summer's best show in show

yes, it was time again for the NYS fair. it really never gets old for me. the day couldn't have been better, sunny with a light breeze and temps in the lower 70's. i took the herd ( plus one... my niece joined us) for a day of good fair fun. i settled in with my spinning regulars.... and my hansen

yes, there was a starbucks stop along the way :) my table holds all the essentials, a drink, wheel, glasses, fiber. i debated about taking this or my regular wheel. to be honest, this one was picked because it is just so darn transportable. it was a breeze to carry it from the parking lot ( hint to securtiy: clear box with visible batteries is more of a threat than a little girls purse) and i was set up and spinning in no time. i've come to expect to see the two gals who spin the shift with me. we catch up on fiber happenings and the time just flies!

i found that there were less people this year, especially considering the weather. we stowed my stuff at the end of my shift, and made it to the horse coliseum to see the percherons. i just love that! we 'got milk', visited the butter sculpture, the sand sculpture, ate our potatoes, loved on the state police hound dogs (oh my gosh were they dear) and then headed home! i can't think of a better way to end the summer...

roving

while i was buying my baskets at the maryland sheep & wool festival, i bought some roving. i think i bought 12 ounces of targhee and 16 ounces of merio. there were 4 ounces in a baggie and i grabbed several. it was white, commercial top and ridiculously cheap! it's been sitting in my parlor, waiting for a turn in the dye pot. Yesterday i spent the day with amythefibergoddess dyeing up all sorts of goodies for the Finger Lakes Fiber Festival.  she was also getting her roving dyed and ready. i tossed my bundles into a pan, soaked them with water and started playing. it's really bad when you don't have a plan, but it can also give you some amazing surprises..... behold....

drying between the raindrops are 8 ounces of ombre in a southwestern colorway and 8 ounces that looks like a watercolor painting with greens, blues and purples. i couldn't be happier.
now i've got to get fiber off the wheel and this batch dried so i can spin on!

it's not fiber.....

after spinning my way through the tour, i became a real slacker! i'd spin a bit here and there, but didn't have that same drive to do it every day. plus life stuff seemed to pop up. my focus shifted to  participating in a fund raiser for ontario-yates hospice. i have been a strong advocate for hospice services and last year our family used their support for my mom. hospice is an amazing organization that works with families at the most challenging times in our life.  the care they gave us was extrodinary, so when i heard about this opportunity i knew i had to help. so, following a beautiful sunrise, my daughter and I, along with 22 other swimmers, were boated across Canandaigua Lake to begin the Ontario-Yates Hospice Swim.

The current was incredibly strong, with white caps in the center, but we swam all the way! It took us over an hour and a half to reach the shore where we were greeted with cheers from the crowd of family, friends, and our fellow swimmers. two fiber friends donated their time to paddle along with us.....

This was one of the most physically difficult things that i've done. as i swam along, i kept thinking about different projects to start or fiber to spin or where all that fiber was. it was a perfect distraction to what i was really doing and now if i can just remember all those plans, i'll be set.