Saturday, April 19, 2008

Averasboro Fiber Arts Festival

I took a day trip to my first Fiber Festival today. This was a really small festival but well worth the 2 hour drive to get there. I conned a non-fiber friend into riding with me, I needed company for the ride after all. :) Barbara was a good sport & enjoyed herself even though she isn't a knitter/crocheter/spinner. She did however get a great deal on a handmade bird house while there, so even she didn't come away empty handed. LOL


There were lots of vendors there selling just about anything you could imagine. I even got to pet some Angora rabbits, but silly me was too busy petting & ooohing & ahaaaaing over them to think of getting their photo! When I got home I was telling the hubby about the sweet Mommy, Daddy & baby bunnies... I thought, darn it! I didn't even get their photo! I did really good though, the babies were for sale & I resisted, it was a tough one to resist! Did you know that you can spin Angora right off the bunnies?! The lady who owns the bunnies said that they would sit in your lap as long as you wanted to hold them & when they were shedding you could just spin some yarn right off them as they sit in your lap! Can you imagine!?! They were soooooo sweet! :)

I impressed myself when I resisted coming home with a load of yarn! But I remembered that I had NO room left in my closet for more yarn.... I wasn't successful at resisting the fiber however. I'll show you all of that a little later....


There were so many different fibers & fiber blends here, I was really impressed! I wish I had more money so I could have brought home a little bit of everything. I saw very little that I didn't like, isn't that how it always is??? I was a bit disappointed that the prices weren't better, most everything was a bit pricey, what I did buy I thought were decent prices, but I was really hoping that I could get some stuff for a bit better than I could buy it regularly... oh well.

There were lots of goats, sheep & alpacas around, the babies were just adorable! And for your viewing pleasure.... lots of photos of those cutie pies!





We also got to see a few sheep get sheared, that was very interesting although I have to say, the sheep didn't seem too happy about getting the haircuts. :)


And here are a couple photos of some sweet alpacas, I thought they would be larger animals than they were. They are really pretty with all of their fur, but they do look a bit scrawny & silly with their fresh haircuts. LOL Maybe these were young ones, I'll get to see more alpacas tomorrow when I go to Lisa's Alpaca farm. Of course I'll have more photos for you then. And Jessi, if this is as big as they get I'm positive you could keep one in your back yard! Heck, you could get a couple of them! SNOL

Now, on to the goodies that I brought home with me! This colorful fiber is a Rominey/Corridale Wool mix. I couldn't resist the bright colors..... the two purple batts are very similar but one has quite a bit more yellow in it. I think when I spin this I will combine the two so I don't get more yellow on one end of the yarn than the other..... This Red/Blue mix is pretty even, it should spin well as is....


This yummy pink roving is 20% Angora & 80% Merino, you should feel this stuff!!! It is sooooo soft! I couldn't help buy buy it even though I know I'll be saving this stuff for a while, I'd hate to waste it on bulky beginners yarn. :)


And how could someone resist buying some of Peter Rabbit's fur? LOL!!! This is a couple of bags of French Angora rabbit fur. The rabbit's name was "Peter", that just tickled me so of course I had to buy some! He is a French Angora, fawn colored bunny. Here is another photo, I pulled some out so you could see it better...


The rabbit lady had a super soft scarf that she knit, it was angora combined with some silk fibers. She told me that I could save my angora in paper bags & when I got a little better at spinning (I told her I was a newbie) I could combine the 1 oz. I bought with some silk & have plenty for a small scarf like she had there..... another one I'm going to save for a while. :)

Whew! That concludes my trip to the Averasboro Fiber Arts Festival. I had a good time, got lots of good stuff, learned a lot & now I'm even more ready for those spinning lessons! I'll be posting more photos after my visit to the Alpaca farm tomorrow, hopefully! So stay tuned.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the pics of the sheep! Although, I read the hubby your comment about the alpaca and he said no way. LOL

gypsyknits said...

oh you did come home with some nice goodies. I like that angora stuff. I bet the prices are up because of "liquid gold."
Good you resisted the bring home rabbit temptation. I wasn't that fortunate a few years back and trust me.........they are a LOT of work for a bag of angora. You did very well indeed:)

vegasangelbrat said...

Oh wow, you did have fun..lol Great pics and your right, after being shaved they look funny..lol
Oh your goodies looks so soft, especially the pink..wise gal to save it for when you get better. can't wait to hear aobut your next trip!

Knitting it Out in an Urban Zoo said...

Great photos! I love the one of the black and white critter. Your spinning looks good (I'm not a spinner, but it looks pretty to me).

Anonymous said...

The little "naked" alpacas are too cute!! I want to go... Now, where are your photos from Sunday? I know you're sick, but I'm impatient... ;)

Anonymous said...

Oh My GOODNESS!! Looks like you had an awesome time and experience!! And I think I can her your spinning thing from here with all that! Have a blast and share the FO's!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing about your trip.. glad you had fun and came home with lots of goodies. The annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is coming up here soon, and I can't wait!

Robin said...

Well, well....look at you! Don't you just love "squishing" wool?!
Looks like you had a wonderful time.