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NH Wool Arts Tour 2018

This is my third season of the New Hampshire Wool Arts Tour. I’m starting to recognize some of the dirt roads. NHWAT has been running for 35 years!

New Hampshire is getting gorgeous this time of year – we’re before the peak of fall color, but gaining on it.

New Hampshire is lovely this time of year.

The tour this year was hosted at these four farms within quick driving distance of Hillsborough, rather the center of the whole thing. (The directions all stem from the McDonald’s in Hillsboro, where I did get a cup of coffee.) I used Google Maps to plot a route starting (and ending) at home. Be mindful if you do this, sometimes Google Maps on the phone gets really confused if you are not within cell coverage to let Google talk to the home planet.

There was an interesting variety of vendors this year. From wooden items for working with fiber, beautifully crafted shawl pins, soaps and honey, there was a lot on display. Oh, and there was a fair amount of fiber! Fleeces, roving, dyed braids of top (I succumbed to one), and lots of other fun stuff.

  • Dyed Corriedale Top
  • Electric Eel Mini Spinner
  • Alpaca Socks

The Corriedale top had such gorgeous colors I had to pick it up. I think I’m going to spin it “fractally“. That will allow the colors to mix and “barber-pole” as the colors intertwine and play off of one another. I’ll post about that adventure when I get to it. (I would not hold my breath.)

That Electric Eel Mini Spinner is very cute, but it only holds an ounce of yarn on its bobbin. My regular wheel holds 4 ounces, and my new eSpinner holds about 8 ounces – half a pound of yarn. But it’s only $70 and it’s wicked, wicked, cute.

The socks were beautiful. I’d have taken them if they were in my size, but I passed. Peggy would have loved the colors, but she’s not a fan of Argyle. (She has subsequently admitted that because they were so pretty, she might have gotten past the Argyle bit…)

I strongly suggest a spin around the circuit next fall.

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Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival

I have been going to the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival for several years, but last year the truck developed an odd noise in the differential, so I turned around and missed it altogether. I now have a vehicle with fewer than 300,000 miles on it, and I made it to Tunbridge and back. Vermont is really lovely this time of year. The leaves are just about to turn color for the fall season, the air is crisp and clean, and the sun was just startingp to peek out.This is the view from one of the Vermont roadside rest stops along Interstate 89, just before turning off in Sharon to meander over to Tunbridge. The picture on the right is within the fairgrounds.It was just a lovely day, mid 60’s. Below are pictures of some of the things I did not buy while I was attending. I was quite good, actually, as the prior week I had been quite naughty, and purchased an eSpinner.

This week I purchased a set of stitch markers from Katrinkles for myself, and spent the rest of the time purchasing gifts for Peg, including a Festival bag and a couple of shawl pins – at least enough to outfit the shawls I’ve made her.

There were all manner of things to buy, from tiny stitch markers to sheep. I’m quite certain Peg would not enjoy coming home from West Virginia to find a sheep or three in the yard. She’s flexible, but she already has to put up with me. Yet I behaved! I even left behind fleeces that were just lovely. There were two Cotswold fleeces that called to me, but I ignored them. I have two downstairs now waiting for the carding to commence… So, OK, maybe I don’t need another fleece right now. Those spinning wheels I didn’t bring home were beautiful, but I cannot at this point make a cogent argument for more than eight wheels.

Vermont