Silent But Not Quiet Time

Meadows of Dan Folk Fair Craft Show

Sorry for the long silence but it has been a crazy week here on the mountain. This was the week I spent getting things together for the craft portion of the Meadows of Dan Folk Fair. It's amazing how much time organizing something like just a craft show takes. I haven't been near the computer in days!

We started the week with rain, but I spent the first part of the week on the phone, tracking down crafters and getting an idea who was going to be available for Saturday. Then Wednesday my uncle came up between showers and cut the grass where we wanted to have the festivities. That stirred up my allergies, and I spent the rest of the time sneezing between talking on the phone and running errands. Hard to concentrate but I managed somehow. On Friday morning I cleaned up the house a bit because I was expecting Susan of Storybook Dreams to stay over. Then the SO showed up and we spent the afternoon laying out the booth spaces and setting up our canopies. Some other people showed up Friday night to set up as well, which was nice because I could see how things were shaping up for Saturday.

Susan came in late Friday evening and it was so great to see her again! She brought a special little fellow with her, and I'll introduce him in my next post. We had a nice visit, all too short, though, and had fun discussing bunnies, fiber and business. Then the SO's son and daughter-in-law came in and we all settled for the night. Everyone was pretty tired after traveling and working all day.

A special treat for me was sleeping outside under the stars; we had planned to set up a tent but time slipped away on us. But it was so warm outside that we didn't miss the tent at all. The stars are summer shy but I could make out the milk way arching across the sky above us. Lily slept curled up beside me and I woke up with the black cat, Malachi, curled up on my feet.

After an early start to the morning and bunny chores, I headed up to point people in the right direction for setting up their tents. With just a few glitches things went very well, and the field looked very festive when everyone was set up and ready for customers. It wasn't long before people started flowing through the tents, looking at the wonderful items made by some very talented people. I managed to get one picture before it got too busy to do more than start demonstrating and talking to people. There were some excellent crafters: some talented seamstresses with lots of different handmade items, woodworkers with beautiful pieces and one with a funny big frog playing a banjo, some beautiful knitted items and so much more. Special fiber folk were an added attraction, with alpaca items and yarns and wool yarns as well. We also had a last minute blacksmith show up, which was a nice finishing touch!

I did get around and talk to some of the crafters, and everyone seemed very pleased with how the day went. I also managed to get over to the fudge tent; couldn't miss that one! My mother and stepfather spent the day with us with Wendell's wonderful birdhouses. Wendell was nice enough to run errands and feed me! A local church set up a bake sale and brought bottled water around to the crafters, which was much appreciated!

My sister-in-law set up kid's activities in her big tent and whenever I got a chance to look over at what they were doing it looked like everyone was having fun! There was also a group of Civil War reenactors that walked around in period dress and had tents set up in the field as well. People seemed to enjoy seeing them and there were lots of flags and stickers around. Music on the stage at Poor Farmer's Market was very popular and I'm sure the other activities were well-attended, although I didn't get around to see what was happening. We had a booth set up at the antique show as well and there was a lot of traffic. The pinto beans and cornbread sold out!

Sunday I collapsed. After so much work and fighting allergies, I just wasn't up to much of anything. We did go around and collect the trash, then we headed to the mill for a late breakfast. A quiet afternoon restored me a bit and by evening I was ready to wind yarn to get some ready for dyeing this week. I've sold down to where I need some more colors. This week I'm hoping to get back into the bunnies; with the rain, craft show and allergies I'm a bit behind in bunny house tending and baby shearing. And I want to get the tattoo pen out and see how well it works!


Civil War Reenactors at Meadows of Dan Folk Fair