Southern Adirondak Fiber Festival

This past weekend was a lovely one.  The Southern Adirondak Festival is a lovely festival in upstate, near Saratoga Springs.  It's fast becoming a can't miss festival, and I've been lucky enough to be invited to teach there for the last two years.  It's held at the Washington County Fairgrounds, inhabiting at least 8 barns of vendors, plus classes, herding competitions, and all things sheep and fiber.  The vendors are selected by a jury process, ensuring a nice variety of offerings for spinners, knitters, crocheters, dyers, and anyone else involved in yarn or felting.

This year as I wandered the barns.  There was a wonderful vintage button dealer, with fabulous collections.  Just the thing for the sweater you have on the needles right now.  These wooden ones to the left are from Lazy Day Farms. **Slurp** (A little knitting drool!)











The felted poppies at right are another product on offering, with vintage button centers.  They make lovely lapel pins, hair clips, and bag decorations.  The colors were great, and Fenwood-Designs.com was generous enough to let me take these photos.

Valentine Arts had these unique yarns in their booth.  Each ply is hand painted separately, and then plied together to make these beautiful yarns. And, each yarn is hand-spun.  Fiber Festivals are one of the few places where you'll find a wide variety of hand-made yarns.  For fiber fans who are looking to break out of the commercial-look mold, it's terrific to have several yarns to choose from.

This spinning wheel, right, is unlike any I've seen before.  It's a interesting blend between modernity and history.  Handcrafts enter the 21st century.  It about $600, available from a builder in Vermont.  All the woods are locally sourced.  No word on whether the carbon fiber wheel is "organic".

As wonderful as all the "stuff" is at all these festivals, the best part is getting to spend time with the people.  I love getting to visit with my students, who have wonderful stories and knitting styles that we build on in class.  The owner of Battenkill Fibers, Mary Jane Packer, and I got to have a quick visit about sock knitting, and the preferences we have for the same type of long wearing heel patterns.  Stephanie Grieger, of Dirty Water Dye Works, introduced me to some terrific new sock yarn, and we're brewing up something for the Rhinebeck 2013 Sock.  Laurie Perrin, of Silver Moon Farm Fiber Arts, led me to some lovely superwash superfine merino which will allow me to finally make Louie's blanket.

These are all parts of why I love these events.  If you haven't gone to a fiber festival yet, it's time to get off the couch, and go!  Meet some fiber people, and make some new fiber friends.  See things in person that will inspire you.  I hope to meet you at a festival soon!

 

 

More with Foster Sheep Farm

Antique Wrought Iron Sheep Toy

It's been a crazy week here, with my father-in-law being hospitalized within hours of my return home from my wonderful weekend teaching classes at Foster Sheep Farm in Schuylerville, NY.  What is going on with everyone being so sick?  It's been one of those years...

Antique Yarn Spool Lamps

As much as I know my knitting info cold, I'm a bit of a spaz in the rest of my life.  As I drove to Schuylerville from Buffalo, I realized I'd packed everything except the undies, which were still in the dryer.  (Thank you, Target.)  I'd arranged to sleep in the yarn shop thanks to Carol Foster's kind offer, forgetting that my wool allergy might be an obstacle.  (Thank you, Benadryl.)  The screen on my phone wasn't working so I missed all my texts.  (No thank you, Samsung.)  And I left my camera in a coffee shop, severely limiting my ability to take photos to share with you. (Thank you, Abby Foster, for use of yours.) 

Mitten Form for Drying
 Mittens Fireside

As this is not an uncommon set of details for me (I wish it were, but alas, I'm really a spaz) it came as no surprise that one of the texts I missed was important.  It was from Carol Foster, my hostess, offering me a tour of Battenkill Fibers, a spinnery near the farm.  Mary Jean Packer is the owner and operator, and although she was in the middle of an order for Tahki (a brand new yarn that is Oh, so cool!) she took the time to show me around.  (Yep. More Benadryl.  A girl has to breathe.)  I'll share more about this in another post.










After my groovy tour of the spinnery, I was revved for day 2 of classes at Foster Sheep Farm.  The group was there for a class of Shaping Techniques which shows alternatives for shaping.  Different yarns take shaping techniques differently.  Something that makes a smooth decrease in a silk/linen blend may make a lumpy one in cotton.  We made a variety of shapes in a dozen ways. 

The shop is dotted with early American antiques, many of them knitting-related, located in an old farmhouse.  I couldn't help thinking that there was energy from dozens of knitters who came before us, original owners of the antiques and the farm, right there with us.  The quiet of the rainy day in the country made it all the more memorable.