Estes Park Wool Market

The Wool Market officially opened at 9:00 in the morning on Saturday, but John and I got there earlier than that. The picture below shows the setting for the event which is held at the fairgrounds in Estes Park, Colorado.


We decided to check out the animals first. They were housed in barns and tents. There were sheep, goats, llamas, alpacas and angora rabbits. Most of the animals were getting last minute beauty treatments.

I'm not sure I like how this "hairstyle" turned out. The head doesn't seem to match the body.


Next it was on to the vendor area.


Just about everything a fiber fanatic could want was for sale in this one big barn. There were fleeces, roving, spindles, spinning wheels, looms and much more. I looked at some of the fleeces and roving, but I was most interested in yarn.


I tried to walk past the Brooks Farm booth, but the beautiful colors pulled me in as they always do.

And then I made the mistake of touching the yarn. I was goner after that. However, I did show a bit of restraint by waiting until I had shopped all the other vendors before I came back to make my purchase. I didn't want to blow my fiber budget too early, especially since Brooks Farm is a vendor at the festival I usually go to in the fall.

The next booth that caught my attention was Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Co. Their yarn is gorgeous. Should I buy this color? Or maybe that one? They are all beautiful.


Right after I made my choice and paid my money, I ran into fellow Texan and blogging buddy, Suzann Thompson and her daughter Eva. It was the first time for us to meet in person, though we've been visiting back and forth on our blogs for about three years. I would have loved to have taken her polymer clay button making class that she taught the day before, but it was filled up by the time I found out I would be at Estes. I'm happy we at least had a chance to talk for a while. Suzann is just as nice as I knew she would be and it was a treat to meet Eva as well. Our meeting was best part of the Wool Market for me.


Our next stop was the sheep dog demonstration. It was interesting and we learned a few things about the training of these dogs.

It was close to lunchtime by now, so we headed over to get some food. John and I tried the lamb kabobs. They were very good. For dessert we had a strawberry banana smoothie. Delicious!

And then we decided it was time to go. I left with an armful of yarn, a Wool Market baseball cap and a smile on my face.

1600 yards Plain & Fancy (100% Wool)
800 yards Brooks Farm Yarn Willow (70% SW Wool, 30% Bamboo)

Snippets

Optic Waves Shawl is progressing nicely. I've added seven pattern repeats. No new picture to show though, because it looks the same as this, only longer.

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I was the lucky winner of the random prize drawing for the Fashionably Late in '08 Clapotis KAL. I chose this gorgeous skein of Hand Maiden Sea Silk (70% Silk, 30% Seacell) in a color called Rose Garden.

The next project for Fashionably Late is Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark. This yarn would be perfect for it, so I may have to knit along. Care to join us?

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I'm still working on striped preemie hats.


I've been donating my hats to Hannah's Knitsters. It's a group at John's office that gets together at lunch to knit for charity. I was able to meet with them last month. I knew a few of the ladies already, but many I met for the first time. Here are some of the early comers posing in front of an impressive display of finished blanket squares, chemo caps and preemie hats.


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Knitting for charity is very rewarding. If you've been thinking of doing some knitting for others, now is a good time to get started.

Michelle is running a contest for the next ten weeks. For every preemie hat, bunting or blanket you knit and donate, your name will be added to a drawing. Details here.

Looking for a place to donate these baby items? Emmazing Grace Foundation is in the midst of their third annual donation drive.

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This week I'm traveling with John to Salt Lake City on a business trip, but first we're stopping in Estes Park, Colorado for a mini vacation that will include hiking and fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park...


...and shopping at the Estes Park Wool Market!

Kid 'N Ewe 2007

I was the shopper and John was the photographer. I didn't pass up the Brooks Farm Yarn booth. How could I? Look at all the sock yarn!



I finally got to meet Amy and Laurie in person. They were taking a yarn dyeing class which I crashed to say hello.



John was a good photographer.

Spinning







Weaving



Rug Hooking



Lace Making



Animals



Wool



Yarn



And I was a good shopper.

Wool and Handmade Spindle from Les Trois Amies





Brooks Farm Yarn Acero and 1" Set Gauge (Les Trois Amies)



Kid 'n Ewe wasn't the only thing we did while we were in the Texas Hill Country, but that's another post.

Sweater Weather

The first real cold front of the season arrived on Monday. Temperatures went from the 80s to the 50s in a matter of minutes. At first I thought it might be a blue norther that Texas is famous for, but rain, wind and dreary weather lingered all day so it can't officially be called that.



The sudden change in the weather reminded me that the Kid 'n Ewe fiber festival in Boerne, Texas is just around the corner (Nov. 9-11). This will be my third year to go. It's a nice little festival, so make plans to attend if you're in the area. Everything is set up in three big exhibition buildings at the Kendall County Fairgrounds, so no matter the weather, the show will go on.

One of my favorite vendors at this festival is Brooks Farm Yarn.



As you can see, I've collected quite a bit of their yarn.


500 yards of Harmony (55% Mohair, 22.5% Wool, 22.5% Silk)


540 yards of Four Play (50% Fine Wool, 50% Silk)
1000 yards of Duet (55% Kid Mohair, 45% Fine Wool)
1500 yards of Primero (100% Kid Mohair)

I bought most of it without a specific project in mind, so it has sat in the stash unused. What a waste! I've decided to make it my mission to find patterns that will work well with these yarns and get busy knitting. How can I justify buying more until I use what I have? I may have to skip the Brooks Farm booth this year unless, of course, they have their sock yarn with them.

The Best Day

John and I had a great time on Saturday starting with the Great Basin Fiber Arts Fair. After a couple of wrong turns we found our way to Wheeler Historic Farm where the fair was held.



Once we got there, it didn't take me long to spot Margene and the gang. We joined them for introductions and a quick visit. I was really excited to meet Kim for the first time. We've been friends through our blogs for a couple of years. She greeted me with a welcoming hug and we talked for a bit. Next time I hope our visit will be longer.


Back row, left to right: Susan, me, Margene, Judy
Front row, left to right: Teresa, Carole, Kim

I hope I have all the names right. Someone correct me if I'm wrong. Later I also met Kim, but I didn't get a picture.

This was a wonderful little festival. Not a huge affair, but plenty of vendors with good things to sell.



There were classes offered and demonstrations too. You couldn't miss this guy: quite colorful in dress and personality.



He kept the crowd entertained with demonstrations of the great wheel.

And there were a few animals too.



I picked up some great souvenirs.



A beautiful Greensleeves spindle (Maureen's Mjolinor made from Masur Birch) and a couple of different rovings: Lincoln Longwool from Nelson Land and Livestock and a blend of Corriedale, Alpaca and Mohair in a purplish color from Spinderella's.

After saying our good-byes to the gang, we stopped by to check on the Wheeler Farm sheep.



Then we headed up to the mountains to spend the rest of the day at Mirror Lake. That's a story for next time.

Kid 'N Ewe and Lamas Too 2006

I almost talked myself out of driving to Boerne on Saturday for the fiber festival when I pulled the map out the night before and really looked at how far away it is from my house. It seemed a lot further than I remembered, but I decided to go anyway. It took me fours hours to get there and because I had to be back home for a dinner at 6:00, I only had a couple of hours to look around and eat lunch.

It's a small event and I was able to see everything in that time, but not able to spend much time at any one thing. Most everything is indoors which is good in case it rains, but not so good for taking pictures. Many of the photos I took turned out blurry because I didn't use the flash.

The animals are the only part of the festival that's outside.






I was glad to see more people in attendance at this festival than last year's. Last year I remember it was hot, but this year the weather was perfect. Maybe that was the difference. It looked like people were spending money too which is good for the vendors and will encourage them to keep coming.

There was lots and lots of roving for sale, spinning wheels, spindles and everything a spinner could ever imagine.




Brooks Farm was there and not one knitter could walk by without being sucked into their booth and a the very least touching and drooling over their yarn. Most couldn't leave without purchasing some yarn to bring home and I was no exception.

I think I bought enough of the red (Cinnamon Spice?) Duet for a sweater and the Four Play will probably become a scarf or something small like that. I was hoping to buy some of their sock yarn that I had heard they have started selling at shows, but they sold out before this show and didn't receive their shipment in time.

Two hours went by very fast and then it was time to hit the road again. The drive home took only 3 1/2 hours. That makes a total of 7 1/2 hours of driving for two hours of fiber festival. Was it worth it? Yes. Will I go back next year? Yes, but only if I don't have a schedule to keep. By the way, I made it home in time for the dinner.

Fiber Festival

This weekend, November 10-12, is the Kid 'N Ewe and Lamas Too fiber festival in Boerne, Texas. It will be held at the Kendall County Fairgrounds and is open to the public beginning at noon on Friday. This is a small festival, but still has a lot to offer--vendors, workshops, animals and demonstrations.

I went last year and was pleased to find some wonderful vendors like Brooks Farm and Wyatt Wheels.

Both are scheduled to be at Kid 'N Ewe again this year. For a complete list of vendors, click here.

Think I'll drive over on Saturday. Hope to see you there.

On A Whim

Yesterday morning I read on Judy's blog about a fiber festival in Boerne, Texas. I happen to mention it to my husband and he said, "Let's go!". At first I was hesitant. It's at least a three hour drive one way and I was sure it would be a small event, maybe not worth the effort. But, we didn't have any plans for the day, so we decided a drive out to the Hill Country would be fun whether the festival was good or not. It turned out that there were only about a dozen vendors. But one of them was Brooks Farms!


It was worth the trip just to finally see and touch the yarn that I've heard so many rave about. I bought enough for a shawl and a mitten/hat set.

Wyatt Wheels was there too. Every spinning wheel is individually made by Bill Wyatt and is a work of art. He told us he flunked wood shop in high school. I found that hard to believe! If only his teacher could see what he's making now. My favorite wheel was the Pegasus made from mesquite.

We had fun visiting with the the ladies from Louisiana. They call themselves Les Trois Ami. They are all three spinners and raise their own sheep. One of the farms has a website. You can tell they love what they do. We bought a hand crafted knostepinde from their booth. This one is small and delicate looking, made from cherry. I'll use it for winding up small bits of left over yarn. It was handcrafted by Terry Selser, the husband of one of the three.

There were animals and music too. Visit my husband's blog for his perspective and more pictures. We acted on a whim and I'm glad we did. I would have never found these treasures otherwise.


The Bluejays lost their last district football game to West Columbia, 21-7. Playoff game next Saturday.