Sorry it's been a while. Busy week! Last Saturday we all went to the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival in upstate New York. Many ravelers were watching the weather forecast, holding their breaths, but thankfully, Saturday held out. There was no snow accumulation and the weather was just nice and brisk. Nothing some hand knit wool socks couldn't handle! We were sorry that we didn't book a hotel months ago, so could only go up for the day. But we had such a great time that we already booked for next year's weekend.
There was so much to see; more than we could see in one day. We never even got to see the sheep dog trials and we couldn't get near the chicken pot pie booth. But I have a brilliant idea for next year. There was no pot pie line when we first got to the festival, sooooooo......I'm going to bring one of those silver hot/cold bags with me, we'll grab a couple of pot pies early in the morning and keep them nice and warm until we're ready to have lunch. Brilliant, right?
So, what did I get? A beautifully soft skein of bamboo and silk in this gorgeous chocolaty rose colorway. Too soft. I got some lovely golden fingering weight for a shawl for my mom. For the splurge...I got an Ashford Kiwi wheel. They let me test it out and it's so much fun. E. got a drop spindle and we got some fiber to start us out.
And then, there were the impulse items. Two absolutely adorable Lionhead bunnies. A male and a female. We knew we were headed toward some more animals someday and since alpacas are so incredibly expensive, bunnies seem like a good start. They're tiny, only 2 1/2 months and 3 1/2 months. They have a mane of fiber behind their ears which gives them this great "lion" face. We're undecided yet if we want to breed them, so they are in separate cages for the time being. We have yet to put them in the garage. I am seriously leaning toward litter training them and keeping them as inside pets. Don't think we would breed them then. For now, we'll all enjoying these two little fuzzballs who happily and calmly sit on your chest for hours just enjoying being loved on. I can't imagine how much fiber you would have to save up in order to spin enough to actually make something...they're just too cute anyway. Maybe if these go well, by next year, we'll get a great big Angora.
May the Lord bless your day abundantly!
Lisa
