And the days spin on by..

Sally's Farm

It's amazing how fast the time is flying; here June is already upon us, with more shows, festivals and gatherings to look forward to. I had a nice day yesterday when Sally, who went to Sedalia with us this past weekend, stopped by for a visit. She brought some interesting mystery fiber she was gifted and this wonderful hooked rug she recently completed. This is all her own hand spun, hand dyed and natural colored, and a charming original design. I especially love the tree and the sheep, and how inviting the house looks with the bright windows in the evening light!


New Yarns at Greenberry House

I'm very excited to have another new spinner here at the shop! Rae Jean is from Blacksburg and her yarns are beautiful! She spins beautifully and her offerings here range from a very delicate laceweight to some lovely soft worsteds. Fibers range from wool to mohair to camel. There's a beautiful set of skeins in dark grays that would be perfect for a sweater!

It's supposed to rain in Meadows of Dan today but so far the sun is shining! A few people are wandering through the community so it looks like a great day. As far as I can hear, the festival last week was a great success, and so was the movie at Chateau Morrisette.

My car broke last night. Not sure what is wrong with it but I'm disappointed as it's going to knock me out of a gathering with friends this week. I've gotten spoiled! I didn't miss not having a car when I didn't have one but it infuriates me to have one that won't work!

The Weekend

Getting ready for Hit 'n Miss in the Mountains

There was so much going on this weekend! Chris from Woolybuns arrived Thursday with five absolutely gorgeous German and German Cross Angora rabbits, plus my first French Angora. They are all beautiful and friendly and I'm looking forward to lots of lovely wool with beautiful color. I was getting low on white rabbits and it's going to be fun to do some dyeing! It didn't take long to get the rabbits settled into the newly refitted and cleaned cages. Now I'm busy trying to learn new names and personalities. Chris is so clever with names; I'll be posting pictures of these beautiful creatures soon, with some comments, on the web site.


Greenberry House Booth at Sedalia Fiber Festival

Chris and I stayed up 'til midnight talking, which was probably not a good idea for me, since I had to roll out at 5:30 for our morning walk. I made it, though, and then dear Chris spent most of Friday helping me pack her car absolutely full for the festival on Saturday. We left a tiny smidgin of room to tuck Sally in, and were ready to relax and talk when Jane came in to stay over for the festival in Meadows of Dan. Chris and Jane are both witty and quick-minded, so I got to hang around, laugh and knit!

Saturday was another early morning, with us heading out before five down the mountain toward Big Island. To our dismay it was raining when we went out, a totally unexpected development. We ventured on, through fog at Lover's Leap and drizzle across Patrick and Franklin County, and soon saw the sun rising over the mountains. By the time we reached Sedalia the sun was out and shining bright on our endeavor.

The festival was delightful and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many new people and visiting with old fiber friends. Sally and Chris spent time looking at fleeces and visiting some of the vendors before we got extremely busy with customers. They were both amazing and saved my life in the booth! Chris is great at selling!

I didn't get any pictures but there was some awesome fiber and yarn available, from mostly Virginia and North Carolina farms, as near as I could tell. We got to look at some beautiful lambs and rabbits; I resisted temptation, though, in spite of the fact that my yard looks like it might support a flock much of the time!

Sandy and Cher were there representing Mosaic and it was lovely to see them, in mad dashes while one or the other of us weren't busy! I saw some interesting yarns in their booth that I didn't have time to investigate; I'll be poking around in the shop soon! Cher did me a huge favor at the end of the day, many thanks!

And I now have some lovely needle books, bags and needle rolls from Lawre's Laine! I've been admiring her beautiful bags since I saw them at my first Spunster's gathering and have been begging to have them in the shop since. Lawre brought some beautiful items to the festival and now I have some of them here at the shop. The bags and rolls are wonderful accessories and I'm really looking forward to seeing how they do here!


Movie Night at Chateau Morrisette

Sally and Chris, troopers to the end, helped me pack up and we crammed the festival back in the car, with a few additions Chris will no doubt be talking about soon. We had a pleasant trip home, dropping Sally off on the way and looking at her lovely garden for a few minutes. Then the packed little car made it back up the mountain, we caught our breath and then headed over to Chateau Morrisette for "Cinema on the Lawn." It was a great evening with good food, good friends and a hilariously funny old movie, Some Like it Hot. Very daring for the time, I think!

Sunday was a little less hectic for me, back in the shop putting things from the festival away. There was a lot of traffic, though, and I had a fun day with customers while Jane and Chris worked at the Hit and Miss Festival. Chris graciously agreed to demonstrate spinning and even sheared one of my rabbits!

Today has continued to be busy, with lots of people around in town for the festival. Chris headed back this morning, early, and I hope she has a safe trip! Jane stayed over for the last day of the festival here and I think is going home this evening. The house will be quiet (and peaceful)!

Conferences and meetings...

Lily's New Look

But first darling dog got her new haircut last week. She loves it! And beside her is the bright purple yarn for the socks I'm knitting. They're going along quite quickly. The yarn is Crystal Palace's Panda Cotton in 59% Bamboo, 25% cotton and 16% elastic nylon. I heard somewhere that the yarn splits a lot, but I don't find that happening. Most cottons seem to split a bit but so far this hasn't been as bad as some commercial wools I've worked with.

Lily and TJ stayed at Buddy's Boarding in Floyd while I was gone to the conference (see below). I think they had a great time, although TJ was a bit frightened when I left. Diane said Lily acted like a queen while I was gone, parading around and being the boss. And that TJ is a sweet dog (spoken in a dubious "well, he's a Lab after all" tone.)


At the "Building a Creative Economy in Southwest Virginia" Conference

So anyway, there we are at the conference, all dignified and dressed up, with mostly government types surrounding us. "Us" at the moment is dear Charlotte and me. Charlotte's the chair of the Patrick County Tourism Advisory Council and a quilting/weaving member of Bull Mountain Arts, while I'm, well, the local crazy bunny lady. And also a member of the Tourism Advisory Council. Joe Wilson is the master of ceremonies. I play the CDs from the Crooked Road book that he wrote just to hear his wonderful voice. So he's up talking; everyone settling in to hear politicians, government officials and all that usual conference stuff that puts you straight to sleep. And he invites two Southwest Virginia musicians up to play. There they stand, surrounded by politicians and dignitaries, while everyone taps their feet and nods in time to the music. I bet New York City economic conferences don't start this way!

The whole day was quite lively, with lots of interesting information, slideshows, films and great food. Kudos to 'Round the Mountain, The Crooked Road and Appalacian Sustainable Development for their hard work in putting the conference together. And many thanks to these organizations and others like them for making such a difference in Southwest Virginia. Because dear Linda couldn't attend, I was asked to demonstrate spinning. Since I had planned to attend anyway it was no problem to do so. The Artisan's Marketplace showcased the talent of
Southwest Virginia with demonstrations of dulcimer making, spinning, weaving, basket making, wood working, stained glass and gourd art. And of course I didn't get a picture of my little display!


Barter Theater, Abingdon, Virginia

On Tuesday I headed back home, after a quick look around Abingdon. I plan to come back in a couple of weeks for a yarn shop opening! Abingdon is a beautiful town filled with lovely architecture and interesting shops. One of the nice things about these conferences is the interesting people you meet. I spoke to a lovely young lady who came through the Artisan's Marketplace and then ran into her again at Zazzy's. Donna Akers Warmuth is the author of several books on the history of Abington and the surrounding area. Check her web site for titles and events!

The rest of the week has been filled with getting ready for company and MORE bunnies, in between meetings! When we got back on Tuesday we spent the rest of the day working on replacing the bottoms of the sadly deterioriating and aged cages where the rabbits live. We managed to get a lot of them fixed up and the bunny house looks brand new again. Chris is coming this evening with new stock to replace the senior citizen rabbits that finally died over the last year or so. Looking forward to seeing her! And Jane from Fiber on the Mountain is visiting over the weekend as well to attend the Hit 'n Miss Engine Show and festival. Chris, Sally and I are heading to the Sedalia Fiber Festival on Saturday. My car is stacked full of fiber that needs to be weighed and separated into bags for sale!

Spring Color at Greenberry House

Dogwood is blooming up on the Parkway


Fire Pinks brighten the soft gray of stone and shadow


The dye pots have been bubbling away!

How I spend a Rainy Day...

Dolls for Sale! Dolls for Sale!

My partner went to a local auction yesterday, and came back with boxes of porcelain dolls from a collection. So this morning, while the rain fell wildly and the wind blew, I washed little porcelain and bisque faces and hands and tidied ribbons and bows.

Now the sun is trying to peep out, through a haze of steam rising from wet roads and pavement. I can still hear a low rumble of faraway thunder. Green things outside are startlingly bright.


Barbara's Farm

Here's a great example of what a bit of fiber, some time and some talent will do. Barbara's second felted project, a delightful tapestry based on an old homeplace, is charming! I love it when a customer comes around with something she has made. Barbara is so enthusiastic; she has plans for lots more lovely creations!

Spinning in Public

Old English Southdown lambs and little goat

A last minute invitation this week resulted in my heading down to Stuart on Friday to demonstrate spinning at the Farm Services sponsored "Ag Day" in DeHart Park. Lovely weather for it (I got a little sunburned again, despite hat and long sleeves). Children and animals, it was a perfect combination and seemed very well put-together. I did some spinning and talking and enjoyed watching the kids with the friendly little goats and lambs. Mom was kind enough to watch the shop for the morning for me, so I could go.

My really good camera has dead batteries, so I dug out the old Sony yesterday. I know there's a pack of really good double A batteries somewhere in my house, so I'm too stubborn to go buy some. Until I find them, no nice pictures of spring on the farm, I'm afraid!

Still updating the web site. So much stuff here, y'all. Better go buy it!

Frolics in the Spring

Set up at Spring Frolic, Reynolds Homestead, Critz, VA Or at least, I tried to set up. About ten minutes later the pop-up and all the stock went flying, due to fierce gusts of wind. Small children were darting around at my feet retreiving yarn and fiber while I struggled to take the pop-up down. Poor Sue, who went with me, never did get her gourds displayed. We finally just piled everything up under a tree and went walking around the site. Spring Frolic is a nice little festival; the weather can be problematic, though. Last year it rained!

We went down to Christopher's for dinner last night and I played around with the camera a little bit. The video needs music to be effective; please supply your own.

There's a new version of the Greenberry House web site on-line; check it out. And buy stuff!

Shop Sample

Leaves Sweater, pattern by Annette Petavy

Here's some of my winter's work, all wrapped up around my new shop dress form. It took awhile to do this one; I think there's about 1, 999.99 yarns of fine yarn in this sweater. The pattern is available in the book, Crochet Me, by Kim Werker, and published by Interweave Press. Said book is for sale at Greenberry House, of course!


New Neighbors next door: Dan River Books

There are some new kids on my street, which isn't really a street, of course, just a little country road that ends up in our little community of Meadows of Dan. I'm excited to have another bookstore in town. I still haven't had a chance to really check out their stock but when I was in for a few minutes yesterday I saw knitting books! And gardening books, and cookbooks, and children's books and more than I could see in just a quick glance. It's a beautiful day and should be a nice weekend; come up and visit us on the Parkway!