OPEN SEASON on Fall (and/or) Fiber Festivals.

So I'm sitting here having tea and a chocolate biscuit (not a cookie -- the box clearly says that it is a "butter biscuit with pure dark chocolate") and was thinking that I needed to post a SUPER IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO THE NORTH AMERICAN FIBER COMMUNITY.

It's October, which means it is Festival Season.

I asked my boss if I could have tomorrow off to go to the Waterford country festival (near Lucketts, VA), and he said yes (go super-awesome boss-man!). The 65th annual Waterford Foundation Festival runs October 3, 4 & 5, 2008 from 10 am to 5 pm. I haven't been there before but it has a reputation for bringing some particularly fine craftsmen and their work.

Also this weekend is the Fall Fiber Festival in Montpelier Station, Virginia (aka BFE, VA). It is a fiber festival and sheepdog trials. I went last year and almost came home with some cashgora kids. We'll see what happens this year.

The second week in October is the Countryside Artisans Autumn Studio Tour. You can read my entry about last year's Autumn Tour here.

There's something called Rhinebeck something-or-other, but I'm not going this year, so it's obviously not that big a deal. ;-)

And then there's the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival, 25-26 October, 2008, from 10a-5p.

Be prepared for lots of fibery, festivalian goodness coming your way!

Fall Fiber Festival

On Sunday, we went to the Fall Fiber Festival in Montpelier Station, VA. It was beastly hot and dusty... and a lot of fun.

On the drive down, in the middle of a glass-blowing discussion, I saw the sign:

After a beautifully-executed U-turn, we toured the shop and spoke with the owner. Below is one of his creations. I forget what it's called, but I love it.


Then we drove on to the Festival:

Behold the tents of untold wonders ahead...
And mind the tractor, dear.

I bought an apple-cider doughnut. It was delicious. Note the dry, dusty earth in the background. Imagine clouds of it surrounding you, whipped up by passing cars, sheep, goats and people. Imagine it settling in your hair, covering your clothes and clogging up your nose. You'd need a delicious, fresh, hand-made doughnut, too.

nom nom nom

I talked for some time with Mr. Cecil, of Cecil's Folie Bergere. He breeds and raises Cashgora goats. They look like sheep, but he assured me that they are goats. Their fiber is amazingly soft, like... well... cashmere.

Hi, my name is Buddy and I,
along with all of my wonderfully soft and cute relatives,
want to go home to Courtney's farm.

Here is an angora bunny having the hair methodically pulled from its underbelly:

not my gumdrop buttons!

Llamas! Not just any llamas, either. These are grand champion llamas. I talked at length with their owner. Turns out llamas are intelligent, like poodles (and Portuguese Water Dogs), and you can train them to do just about anything. Apparently they are generally sweet-natured--until they're threatened, and then they become fearsome head-butting, foot-stomping monsters of pad-footed death. I'm thinking that I need a guard llama to protect my herd of Mr. Cecil's cashgora goats. ;-)

Here's a llama, there's a llama...

Mangham Mohair sold mohair blankets, among other things. I really liked them, and thought about buying one for the Queen's Mother (everyone in Knit Goddingdom just calls her "Courtney's mom"), but I wasn't sure about the color. So I took a picture:

My yarn-diet willpower broke down at the end of the trip. Technically, I think it melted, and would have taken more than a few fresh-squeezed lemonades to revive it. Anyway, I bought a pound of Corriedale roving from Stony Mountain Fibers and five balls of di.Ve' Autunno. I had bought Corriedale from Stony Mountain at MD Sheep and Wool and loved it. It's incredibly easy to spin and practically pre-drafts itself. When your spinning skills are such as mine, this is incredibly important.

di.Ve' Autunno, 100% Extra-fine Merino

I also ordered a skein of brown and light-grey alpaca from Misty Mountain Farm--the same people I bought the black-and-white from at MD Sheep and Wool. They ran out but are going to ship it to me.

And, finally, for those fans of the viral meme:

"and now listen, little child, to the safety rail..."

Stay tuned... this coming weekend is Stitches East, the following weekend is the Autumn Studio Tour, and the weekend after that... well, you'll just have to find out.