Your going to Jamaica???
Jamaica, VT sillies, just for the day!
Come to the Jamaica Fiber Festival today www.jamaicafiberfestival.org
It’s a good day to get a fiber fix and take a country drive all at once! We’ll all be there from 10-4!
Scents of Spring
The apple trees are in full blossom this week and the scent is delicious! Even Sidney seems to be enjoying it! The lilacs are also just beginning to bloom. We have had lots of sun the past few weeks and now some wet, cool weather so all of the trees and plants have burst forth with leaves and blossoms…it is green outside!
NH Sheep and Wool Festival~Sunday
We had another picture perfect day Sunday, Mother’s Day, for the festival. It started out crsip and a bit breezy but warmed up nicely into the high 60’s by noon. I didn’t even get to leave my booth all day so didn’t get too many pictures. It was a busy day! Across the weekend I did Indigo dyeing to demonstate how it is done. I had lots of interested people, watching, asking questions and realizing it isn’t impossible! Indigo seems overwhelming at first but when you learn the right steps that make a successful indigo vat the rest is magical. In a few days when all the skeins have been rinsed and dried I’ll post a photo of the colors I dyed.
The top picture took the prize for Sunday! Isn’t this just the epitome of what a farm fair embodies? This young 4-Her was calling out the words on the sign, swaying and smiling, doing a great job of persuading customers!
And also, our booth, Long Ridge Farm in the Crowley Bldg, which has now been renamed the Hood Bldg. I will be right there, very same corner next year with more dyeing and maybe some other surprises too! Thank you to all who stopped by, once again!
NH Sheep and Wool Festival ~ Saturday
NH is having a fabulous two day event this year! The weather could not be better~65 to 70 degrees and sunny skies.Thank you to all who stopped by to visit our booth today to learn about our sheep, Earthues natural dyes and to just visit!
We had a naughty sheep back at the farm today…Jack found a sheep coat hanging on a fence line mid-afternoon today. Apparently Charlotte had snagged it and torn it right off her back. A coat repair day is in my not too distant future! When I got home from the show we went down and popped a new coat on her. One thing about our young stock, they are so easy to catch…they’ve been handled by us since day one and don’t mind a little one on one once in awhile! The top picture I took this morning at the festival of a family getting their sheep ready to show for 4-H; the bottom picture…waiting for the next step; great shots of kids doing different things, even hoof checking! Way to go 4-Hers!The bottom picture is me with the famous Caroline of www.fiberarts.typepad.com!! She did lots of shopping on Saturday and kept swinging by to make sure I didn’t starve to death or dye of thirst! Thanks, Caroline!
Getting ready
It’s almost time again for the NH Sheep and Wool Festival, our 31st annual! As compared to last year’s horrific rains and massive flooding it looks to be a nice weekend of cool temps with some sun!
I have finished skirting and preparing all our fleeces in just over a month from shearing day and already sold half between reserve orders and the CT festival so what is pictured is all that’s left! I plan to take one or two to Rhinebeck in the fall for the judging and perhaps a couple to NH this weekend for judging and sale so fingers are crossed for a rosette! But regardless of rosettes, our sheep are all winners in my eyes.
So make plan for Mother’s Day weekend and come to the NH Sheep and Wool Festival, this Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 9-4. It is located off Rt 89 North in Contoocook, NH at the Hopkinton State Fairgrounds. I will be set up in the Crowley Building and along with offering our farm products and Earthues natural dyes I plan to be doing some indigo dyeing so stop by for a visit!
