On Saturday, I headed up to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival with my pal Lauren and my husband Tyler (who was our official photographer - you can see all of his photos here!). This is my second time attending, and it's always worth the drive up north.
It was fairly hot for most of the day, but that didn't seem to deter anyone.
There was plenty of temptation - so much wool to squish!
Amazingly, enough, I managed to only come home with spinning fiber. With SOAR next month and VK Live in November, I've got to pace myself!
I think I did a pretty good job. My first purchase was 8 oz. of undyed Organic Polwarth from Gale's Art (click here to view her Etsy shop) which I might try dyeing as roving before I spin it up:
After surveying both vendor buildings, I decided to head back to the Hearthside Fibers booth (click here to view their Etsy shop), which had some lovely breed-specific yarns and fibers - but what really caught my eye was the show special for 10% off 3 or more braids of dyed roving! I purchased three Falkland braids, the first two which I'll be plying together.
This third braid will ply nicely with a tonal blue braid of Falkland roving I'd purchased from an etsy dyer called Pumpkinhaus a few years ago:
Of course, we were mainly there for the sheep. Oh, the sheep! We visited the pens of the sheep who were being shown...
The Hall of Breeds.....
The newborn lambs...
And, finally, we watched the sheep shearing demonstration, which I'd missed the previous year. I'm so glad I made a point to check it out, because it was really fantastic and informative!
You can view more of Tyler's photo from the sheep shearing demonstration here.
We also had to make a stop to pick up some tasty New Glarus beer - no trip to Wisconsin would be complete without a beer run!
We're still recruiting for Team Louet! Based on feedback we've received, we've made to a few changes to our team requirements: there are none! Other than knowing how to spin, which is pretty much the only thing that is an absolute must, we're opening the doors to anyone who wants to join Team Louet. Don't have a Louet spindle or wheel? Don't have any Louet fibers in your stash? Not a problem - use what you have and you might even win some fiber along the way!
We'll be randomly selecting one lucky team member to win a half pound of carded alpaca later this month.
Again, registration is $10 and all proceeds benefit the Needle Arts Mentoring Program to foster the spinners of tomorrow!
It was fairly hot for most of the day, but that didn't seem to deter anyone.
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| There was a pretty good crowd on Saturday! |
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| I'm in heaven! |
I think I did a pretty good job. My first purchase was 8 oz. of undyed Organic Polwarth from Gale's Art (click here to view her Etsy shop) which I might try dyeing as roving before I spin it up:
After surveying both vendor buildings, I decided to head back to the Hearthside Fibers booth (click here to view their Etsy shop), which had some lovely breed-specific yarns and fibers - but what really caught my eye was the show special for 10% off 3 or more braids of dyed roving! I purchased three Falkland braids, the first two which I'll be plying together.
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| Left: Salsa Right: Sunrise |
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| Outside braid: Hearthside Falkland roving in Ghost Story; inside braid: Pumpkinhouse Falkland roving in Cloudy Night. |
Of course, we were mainly there for the sheep. Oh, the sheep! We visited the pens of the sheep who were being shown...
The Hall of Breeds.....
The newborn lambs...
And, finally, we watched the sheep shearing demonstration, which I'd missed the previous year. I'm so glad I made a point to check it out, because it was really fantastic and informative!
You can view more of Tyler's photo from the sheep shearing demonstration here.
We also had to make a stop to pick up some tasty New Glarus beer - no trip to Wisconsin would be complete without a beer run!
Spinzilla Update
We'll be randomly selecting one lucky team member to win a half pound of carded alpaca later this month.
Again, registration is $10 and all proceeds benefit the Needle Arts Mentoring Program to foster the spinners of tomorrow!
Hi, I've been wanting to join Team Louet but was put off by the requirements. I'm off to join up. I can generate some serious yardage and am seriously motivated by the chance of prizes.
ReplyDeleteHurrah,
tktl on Ravelry
Hooray, so glad you could join us! We just announced a few more prizes for our team members here on the Louet Blog - be sure to tell your spinning friends!
DeleteI love wool festivals! The colours on that fibre are gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThe orange and yellow fiber? Oh yes - and it was DELIGHTFUL to spin, too!
DeleteThank you for blogging about our fiber (Hearthside Fibers) - and thank you for stopping by our booth at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool. Love the sheep pics, especially as the spotty faced ewe just above the lambs is one of ours - well, she's owned by a friend now, but Athena was born here on our farm. Heading over to "Like" you on Facebook now.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, I am loving the fibers I bought from your booth - I'm not sure they'll even last til Spinzilla, considering I've already spun up two of them this week! Such a relief to know I can get my hands on some more at SOAR next month!
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