Recharged, if only for One Day
The past 10 days has seen every single member of our household getting sick, in one form or another, sometimes in pairs. I escaped all last week unscathed, just needing to play nurse to the ailing ones. I started feeling oogly myself on Friday, but felt well enough Saturday to spend the day at NH Sheep and Wool.
It was a bounty of fiber and friends, and I left feeling so much better for having taken a day for myself. Even though it certainly wasn't restful, it was marvelously energizing and stands out as the best day I've had in quite some time.
I won't bore you with my list of purchases (they're in my Handspun tab in my stash on Ravelry), or a big link fest of who I enjoyed the day with (you can see some of them in my photos on Flickr here) but I do want to share one purchase, which was so serendipitous and really sums up the carefree easy going day.
I was walking with Manise near the end of the day, she was taking me to see the fleece she had bought earlier - a stunning grey CVM lock she was brandishing hinted at wonderful stuff. She was explaining how this vendor didn't bring any fleeces to sell that day, just ones that were being picked up. In the booth, there were two big bags stashed behind the register - Manise's glorious crimpy, lanolin-y silver-gray with a big SOLD tag on top, and another: black with brown tips, a Romeldale - I couldn't help but bury my hands in it, wondering who had scored this beauty (I'd been eyeing black fleeces all day, this was the best yet). Manise started chatting with Nancy, the owner of the booth, and it came up that she actually hadn't sold this one. Imagine that! We all can guess the outcome. I'm the happy owner of that stunning fleece. It was summarily dropped off at Friends Folly booth for washing and carding (I wailed to Cheryl - "its like leaving my baby at daycare!") and the best photo I have of it is my lonely lock that I kept to remember it while it is away.
My hope and plan is to make a worsted 2 (maybe 3?) ply, enough for a nice wooly sweater for me. Its been a fantasy since I started spinning to go from fleece to sweater for myself, and with the washing and carding being done for me I might just have the stamina to pull it off. Only time will tell.
A big thank you to all the wonderful people I spent the day with. I truly wish we had more frequent occasion to do this.
It was a bounty of fiber and friends, and I left feeling so much better for having taken a day for myself. Even though it certainly wasn't restful, it was marvelously energizing and stands out as the best day I've had in quite some time.
I won't bore you with my list of purchases (they're in my Handspun tab in my stash on Ravelry), or a big link fest of who I enjoyed the day with (you can see some of them in my photos on Flickr here) but I do want to share one purchase, which was so serendipitous and really sums up the carefree easy going day.
I was walking with Manise near the end of the day, she was taking me to see the fleece she had bought earlier - a stunning grey CVM lock she was brandishing hinted at wonderful stuff. She was explaining how this vendor didn't bring any fleeces to sell that day, just ones that were being picked up. In the booth, there were two big bags stashed behind the register - Manise's glorious crimpy, lanolin-y silver-gray with a big SOLD tag on top, and another: black with brown tips, a Romeldale - I couldn't help but bury my hands in it, wondering who had scored this beauty (I'd been eyeing black fleeces all day, this was the best yet). Manise started chatting with Nancy, the owner of the booth, and it came up that she actually hadn't sold this one. Imagine that! We all can guess the outcome. I'm the happy owner of that stunning fleece. It was summarily dropped off at Friends Folly booth for washing and carding (I wailed to Cheryl - "its like leaving my baby at daycare!") and the best photo I have of it is my lonely lock that I kept to remember it while it is away.
My hope and plan is to make a worsted 2 (maybe 3?) ply, enough for a nice wooly sweater for me. Its been a fantasy since I started spinning to go from fleece to sweater for myself, and with the washing and carding being done for me I might just have the stamina to pull it off. Only time will tell.
A big thank you to all the wonderful people I spent the day with. I truly wish we had more frequent occasion to do this.
posted by Pumpkinmama at Monday, May 12, 2008
13 Comments:
I was so happy that you got that fleece. And it was great to spend some time with you. You're right - we need to do this more often!
I am SO happy you got that fleece! Serendipitous events are the best! I love the comparison to leaving one's child at daycare to the relinquishing of ones fleece for processing. It's only normal as they do have names attached to them. Mine will be going out this week and I too will save a lock to sniff and fondle while I wait for her return in the form of roving.
Glad I got to spend so much time with you Saturday.
Very nice! I see a fleece in my future, too. Not this year, but maybe next year. (Or, perhaps, at Rhinebeck?)
That was a honker of a fleece. Gorgeous!
I vote for three ply. Since you did ask. *sample*sample*sample*
wow, that lock looks gorgeous! I almost feel like I can touch it from here! :) congratulations!
This is probably the best NH story I've read so far. I'm so glad you scored that wonderful fleece! :-)
That is a gorgeous fleece! What a great day!
Ooh, I love the brown with the black. For some reason when I think fleece I always think white and gray (well, and dirty). It looks like someone used a crimping iron on it with all the little kinks.
It was so nice to see you this weekend! A clean fleece in the grease is an intoxicating thing indeed....I am glad you ended up with such a beauty!
That lock looks gorgeous! I've got fleece-to-sweater on the brain, too. Started processing a Romney-X I got at MDSW but it is definitely a lot of work.
I'm so sorry to have missed you on Saturday. Next time.
i hope you do eventually make a sweater with this wool . . . we love our handspun sweaters best of all!
My sheep-to-sweater project is languishing in the back of the closet - I washed it, Pogo made it into roving, now it waits to be turned into yarn. I'm just so afraid my spinning won't be as good as the fiber! :(
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