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So what if my knitting has a little setback? It has its ups and downs. It's all part of the bargain.
And one of the ups is festival-going. A couple of weekends ago, I got to enjoy the last event of my annual fiber-festival season: the
Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival. I love this homey little festival. It's been growing each year, but it still has an endearing small-time flavor that makes it special.
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There are all kinds of fiber-bearing animals -- sheep, llamas, goats, alpacas, and fluffy rabbits -- to visit.
This little fellow seemed as curious about me as I was about him. He was probably wondering if I'd brought him any treats.
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There are yarn shops, and spinning fibers, and knitted items, and felters, and weavers, and guilds, and farm goods like these beeswax candles, and Boy Scout cider.
On the d
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rive to the festival, in late October, there was foliage afire with autumn color, and roadside pumpkins like this monster. 741 pounds, the sign said, and at the stand where I stopped there was a whole row of others like it. There was also barbecue that had been smoking outdoors since 6:00 that morning.
Saturday, the day I went, was an intermittently beautiful fall day, between downpours. And who cares about a few puddles? When it was raining, I sheltered in buildings full of vendors of magical fiber goods. (What was the problem again?) This display, for instance, of bright hand-painted boucle yarns from
Dancing Leaf Farm couldn't help but dispel any gloom.
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I wasn't a bit gloomy. And did I find myself some treats? Oh yes, you bet I did. This is why I've been concentrating on using up some of the yarn I already have stockpiled, so I can enjoy finding myself some new treasures.
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My only regret? I didn't win the spinning wheel or the loom in the raffle. Guess I'll have to try for another year. :)
1 comment:
It is a really nice festival. I was at SAFF instead this year, but the Shenandoah festival is moving its dates next year, so I'll get to be at both.
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