The New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival

Yesterday, my daughter Jen took me to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival for Mother's Day. The one hour drive was delightfully spent chatting with my daughter, I was knitting, she was driving. Bright and sunny, it was a chilly, windy day. Many people commented about the cold, but I was much happier with a cool day than a hot and muggy one.

It was a fun event to go to as a knitter, but it also gave me a lot of ideas for my writing as The Boston Knitting Examiner. I had already written an article about the Festival before the event, actually being there gave me lots more info.

Different kinds of yarns were displayed in many varieties. Fibers included wool, alpaca and rabbit, many weights and styles of yarn, endless colors, and fibers in all stages of completion including raw fleece, roving, and undyed yarn.

It was also interesting to see all the products related to knitting. In addition to patterns, there were buttons, jewelry, spindles, spinning wheels, lotions, dyes, knitting machines and more.

Although there were lots of tempting items, I ended the day only buying a T-shirt. Jen got a drop spindle kit - something I had suggested she might enjoy. It included a simple drop spindle, some lovely dyed wool roving, and an instruction sheet. We enjoyed watching a demonstration of how to use a drop spindle. She also bought some alpaca roving in lovely multiple shades of brown.

Next week, on May 15 is the Annual Rhode Island Wool and Fiber Festival at Coggeshall Farm Museum, Rt. 114 Bristol, Rhode Island. For a list of more fiber and knitting events this summer, check out my article Summer 2010 Knitting and Fiber Events in New England.