If you are heading up to the NH Sheep & Wool Festival this week end, please stop by the Ball and Skein booth and say "hi". I'll be in the Home Arts Building. It is the first building in through the Blue Gate, on the left. There is a cookie vendor outside and the booth next to me is the "Tea Guy". Free tea! What could be better?? Cookies, tea, and yarn.. hmmm..!
If my plans go well, I'll be walking here tomorrow. It's time for some spring. Mother Nature has her plans. I've got mine. Though I'm quite sure she knows what she's doing; this year, she's taken her time (10" inches this week on top of the now melting 3+ft). While the north still has a white blanket, I've headed south. I've seen robins and heard peepers, sure signs of spring. Now for the long drive. I want flowers.
In preparation, I went through my briefcase checking to see what was in my inventory of just in case patterns. Shocking, I could go for years. Here's the short list:
Maine Morning Mitts, Ice Queen, Gust, Oh! Canada, an Old Shale shawl, A Judy Pascal shawl, That Little Scarf, Crest of the Wave, Chill Out Hybrid Shawl, Taconic V-Neck, a catnip mouse pattern, Dayflower Lace Scarf, Rainy Day scarf, Hypoteneuse Shawl, A Kim Hargreaves lace cardigan, Birch, .. it goes on. I'm packing yarn and beads for Muir and the Ember socks, one extra skein of sock yarn (I don't know what I'm thinking, but I NEED to be prepared), two spindles and some really nice fiber. That's it. All those patterns... they get filed for the time being. I need to lighten my load.
Anyone know a good yarn shop in the Outer Banks?
When I heard the sound, I knew to run. Not for cover, but for the clothes line. The last of the five loads of laundry I had washed were still hanging on the line. This woodlot on a hill where I am, was once named Crow Hill. For good reason. The oak forest that hides this place is home to legions of crows. In the fall, thousands of birds pass through, hour by hour, making their way through the tall thick canopy of oaks. I wonder if they are drawn here to feed, or if it is chance that the route passes this way. The trees are full of acorns. While here, we strategically park our cars in open spots, away from the falling missiles that C is sure can dent the cars. For now, I'll stick to the indoors until they pass by.
Today there is another migration, of knitters and spinners on their way to Rhinebeck. Do you suppose the residents there say, "lock your doors and windows, stay inside, they're coming, again."
Dreams of a Rhinebeck sweater are still floating around here. With a couple dozen rows to go on both sleeves, it would be within the realm of possibility if today was open for knitting. It isn't. We'll see. The forecast is for warm and wet weather, not really optimum for wool wearing.
Rhinebeck Blogger's Bingo. I am a Square again this year. Both days. I'll have an orange slicker and a black knitting bag with the "I'm a Square" tag hanging from one of the straps. Don't forget to say "hi". Just in case I'm on your card, I look a lot like this..
And a plea to any of you die hard Dr. Who fans: IF you have a copy of the Season Finale: Episode 13, PLEASE BRING IT. I missed it.
Want a coupon? Click here and print it out. Vermont's Sheep and Wool Festival is two weeks away and I am dyeing like a fiend. Last week, just before the family arrived, as in hours before, I signed up Ball and Skein for a booth. We'll be in the State Building. It's been too cold for the tomatoes to ripen. Without a counter full of tomatoes to put up, there is a hole in my schedule. The flip side is that all that cool weather is perfect for dyeing. Yarn for tomatoes.
It was a great week with my family. The first day of their visit, we went to the Orleans County Fair. It was the same day as the Demolition Derby; there was something for everyone. By the end of the day, I'd bought a fleece. It was sopping wet from all the rain and as I found out later, full of burdock. It has been well skirted and now waits for a bath. Sooner than later would be good, but.... I am way too busy. It was one of four fleeces that I acquired that week. The other three were alpaca, two white, and one a gorgeous grey. Knitting didn't happen. I managed to kitchener the toe of one sock. That's it.
Funny how the quiet settles in immediately. Must be a state of mind. The car had no sooner rounded the bend in the drive, when the week disappeared and what remained was silence, thick and heavy.
Sheep in disguise, or is it?
The last fiber festival in May.. MA Sheep & Wool, aka Cummington, was the perfect end to a month of fairs. It was small enough that you could walk around and see everything and still have time to visit with friends. Impromptu spin-ins occurred wherever and whenever more than two spinners bumped into one another, at any booth with spindles to buy, or to try, and space enough to accommodate. I got my first look at the Bosworth's Woolly Mammoth spindle. (No, I do not have one on order, but.... it was amazing.) Who knew that the tusk would have a fabulous cross hatched texture when held in the light. I've never held anything from a mammoth in my hand before. It blew me away. I retried a Powell I had coveted at CT in April. Powell makes gorgeous spindles and this one was a beauty. Still unbalanced, I left it behind. Sadly, it happens. From there I headed over to Just Our Yarn (gorgeous yarn, silk hankies and more spindles) stopping along the way to buy 6 oz. of a 50/50 llama & silk blend from Barn Swallow Farm. The first spindle I tried, a beautiful little Hardy made mostly of olive wood, became the newest addition to my collection. What a perfect combination. I haven't wanted to put it down since.
the not so merry men?
After the fair we gathered at Cate's for her annual blegger. More friends, more spinning, food and drink. A game of musical wheels. I spun on my Hardy all evening, barely tempted by the orgy of wheels and spindles around me.
Great weekend, great company, and great breakfast..
(picture thanks to a passing stranger and Kathy for passing it along)
Spindle and fiber pics tomorrow, I have got to get to work.
When the weather cooperates, New Hampshire has one of the nicest Sheep & Wool festivals going. This year was perfect. Although I was trapped in Bldg.#2 all weekend, I did manage a quick trip up to Foxfire before the fair opened Sunday morning to buy myself a present of Cashmere and Silk roving.. just a bit. Very lovely. There was one other 20 minute trip later the same day where I ran around the fairgrounds just to get the feel of it. So guys, those of you who took the trouble to find me, and I know that Bldg.#2 is really set apart and away from everything else... I thank you! It was SO nice to visit, however briefly, with friends. My booth mate, Leslie Wind and I pinched ourselves all weekend. Our neighbor was the tea vendor (thanks for a weekend of samples), and right outside the door another vendor sold the best ginger molasses cookies I've ever had. Pretty fine.
My view for the weekend..
