Back from SAFF 2007

with lots of pictures and lovely memories. And lots of fiber to replenish my stash!


SAFF 2007


Chris and Gryffindor

First things first; friend Chris who comes down from Connecticut every year had to find some gorgeous German Angora rabbits! I had more pictures of old friends, but they're on the laptop and I can't get to them. Our motel had a collapse of their wireless and I spent the weekend lugging a useless laptop around! But that left more time for us to talk, play with Chris's new charkha wheel and for her to show me more sock knitting skills!


Wonderful Felting Booth

There were so many vendors, some old friends and some new ones. I was impressed by all the creative pieces I saw, especially the felted items.


Brooks Farm: Pure seduction!

One of our first stops was the Brooks Farm booth. Every year I'm blown away by the beauty of the selections here and this year I certainly wasn't disappointed. More colors, more yarn selection! We bought some yarn, then went back the next day and bought some more!

This is what Chris's car looked like about half-way into our excursion:



From Brooks Farm I bought:


Four Play: shimmering silk and wool yarn. In two colors that I think will be Seraphina's Shawl, instead of the yarn I was working with. And then I went back and bought:


Brooks Farm Mas Acero in wonderful shades. This skein is destined to be Spiral Rib Socks from Socks by Rota Buchanan and Deborah Robson. IF I can manage the knitting! Generous Chris helped me start them out so I'm on the way, at least.

And then we headed over to another favorite booth belonging to Rising Meadow Farm. And yes, we both bought her lovely fleece. Here's mine:


I can't wait to get my hands in this one. The colors range from cream to fawn to gray and I think it's going to make a marvelous yarn!

The best part of the festival was seeing old friends: Elaina from Avillion Farm, Cathy from Perfect Spot Farm, Mary Ellen from ISeeSpots, Connie from Delly's Delights. Jane from Fiber on the Mountain and more folks, like Lura, Diane and others that I didn't even expect to see. We caught up on the news, both good and bad, about life, families and animals. And there was still more time for shopping:


Silk Bells from Lori Flood, and a book from ISeeSpots.


Luxurious Black Shetland roving from The Rosefield


Felting Fibers (for a Friend) and gorgeous roving from Delly's Delights


and one more beautiful black fleece from the wool show. SAFF 2007 was a great time and a fun adventure. Looking forward to SAFF 2008!

Not Complaining...

Autumn at last!

And it's been raining almost since I took this picture. But that's OK. Really. I don't really mind that we're getting all the rain we should have had this summer right now.

Do you believe this one?

More knitting. Honest. This is supposed to look like a sock someday. We had a sock knitting workshop here last Friday. All those little pointy sticks were pretty scary, but thanks to Jane's patient teaching, which continued through a visit to Christopher's Pizza for dinner and music, I was able to get this far on one sock. I have to wait until she comes back to tell me what to do next! I've never gotten this far before, though.


Cards and Projects

Naturally I have to have a crochet project going. This is the beginning of Seraphina's shawl, crocheted in my hand spun "Drama Queen" silk and merino plied yarn. At first I thought the yarn might be too busy for the pattern, and I still have some reservations about my yarn choice. The pattern is lovely; a bit fussy at first but then it settles down into some nice easy repeats. The shawl is pretending to be a bat and threatening Sandra's lovely hand made note cards that she brought over the weekend to the shop. She also brought beautiful stitch markers and some awesome hand dyed yarns.


Seraphina's Shawl

And here's the shawl again, looking a bit more like a shawl and less like a lurking creature of the night. I took it with me to the knitting group meeting at the Floyd Country Store last night. What a lovely group of wonderful knitters! They were very kind, despite the fact that I can't knit and talk at the same time yet and brought my crocheting along. One member, Cheryl, demonstrated card weaving. I had done it many years ago, a little, but nothing as grand as what she was working on!

We have a guest!

Over at Fiber Femmes we are honored to have guest blogger Donna Druchunas, who is on tour promoting her new book, Ethnic Knitting Discovery. I haven't seen the book yet, but Sandra did a great review on her blog and it sounds like a fantastic and unique journey into some wonderful techniques for knitting.

I'm such a knitting beginner myself, but a visit to the web site makes me think that this will be a book for my future! The idea of preserving tradtions appeals to me and the description of the techniques that Donna included in her Fiber Femmes post is intriguing!

Finally Fall

Saturday Sky over Meadows of Dan

After a day of rain we're seeing beautiful skies again. Lovely weather; there was frost on the low fields this morning!

Rain at Last in Meadows of Dan!

Lovely sight!

News, news, news

Greenberry House, with Round the Mountain shingle

The only thing that is a little difficult about coming home from a long trip is catching up with all the work that needs doing and the events that have happened while I was away! Tuesday was really a catch-up day; I did everything from shearing a rabbit to planting grape vines to attending meetings to heading out to town to pick up feed and groceries. Yesterday I stayed home all day, to do laundry and clean bunny cage trays.


'bout time you got home, Mama!

I was met at the door by animals claiming weeks of neglect in the five days I was gone. I don't believe them; my sitter is most trustworthy. But to hear Lily tell it no one spoke to her or gave her a pet the entire weekend. Lily is very vocal and greets me with long stories of what went on while I was gone. But this time even TJ and the cat, Stella, had plenty to say!


Spiderweb Cardigan

While I was in Richmond I finished the Spiderweb Cardigan. This was a delightful little jacket to crochet and very simple. It needs blocking but I was pleased with the fit. The only change I made to the pattern was to add one repeat of the motif on the back to try to keep the shoulders from being too tight. It worked! This pattern was in the Spring 2007 Interweave Crochet and is the second item I've made from that issue.

I'm sure that there is other news; it just isn't coming to me right now. Some great new roving and yarn came into the shop from a couple of vendors and a couple of boxes of books from my aunt in Connecticut. So we're getting set for the big push of the season. The Indian Summer Days festival is this weekend. Jane from Fiber on the Mountain is coming and tomorrow she's set up to do a sock knitting workshop. I've signed up!

And we received our approval and sign from Round the Mountain as a venue! Round the Mountain was next to Patrick County at the National Folk Festival and they had a wonderful slideshow presentation of the artisans and natural beauty of Southwest Virginia. Lots of people stopped to ask questions and take brochures. And from demonstrating for Patrick County I've already received emails asking for more information about the shop!

Oh, and I almost forgot! While I was at the Folk Festival, this happened. Very cool!

Saturday Sky...in Richmond, Virginia

Saturday Sky

We've had a beautiful weekend for the National Folk Festival, down here in Richmond, Virginia. I have lots of pictures but not much more battery time on this laptop, so I'll have to upload them later. We're having a marvelous time; lots of people came by to visit "Patrick County" and have their pictures taken in front of one of the two beautiful covered bridges. Stop by if you are in town; the festival, music and people are just wonderful! Round the Mountain and the Crooked Road are in the Virginia Tourism Corporation tent with us, along with a nice display from Smithfield.

Last night we went to a reception for In Good Keeping, the artisan book that resulted from the master-apprenticeship program Sandra Bennett and Linda Wright worked with over the past couple of years. I'll get some more details and links later! It was lovely to see Sandra and her friend Mary Lois!

New Friends....

Fiber people are something special; just had a wonderful visit with Sandra, who works at Mosaic Yarn Shop in Blacksburg. It was fun comparing notes about yarn and seeing the gorgeous "Charlotte's Web" she knitted! The colors are just amazing. I've known Sandra's mother for quite awhile; she is a regular customer at Poor Farmer's Market.

I *Heart* Spidey!

Spiderweb Cardigan

Oh, I like Spiderman, too; what other comic book hero is there for a hand spinner? But I adore the Spiderweb Cardigan pattern. Crocheting is flowing along smoothly, despite lapses of attention and lots of customers over the weekend!


New Books! New Books! (And some old favorites!)

I was very happy to be able to add some spinning, knitting, dyeing, beading and crocheting titles to the shop's stock this past week. Already the books are selling. I think my personal favorites in this shipment are Scarf Style by Pam Allen and Spin to Knit by Shannon Okey. Two more titles are on the way, though, and one is all crochet.

And I went through last night and cleaned out some of my book stash. When I first discovered the Internet and fiber festivals I went a little crazy buying spinning books. A lot of these titles are no longer available. Of special interest is Erica Lynn's Angora: A Handbook for Spinners, pictured at the end of shelf two for those in the know. There are also books on quilting, embroidery, cross-stitch, quilling and other subjects. If they don't all sell by the end of our season here, I'll be putting them on the Internet.

Saturday Sky

Saturday Sky

The early morning view from the shop's front porch, across the farm in Meadows of Dan to the corn maze. Lovely day, although it seems too warm for October!
Isn't there some saying about fogs in October and snows in the winter? We should have some snow, then; several mornings this week have been a gray haze. There is just a hint of color across the hills so far.


Spiderweb Cardigan

A new project, to provide a rest for the fingers from the Violet Beauregard skirt. This pattern is by Marty Miller and appears in the Spring 2007 Interweave Crochet. I'm loving this, done in my hand painted millspun angora/merino in a colorway I call "Rhododendron". I had a little trouble with the directions at first; mostly because I was a bit distracted at the time, I'm sure!

The shop has been wonderfully busy. I've met some terrific fiber people lately; a delightful young knitter from Eastern Virginia, spinners from Pennsylvania, another knitter from Georgia. It's fun to see what people are working on and how interested they are in natural fiber from our area. I ordered some Interweave Press books last week: there are now patterns for everything from socks to dog sweaters here! And I'm expecting some more knitting needles and notions. I've expanded the circular needle line to include 40 inch and have some lovely Rosewood needles on the way.