Sit back, relax, and enjoy.

Kathleen finished another vest for the women veterans and I'm sure she'll be here next week with another finished garment or two!

Barbara worked on her sweater for herself and Liz knitted a scarf for donation.

Maureen worked her second pair of Kimono slippers. We Chicks decided to finish up donation knitting so we could concentrate on Christmas gifts until the holidays. In January we'll take up the donation knitting again.

This weekend was the Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Amanda and Phil brought the boys up for a visit. Moose took Poppop and Daddy apple picking and bowling while Amanda, Leo and I enjoyed the festival.

The weatherman predicted 40% chance of rain on and off all day but it was sunny and warm all day. A perfect day to visit a festival.

The first booth inside had beautiful yarns and patterns but I had my pennies saved to visit a special booth!

This gentleman was hand turning drop spindles and knitting needles, among other hand tools for crafts.

He did amazing work.

I was almost tempted to buy a drop spindle just because they are so pretty. But I like to get straight to the knitting without wasting time spinning first. That's just me.

There were some wonderfully scented soaps.

And beautiful handwoven baskets.

But our favorites were the yarns. You just have to cuddle every one of them. The colors and textures are so luscious!

Amanda was admiring some yarns when a lady thought she was very clever to carry her purchases in her shoulder sack....uh....

No, that was Leo. He was such a good shopping companion. He slept most of the day and never cried once.

He even slept through the visit with our fibery friends. These baby angora bunnies were just too cute for words.

The guys were just hanging around.

And these angora rabbits were content to sit on top of their cages and watch the world go by.

This little friend seemed to say your welcome when we thanked him for his contributions to our knitting addiction.

Mr. Llama was just sheared so he wasn't looking too sociable.

We stopped and watched the spinners for a bit.

And then admired the ready mades.

Isn't this shawl glorious?!

We had to stop long enough to watch the felting demonstration. It's amazing what the people at this booth make.

This girl was needle felting a sheep.

The items at the booth ranged from this scary looking mask to....

this gorgeous hat!

Then we finally saw our favorite booth! Here we come Periwinkle Sheep!

Karin, (right) and her friend Amy (left) were working hard helping customers, but they had a minute to pose for me.

Amanda found what she wanted right away.

I, on the other hand, couldn't decide between the sock weight or the lace weight.

Leo came out of his cuddle spot long enough for Karin to get some good hugs.

I think there were as many people stopping to look at Leo as there were those looking at the yarns.

But by midafternoon we were all feeling a little tired. So I knew it was time to get going...

Right next door to The Ice Cream Man!

You can't go all the way to Schuylerville and not stop in for some of the best ice cream in upstate New York.

When Amanda and I got home we checked out our purchases and I wound the skeins for her.

I bought this silk cocoon fiber which is hand dyed.

You pull thin layers off and spin it or knit it right from the "cap".

Here is the sock weight yarn I bought from Karin. Notice the lovely cloud/sky color.

Then I realized I bought an alpaca laceweight yarn at another booth. Check out the color.

Now look at the shawl I made using yarn from another festival I attended this spring.

What color are my socks? Shirt? Knitting? Do you think I might have a problem? LOL!

I finished the shawl last night and couldn't wait to show you. It needs a good blocking still but isn't it beautiful?! I can't wait to wear it!

I had to throw in a couple of photos of my sweet babies. I don't know what he's dreaming, but Leo looks content.

And Moose is always a happy guy! He just loves the Dr. Seuss shirt we brought back from our trip to Universal Studios last spring.

Now I have to save some money for our next trip to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck come October. But first, I need to knit some of the yarn in my stash before I can even think about adding to it!

It's Autumn! Time for Fiber Festivals and Balloon Festivals

Yesterday was a beautiful, warm summer, I mean fall day. The temperatures were in the low 80's so you can see why I would make that mistake. A perfect day to ride up to Greenwich, New York for the 2nd annual Southern Adirondack Fiber Festival.

It was held on the Washington County Fairgrounds and I could smell the wool fumes as soon as I exited the car. They called to me to come and touch and buy.

There were beautiful fibers to spin....

and blend....

and even cocoons to spin your own silk.

Of course there was yarn everywhere too.

I made sure I visited my friend Karin's booth ( http://www.etsy.com/shop/franknit ) to scoop up some of her lovely Periwinkle Sheep sock yarn to make a prayer shawl for a friend. There's my hubby behind her waiting to pay. He's a keeper!

I love to visit the animals who so graciously let us shear their coats. What a regal fellow this llama is. He stood so proudly.

And who can resist those darling angora bunnies?

My son will be disappointed that I didn't bring this little fellow home.

However, I am just allergic enough that I can't knit with angora. What a shame! Their fiber is so soft and warm.

But I'm not allergic to alpaca. Isn't he a cutie?!

This fat guy was too lazy to even look up at the camera. He's not really fat, it's all wool!

My favorite was this gentle giant.

He just laid there staring at me as if to say, "Who are you staring at?"

There were all kinds of demonstrations everywhere. Here a spinner works her magic.

And here's another with a slightly different technique. She is using a drop spindle instead of a spinning wheel.

There was also a hooker! Rug hooker, that is.

She did a beautiful job!

My great-grandmother was a weaver so I especially like to watch the magic that happens when the fabric appears.

Of course, you could purchase already made garments too.

And there were all kinds of tools. These hand blown glass handled crochet hooks were beautiful.

Since it was a fiber festival there was more than just knitting. There were a whole array of felted items for sale as well.

These bowls were especially colorful and cleverly designed.

And just in time for Halloween were these hand felted masks. I wouldn't want to meet any of these on a dark night!

At that same booth there was an opportunity to felt your own flowers using bubble wrap and warm soapy water.

After a goodly amount of time spent agitating the plastic sheet you get these beautiful flowers.

Now if you know where the fairgrounds are, you'll know that you are only a few hundred yards away from the best homemade ice cream in the area. And we never pass up the opportunity to stop in for a taste.... or three. LOL!

Ooops! You caught me red-handed! I couldn't decide between the pumpkin, Miller's Mudslide, or Hugh's Chocolate Overload so I had a little of each. Bad girl! Well, I'm not going to have dessert for at least until......Tuesday! That's when the Chicks will be celebrating our fifth anniversary.

After the fiber festival we drove over to Glens Falls for the annual Balloon Festival. Due to the bumper to bumper traffic, it took us about an hour and a half to drive two miles to the location where the festival takes place, passing homes along the way where families were all set up with their picnics to enjoy the balloons flying by. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the entrance we found out that due to unpredictable high winds the race had been cancelled. All those poor families who were waiting were going to be so disappointed. I did manage to see one balloon before it completely deflated.

So instead Ron and I took the long country back roads homeward and watched the subtle change of colors of the trees in the distance.

It was a lovely day and now I look forward to the cooling temperatures when I get to wear my warm woolies again.