Moments From The Southern Adirondak Fiber Festival

These gorgeous buttons are made of porcelain by Melissa Jean Designs.  Not only are they beautiful, Melissa is a sweetheart herself.  I was lucky enough to meet her, her husband, and her daughters.  Their angora bunny was with them, who is tentatively named Sweetie Helga. Many surprises awaited in her booth, but I'll save them for later.  You can find her website here.

To the right is Stephen Willette, a master woodworker who makes beautful knitting needles, crochet hooks, buttons, and knitting tools out of hardwoods.  What's even cooler is that he makes them on site right in front of you!  His wife, Linda, is right there with him to manage sales and explain some of the details of how to use the tools. Sadly, they only took cash, and by the time I got there I only had plastic left.  Oh well.  I'll be sure to have cash the next time I see them!

Crochet has never been my friend.  I love it, and I'm impressed as hell by people who can do it well,  but I am definitely not one of them.  The fabulous headwear above was crocheted by Cal Patch, who is one of the most charming women I've ever met.  She designs clothes, she crochets, she spins, she teaches, she has a great dog, and she has a warm and open way about her.  I would love to take a class from her.  If anyone can teach me to crochet, I think she can!  A link to her site is here.

The entire area of Washington County, NY is spectacularly beautiful.  This is a shot of the main street in Salem, just east of Greenwich. The scent of the apples in the orchard as I drove along, and the fog off the fields...it's a little bit of northeastern heaven.   There's so much more, and I'll share it in chunks over the next few days.