Fiber Festival ’07 Loot!

Here’s what I got at the festival:

At the top of the basket, two bean soup mixes from Healthy Sisters’ Soup & Bean Works and one of two 4 oz. hanks of hand-painted merino from High Bid Farms (the other is already half spun on my wheel – which is at the shop or I would have included the bobbin in the picture.)

The big plastic bag on the right is a sampler fiber pack from Spinning Bunny, in the “Roses for You” colorway. I thought it might be a good idea to try spinning a small amount of a variety of fibers before committing to, say, a merino/tencel spin-your-own socks kit. (Was very, very, very tempted by that sock kit.)

The bottom center of the basket has a 4 oz. ball of gray Jacob wool from High Bid Farms and a hand-made sheep ornament. I wanted something less colorful to spin on my drop spindle for practice.

The left side of the basket has two 4 oz. balls of alpaca/merino/silk from Spinning Bunny. Couldn’t pass on these, the colorway (Autumn Sunset) and that particular blend of fibers was too much to resist.

The center of the basket contains a hand-hooked sheep pin, gray (how exciting) cotton/bamboo sock yarn (so that I can finally make Denis a pair of socks that fit and don’t contain wool), and my Bosworth drop spindle with some of the Jacob wool. Also, there are two wood tools: first, a diz from Millpoint Emporium. I’ve never used a diz, nor am I entirely sure why I’d want one, except that I have a weak spot for exquisitely crafted wood tools. Which leads me to the last item: a nostepinne my dad made from Cocobolo wood…and that I may have gushed over so much that he had no choice to give it to me. He made others to sell in our booth, but mine’s the nicest. ;) Here are the others he’s made so far:

All in all, a bit more than I’d usually buy at a festival, but since I’m actively spinning some of my new fiber already I’m not feeling particularly guilty. Oh, and not shown: a black & white sheepdog stuffed animal to go with Carrie’s sheep and llama from previous years.

There’s a small chance that I’ll actually make it to Rhinebeck next month, and if I’ve spun that merino/tencel sample successfully and Spinning Bunny is there…I’m so getting myself a spin-your-own socks kit!