WoolGathering Weekend

So the Hemmingford WoolGathering was a wonderful weekend, as far as I'm concerned. Some of the veteran vendors said there were less people this year than last, but not surprising considering there was rain predicted for Saturday (it held off until literally 5 minutes before closing), and it was cooler and windy (but sunny) Sunday. From the milkhouse, where we were set up, it looked like there were plenty of people visiting and enjoying themselves, most of them seemed to be in a buying mood, and lots of people I knew (plus a large handful of interesting sorts I met there) were happy to chat for a while. I've found a new source for roving and yarn, a new fiber festival in Quebec, and plans for a dye session at Sue's (our hostess) next month. I may have to do more dyeing anyway, since sales this weekend knocked out a number of my new skeins, and I now have holes in the color selection. Also I now have a lot of knitting to do to be ready for craft sales, since a bunch of that stock went as well.

It's the atmosphere at Sue's which is great. Everyone is relaxed and enjoying themselves, even the animals. Sue's chickens wandered about between the people, her dog trotted here and there supervising, and the cats went about their own business. A mother duck and 6 ducklings (including one with an adorable little tuft like a crown at the back of its head) came and swam in the trough by our building while we set up, but she took her children away when the traffic started getting busy, like a responsible mother. So many people visited with their dogs - often more than one dog per person - but I never saw or heard any of them fighting or causing trouble.

Kids were everywhere too. There's a grand tree fort (in the tree center of second picture) which there were kids in all weekend. A puppet show twice a day and some craft sessions were given. And the tent for an animal adoption agency near us, with several kittens and a pair of dogs, was rarely without a few kids (and adults) playing with the critters.

In point of fact, there were only a few small things wrong with the weekend as a whole. We had no chance to see Havelock Fair, except for dropping off and picking up entries, and little time at home to do other chores. I managed to pick up a bushel or so of walnuts (but not crack them for drying), cut greenweed to be dried, and pick part of the ripe pokeberries. One or two loads of laundry got done while the water was temporarily on again Saturday, but for most of the time, the toilet was behind a tree (fun in the middle of the night, eh?), and the water was coming from the old well in buckets. Hopefully this week my parents will get that fixed - for two days it's OK, but a week of it starts to be inconvenient.