Third Annual Kentucky Sheep & Fiber Festival

What a blast for only $3 admission (and a 5 hour drive to get to Lexington.)  I really wanted to attend the Ky Sheep & Fiber Fest in 2011, but my family was very uncooperative.   A few days from now I'm going to be 50-years young.  I was pretty persistent about making the trip to Lexington, Kentucky this year.  So, my mom and planned the trip together. We had a very nice mini-vaca with no fussing or disorder!  Lucky us!  Back to the festival...located in Lexington the venue for the fest was the Masterson Station Park Fairgrounds and was so easy to find - mom was driving - she found it!  The previous day - Friday - the workshops were scheduled and unfortunately I was able to attend any workshops but maybe another time.  We did visit the classrooms.  The ladies and men were creating some beautiful handmade baskets and brightly colored dyed yarns.   

Lunch was a priority when we arrived to the festival.  Our breakfast was a stiff cup of Wolfgang Puck coffee provided by the hotel.  We spent the early morning visited a subdivision hosting yard sales.  We needed fuel to continue on our journey.  Greek salad with fresh goat cheese and marinated chicken for me and mom chose a Greek Philly steak on a hoagie with fresh veggies. Thank goodness for the shaded picnic table.  The heat was hot with a slight breeze.  

This building hosted the workshops and skein contest and the necessary rooms.  Behind the building under the canopy were vendors, and the Llama and alpaca brought to the festival by the Kentucky Llama and Alpaca Association. They were very cute and welcome being petted and fed out of the hands of small admirers.  

 Look at the colors - all so beautiful together.  I collected quite a few business cards from the vendors.  I recognized some of the business names on the cards from websites I have visited on the web and most have brick and mortar yarn stores.  So going to a fiber festival has the advantage for you to visit stores that have gathered in once venue and they did the traveling instead of you.  There were vendors from near and very far from all over the United States. 

This little mom bird was probably quite surprised to have a sheep & fiber show right where she laid her eggs.  There were chairs and ribbon warning folks not to enter the area where she was sitting.  Many,like me, stopped to photograph her with her family. She squawked at everyone all day in protest.  

This large tent held the roadside market and bistro Kentucky Proud local food vendors.  Mom enjoyed  strawberry and rhubarb sorbet after she ate the mint leaf and pansy.  It was served with the cutest little clear spoon too. 

This was a very large tent and buzzing with activity.  On the right, looking at the picture, was the Sullivan University (Cooking School) sheep cooking contest.  The chef students were wearing their Sullivan University embroider chef's coats.  I could hear the announcer asking for the presentation of the plates.  On the left of the picture there were spinning wheels lined up one next to the other with children sitting on quilts watching the spinners spin.   

Enchanted Yarn and Fiber Closing

Last year my mom and I took a road trip to Nashville, Tennessee.  On the way, I was lucky enough to stop in Clarksville, Kentucky to visit the Enchanted Yarn and Fiber Shop.  The shop was delightful, full of yarn and spinning wheels.  The Owner, RoLynn, was just as nice and welcoming as the atmosphere of the store.  Unfortunately, I just received an email that Enchanted is closing.  It is so very important to support your local shops.  If you enjoy shopping at a local shop you must not drive by and go to the big box stores.  The local shop will not survive.  Best wishes, RoLynn.  

Falkland "Rain Forest"

I ordered six more months of Fiber Club from Happy Fuzzy Yarn.  I was feeling a bit down and really wanted to treat myself.  And then when I got home from work there on my kitchen counter was a familiar package from the Riin of the Happy Fuzzy Yarn.  I had my third installment of my yarn club.  It's called "Rain Forest" and it's a Falkland fiber.  

I think the fiber colors are much richer in person.  Check back with my blog Fiberista, I'll have Rain Forest spun up in no time. 

Rug By The Fire Single

 

There were plenty of "chic" movies on TV and a very cold weekend for perfect for staying in a spinning the weekend away.  This is my single "Rug By the Fire" the fiber from Happy Fuzzy Yarn.  I've mentioned in previous posts how much I enjoy receiving 4 oz. of fiber each month in my mailbox.  This was the second installment of my three-month club that I was gifted as a Christmas gift from my step-dad.  Because I never have to deal with any bumps or vegetable matter in the fiber is it a joy to spin. The colors truly do remind of me of the blue, green, and gray flames to a fire.

Road Trip to the Capital of Kentucky

Frankfort, Kentucky is the home of The Woolery a fabulous resource for all of the pieces and parts for your spinning wheel.  They offer spinning wheels from different companies.  There are weaving supplies and niddy noddies in every size. The owners are personally in the store to help you find what you're looking for.  On-line they offer a nice catalog of all things fiber related.  The Woolery is located on a beautiful brick street behind the capital building.  Nearby there are cafes to enjoy a meal or a drink  and art galleries full of hand crafted items to buy.  And don't forget the Bourbon Balls at the Chocolate Cafe just around the corner.  

The Woolery store front

 

There she was.... a spinning wheel!

Along the path to go home back to Kentucky, we stopped at several yard and garage sales.  Mom spotted a sale that was being set up behind a gift shop so I turned the corner and went back to it.  The Country Angel Gifts in Adairville, Kentucky is where we were.  And then we spotted it...at the same time...a spinning wheel...we'll most of one anyway.  I brought her home.  She is missing her "mother-of-all" so there won't be any spinning on her until I can find what kind of wheel and how to replace the "mother-of-all."  Nancy Watson, the shop's owner, was very kind and so was her husband.  If you know anything about this spinning wheel, I would enjoy hearing from you. 

Three Yarn Shops in Two Days

Day #1

• Pick Up Mom and enjoy breakfast (8:00 A.M.)
•  Purchase 2012 Road Atlas
• Enchanted Yarns and Fiber Shop in Clarksville, Tenn
• House of Yarns in Nashville, Tenn
• Downtown Nashville for lunch
• Franklin, Tenn Farmer's Market (could not find it)
• Franklin, Tenn Goodwill
• Murfreesboro, Tenn Pottery Barn
• Reserve room for overnight at Holiday Inn
• Chickfilet for dinner
• JoAnn Fabrics and Pier 1 (8:00 P.M.)

I'm so excited to share our road trip with you.  I left home in Indiana early in the morning and drove to Kentucky to pick up my mom.  After scones and a large cup of caffeine coffee we were ready to load up mom's overnight bag and get the road trip started.  We had a general idea that we wanted to head towards Nashville, Tennessee so we drive south.  We drove as far as we were familiar and had to buy an atlas - smarter than asking for directions. 

We arrived in Clarksville, Tennessee to visit the 
ENCHANTED YARN SHOP located in a busy shopping center.   Rolynn, the shop's owner welcomed us.  There were plenty of yarns and spinning wheels displayed for purchase.  There was a bit of renovation going on but the shop wasn't missing a beat.  The fiber stock was depleted and Rolynn explained she just had a large group come in who wiped her out of fiber.  Rolynn's puppy dog was so cute and gets to be at the shop every day.  Lucky dog! In a comfy sitting space Rolynn welcomes anyone to stop by and stitch.  Sign up for a class today!

Enchanted Yarn Shop store front in Clarksville, Tennessee

Rolynn

Plenty of space inside to find what you are looking for!

Seeing Red...

My next project is spinning a skein of Blue Faced Leicester combed top in reds, pinks, and dark reds.  This one is called "Estrogen" and is from Happy Fuzzy Yarns.  I can't wait to see the results. Please subscribe to Three Wooden Spindles so you can see the results too!

A Skein from my Spinning Wheel...

Doing the tasks that a woman has to do on a daily basis is cutting into my spinning time.  It's taken me approximately three weeks to get from long staple hand-dyed Blue Faced Leicester (BFL) spun on the wheel in singles, then plying, to the niddy noddy, washed and hanging to dry.  It's over 200 feet of beauty.  Do you love the colors?  I'm sharing with you a couple pics of the process and then the end results.  

Freshly washed skein hanging outside in the garden to dry.  I add weight (a can of tomatoes) at the bottom of the wet skein to keep the kinks out of the dry skein.  

Waiting in a basket ready to knit into something fabulous! 

Close up pic so you can see the colors.  It's #232 Blue Lagoon purchased from Happy Fuzzy Yarn. The company the roving comes from is frabjous fibers.  They help women of Nepal with the proceeds from the fibers. 

Jane's Urban Cottage Roving Club

I joined Jane's Urban Cottage roving club for three months.  She's already sent me a Valentine roving sample that's very special.  Now, I really can't wait to receive my roving club merino.  I found her on Etsy - jacksbluejane.  I'll spin the merino with my Kromski Sonata spinning wheel as soon as I receive it so please check back with me and see how it turns out. 

Worsted....naturally woolie...

All sorts of ideas run through my mind when I receive a new package of roving.  Like a lot of people who aren't fortunate enough to live on a farm with sheep and chickens I have a full-time job that gets crazy at times.  Spinning helps me chill.  I purchased this roving on-line from Ann Walter.  I wanted to spin another color roving with this roving but the dark brown was so rich I decided to spin two Kromski spools full of single ply and plyed them together.  Since I'm pretty new to spinning I go with the flow allowing the roving to work through my hands.  The yarn is thick and thin in texture.  I'm impatient drafting because I love spinning.  My fluffy dark brown yarn is 9 wpi "worsted" according to the yarn gauge.  

According to the yarn gauge guide I spun a "worsted" yarn at 9 wpi.   

Spun Yarn and the Wooden Dough Bowl

My mom and I love to visit consignment shops and Goodwill stores for stuff...you know you need it when it finds you that kind of stuff.  While rummaging a Goodwill in Kentucky, my mom found this wonderful dough bowl and I begged her for it. Oh, mom...blah, blah.  She gave it to me.  It is about 14 inches across and not a crack in it.  

The yarn inside the dough bowl is the first yarn that I have spun ever.  The green is dyed from Jello lemon-lime flavor.  The orange and white is a pumpkin roving I bought from an etsy lady who lives in Virginia.  I plyed the pumpkin yarn with some white Merino yarn I spun from my Kromski Sonata,   and the brown varigated yarn is from some roving that I bought at the Indiana fiber show this past fall.  There is also some orange yarn peeking out from under the rest because it is my first attempt at spinning and it's bad - really bad mostly kinks.  

I asked Luna from Elizabethtown, Kentucky http://blueballmountainspindleneedleworks.blogspot.com  what is a good spun yarn and she answered, "If you love it, it's good spun yarn."  What a great answer. 

Bamboo From China

Again, shopping on ebay I found a wonderful bargain on bamboo yarn.  So many pretty colors and I bought all of the skeins on the auction - 16 skeins for only once cent or two cents per skein.  I thought that was a pretty good deal until I received the invoice and I owned $48 dollars.  I thought to myself, "Where did I purchase this bamboo yarn from China?"  And sure enough that's where I had bought it from.  Forty five dollars was for shipping and handling to the United States.  I have really enjoyed the bamboo yarn and the ebayer from China was very kind.   

Felted Tote

Foiled48 is the Ebayer that I have purchased quite a lot of wool yarn from.  At the end of the summer this year when visiting a fiber fest in Northern Indiana, I was checking out some wool yarn and recognized it.  Sure enough Mr. Foiled48 was standing there in person.  It is a small world.  The colors are beautiful and felting...it is the best felting wool ever.  Give him a try if you don't spin your own or if you do.
 

I crocheted this bag using two colors of wool yarn for the muted colors by creating a rectangle for the bottom and building up using only the top strand of the "v" in the single crochet to work the material straight up not out.  Otherwise you would get a bowl shape instead of a tote shape.  I crocheted to handles for the tote by chaining 100 single crochet and four rows, folding in half and stitching them together.  I felted the tote and handles in hot water my washer and shaped the tote using a cereal keeper (cheap $3 from Wal-mart) which wasn't planned but works great! Of course I took the cereal out before placing the keeper in the tote to dry overnight. 

The pic to the right is the completed bag after adding the handles.  To add the handles since the felted material is sturdy, choose where you want to place them poke a hole through the felted material with a pointy scissors.  Tie a knot to keep the handles in place.  I made it pretty deep so my stuff doesn't fall out and even my new Spin-Off mag fits in perfectly. 

My Kromski Sonata

I collected business cards and flyers during the Harrison County Fair Grounds Fiber Show.  I walked around in ah looking at the yarn successfully spun.  I wanted to buy roving but without a wheel I wasn't sure what was a point to buying, but I bought some anyway - some fluffy white merino.  Once home I made myself a top whorl spindle and began to wear out my leg spinning and spinning.  A couple of weeks passed and I really wanted to try the spinning wheel.  I pulled out those business cards from the fiber show and began calling spinners asking if they knew anyone with a used wheel for sale.  It worked out great for me because the someone who had my wheel for sale lived only 30 minutes away from me.  What a great lady - Sherry greeted me and told me to come on in and try out the wheel.  She explained how to use the wheel and take care of it. She showed me some of her beautiful spun yarn.  Oh, some day I hope to spin something that beautiful. She told me about "roving of the month clubs" which I haven't joined any yet but I plan to.  After spinning a short while I purchased my cherry finish Kromski Sonata (born in 2006) and packed her away in her green "Ninja turtle" case.  

 

70% Cashmere

Before I attended my first fiber show and discovered roving and spinning, I searched second hand shops for beautiful sweaters and harvested the yarn for just a few dollars.  This is one my of favorite finds.  I love the blue color and the texture is very soft.  When I first felt the sweater I thought it was a very soft cotton and then read the label cashmere and silk oh-la-la.  Here are a few pics.  I haven't crocheted anything from the yarn because I want to get much better at crocheting before I use it.  The size small sweater yielded eight cakes of yarn from the winder enough for something lovely to wear. 

From Sweater to the Swift

I searched the web for some ideas on a yarn winder and combined some different things that I saw and came up with the swift in the photos.  From this swift I wind the yarn to the yarn winder that makes the cakes from which you crochet from.  The winder above is made with PCV pipe.  I cut the pieces and my husband glued everything together.  My original plan did not have the round thing in the middle.  When my husband handed me my swift it was there.  When I asked him why it was there he told me that there needed to be a sturdy separation between my PVC "legs" or it wouldn't work.  So, I guess you could say that my husband and I both came up with this swift.  And it does work very well.


The puppy "helping" is Kiwi, my chiweenie.  She loves to steal away my natural fibers and really has no time at all for acrylics.  She's a smart girl although annoying when I'm spending time winding and must chase down what she has stolen.

Vintage Stoles and Shrugs Circa 1953

Look at this fab crochet pattern book I found at the Goodwill.  I rarely look at the magazine rounder by the front door, but I saw a couple of mags when I was walking out that interested me and this is what I found under a stack.  Oh, my goodness my heart started beating faster.  I would love to crochet one of the shrugs you know they are back in style anyway.  I photographed some of the inside pages for you.  

The caption for the "Party Girl" blue and white sweater says, "Short - quick - and easy to make...and just "deevine" to be seen in.  Teenagers everywhere just love, love, love stoles and shrugs."  I'm pretty sure that's not true in today's time but in 1953 it was probably peachy keen! The original price for this mag was a whole ten cents. 

4% Wool

I would usually pass up an acrylic sweater, but the combination of acrylic, poly and wool made the sweater so soft I just had to have the fiber.   

Once off the yarn winder reminds me of oatmeal warm and yummy.  I can't wait to crochet something soft and lovely with this fiber.  The yield from this sweater was four full size cakes enough to create a vest, scarf and gloves...that'll be in another post.