Saturday Sampler: Yarn, Fiber and Knitting Events

Let's face it: summer is not the time for fiber festivals and the like. It's too hot to play with wool. It's too hot to pet sheep under a blazing sun. It's just . . . too hot to have fun.

Fortunately, some great events are coming up in the fall, and I thought you'd like to know about them now so you can start planning!

(These are East Coast events because that's, you know, where I live.)

First up, the Garden State Sheep and Fiber Festival in New Jersey, September 7-8. Might still be a bit warm for this one, but the vendor list looks promising, and they're offering drop spindle lessons every hour!

Then we have the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival, September 28-29 in Berryville, VA. I haven't made it to this one in the past, but I hope to check it out this year, if scheduling permits. Lots of great vendors lined up, according to their site, including Wandering Wool!

If you live further north, you can check out the Vermont Sheep and Wool Festival that same weekend, in Tunbridge, VT. It apparently includes a cashmere goat show!

October 4-6 is a big weekend: we have both the Fall Fiber Festival and the Nimblestix Mountain Retreat, both in Virginia. I'm excited to say I'll be at the Nimblestix Retreat, providing I can remember to send in my deposit. (I'm also excited to say the Retreat site is about 30 minutes from Barboursville Vineyards, where CP and I got married, so we might just have to stop by.) The Retreat and the Fiber Festival are only about 25 miles apart, so you could certainly do both, if you're not toting around a crabby 8 month old.

The biggest event, perhaps, is the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, AKA, Rhinebeck, October 19-20 in Rhinebeck, New York.

It kills me to say we won't be going to Rhinebeck this year, but it's a busy work period for CP, and I'm not prepared to haul baby to upstate New York alone. Sniff. Don't miss this one if you don't have to! Seriously.

New England has its own fiber festival, being held November 2-3 in Springfield, MA.  I don't know much about this one, but if you're in that area, you might want to check it out.

Then we have Stitches East, November 7-10 in Hartford, Connecticut. I haven't been to Stitches East since it left Baltimore, but it's sure to be fun for all.

The popular Knitter's Review retreat, will be held that same weekend, in Canandaigua, NY. It looks amazingly fun, so if you want to go, make sure you register right away on August 2.

Any fiber-y events you're looking forward to?

Event: Homespun Yarn Party

 
There's a looooooong break between Rhinebeck in the fall and Maryland Sheep and Wool in the spring (unless you're lucky enough to go to Stitches West, which I really hope to do next year!), but I recently learned we have another yarn-y event in Maryland to break up the monotony a bit.

This Sunday I plan to check out the Homespun Yarn Party, over in Savage, MD. It looks to be a great place to meet other knitters and, of course, buy yarn! Lots of indie dyers will be on hand, including some of my favorites: Wandering Wool, Cephalopod Yarns, the Verdant Gryphon, Neighborhood Fiber Co., and Dragonfly Fibers.

This will also be, I think, my first baby-free event since JJ was born. That's right, I haven't been on my own for longer than it takes to shower for the last 7 weeks. So I figure I deserve a few hours out of the house, petting yarn, even if I have limited time to actually use yarn these days.

If you're in the MD area, I hope you'll check it out too!