Thursday, September 23

Fiber Fest Season

What can I say, almost nothing in the whole world makes me happier than a few days of yarn-y, fiber-y goodness and I get two full weekends in a row!  Last weekend I headed out to Hemlock NY to the Finger Lakes Fiber Fest which although a long trip was well worth it.

Hemlock is about 30 miles from Rochester and in some of the most pastoral farm country imaginable.  The drive from the house of a friend I was staying with in Geneva to the fest was the most amazing way to start each day winding up & down hills surrounded by green and the slight smell of nearby farms which I will fully admit to kind of loving.  This is what I woke up to each morning the view out my window:


Not the best photography in the world but this view of Seneca Lake was amazing!

The day I went to set up I spotted this guy tied to a fence the same way people do with their dogs when they run in for a cup of coffee.



My dear friend Kristy accompanied me and made sure I was fully caffeinated throughout the show.  She was equally enamored with this llama but I'll spare her from posting her pic with the llama.  Kristy just had an absolutely beautiful knitting book published and if you are a lover of top down knitting and elegant silhouettes I highly recommend it.  



It's called Modern Top Down Knitting and includes some of the most beautiful projects I have ever seen.  There are knitted dresses included in this collection that could be straight off the runway but  easily wearable and finishing techniques explained that give beautiful couture touches that will make these garments favorite pieces in your wardrobe.


I've got to keep this post short because on Friday I leave for the Southern Adirondack Fiber Fest and I've still got lots to do....

This is some of what you will see this weekend:


Hope to see you in Greenwich!
(and if you are going, DO NOT pass up ice cream from the Icecream Man I grew up in the area and might be salivating just thinking about the cone I will be enjoying in a few short days)


Sunday, September 5

Cormos & the perfect drive

I went to White Barn Farm  - a new knitting store in Gardiner  - to drop off some yarn and I took a route I hadn't taken when driving that way before and found one of my favorite drives.  It has cliffs & low, wide, slow moving water, all the things I love about the Hudson Valley.  It reminded me that a whole group of 19th century painters found inspiration in this same landscape and there are still a few places that if you squint your eyes a little to blur out the phone wires & houses in the distance you can see some of the most beautiful views around.
I was driving, so no photos of the drive but...
Paula, the proprietor of White Barn Farm & caretaker of the Cormos that also reside on the grounds was kind enough to let me make a sheep visit to go out & see the flock.  I love shooting animals of all sorts and these Cormos were not only photogenic, I think they may have been posing for me:



More on White Barn Farm to come...

This weekend is a double market weekend for me! Kingston Farmers Market with Cal (of Hodge Podge Farm) and at the Woodstock New Paltz Craft Fair with the Ulster County Hand Spinners. Cal & I were nearly blown away at the Farmers Market but here are some shots form this month & August's market: