Green Mountain Fiber Fest 2010!

The Green Mountain Fiber Festival I attended in White River Junction, Vermont the weekend before last was WONDERFUL. Just look at the stunning shawl above! And this area of Vermont is gorgeous. The Billings Farm and Museum is nearby, as is the King Arthur Flour store and Grand View Farm (where you can have a 'farm vacation").
There were wonderful vendors!
The baskets above (Abenaki style) were hand made by Michael and Gisele McHarg in South Royalton, Vermont. They also run a bagpipe school, The Wee Piper. This warmed my heart.
They made the Van Gogh hooked rug above, too.
And the dolls above.
These gorgeous designs, above and below, are by Donna Kay.

Wonderful yarns by local farms...including Gilead Goats, and Snowshoe Farm.




Spinning wheels were set up beside the fireplace.
The Merlin Tree was there.


And cute angora rabbits.
My friend and neighbor Debbie Bergman of Purple Fleece with her glorious new hand-dyed roving.

Merit Scotford was making, and teaching about, Dorset Buttons. They were marvelous!

One of Purple Fleece's very first fans of her hand-painted roving spun and knit a pair of fingerless mits for Debbie!
Below are the ladies spinning around the fire.

There is Debbie teaching drop spindle.
And of course men spin too.
My poor camera took this photo of the Hotel Coolidge in White River Junction which hosted this event. It is a lovely hotel with grand rooms fireplaces galore.

I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! My husband made dinner for twenty people, including our daughter who was home from college for the first time, and a good time was had by all.

One of the wonderful things about knitting is how slow it is. And as we speed head-long into the magic of Christmas and Hanukkah, knitting is especially, well, relevant. It reminds us that we are lucky to live in a time when we don't have to make all the clothes for our families. And it reminds us to slow down and enjoy our friends and families who, after all, make this life worth living.
-Kathy