I guess I will start right from the beginning………the car ride.
Every year Ken has taken me to the NH Sheep and Wool festival for Mother's day. It's really not that far away from us, but it is far enough away that I can usually get a bit of knitting in. This year Anne's Ondule sweater was my knitting companion. Don't you just love the texture in those purled diamonds?
As a rule of thumb Ken and I stay at the festival until around 2ish. While I shop and visit with friends, Ken likes to wander off and watch the dog herding. It's the one thing that I always regret not taking the time to watch.
This year because we were spending the night in Concord, I was able to catch the afternoon session. These dogs are absolutely fascinating! I wish I could tell you that a Cavalier could do this…..but I can assure you that most of them could not…LOL. Border collies are brilliant dogs!! If you get a chance to watch them at work…do it. You won't be disappointed!
As you visit the various New England blogs you will see many pictures of the wonderful people I get to call "friend", but because I tend to spend too much time chatting and not enough time with the camera that is what you will not see here…LOL.
You do get to see this precocious alpaca though. Truly this gentle animal was absolutely posing for pictures. Don't you just love his smile? I keep telling Ken……when the kids leave for good, expect to see one or two of these sweet babies in our yard 😉
As a rule of thumb I don't usually post many pictures of my fiber purchases. I will be honest with you…over the last few years I have not really made that many "for me" fiber purchases, but this year I fell into the rabbit hole in a big way and I wanted to share my excitement :). The new spinning wheels have been a bad influence I tell ya…baaaad…;).
Above is some stunning wool/mohair blend from Pogo of Friend's Folly Farm. The black blend will be a sweater and the purplish one will become a vest.
A woolenrabbit needs a little angora fix every now and then and this year was no exception. This is a beautiful blend of polwarth and angora from Woolybuns.
Last but not least are these 2 scrumptious llama, mohair, silk blends from Tucker Woods Farm. I had petted these fibers earlier in the day, but told myself I really had enough, so I woefully left them behind.
Later in the afternoon as I was showing Carole how beautiful these fibers were, I became weak in the knees. Yep….I buckled and gave in….and that was that…….into my basket these 2 beautiful bags of fiber went.
Go take a peek at their website. Are those babies not the cutest things ever?? Hmmm…..maybe 2 of them should accompany the future alpacas in the yard…..Just sayin'
After the fair, Ken and I were able to spend some time dining and chatting with Dale and Carole, along with Dan and Jean. What a perfect ending to a fun day!
Back home again on Sunday was time spent with my children. I am so fortunate to have some of the nicest kids ever!
The Woolen Rabbit 
The fiber is to live for! You’ll show what your spinning as you go along, right? I’m more envious of your spending time with friends than any of the fiber you found. 😉
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I’m picturing Cavaliers in the sheep field – hahahaha! Cute they is!
And I have to say: it’s quite flattering that you – producer of such yummy fibers – choose to include mine in your spin, too. I appreciate it much! Glad you had such a good weekend.
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So jealous of your fiber festivals! I don’t think we have many such things up here in Manitoba.
Sadly I never did measure myself for Fitness Friday…but I have been following your blog regularly and am keeping up with my own exercising.
Your knitting is an inspiration to me…someday soon I hope to knit half as well…and maybe someday spin!
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You bought some great things! We really enjoyed our time with you and Ken.
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wow, you are totally rockin’ that sweater!
and the wool show; you deserve a few indulgences!
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LOve the sweater and the purled diamonds. And the purple Pogo fiber. But best of all getting to see you and the sisters of the hive. Wish we had more time on Saturday. Next time.
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We watched a border collie demo with a very young dog..fascinating! Terry loves to watch the trials, too. Sorry I never got to meet your husband…maybe next year! (Where did you guys eat? We had a nice meal Friday at The Common Man, but the Beefside was only so-so on Saturday.) You got some good stuff…I got the exact same fiber from Chris, but missed your other gems! (I did get some yummy stuff from Dan Melamed at Buckwheat Bridge and am kicking myself for passing on that fleece. Oh, well.)
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Obviously you had a great time! What beautiful fiber purchases you made too!
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I loved what the dogs were doing, but they seemed (or at least one of them seemed) either indecisive or inefficient…spending lots of calories running back and forth while deciding what to do next. Very very funny!
Your fiber haul is beautiful. We hit some of the same spots…I got that brown/black from Pogo too. And I got Pygora B (her last ounce) from Tucker Woods. Plus some yummy from WoolyBuns.
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I was really baaad myself! Came home with an alpaca fleece, a jacob fleece, a pound of blue/gold roving, some wool/silk blend, a basket half price at Abi’s Web, and some little stuff. I loved that purple roving you got – I was thinking about it but had to stop at that point! That black blend is going to make a real pretty sweater.
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Sounds like a wonderful weekend! I love watching those dogs work. At Wisconsin Sheep & Wool you can bring your dog and learn about how to do it! Too bad I only have cats…
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Kim- I don’t spin, but it’s awfully tempting.
I think Alpacas are sweet, and I want some too.
Border collies are amazing- but they need to run, and are very high energy.
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Sounds like a great time!
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I spent the whole festival trying to resist fiber purchases. I have several fleeces on hand, and 4 alpaca fleeces on the way, so I had to just keep reining myself in.
You found some beauties. I think I had to physically cover my eyes in those booths…
(I did end up with several ounces of a purple/red/blue/goldish-green merino roving, though. I swear it tackled my as I walked by. My MIL will back me up on this…
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lol. You took more pictures than I did. WE ARE TAKING A PICTURE TOGETHER OVER MEMORIAL DAY!!! LOL. It was a blast. We stopped at Sturbridge on the way home. Fun!
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so glad that you treated yourself to some spinning fiber. I often denied myself, because I was a hand dyer too, but it is so fun to spin what others have dyed…..
LOVELY purchases.
and I’m glad that you had a relaxing trip, enjoying dear ones.
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