Ahhh…. Fall!

Don’t you love fall!  There’s a hint of crispness in the air, and a cooler front breezing through, so it’s coming!  Another harbinger of fall — it’s festival season! I’ve got a  busy fall schedule, which starts tomorrow.  Here’s where you’ll find me:

Sept. 11 – Ballston Arts & Crafts Market off Glebe Road in Arlington VA, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.  A general, juried outdoor crafts festival in a lovely setting on a square downtown.

Sept. 18/19 – It’s Worldwide Spin in Public Day!  I’m hoping to spend some time as a member of the Blue Ridge Spinner’s & Weaver’s Guild spinning at  The Bluemont Fair.  The guild has had a tent at this event for years, demonstrating a whole range of fiber crafts and selling handmade items (lots of lovely handwovens especially).  This is a full-fledged fair, with all kinds of activites for all ages – located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains less than an hour outside DC.

Sept. 25/26 – It’s the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival in Berryville VA!  One of my favorite festivals, in a lovely setting.  I’ll be returning as a vendor this year with a double-sized booth, for twice the space to display hand-dyed yarns and spinning fiber, handspun yarns, wheels and tools, felting kits, etc.  This festival has been growing by leaps and bounds (but still isn’t overwhelmingly big).  My booth will be in the ‘Arts & Crafts” building, spaces 7 and 8 (most of this event is under cover, so come rain or shine). Don’t miss this one if you can get there!

Oct. 2/3 – Another good one!  The Fall Fiber Festival at Montpelier, in rural VA just north of Charlottesville.  This outdoor festival is on the lawns of the Montpelier Estate, and features sheep dog trials as well as animal and fiber displays.  Look for me in one of the big white tents. 

Oct. 9/10 – The Festival of Leaves, Front Royal VA.  I have only to step outside my studio doors to be right at the heart of this event, sponsored by the Warren Heritage Society (located across the street).  This is a general festival, with lots of music and vendors of all kinds, including a special ‘Heritage Village’ featuring traditional crafts on the grounds of the Heritage Society. I’ll be by my studio, spinning and vending under my own tent (or in my studio should the weather turn bad).

Oct. 16 – I’ll be at the The Capital Region Etsy Street Team’s 1st Annual Falling for Handmade Craft Fair in Bohrer Park, Gaithersburg MD, which will feature 50 Local Etsy Artistians joining together In Real Life to showcase and sell their handmade products (a great time to start your Christmas shopping – there should be something for everyone, even pets!).

And finally, the last of the ‘Fall’ shows, and the biggest –

I’ll be at the Southeast Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) in Asheville, NC, on October 22,23 and 24th for one of the largest festivals on the east coast.  Somewhere in the maze of animals and vendors, you can find me in the ‘sales arena,’ booth 15 (which is located in one of the four corners of the building).  I’m getting excited just thinking of this one!

After all this, I’m taking a weekend off to re-group! (and go trick-or-treating)  Then it will be time to start Holiday shows…

New Year – New Group!!

For a long time, I’ve been wishing for a knitting/fiber arts group in my town.  On ravelry.com, I’ve connected with several other people who expressed an interest.  Last week, I decided that with the New Year, one of my goals would be to stop waiting for “someone” to get something started, and take action!  So I picked a place, announced a date and time, and spread the word to people I thought might be interested (and – duh – this morning realized that I should have put it in my blog too!).  So today was the day, and here we are:That’s me standing the in back.  The other members  in attendance – most of whom I met on ravelry.com, are craftyashley, mamabeth, lamplighter777, and ontiptoe, and taking the picture, ontiptoe’s friend and new knitter, CB.  Oh, and I’m wildharefiber. 

We met, chatted, worked on projects for a couple of hours.  Here are lamplighter777′s socks, which she is knitting up from some of her very first handspun (she claims she’s just been knitting a year – I am SO impressed!). 

Mamabeth and I both have etsy shops – she is beth1818 – here’s a link to her site: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5787123 - it was nice to meet and talk shop!  Craftyashley is both a new knitter and a new mother, and brought her sweet, sleeping baby girl along.  Ontiptoe and I met online only to discover that her daughter and my son were in the same class at school and at the time, sat next to each other!  It’s the internet fun!

There were several other potential members who weren’t able to come this time, so we’re hopeful that the group will grow and florish.  If you’re near Front Royal Virginia and would like to join us, we’d love to welcome you!  Send me a message and I’ll add you to the list and let you know the time and place of our next meeting.