fleeces
Spinner's Hill Shop, Lisa Ann Merian-spinning fleeces, batts, and equipment
The Merlin Tree, David Paul-new wheels, antique wheels & fiber tools
Diamond Ledge Handspun, Norm & Darleen Ratte-felt paintings, handspun yarn
The Spinning Studio, Robin Russo-wheels, silk, silk kits, exotic fiber & silk paper
Elemental Designs, Susan N. Weaver-Cheshire sheep yarn, fleece, roving & dyes
Ackers Acres Angoras, Beth Acker-angora & rabbit fiber, yarn & wheels

Jule's Needles & Wools, Jule Cooper-roving, patterns, needles, yarn & supplies
Wild Fibers Magazine, Linda Cortright-magazines
Spin-N-Knit Crafts, Patricia Henecke-wool fiber, wheels, equipment & garments
The Wool Room, Anne Hennessy-knitting & spinning supplies, books & CDs
Solidago Farm Dilys Morris, Deb Kimball-Icelandic sheep products & fiber
Ellen's ½ Pint Farm, Ellen Minard-hand painted yarn & fiber
Foxfire Fiber & Designs, Barbara Parry-hand dyed yarns, patterns & luxury fibers
The Elegant Ewe, Marci Richardson-knitting/spinning supplies, accessories, books
Green Mountain Spinnery, David Ritchie-yarns patterns, custom wool processing
HodgePodge Yarn & Fibers, Tom & Sue Connary-fleece, homespun wearables
Mountain Vewe Coopworths, Marianne & Richard Dube-Coopworth fleeces, yarn
The Sweater Workshop, Jacqueline Fee-The Sweater Workshop book, kits, patterns
Golding Ring Spindles, Tom & Diane Golding-spindles, wheels & looms
Bit O'Heaven Fiber Farm, Judy Helie,
A Home-Spun Yarn, Donna Moody
Kitefield Farm, Carolyn Terhune-fleece, roving, yarn & sheepskins
Evergreen Farm, Harry & Louise Walsh-angora rabbits, fiber arts & jewelry
Ewe & I Farm, Jerry & Cindy Yeager
Cast-A-Way Acre, Shari Mead
Purple Fleece, Deborah Bergman-weaving, spinning, knitting, felting
The Spinning Bunny, Nancy Benda-fibers, rabbits, soap, hand cream, spindles
Fruitcake Farm, Marguerite Conley-yarn & fleece-Horned Dorsets
The Woolery, Deb Degan-yarn, needles, knitting bags, etc.
Still River Mill & Deirdre Bushnell, Greg Driscoll-bison & Samoyed yarn
K & R Crafty Gadgets, Karen & Ron Gandy-craft buddies, knitted items
Spirit Trail Fiberworks, Jennifer Heverly-rare breeds spinning fibers, painted yarn

Bunny Barn, Ann Jarvis-angora rabbits, fiber, hand kitted/woven items
Pollywogs, Diane Jezewski-yarn, fiber, needles, hats & patterns
Dover East Farm, Diane Kendall-art wear for knitters, spinners & sheep lovers
Heifer International, Kitty Lane-nonprofit organization
Loose Ends, Deborah McGlew (Freeman)-hand woven items, hand-dyed mohair
Valknitz, Valeria Merrell-hand dyed & painted yarns of natural & synthetic fiber
Woolybuns, Chris Morgan-luxury fibers, angora, wet felted scarves & mittens
Elihu Farm, Mary Pratt-fleeces-fine, medium & long
West Elm Farm, Patrick Roll-wool, soap, pelts
Abi's Web, Tom & Josie Speckert-variety of wool items, wheels and equipment
Sunrise Hill Angoras, Ed & Ruth Ticknor-Purebred French Angora rabbits
Evergreen Farm 2, Ray & Cheryl Walsh-cases, carriers & supplies for rabbits
Brimstone Hollow Farm, Deb & Les Weymouth-wool inspired art/craft
Carolina Homespun, Morgaine Wilder-spinning, weaving, knitting & dying
The Knitting Knook, Liane Wiley-yarn, kits & accessories, books
Weaving Guild, NH-demonstrating weaving, guild information
Long Ridge Farm, Nancy Zeller-earthues natural dyes, CVM & Romedale fiber
Bigger Stuff, Suzanne Beers-yarn, dyed fleece, rug hook wool & kits
Colonial Spinning Bee, Judith Cataldo-promoting Spinning Bees
Greenwood Hill Farm, Tom & Andrea Colyer-merino yarn, knit sweaters, kits
Fiber Dreams Farm, Jennifer Connolly, Critser Morse-yarn, roving, carding
Annie's Sweet Handspun, Dianne Edwards-patterns, bags, hats, scarves, yarn
Kelly Corner Farm/Lots of Locks, Julie A Patterson-roving, yarn, garments
Thyme & Ewe Farm, Paul & Sara Poisson-candles, soap & chocolate, stencils
Country Spun Treasures, Marssha Siegel-Jacob fleece, batting, roving, quilts, rugs
Kisakanari/Earth Haven Farm, Mary Iselin & Janet Sillars-Jacob & Romney
NE Border Collie Rescue, Donalee Slater-NEBR shirts, hats, leash & collar, cards
Western View Farm, Hope Thomas-hand weaver, sheepskins, fleeces
SayWat Farm Marble Meadows, Sue Carey & Cindy Watrou- fleece, felted crafts
Maggie's Farm, Maggie Alexander-tapestry knitting bags, soap, yarn, sheep signs
West Mountain Farm, Gayle & Lars Garrison-guard llamas, fiber, yarn
Buckwheat Bridge Angoras, Dan Melamed & Sara Healy-mohair, yarn, goat hides
Wellscroft Farm/Fence Systems, David Kennard-fencing systems
Pine Tree Knits, Faye Krause-wool, knitwear, accessories, gifts
Rocky-Rose Forge, Gary LaRose-wrought iron sheep heads, wood burning
Mirage Alpacas, Bill & Audrey Rhoades-fleeces, yarn, garments

Mad Angel Creations, Paula Warner-yarn, roving items, jewelry, used equipment
A Touch of Twist, Stephen Ableman-processing
Snow Star Farm, Loranne Carey Block-natural dyed yarns, kits, woolen products
Sheep Shed, Donna Carlstrom-wool, silk, sheep mugs, books, needles, yarn spindles
Riverslea Farm, Liz & Jeff Conrad-lambskins, yarn, roving, wool blankets
Golden Fleece Fashions, Adele Dupont-sheepskin & wool
Surprize Acres, David Dziengelewski-livestock supplies, clippers, sharpening
End of the World Farm, Katie Jarvis-roving, yarns, locker hooking, patterns
Hillcreek Fiber Studio, Carol Leigh & Dennis Kaiser-triangle frame looms
Friends' Folly Farm, “Pogo” S. Pogorelc-mohair & blends yarn, roving, dyes, hats
French Hill Farm, Bill & Diane Trussell-Coopworth fleeces, yarn, spindles, bags
Mohawk Valley Suffolks, Jean Walsh-framed sheep art, border collie items
The Irish Ewe, Deb Woolley-yarn, roving, fleece, Ashford & clothing from Ireland
Zeilinger's Wool Co., Gary & Kathy Zeilinger-wool related craft items, socks, yarn

PS - These photos are my wonderful yarns from the last 3 years of Wool Fairs. I won't be buying this much this year - that's sure. Not only do I need to be more frugal this year because of the economy, I need to make a dent in the Hill O' Stash I have blocking the computer room!

Foxfire

yesterday I took an idealic trip to Massachusetts for the Deerfield Craft/Quilt/Fiber Fair. The drive was beautiful because the maple trees are beginning to be that deep gorgeous crimson, and the other trees along the way were varying shades of pink, yellow, orange, and purple. I wasn't doing the driving, so I could gaze out the wondow at the scenery! We saw lots of wild turkeys, including some baby ones.

One of my favorite booths was the handmade baskets. I love baskets for my knitting projects and saw a couple that I wanted. Unfortunately, someone else also had their eye on them, and I missed out.

I did get some yarn, from Foxfire farm. The woman at the table recognized me! I guess that means I've been stalking the fiber festivals a bit too regularly these last couple of years!

I got one skein of the lavender yarn on the left (they only had one skein) and a couple skeins of the coral. I hope to make a short coral shrug/capelet for myself for the fall.

Lunch was a definite high spot at the fair. Food was provided by the local Ukranian Church and I had potato and cheese perogies with sour cream and some sweet bread with apricot filling. So good! During lunch, some children put on a play of the Phantom Tollbooth. The singing voices of these 12-year-olds was unbelievable...

more about knitting & the Wool Fair

I’m home today, with a bad cold, This translates to lying on the couch, watching old Star Trek episodes (this one is about “the Traveler”), and knitting socks and stockings for my internet friend-list… I have made good progress:

Holly’s are all done and very happy Little Ducky socks they are, too. (sadly, when I packed them up, I couldn’t find the little finger puppets I knitted so long ago, only their knitted bag, so I’ll have to send those when I find them…)

Carina’s socks are all done, and they are lovely, soft Van Helsing Candleflame Socks…in a colour like candle flame dying at midnight to where you can barely see it…

Minbutterfly’s socks are all done and they are butterfly blue Trailing Vine socks

Snarkysneak has one whole sock done and hers are such soft stockings with DNA cables,

Karen has one sock done and hers are very cute and perfect Peaceful Feelings Yoga socks,

Tethy’s socks are the ones I’m beginning on today, and hers are in a hand painted yarn called Coral Bells. I think I’ll use the lace pattern called Elfin, because by the time I finish, she’ll be in Erin, the land of the fairies….

For Daniel’s chapel socks, I decided to start again with a softer yarn, which I found at the Sheep & Wool Fair last weekend,

Julie will have some dark teal socks that I think will have a vine like deadly nightshade (not sure – this design subject to change right up until actually started),

And Nathalie will have black silk stockings to wear with her professorial boots, if I can find the yarn I’m looking for, If I don’t find the yarn I’m looking for, then I’ll make her a pair of black house slippers (heavy socks to wear without shoes around the Dungeons) instead…

Nadine’s socks are from a special yarn bright with New England leaf colours: deep crimson, orange, yellow, and green…and will have a maple leaf on them in a very clever pattern….

I really love them all. It’s so much fun when they’re finished.

Given all the yarn that I picked up at the Sheep & Wool fair, I think I can now join the “Knit from Your Stash” crowd. Did I tell you about it all?

Well, first, there was the buffalo and some “bunny yarn” from Zellinger’s Wool Co

Then, one of my favorites, A Touch of Twist, where I got some silk in natural colours and some lace-weight soy silk in dyed colours from a company called Conjoined Creations…

French Hill Farm, in Maine had some wonderful hand-dyed sock yarn and I scored two skeins, one pink and one deep blues and burgundy... This yarn is very similar to Socks that Rock Yarn on the west coast. It may be the same base yarn. But French Hill dyes it themselves and someone there has a wonderful eye for bright and subtle colour changes. They didn’t have a website but they do have email contact: frenchill@TDS.net

Ball and Skein had some sock yarn that was 50/50 silk and wool for $15 a skein. I got a deep midnight blue. We had a nice talk and she showed me some roving she got in silk that she will spin her magic with….

I got a nice skein of dark teal merino/mohair blend called “pulled taffy”, from Decadent Fibers. They had a wall of wools, but somehow, not much appealed to me. They seemed to be out of the most enticing colours that I had craved last year…

Spirit Trail has beautiful yarns, many with silk, and they are starting a sock yarn club, where you pay a set price and they mail you yarn and patterns throughout the year. But they are pretty expensive (no discounts at the fair) so I only bought a little half skein of purple dyed silk that had been damaged and so was discounted. I can wash it gently and knit some thing lovely and small from it…

The Green Mountain Spinnery – whenever I’ve been to their website, I feel uninspired by their yarns. But whenever I see their yarns in person, in yarn stores or at fairs, I am amazed by how beautiful and perfect they are and what gorgeous, unusual colours they’ve dyed them! Maybe the colours and the softness just don’t show up right on the monitor. I bought some sock yarn from them in a colour they call ‘antique bronze’. It is a gold with copper burnishing – hard to describe.

With my last $20, I bought a set of hand-made rosewood sock needles from Goldings. They had the most incredible needles and shuttles and spindles and a weaving loom that had sheep carved into it. But they were the people who mocked me when I asked if their needles were historically accurate.

I think the time has come to say goodbye for now. I want to make a pizza!

Llamas, alpacas, and sheep - Oh My!

Ah...the Annual Sheep & Wool Fair. All sheep, all the time! I just got home from my wooly travels and must tell you all about it! Sorry this is long...



At 8:30 am I left my house to travel half an hour into the country to the Fairground. When I got there, the gates weren't open yet, and the few early birds had qued up by the side of the road. I took my place, and shortly the gates to the parking fields were opened. Like the civilized fiber artists that we are, we nicely took turns driving onto the dirt road through the woods that would lead us to the mecca of beautiful fibers, where the cutthroat clawing and grabbing would occur....

After parking, I walked on the path through the dark, cool woods, and over a wooden bridge that spanned brackish water edged with emerging fern, up the pathway to the fairgrounds. I felt so happy and care free. I had a big canvas tote bag under my arm, and comfy Nikes on my feet. Oh, Rats!! I forgot to bring a bottle of water! oh, well, doubtless there would be vendors, and I could buy one for an exhorbitant $5 if I really needed it.

When I stood in line, I could see the booths all open across the fields, waiting for the early few. There were only about 20 people who had entered at that time. I felt like I had a serious advantage. And that turned out to be true! Zellinger's was the first booth. They are a New York state company that processes fiber for small farms that can't invest in the expensive equipment themselves to clean and spin and even dye the wool from their one or two sheep or alpacas or ...buffalo. yes! Buffalo! It turns out that one farm had a buffalo and they traded some of the down to Z's. Buffalo down fiber is like gold and even more expensive. Its $50 for 50 grams when you see it in the stores. Because the down is combed from the animal, not sheared, its scarce, but very soft and clean. Z's was selling 3 small skeins for about $6 an ounce!!! And because its fluffy down, and ounce is a lot. I snapped up all three - I was the only person there looking for yarn, everyone else was there to either sell their fleeces, or to deliver them to be processed and returned. When the owner saw me with the yarn in my hand, she called out across the field, "she's buying the buffalo! there's the lucky lady with the buffalo!! Come right up here - don't stand in line!" I was so embarrassed! but happy. definitely happy.

When I left that first booth, I saw a friend of mine sitting waiting for her friend to arrive and we chatted for a bit. I told her about the buffalo I had so fortuitously scored, and she said that she hadn't wanted to go to the fair with anyone else because she didn't want to lose any friends by ripping the yarn from their hands in an acquisition frenzy! Yup. We're a pretty intensely obsessive bunch. Please join the club. Craziness loves company.

Up the hill from there, I came to the alpaca barns.... I bought yarn from this handsome young man: Cinnamon Spice -


He won a big first place for his coat at the competition! And his owners said I could visit the farm sometime and pat him. His yarn was only $7 a skein. But they only had 1 and 1/2 skeins of it. So I got that... Here is some of the yarn from his brothers and sisters. his was a bit different colour...


It all gets a bit foggy after that. Five hours later, I was standing in the road thinking, "Why does my back hurt so much?...Oh! I'm carry 30 lbs of knitting yarns! LOL Of course it wasn't all yarn! and it wasn't all for me.... (I'll leave it at that :)

There weren't as many good colours in the yarn as I found last year when it rained so badly. Many vendors told me they had sold out at the Maryland Fair that happened just a week ago, and didn't have time to dye a new batch and then some didn't come who had come last year. Tribal Spirit Fibers had completely sold out of their sock yarn in Maryland, and Foxfire Fibers had changed their yarns, so they didn't bring the yarns I was expecting to find. Decadent Fibers had about half of the colours and half of the yarn types that they usually bring - they too said that they didn't have time to dye a new batch after the Maryland Festival. That must have been some fair!!

Here is a photo from the vendors' website, and you can see some of what I saw today...




I kept looking and found some really rocking deals and gorgeous colours. I even got a pair of handmade sheepskin slippers for my boyfriend!

I have more stories of the fair, including the one where I got laughed at when I asked a wood-worker of spindles and needles if his items were historically accurate for reenactments. I guess he thought that someone wearing a Red Sox cap had no business asking such a thing!

But its time to go re-hydrate - I'm worn thin as a thread-paper! I got Enchanted April and Cold Comfort Farm from Amazon this week and I'm ready to curl up with them and veg quietly for the evening.

Wool Fair Anticipation

I’m getting more and more excited about this weekend’s Sheep & Wool Fair! Wool! Wool! Wool wool wool! Yarn! More yarn! More Sheep! More Llamas! More Angora bunnies!! Oh, and more Yarn!

Last year one of the booths had a few antique knitting items, and I bought a celluloid stitch holder which I’ve so enjoyed using. Like seashells on the beach, a Sheep & Wool Fair can wash unexpected treasures up into your hands. In cases like those, you are almost certainly obligated to purchase said treasures. No, really. Its like a pact with the Universe. The Universe brings good things to you. And you accept them. Right?

My plan is to focus on sock yarn this year and not just run amok amoung the fibers buying willy-nilly as I usually do. I have been putting funds aside for this for some time so that my happiness will be unalloyed by buyer’s remorse when bill-paying time rolls around!

I actually have plans for the yarn I buy. These are the patterns that are on my list for myself, when I am finished with the socks for you.:

First up, the Spring Grass Socks:


What a beautiful green colour! In a fairly light yarn, these would be so comfortable.

Then, by the same blogger, the Orchid socks:


Next, and I hope to branch out into some brighter colours for these – although it will take courage on my part to do so – the Diamond Lace Socks:


After that, just for a break, a pair of simple tube socks in a really soft, thin yarn (thought I'll make mine in a single colour, not striped - probably dark blue):


And finally – for summer – to wear with my straw flip flops that are my constant house shoes from June through September -

FlipFlop Socks!

All things are coming along very well with your socks. I can’t decide whether to start mailing them out, or whether to wait and send them in one great mailing so I can imagine you all opening your boxes at the same time, all around the world, like lighting one candle from another, then another! What do you think?

Just teasing… the first two pairs will go out soon, and then the rest, two pairs at time, at 10 day intervals probably. Since you’ll likely wear them in the fall, you don’t mind, do you?