Woolfest 2008

I've had so much I want to share here lately, and not as much time to sit down and share it with you. Today, I'll let pictures do the talking as I share with you images from this year's Woolfest.

The drive to the Lake District is beautiful, regardless of the weather


There are alpacas


Shorn sheep


and Longwool sheep


Live music fills the building


Oversized knitting needles if you would like a challenge


or perhaps you'd prefer a spinning wheel


Colorful jumbles of roving


and neatly bundled ones

Eye Candy Friday: Woolfest additions

Following a gentle reminder from Susoolu, I felt that it is my duty and obligation to share part of Woolfest with you all. While I took a ton of pictures (and some video as well!), I think I'll focus in on the Newly Acquired Stash for this post.

530g 100% wool sock weight (I think)

I really couldn't resist this. I've been meaning to add some non-solid color yarn to my stash, but have almost been afraid to. What if the colors pooled? What if I can't find a good pattern to show the colors off? In the end, I decided that it was worth the risk.

While visiting Woolfest, I took a great class on hand spinning. This was taught by Carol and Pete Leonard. If you have the opportunity to take a class from them, don't let it pass you by! I won't say that I'm a natural yet, but in my defense, I knew NOTHING about spinning. After an hour of spinning and plying, this is what I had:

First spinning attempt

Apparently, spinning in such an uneven manner is in fashion now. If that's the case, it's the first time in my entire life I've been "in fashion" - especially with so little effort. I think I really like spinning *evil grin*.

Lumpy-bumpy spinning

I had secret hopes that I would pick up the spindle and magic would happen. Long, gossamer filaments would almost just appear without any effort. Of course that didn't happen, and I wasn't surprised in the least. As a consolation, I was told that most experienced spinners can't spin this "in fashion" style because they're just that good at spinning the long gossamer filaments that I covet. Personally, I think it's a small consolation - there's something a bit uncomforting about the fact that I spin so poorly that people with years of experience can't even intentionally spin that bad. But I will get better in time.

Despite this, I made a beeline for a stand that had some beautifully dyed roving I had my eye on. The booth was run by the dyer, Freyalynn Close-Hainsworth and all her colors were absolutely gorgeous. She noted the colors I kept picking up (blues and greens and purples), and suggested her Wisteria colorway. I'm saving this for a time when I know I can spin it very well.

Hand dyed roving

I also grabbed some solid color merino for extra spinning practice.


100g balls of Merino from Scottish Fibres


500g Blue faced Leicester

Now, if you're a spinner (or highly intelligent), you have got to be wondering about how I plan on spinning all this fun new stash...

Zebrawood Bosworth Midi Spindle

I knew I wanted to get a spindle while at Woolfest. I was torn between getting something "cheap and cheerful" and splurging a bit on this one. In the end, the splurge won out, and I grabbed this Bosworth model. My rationale? It's a late birthday present to myself... yeah, that's it.

As a final note, I must thank Mr. Tall for accompanying me. He was such a champ and super patient with me, and even carried all this swag around for me like the sweet guy he is. Awwwww :)