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Tuesday, October 6, 2015

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times...

Another Kentucky Wool Festival is in the books.


One of the big highlights of my weekend was Miss B's go big or go home flower arranging.  I'd sent her a text Friday morning and asked if she could bring me a few sprigs of fall flowers when she came up.  She showed up with armfuls (yes, plural :-) of fall asters and goldenrod.  We arranged them throughout the booth and they were fabulous!


Some of the usual stuff...

We put up both quarter round shelves in the "office" corner and that worked like a charm.  Must. Remember. For. Spring Festival.


And something new...


Lamb Camp yarn!


I haven't said much about it because I wasn't sure it was going to be ready in time, but Ohio Valley Natural Fibers did a great job hustling it through and it's really pretty.  I'm very excited about it :-).


In a nut shell, Miss B and I set aside about 75 pounds of wool from the spring shearing at Final Frontier Farm (where Liddy, Blossom, Lila and Keebler came from) and had OVNF spin it into a beautiful two ply worsted weight yarn.


kbdoolin knit a fabulous hat and mittens from it for display and another friend helped me dye some strands different colors to show how happy it was to be bright and colorful as well (if that's your sort of thing ;-).  Both gave the yarn a big thumbs up. Sadly, halfway through the festival some creep(s) stole the hat.  


And my Jester fingerless mitts.
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:-/

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I've been doing this show for twelve years now, I think.  I've never had anything taken.  I wasn't the only one this year.  A hard lesson to learn.  Well, we all already knew the lesson, but I think we like to think the best of people.  At least it wasn't something completely irreplaceable and the love that went into raising, spinning and knitting both items can never be stolen.  And we're going to move on!


I wore the Isle of Purbeck shawl in the evenings.  Perfect!


Took the Renny basket for fun and some "cred".


The 2016 farm calendars were a popular item.


As were the 2016 Lamb Camp calendars and cards.


I sold out of curls the first day.


And even sold some Bird Nesters.  I've been surprised that these haven't sold better.  I love my bag design and seems like everyone loves birds and bird nests and baby birds...  


The mugs sold well.  I had all the mug shots hanging up around the booth and it was nice to be able to put Liddy, Blossom and Lila next to the inside yarn display.  


20 did his usual bang up job advertising for National Hug a Sheep Day (coming up at the end of the month!).  He was hugged and hugged and hugged (and had his nose picked more than a few times :-o) and I wondered if he was really having as much fun as he looked.  Then a family came over and politely asked if they could take some pictures with him and told me they did this every year.  Nuff said.

It's a ton of work to pull this all together.  I'm not just responsible for our farm's booth, but I also organize the entire Wool Tent for the festival.  Sometimes I wonder if it's worth it.  Sometimes I think it's not.  But then when I'm sitting next to 20 or standing in my booth talking to people who come every year to see me and show me what they've been working on, tell me news, good and bad, from their year, talk about the news, good and bad, from my year, offer to watch the booth so I can run to the bathroom or get something to eat, hear Gary doing his spiel about shearing sheep or Alan teaching how border collies work or sharing a cup of hot soup with my friends in the tent, I'm proud of my team here at the farm and at the festival and I take a deep breath...and start thinking about next year.

A huge thank you to everyone!!!

There are more festival pictures on the Wool Tent blogspot and Facebook page.


17 comments:

Alice said...

Congratulations on another successful showing of sheep fiber and the lovely creations that can come from them. Your hard work and creative talents were wonderfully displayed. Each year it's like visiting an old friend to find you once again in the tent.

Fiona said...

What a wonderful post for the most part. Sad about the theivery. The loss of respect for other peoples things and the act of knowingly stealing them is a plague. However there is more good than bad at an event like this an we plan on actually being there next year after we are finally set up!

I need orange said...

I'm glad for the good parts (love that beautiful yarn, and the calendars, and the mugs, and the story about the family who always take pics with 20, and...), and grieve with you for lost work and for seriously dented expectation/hope that people will behave with respect for others' work/imagination/property.....

It's a real privilege for people with no sheep to have the opportunity to own wool with known stories and faces. I'm grateful to you and your sister shepherds for making that possible to those of us who live in town.

Thank you for all you all do to share your sheep and the warmth they provide, in yarns of both kinds.

YarnKettle said...

I'm so sorry for your stolen items. They are really beautiful. I'm going to wish that they end up with some deserving people rather than the people who took them.
I hope your memories of good soon outweigh your bad memories too. Remember you're stronger than the thieves of this world.

Far Side of Fifty said...

Not Jesters fingerless mitts...the bums anyway. I suppose it was a team working together...I hope they get caught redhanded some time. In spite of the bad stuff your booth looks amazing...and you really speak volumes for the fiber world:)

Michelle said...

A wondrous display as always, and that Lamb Camp yarn is SO TEMPTING!!! (Must repeat to myself, "I have S.A.B.L.E. I have S.A.B.L.E.")

Unknown said...

I also have a S.A.B.L.E going but after knitting the hat and mittens with the Lamb Camp Yarn I had to bring home two skeins. It was wonderful to knit with and after washing and blocking it it finished up as such a soft yarn.

Michelle said...

YOU'RE NOT HELPING, KAREN!

Cheryl West said...

Congratulations on another successful wool festival. Your booth looks beautiful and so inviting. I am so very sorry about the theft. it is doubly sad that it would occur in this setting knowing all the love and care that goes into raising the sheep, producing the final wool products and all your own designs. Thankfully you share all this with so many supportive good friends.

Unknown said...

Just sayin'... I'm a total sucker for any yarn with sheen to it and this stuff glows. I'm such a magpie.

Amber said...

This post made me feel all warm and fuzzy. Looking at your pictures is like seeing magic come to life ... you make us feel like we're beside you sharing in the moment.

Thank you for being incredibly you!

sophy0075 said...

All that hard work , and then you race off for Spinzilla, with barely enough time to rink a nice hot cuppa from a Mug mug! Whew. And your Lamb Camp yarn is beautiful. Looks wonderfully squishy.

As for that thief, let's hope (s)he was a very poor parent desperately seeking to keep a child warm. And that (s)he teaches morality better than (s)he practices.

T.L. Merrybard said...

Lovely to see and hear the story, since I can't be there in person. Bad karma will be coming for the thieves, I'm sure! I'm not usually one for white or cream (grubby lifestyle!) but that Lamb camp yarn is so tempting!

Tyche's Minder said...

You are such an inspiration. Awfully glad I didn't miss this post.

Terry and Linda said...

I am so sorry, Sara! I wish it had not happened to you. Sigh!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Linda said...

The Lamb Camp calendar looks delightful! Your header is so nice, and you have a lovely blog. :)

Charlotte Scott said...

Your booth looks so tempting to visit, even for a non-knitter like me. I'd just have to stroke all the lovelies.
And I'm so sorry there were some nasties who took a little of the shine off the day.

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