festival fun

wow, the 2010 fiber festival came and went in a blur! i didn't even have the opportunity to savor the anticipation, plan my days or stress about the display. hmmm, wonder what that means? too much other life events dragging me down perhaps? regardless, i had an absolutely fabulous time and learned about me. how? well i had two very different shopping experiences and i loved them both!

first, the festival. set-up on friday went smooth as silk. amythefibergoddess and i had many hands helping and the display was lovely.

guild folks really came through providing us with 26 gators for the display. i have to tabulate the viewers choice winner, but there are lots of votes!

saturday's weather was truly festival perfect, sunny skies and mild temperatures. i spent 2 1/2 hours at the ticket booth with joan and it was a hoot! such fun greeting festival goers and wishing them well. my only purchase was 1 1/2 pounds of nistock farms roving in blue jeans. i was quite proud that i scurried into robin's booth and asked what she had. i love her roving, so ppleasurable to spin and work with. so now my stash is fuller and i'll have that to savor. naughty was thrilled to see allison in the skein and garment display sporting a ribbon. she won second place in the felted accessories category.

sunday was cold and drizzle kept falling from the sky. amy and i did a quick (super-quick) shop in one of the barns securing several bundles of roving from susan's spinning bunny. the colorways are all similar, but the fiber content varies - merino/tencel, polworth and falkland. i'm interested in seeing if my falkland fascination continues with this. we had time constraints, so we decided quickly and purchased fast. later joan and i spent our time strolling into every booth, chatting with vendors and really studying the fibers. i ordered some from jill draper (she'll bring it to rhinebeck) and while i was wandering around a vendor grabbed me to watch her booth (bathroom run) as i was sitting there, i realized that she was new to the festival. we looked at all her stuff and both ended up purchasing. would never have done that if i wasn't her temporary booth guardian!

and lastly, a fleece. not just any fleece a lamb fleece. the twin won grand champion, and since sandy is a dear, she sold this beauty. joan and i are going to split this which will be great. i'm trying not to count my raw fleece accumulations, but i'll be doing lots of washing this week!

wonderful weekend, can't wait to sink my fingers into all this cool stuff!

excitment is building

saturday and sunday. fingerlakes fiber fest. yes, the excitement is growing here. i'm less overwhelmed this year, having done one festival as the guild leader. the display is clear in my brain and slowly working it's way to having all the parts completed. thank goodness for free, child labor!

amythefibergoddess will be selling these little gems in her booth this year.

last year she had the sock blocker keychain, so when she showed me this (and they come in different wood types) i offered to make the display. how cute is this?? i had the same red yarn in the stash left-over from some long ago pair of socks. can't even say why i held onto the two teeny, tiny balls that were left, but i did. the price of $5 is such a bargain as i saw them in the recent patternworks catalog for 5.99 + s/h. what great holiday gifts... i may need to get more

than one!

this is the next quick knit project that found it's way onto my needles last weekend. my dear partner wears the vests that i hand knit to work, and really frequently, so i decided to toss another one into the mix. mindless knitting....love it!

fair day

i love the fair. just love it. i look forward to the four hours of dedicated spinning time in the wool center, listening to the sheep chatting across the way and seeing all those fair goers. it's also a hoot to meet new fiber peeps and learn stuff. i met two gals this year who were just delightful. both spinners, one gal has a flock of sheep and the other adopted a bottle baby. yep, just one sheep that lives with her sisters goats (she live in the village and can't keep him there) he is a lap lamb that is totally unaware that he is a sheep. a herd animal that should be roaming the hill and pastures. nope, he eats his grains and waits for his mom to come and cuddle him every day. i know, i know, i can't go getting any crazy-pants ideas that this could work for me. (but it soooo could :)

this is what i got spun.... two bobbins on the right are the falling leaves wool/mohair blend from steam valley fibers that i thought i hated. my first batch was very sticky, but washed up beautifully. the bobbin on the left is coopworth from maple ridge farm in eggplant. i didn't know i had this when i went stash diving. i wanted to give it a try before rhinebeck to make sure i loved it just in case i needed to get more. i'm extremely glad i got a pound. who knew i was that smart?