# Michigan Fiber Festival 2012



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I figured we would start a thread so we can all try to arrange to get some meetups going. I know Weever and I will be there all weekend.

So far the people I know for sure who are going are:

Me
Weever
Caren
Callieslamb

Who else will be there?


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Yes, WIHH it is the BIG one. I'll try to get good pictures but I have no clue where my camera has gone to. I may have to resort to using my iPad.

Plan on next year. You said Cabin has a niece that lives here right? Maybe we can lure FR, and Cyndi, and a few other up here.


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I'm bringing blackwillowfarms and another friend.


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Have Fun Everyone! It's a great sale. I can't go,too busy we are haying right now, haveing an unusual July-lots of rain in our small area. Take lots of water,it gets hot up on that hill.


----------



## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

7thswan, you can't hay every day all day long. This is the FIBER FESTIVAL! And we've never MET you! Come one day, at least!

(Yes, I do understand about fieldwork and timing. I also understand the power of a carrot dangling in front of me to make me work harder, longer.)


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

weever said:


> 7thswan, you can't hay every day all day long. This is the FIBER FESTIVAL! And we've never MET you! Come one day, at least!
> 
> (Yes, I do understand about fieldwork and timing. I also understand the power of a carrot dangling in front of me to make me work harder, longer.)


I would love to go,but have just spent over 400. on my old Rottie the last couple of days. He needs me right now. Weekends are the only time my Dh can drive that trailer for the hay, I'm a total looser when it comes to the trailer:teehee: I just hope it is cool and dry for all you Fiber Hunters!


----------



## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

Ah, a trailer. Yup. I can't drive those things, either. 

I'm sorry about your pup.


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

weever said:


> Ah, a trailer. Yup. I can't drive those things, either.
> 
> I'm sorry about your pup.


No need right now to be sorry, he s doing Great and I truly cherish every moment with him.:goodjob:


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I could give you trailer driving lessons. #1- always go forward. Never have to back up.


----------



## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

Callieslamb said:


> I could give you trailer driving lessons. #1- always go forward. Never have to back up.


:goodjob:


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

So far I will be volunteering Saturday 9-12 with the fleeces  it's rough but someone has to do it. After (Sat. pm or Sun.) that I may be helping out with registration and/or the art show. I will NOT be there on Friday that I know of. My son and his gf will be in town and are leaving Friday night. 

I'm sending PM's out this morning with my cell #. If you aren't listed on this thread but you want to connect send me a PM and I'll send you my #


----------



## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

Did anyone take Pictures?


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

It's next weeek end - the 18th. Not this week end. This week end I take some teenagers to a beach party, then I have our county fair THEN the Fiber Festival. Saving the best for last.


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

WIHH all last year I looked for one for you. I will continue my search this year.


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I have a day pass for Saturday if anyone wants it. PM me your mailing addie and I'll sent it on.


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I'll take it!!! Did we decide on a place and time to meet? What's the name of Weaver's booth?


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Great, I'll send it out in today's mail. No we didn't pick a place to meet up or a day. I need your phone number Callie, I don't think I have it in my phone from last year. We could meet up at the gazebo again? I will be working from 9-12 on Saturday and haven't heard from anyone else if they need me any other day. I won't be there on Friday.

I can't remember what day Caren is going but she did send me her phone number or at least she texted me, so she is in my phone.


----------



## Caren (Aug 4, 2005)

I am going Sunday. Do they give you a map for the place? I have no Idea where the gazebo is. I have never been there before. I am so excited!

Go ahead and text me! I do private duty nursing so texting is the way to go for me. Thanks


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Caren they have maps in one of the buildings. I'm not sure how they will have it set up this year but last year they had the numbers of the buildings different than how they buildings were labeled by the fair grounds. It was very confusing.

The gazebo is pretty much in the middle of the grounds, which are on the "inside" of all the buildings (the buildings surrounds the grounds). If you text me or call as your bus pulls in I can arrange to meet up with you near where they drop you. I'd be happy to show you around. By then I should have the place pretty well scoped


----------



## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

I am helping a friend man her booth--maybe next year I'll have a booth of my own. Her business is Riverside Loomworks. I'm in my late 40s, WASP, and have been known to run off and leave my friend manning the booth alone. My given name is Lona (rhymes with Donna).


----------



## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

WIHH, LOL!

I'm not trying to differentiate myself from all the other women at the festival--just from the other occupants of my friend's booth. There's Leslie, who is also WASP, but in her early 60s. And there's Paul, who is a different gender than I. So, is that enough info to pick me out of the three-some?

I will have my Ashford Traveller along. Unstained, double treadle.


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

Last year, when we were scouting out the grounds, we saw these two silly ladies trying to load some awkward-shaped boxes into a little white car . Their car was parked right by a sign that said "no parking" and we had to step off the road to get around them - it was raining and the ground was muddy. We watched them struggle with it for a while trying to figure out what they were trying to get into that car. Sound familiar, Marchie?

This year, I'll know what you look like.


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Hahaha, Callie thanks for the offer of help back then, lol! Did you really watch Weever and me load up my car, that was an interesting feat for sure but we did it.

I may be at the booth with Weever too so if you see two women with spinning wheels that will be us at that booth. You all also have my cell number so use it, I sent it to everyone.

Maura are you going to go?


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Saturday at 1:00 meet up at the gazebo for anyone who wants to show up. Otherwise call my cell or come by Weever's booth


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Day one for me is done. I took a few pictures with my iPad (it's a little awkward) of the fleece judging and the winning fleeces. Leddy judged this show, she also judged the Shepherd's Harvest. The Best in Show Fleece was a white Merino. There were 58 fleeces to be judged and less than half were for sale. They sell by the fleece here and the price is set by the owner.
Here is Leddy judging some of the fleeces. The whole time she is doing this she is talking to everyone about what she is looking for and what she is seeming. I learned a lot from the bits and pieces I was able to hear.

Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr


Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr


Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr

Here are a few of the first place fleeces. I tried to get pictures of the lables, Judges comments, and a lock in the picture. I also tried to get a close of for GAM

Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr

Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

I just realized I don't think I got a picture of the Best in Show fleece. I can maybe get a picture tomorrow. Here are some of the others.

Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr

Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr


Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr

Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr

These were fleeces she was judging at the time. I think these were Shetland.

Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr


Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr

And last but certainly not least are two pictures of Weever slaving away. I told her to smile but she wasn't amused 

Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr

Untitled by mymerripu, on Flickr


----------



## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Oh how wonderful!
Hi weever! 


Marchwind, thanks for the photos. 
Such beautiful fleeces!

I hope everybody is having fun.
Fondle the sock yarn for me. :gaptooth:


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

GAM it was busy today. I didn't have a lot of time to explore. Tomorrow I hope to have some time to play. I'm really broke so no buying anything. Well, I did buy some dyes but nothing else. 

We met up with Callieslamb and her friend's today. Didn't get one picture of that, darn it. She even had a camera. She was very busy scoping out the BFL's, there was a lovely BFL x Romney ewe lamb that was for sale. I would have liked to take her home but.....


----------



## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

Nice, Marchie. You actually captured me giving you "the look". :grump: LOL!

The weaving books were a great hit yesterday, but the shuttles and inkle looms, not so much. I think she sold one loom and a couple of shuttles. This festival has always been slightly light on the weaving side. They do offer a basic intro to weaving 2-day class. Last year my friend offered and intro to inkle weaving class, but her proposal for an advanced class was turned down this year. We have a local loom maker (Kessenich) who is always at the festival with their fine goods. But there isn't a lot for weavers, and I saw yesterday that there are a LOT of weavers that attend. 

Someday I'd like to have a booth of my own at MFF.


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

I wondered why Marchie asked me if I had a camera? Didn't even think to take a picture. I was too busy with my hands in bags of fleeces to get the camera out. It would have been great way to remember booths and companies that I wanted to check out online when I got home.

We had a great time. It was good to see Marchie again and meet Weaver. The weather couldn't have been better. I brought 2 dog trainers with me, so they could have watched the dogs working all day. I didn't buy much since I have so many fleeces at home just waiting....I didn't even have a bag to carry around until late afternoon. I found some addi lace needles - wanted to try another brand but didn't see any in lace. A 12-needle punch thing for felting. A lot of dyes - most of them some shade of green. My friends had to keep me away from all things green since I would have come home with 20 green things. I found some rovings I had to have - llama, pygora and merino blend (on in purples and one in blues). I just bought 4 oz each since I have so much fleece at home, not to mention the dyes.

I was surprised at the number of button sellers. Hand painted, of course. There were tons of them. More baskets this year. Last year, I didn't even look at the yarns but now I have a greater appreciation of what goes into making them and spent some time looking at their structure and 'ingredients'. We were better prepared for the $450 price tags on sweaters so we didn't walk through some of those booths with our mouths dropping to our chins- but we noticed some that must have been first-timers. 

I did love the sheep. We spent a long time talking to breeders. We got a taste of sheep sausage, lessons on shearing, breeding advice, and yes, I'd have loved to have brought that little Romney x BFL lamb home. I'd never seen a romney sheep before - wow are they big. There was one with a head larger than my cow's head. We petted and sweet talked with almost every sheep there. The pygora and angora goats were very noisy. My friends hustled me right past them. I'm not sure why, since a goat would have fit on their laps on the way home much better than that ewe lamb. 

I didn't take any of the classes though I'd have loved to have done so. They are very expensive for my budget. Some day though...some day. We spun wheels, poked ourselves with comb, tried out the ball winders, smelled the lotions, tried on shawls, touched everything, brought home a pocket full of business cards, talked alpaca with a six-year old, made kissy noises at the bunnies, belly laughed at the dogs herding the ducks, learned from a 14 yr old boy how to beat flax into submission. It was a wonderful day. Next year, I want to bring my lunch. There was a group from Chicago that had a pot luck going and it smelled soooo good.

I think I might suggest a demo on how to wash fleeces for next year. I think that would be well received. I'll volunteer the fleeces. Maybe some day, I'll even bring a sheep or two or a fleece. It really did look like a good time in the animal barns. Maybe not so much for the sheep and goats.

There's a fleece symposium in Ann Arbor in Oct(?). They say its similar to the FF without the animals. Not sure my pocketbook can stand it but I might try to go just to stick my hands in those bags of fleeces again.


----------



## weever (Oct 1, 2006)

Wow, Callie--I loved your running commentary! 

If you know how to wash fleeces, I'd love to have you demo that at our annual sheep shearing. It's not going to work, of course, since we shear in late February. But I would dearly love to have that side of it shown--all the way from shearing onward. If only...


----------



## Callieslamb (Feb 27, 2007)

How cold is the water at your place in Feb? LOL!!! I know how to wash fleeces. doesn't mean I get it just right every time. I'd love to come to your sheep shearing though. With 100 of them, it must take a lot longer than doing my 8.


----------



## uglydogsfarm (Aug 30, 2012)

Marchwind - you thought you did not get a picture of the "BEST IN SHOW" fleece but you actually did. The black Merino fleece you took wonderful pictures of won the "BEST IN SHOW" prize.

I was thrilled to find your pictures while surfing online. I was unable to get to the festival this year - my partner took our natural colored Merino lambs and our Merino fleeces and we had an amazing year at MFF... Very excited to see the pictures!!!


----------



## Marchwind (May 10, 2002)

Hi Uglydogsfarm, welcome to the Fold! So was that your fleece that won? I'm glad my pictures worked for you. It was odd using my iPad to take them.


----------



## uglydogsfarm (Aug 30, 2012)

Thanks for the welcome! Yes, the fleece is from our Merino ram who came from Mendenhall Wool Ranch in California... Your pictures of the white Merino fleece is also ours - our lone white ewe who carries the recessive black gene.

We really have been working hard over the past few years to upgrade our flock and are so happy to see that we are moving in the right direction. A really great weekend for sure...

Your iPad takes great pictures!!!


----------

