NH Sheep & Wool!

I just got home from my second visit to the NH Sheep & Wool Festival.  I look forward to this every year!  It's usually on Mother's Day weekend, which makes my attendance a lovely Mother's Day gift. I went yesterday (Saturday) by myself (well, I had the grandson with me) and spent about 5 hours.  I went back today with my husband and daughter (and grandson), and we spent about 2 hours.

I didn't get a lot on Saturday, partly because I planned on returning Sunday, partly because I had a limited budget and wanted to make sure my money was wisely spent.  On Saturday I picked up this Jacob fleece from Cindy at Ewe & I Farm:

I also picked up this rainbow roving from Mad Color Fiber Arts.  She had posted on Facebook only a day or two before the festival that she was dyeing up some rainbow rovings for the Sheep & Wool, and I had specifically planned to look for this.  I am delighted with the colors in this roving!  This is the superwash Targhee roving.

This was my final purchase.  This is a baby French Angora bunny - a buck (boy).  His color is chestnut agouti.  All of my current bunnies are fawn (tan) and I wanted something different!  I wasn't sold on getting a new bunny when I went to the festival; I saw several booths with bunnies, but most of them were priced out of my budget.  This one suited both budget and color!  I'm going to call him Fester.

I went back Sunday with just a couple of things in mind.  I bought my daughter a crochet book; that's not pictured here.  My first purchase, not long after entering the gates, was a t-shirt.  This was in a box of shirts from (supposedly) the 2014 festival (and as such was marked down significantly) but it doesn't have a date on it.  I believe the picture is one of Gene Matras' exceptional artworks.  

This is ten ounces of black Suri alpaca, from Skyeview Alpacas.  It has a lovely long staple length, and gorgeous shiny black color. 

I also picked up this Pygora, from Work In Progress Farm.  It's a small raw fleece, 2nd clip, and is only 3/4 lb (12 oz) but was only $6!  It's a bit chaffy, but for $6 I don't mind doing a little more picking!

After that I stopped by a booth I had watched yesterday; they had a small used Baynes spinning wheel for only $200, but it was gone today.  I stopped by The Elegant Ewe to say hi to Marci & Hal, and picked up the crochet book that my daughter chose.  My last stop was Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm, where I got this kit for a Peeking Beads scarf.  This one is done with this handpainted "blank", and purplish kind of beads.  There were other colorways, but purples are generally my go-to.

There were plenty of other interesting things I could have purchased.  I left a pale gray Shetland fleece that I really liked, and a huge dark gray Corriedale fleece.  I really do have far too much fleece still to spin (most of it already washed).  The most interesting attraction, however, was this lady spinning on a spinner made from an upright exercise bike.  She said her husband is a (retired) engineer, and built it for her.  I think he did a wonderful job!  I think I'd like mine made from a recumbent bike, though.

There were also a few things, Saturday and Sunday, that didn't last long enough for a photograph, especially the apple crisp we got on Sunday!  Yum!