Knitting 40 shades of green

Festivals, festivals and more festivals

For those of you slogging through posts about Rhinebeck, I didn't go but I have some old festival news to report. Two weeks ago I had quite the Festival weekend. It started when I got talked into going to the Cap City Brewery Oktoberfest.

With 27 breweries sampling more than 54 different beers...well let's just say that I needed to show a little restraint so as not to over do it before heading to another festival, the Mount Vernon Fall Wine Festival.

The picture was shamelessly stolen from Knucklehead Wendy, who is not a knucklehead but is from outside of Pittsburgh. She came over and drove me (see above) to the wine festival where we tasted local Virginia wines and snacked on bread and cheese spread while listening to live Blues music.

She then spent the night so we could get an early (OK, so this is relative) start to what used to be called the Montpelier Sheep Dog Trials and Fiber Fest and is now known as Fall Fiber Fest of Virginia. I had hoped to finish my mother's sweater while there and present it to her since the yarn was purchased at this festival 2 years ago and she has been longing for the sweater but with the heat and dust it didn't happen. Instead, I spent the day looking at sheep and watching sheep dog trials and enabling Wendy to buy yarn.

I did buy a skein of sockyarn in a lovely green and a shawl pin/hair stick but haven't taken pictures yet and will have to show them to you tomorrow. We drove home after many hot sweaty hours of yarn and sheep and fun.

Pittsburgh Irish Fest

After finishing something, I sometimes go through a few days of not knowing what to focus on next. Should I cast on something new or tackle another abandoned or in progress project.  I keep sock projects around for just such occasions. 

The pomatomus definitely soaked in some Irish culture and music this past weekend.  (That is Gaelic Storm playing in the background.)

It also indulged in a few pints.  I saw it peering at the Irish Whiskey the other evening.  I'm starting to worry about the parties in the sock drawer...

Sheep and Wool

Bryna, Inge (blogless), and I drove up in Bryna's car to Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. We arrived as the irregulars were having their 10 am lamb breakfast. We strolled around leisurely looking at yarn and checking out the various sheep and fiber animals. I didn't buy much, just some sock yarn for blogless Sue, and some sock yarn for me from Oak Grove in the tumbleweed colorway and an extremely expensive fairisle kit from Yarns International. It is this one called North Sea. I have pictures but my camera battery died so I can't download them until I recharge it tonight. All in all it was a great day.