Monday, October 4, 2010

Finger Lakes Fiber Arts Festival 2010!

It was a wonderful treat to meet Anita Figueras (aka scifiknitter on Ravelry) at the Finger Lakes Fiber Arts Festival this year in Hemlock, New York. A blog reader! A great knitter! It was such fun talking with her. Anita had come to the Festival with her daughter, also a knitter, who is getting her Ph.d in Statistics. Thank you, again, for stopping by our booth, Anita. I look forward to seeing you next year.
I haven't resolved my camera problem, so these photos were taken by Kathleen Kearns, my friend and as it happens our web designer, who came along on this trip. Kathleen was a huge help, great fun, and she loved the fair. The photo above was taken in the out door area, where vendors set up tents. There is a knitting blog I follow, The Fairy Godknitter, the author of which I discovered upon returning home was also at this fair, with her two sons! I wish I had known, and hope to meet her next year.
Kathleen saw this wonderful Swedish stranded knitting bag above.
And this lovely shawl.
The sweater above won first prize.
There were just scads of great yarns, but I liked these from Crayon Box Designs.

A young man came to our booth, who was at the fair for the sheep dog trials. Last year he bought the audiobook The Art of Fair Isle Knitting, which is a history of Fair Isle knitting. He told me he listens to it every night before bed along with Seamus Heaney's Beowulf. I love Beowulf and include it in a literature program I do in the schools here in mid-coast Maine, so we had a long talk. This time he took A History of Hand Knitting and I look forward to talking with him next year.

Kathleen and I had a great time at this fair. It is in a gorgeous rural area of rolling hills and farms, just south of Rochester. We stayed overnight with a friend of Kathleen's, the garden writer Teri Chace, and her family in Little Falls, New York, picturesquely located on the Erie Canal, it is a charming town. Here is a link to an historic preservation group who is working on restoring an Italian Community Bake Oven!

Fall is my favorite season; turning leaves, pumpkins, crisp apples, harvest, wood stoves. Hope you are all enjoying it.
-Kathy



8 comments:

Anita Figueras said...

This festival is high on my I-want-to-go-again list, offering virtually everything available at a larger festival like Rhinebeck but more accessible, less crowded. I actually got to eat the artichokes! I also spun (if you can call it that) on a spinning wheel for the first time.

It was such a pleasure meeting you! Your audiobooks are wonderful, a real work of love. I'm looking forward to many hours of knitting while listening to the audiobook I bought from you.

Purple Fleece said...

Looks like it was a great fair and a fun time...

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

Sorry about the deleted comment. Something happened to part of the text...

I too love Fall best and have fun with Halloween and, of course, enjoy all the yummy Fall foods.

That is such a beautiful brown shawl pictured above. Really lovely - don't suppose you know the yarn she used????

joan said...

We will meet up next time!

Knitting Out Loud said...

Anita, it was a pleasure to meet you and your daughter and I look forward to seeing you next year. Thank you for your kind words about the audiobooks. I got to eat the artichokes too this year, and they were delicious.

Claudia, my notes say "leaf lace shawl Diana on Ravelry", but I didn't write down the yarn.
Why don't you take a trip east to a fiber festival next year?

Joan, I look forward to meeting you next year!

raining sheep said...

Wow, every time I visit here, there are always pictures of some yarnfest that was visited. I am so jealous. I never go to anything yarn related namely because nothing like that occurs near me. I do live vicariously through you. Makes me realize I have not been in a yarn store for close to two months!! I think it's time.

t does wool said...

wow..looks like a great time~!