MORE Sheep and Wool...and Frisbee Dogs, too

My favorite part about Rhinebeck is wandering around and checking out the sheep and goats and then eating said sheep and goats. Kidding! They do serve plenty of good lamb dishes though. They put some distance between the sheep being petted and the sheep being eaten...the places serving lamb are far away from the sheep barns. It does seem kind of cannibalistic. Apple cider donuts and kettle corn for me then.

This Cheviot was a bit too pretty to eat anyway.













One of the highlights of the day for many are the frisbee catching canines. They used to have sheep dog trials, but I'm not sure what happened...now they just have sheep dog frisbee. They are fascinating to watch.



The dogs are just filled with vibrant energy and concentration.



















So about the shopping...people spend oodles of money here every year. I've spent a kagillion bucks here in previous years. It's great to support the industry and small farmers and indie businesses. However, I was just uninspired to shop and found myself in much more of a contemplative mood. I think I've been doing this festival for so long now that I've already bought everything that I feel the need to buy. Weird, right? Also, it's been much more of a social event for me...getting out of the city and hanging out with good people I don't see often enough becomes a priority. Plus, I have a few big trips coming up and that money that wasn't spent on fiber will soon used to buy the perfect croissant.

As I was walking to the car park at the end of the day, I swung by the Foxhill Farm booth and bought a bag of Cormo roving. I couldn't buy absolutely nothing. It just felt all sorts of wrong. Alice Field breeds and raises the loveliest sheep- she keeps them blanketed, so they are nice and clean. You can just tell when you are spinning it that the sheep it came from was loved and well cared for. The roving isn't over-proceeded at all and I had so much fun spinning what I bought from her last year.



Totally worthwhile purchase. It will keep me busy for countless hours, along with the rather huge stash of fleece from previous Rhinebecks that are still patiently stored in bags under my bed.

I Made Something Pretty.

Oh, Cormo. I love you so much.



I know, I know. Confessing my love for a sheep could mean serious legal consequences in some states, but really now. It's the wool I'm after.


Singles.

It started out as roving from Foxfire Farm in Massachusetts. It was absolutely addicting to spin, and it was a bit sad when the last bit of fluff flew from my fingers and twisted itself around the bobbin. Foxfire doesn't have a website, but she does show up at her booth in the main hall at Rhinebeck every year. You can tell when you are spinning it that the sheep it came from was loved and cared for.



It was just so crimpy and lovely. Whoever processed it did a good job of not over-processing. It still smelled vaguely and pleasantly of sheep, the crimp was still visable, and it was snowy-white and clean with no vegetation.



It was like spinning a cloud of cotton candy. Except not sticky. And not dyed a nauseating pink. I will retract that statement now.



I spun it woolen, from the fold. It made for a lofty and soft yarn- I spun lace singles and plied them into a fingering weight 2-ply. 368 yards.

Spinning Stuff

I'm looking forward to the weekend, if only because I have some dedicated spinning time worked in. I made the mistake of getting more than one spinning project going at the same time, which means very little will get done on either one of them and it ties up my bobbins for plying. This is the hazard of having two wheels...if something gets boring, the temptation to switch to another is too great.

I did finish with some Creatively Dyed roving.



It was 4 oz of a bamboo/wool blend. I didn't think too hard about it and just let it spin.





Because the bamboo wasn't blended into the roving all that well, I ended up with a handful of white bamboo while I spun, which didn't take the dye. I tried to keep it integrated with the wool, but in some places I failed. It also helped mute the colors a bit so I didn't end up with too obvious of the candy-cane stripe effect. It's chunky weight, 2ply and about 62 yards total. A cowl, perhaps?

I also plied up the BFL fleece that I've been spinning forever now. No pictures yet. So far, I have 3 huge skeins of heavy worsted/aran weight 2-ply, about 250 yards a skein. I need to fill two more bobbins with singes in order to get enough for a sweater. It's brown. I am bored.

I am also spinning up my Foxfire Farm Cormo on the Majacraft Gem. I love my Gem...it folds down tiny, weighs 10 lbs, travels easy, and it is incredibly versatile. It's my favorite for spinning lace- I feel like I have a ton of control over what I'm doing. I find that lace on my big Kromski Minstrel is a bit trickier- I get a lot more breaks and the wheel is a bit slower to respond than the Gem. I try to keep the lace projects to the Gem, and the bigger sweater projects to the Minstrel.

I'm spinning the Cormo woolen, from the fold, laceweight. It's only 4 oz, but you can really stretch out your spinning time when you are spinning lace. The fiber is minimally processed, so you can see and feel the crimp in the fiber. It really has a lot of spring and bounce to it. I'm pretty sure I'll be decimating this booth at Rhinebeck next year.

Crafty.

An afternoon of gorgeous fibers, good food and friends is a great way to break up the winter blah. It's been not quite so breathtakingly cold the past few days. Spring is on its way.



Plus the house we were at had a lovely wine grotto. Jealous!



It also gave me a chance to get out with my travel wheel. Golly, I'm sick of spinning brown fleece.



I've got 5 bobbins spun up and the basket of batts still has quite a bit of fluff left. I'm really enjoying spinning it, but I usually put a movie on and sit in the dark while I'm spinning. It's just so brown.

To improve my spinning mood, I dug through my stash and grabbed a braid of Creatively Dyed bamboo/wool blend.



I got it at MDSW ages ago, and I spun up an aran-weight 2-ply.



I'm not quite sure how much yardage I have since I'm letting it rest on the bobbin, but it was a fun, colorful spin. While I was plying, I realized the bamboo fibers are so long and strong that this could have just been left as a single. I have no idea what this wants to be yet, but I enjoyed every moment of it.

I also started spinning some Cormo from Foxhill Farm in Massachusets.



She doesn't have a website, but the internet is filled with raves about her fleece and roving. It's gorgeous stuff- it's not heavily processed so you can really feel the lively crimp in the fiber. It also has a slight sheepy smell to it that I love. I'm spinning woolen, from the fold, lace singles to be plied. This will make a lovely cabled hat.

I also finished the pair of steeky socks, but I need some daytime pictures to do them justice.



I cast on for a shawl-



It's the Shaelyn Shawl. I'm using a Bijou Basin Yak/Merino blend called Himalaya Trails. It's nice stuff- It's rustically spun and makes a for soft, lofty yarn.

Also, there is more beer.



It will be another week or two before we bottle, but this is in an "almost beer" stage. The original batch is pretty much gone- we have found that beer makes highly appreciated gifts and we've been keen to share.

I decided not to go to Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. I checked the forecast a few days before and it was supposed to be near 90 for the weekend. I went to the beach instead. I love Rhinebeck because it really gets you into the sweater-season mood. You're outside in the chill fall air all day and it makes buying wool seem completely sensible. I just couldn't see myself getting into the sheep and wool spirit while wallowing through heat and humidity.

Plus, I still have this rather gorgeous Cormo fleece from last year that hasn't seen the spinning wheel yet.



Anyway, here are some pictures from last year. It wasn't quite so hot, but we had some rain and then some crazy swampy humidity.


Blue Face Leicester ewe. I think she looks kind of bashful.


Getting ready for the show ring


One of the things that MDSW has that Rhinebeck doesn't is lambs. Baby animals make me go "awwwwwwww".




Jacob lambs


Cotswold


Corriedale


This was a really friendly Blue Face ram. He was gorgeous but I couldn't get a picture of him since the second I scootched down to his level he would shove his face at me for petting.


Angora kids. Curly awesome sproingy goats.


I wish I had faster photo reflexes because this llama was about 3 seconds away from spitting.




Maybe next year we will get a nice chilly spring weekend for MDSW.