CT Sheep and Wool Festival 2011

I've been a knitting since I was a junior in college -- so almost eight years now -- and yesterday I attended my first local "fiber festival".  Growing up, the autumn country fairs were part of the changing seasons (I'm a small-town CT girl), but I had never been to one that was strictly dedicated to the fiber arts (spinning, knitting, crocheting, and weaving).  When I found out there was one only half an hour away from my house -- in Vernon, CT -- I grabbed three of my friends, and we were off.

The Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival is the first of these such annual fairs in the northeastern US, culminating with the famous Rhinebeck festival in NY in October.  The CT one is small, but we had a wonderful time.  I love supporting local vendors, and it's nice to find yarn that you won't find mass-produced, for amazing prices!  We had a ball.

My friend Drea posed as an alpaca:

 

We saw the most adorable baby lamb ever, who was too timid to let us pet him.

 

We saw alpacas (Drea would like me to add in that she, in fact, petted an alpaca).  I would have petted one, but I'm terribly allergic, unfortunately.

And it wouldn't be a yarn festival if I didn't come home with something (as I said, I like supporting local artists!).  

This is a skein of Super Sock 416 (75% merino, 25% nylon, 450 yards), from the Ball and Skein in Barton, Vermont.  The color is black cherry -- very apropos.  The owner was extremely nice and helpful, and they had their skeins kitted up with patterns -- how could I resist?  The pattern here is Wendy D. Johnson's Lady Bertram Shawlette -- those of you who are readers will recognize the name from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park!  There were several kits with shawls named after Austen characters, and I was so enchanted that I snapped this one right up.  It took me a while to pick out the right color to match what I was looking for, but I think the black cherry will suit perfectly.

All in all, a wonderful Saturday afternoon, and I'm so glad I went.  I'm trying to get the same friends to go with me to the fair in Massachusetts later this summer -- we shall see :)



Today: I'm going to be 90% finished with our formal living room!  The only thing lacking is going to be a living room rug.  Pictures when I'm done, I can't wait to have my own little space to entertain.  David has his "man cave" (which is far from being finished and may never be as long as he's able to play video games in it), and now at last I'll have a place to have girlfriends over and watch movies or knit or whatever in peace.  I can't wait.