Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival

On Saturday I went to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival in Fletcher, NC (outside of Asheville, NC). I went with a group of knitting friends and it was a lot of fun. It was a 3-day event but we just went on one day and carpooled up there. There were workshops, livestock shows, a Fiber Arts Competition, and lots of vendors. It was fun to watch the people and see the different fiber art that everyone was wearing.

Please click here to see the pictures.

Things I Learned:

• Bring an external battery.
• Dress in layers because it is cold in the morning but it warms up.
• Bring a tote bag or backpack to hold goodies,
• Make sure you have stored the item you just bought and don’t leave it behind.
• Bring a snack in case you get hungry.
• Bring a bottle of water.
• Going with a group is a lot of fun.
• Make sure you know the pattern and designer of what you are wearing.

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2015

This past weekend we went to the Maryland Sheep and WoolFestival. This was the second year that I’ve been and it was even more fun than last year!

We left home on Thursday and wandered around the parkway enjoying the views. We ended up staying at the Fairfield Marriott ($79/night) in Harrisonburg, VA. The next day we headed up to Maryland and stopped at antique stores along the way.

We checked into the Hampton Inn South ($139/night) at 4pm. We didn’t get a microwave or fridge for $5/night extra but we got room 104 on the ground floor, which we liked. We stayed at this hotel last year and liked it so we returned. Then we met up with my friends Wendy (Massachusetts), Lois (California and Maine), and Denise (Kentucky) for dinner at Bertucci’s which was a nice place. It was really nice that they were staying at the Springhill Suites right next door to my hotel. After dinner, they came to my hotel and we knit in the lobby until 9:30.

On Saturday we left at 7:30 for the festival. I immediately went to Miss Babs booth to get the event colorway yarn  and got in the line for an hour before we could pay for it at 9am. Then Don and I

spent the day walking around the festival. We went to the sheepdog demonstration, which I really enjoy. We stopped midday to eat snacks that I brought and continued seeing all the vendors. I stopped at Cooperative Press and met Shannon Okey who said they will send me ebooks to review on this blog! I’m so excited. I also spent the day taking instagram photos of cowls in different vendor’s booths for a Cooperative Press contest. At 1pm I went to the podcaster meetup and was so thrilled to meet the podcasters in person. I also met mojaveknitter and beaglemomknittr who will be at the Minnesota knitting retreat with me. By 3pm, we were pooped and headed back to the hotel. We stopped at Five Guys for dinner on the way. I was able to rest up before going over to my friend’s hotel and knitting with them until 10pm!

On Sunday we went back to the festival at 8am to see the Sheep to Shawl competition. I enjoy watching them sheer the sheep. Most used electric shears but one man was using shearing scissors. We walked around the barns and it was fun seeing the booths without the hordes of people in them. About 10am, we decided to head for home. We arrived home about 6:30pm.

 It was a wonderful trip and I had a really great time! I’m really looking forward to next year!

Aunt Het Festival

This Saturday, I will have a booth in the Aunt Het Festival in Fountain Inn, SC to sell my hand knit items, handspun yarn, and shawl pins. I have a lot of shawls, hats (babies to adults), scarves, dishcloths, and monsters. I’m really excited about this. If you live near here or visiting in the area, please come visit my booth!

Now I’m sure you are asking who or what is Aunt Het!

Around 1910, Robert Quillen bought the Fountain InnTribune, a newspaper sharing news about the local area. He became well known for his editorials, cartoons, and one liners and appeared in newspapers throughout the country. One of his syndicated cartoons was “Aunt Het” and she was

Aunt Het was always shown as an older matronly housewife who was full of wisdom. Usually wearing an apron or doing housework, she was always giving much needed advice to all.

Agricultural Festival 2012

This week our community garden participated in the Agricultural Festival: Around the World on a Plate. The festival was sponsored by the Synergy Garden, The International Center, and the Greenville County Farm Bureau. The agriculture of Costa Rica, Colombia, and Uganda was featured at this event. It was exciting to hear people from those countries talk about the agriculture and the way of life in each of those countries. By doing this, I was able to see how different life is in other countries but yet, how much we have in common in the way our hopes for our families are the same. After each speaker gave their presentation, there was a drawing where the winner won a basket of fresh produce from the garden. Then an international lunch was provided and a tour of the garden ended the event. There was a full house for the inaugural event and I believe fun was had by people of all ages. You can see the pictures of this fantastic event by clicking here: Agricultural Festival 2012

An event like this helps people learn about other cultures and ways of life. Knowledge increases tolerance of people who are different from us and we need to do a better job at teaching our children this. By attending events like this is a great way to model this behavior for our students and our own children. Maybe something like this can be done on a smaller scale in the classroom.

(On a side note, I was also able to reconnect with a friend that I haven’t seen in about 20 years! She looks as great as ever and of course it brought back memories of wonderful times. It was great seeing you again Whitney! )

If you do something like this in your classroom, please share your ideas!

Original photo by Pat Hensley