Sunday, November 05, 2006

The Sheep & Wool Festival


Awesome!

Oh my goodness the weather was perfect and the vendors were plenty, a good time was had by all even my husband had fun. Here are a few of the photos I took of the sites that I have seen. Look at the beautiful Llama isn't she gorgeous?

Here is a wonderful selection of felted items from RJ Club Lambs, the vendor was very helpful and in the middle of applying needle felting to a sweater she knitted, it was awesome.




These lovely items are from a friend of RJ Club Lambs, Shadyside Studio Wools, Ms. Arbuckle's small mill really produces some wonderful quality yarn, as soon as I read up on how to attach her site I will; look how colorful everything is. Way Cool!


Here are some more of the items from RJ Club Lambs, look at all the lovely, rich earthy colors... Look at the variety of colors in these hanks below which I didn't check to see if they were for sale but probably were. I just refuse to purchase yarn in any quantity for that matter that I can dye on my own unless it is extra special and speaks to me to be something...

Look at the young Alpacas, aren't they cute? I noticed that they are always in pairs...

Pinned baby Alpaca's they are just so adorable aren't they almost like overgrown dogs but I am sure they are much more sensitive to their surroundings and like I said before they are always in pairs, I will have to find out why that is and when I do I will let you know.

Below is a live auction for the sheep to the bottom left of this photo, wow it was so cool; my first auction, boy did he speak fast, I could barely hear what he was saying once the bidding began. Sorry for the darkness of the photo, I will have to go back into Adobe and fix it and reinsert it into this b-log be patient.




Here are some sheep that were auctioned off and waiting for their trip to their new homes, I met one of the sellers and she had to contain her emotions having raised them from babies, I will have to look up the actual term for baby sheep which I am sure there is one; I will let you know what that is.


Now for the bidding on the goats that provide us with the extra,extra fine fibers Cashmere, and the first goat to be auctioned has entered the bidding circle below... Isn't he gorgeous?




Now here are the other goats that were being auctioned off. I heard that they do not like to walk much and had to physically be dragged out to the center of the floor for showing, it was too funny seeing them put up a fuss while being dragged across the floor. What do you call a bunch of goats, a flock or is that just for sheep, does anyone know?



Look at the bunny rabbits, I didn't get a shot of the note above the cages they were housed in but I think it said that they get silk and something else from them, I can't remember what it said; I will have to do some research on it and get back to you on it.

Here is another photo of the rest of the rabbits on display, they are so fluffy and cute..


I am going to have to check into this because I would like to see what the actual fibers look like when they are gathered and then worked into roving if that is what its worked into. I will post photos later. I found out what it was, Angora. 11/14



Look at Marvelous Marva at the Little Barn where she cleaned up on some great yarn, they had a fairly large selection of yarn and roving on sale in quantity and the line was long, I didn't want to wait but Marva shared. Way cool!

Here are some lovely, colorful items from some of the multitude of vendors on display in one of the lofts of a barn, I didn't get a chance to get any of the names it was so crowded and we were being shuffled along like cattle so I just shuffled along.

Here is another one...

Look at all the colorful yarn in the background of this picture, check out this ladies felted hat, it is really beautiful as all the items were.


The structure below was very interesting and gave me some ideas for my backyard especially since I have a whole lot of trees not to mention all the surrounding trees in the area that have fallen. I will let you know what I decide to do with this photo of a natural enclosure, lots of possiblities.


Now what you have been waiting for, I bet you thought I went out of control...(lol) I didn't. Here are the items I purchased, I must admit I was very good, no exceptionally good check it out...


My very first needle felting kit to the left and below some roving for needle felting...take a look at the colors.


Now for some fancy type roving for needle felting, look at the colors...



Here is another view of this cool curly roving...



Now for some of the yarn I got at the best price in town and yes, it is wool..



The piece in front is a huge swatch I knitted to see how it felts and its felting but I have to send it through the cycle one or two more times before it gets to where I want it to be. You won't believe how much I paid for each hank, give up.....$2.00 a hank; I know, unbelievable. I will be prepared for next years festival that's for sure (LOL)

Now here is some wool I purchased in Roving as well as some already spun and it is beautiful, can't wait to work with it; I am thinking about a hat, gloves and a scarf and maybe some socks...hey.

Here is one of my most favorite purchases, yarn made from a Samoan dogs hair, the lady said that one skein would make a hat that she had on display and she even gave me the pattern, I will test it and post the results and the pattern if anyone requests it. Here is another view... Yes it is as soft as it looks.









Now you know I could not resist this when I saw it, I will be placing it on top of my plates real soon; baby its cold outside. Brrrrr...
It is so cool don't you think?

I picked this up at one of the vendors booths that was selling shearling slippers and inserts, its my little snake; very soft.





Finally, a farewell to all the furry animals that made it possible for us to be creative in a multitude of ways.
Bye little sheep, give me a big hug and I will see you next year...


So this is the great time I had at the 34th Annual NYS Sheep & Wool Festival and Family Fun Day, can't wait until next year; I most definitely will be prepared to visit all the other vendors I missed this year. We all managed to enjoy ourselves tremendously and the weather held out nicely. To my fellow knitting sisters and brothers (chuckle) (it's all good) (Smile) that I didn't get a chance to see, enjoy my experience at the festival through my photos and I hope to catch up to you next year, until then...



Chow for now