Sheep & Wool . . .
Before I start - my heart, thoughts, and prayers are with everyone in Florida facing Hurricane Irma. I have many friends there, and not all of them have evacuated . . . I hope it's not as horrible as it appears it will be. Thinking of you all.
I went to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival this weekend. It was great!
My plan was to take a couple days off work - greatly needed - and drive up on Friday and come home Sunday with a recovery day on Monday. The plan was to shop on Friday, go to a nice restaurant Friday night in Whitewater (where I was staying), take two classes on Saturday, go to the Lamb Dinner Saturday night, participate in something called Unwind Saturday evening off-site, go back Sunday morning for a last look around, and then a leisurely drive home with recovery day on Monday.
Things went pretty much according to plan. There were a few changes and some welcome additions!
Unwind was cancelled before it started - the organizer didn't book the hall . . . Oh well, I'd never attended so didn't know what I might be missing :-D
First, my friend, T, met me up there on Friday and we had a terrific time!! We don't get to see each other very often even though we are not all that far away - real life conspires against us in this regard quite often - but we had a great day and got some very good shopping in. We are excellent shopping partners. She has very good color sense, and she is always well prepared with her list! We also had plenty of time to catch up with each other, which was very welcome.
The day started with a quick rain shower. I remain thankful for the tiny travel umbrella my cousin, ME gave me to me for one of my overseas trips a number of years ago. It remains tucked in a side pocket of my backpack and it came in very handy for the very short cloudburst as I watched the sheepdog trials and waited for T to get there. I think the dogs we saw were young - there was more hollering than whistling, and "LIE DOWN" was the command that most of the dogs struggled with. Of the ones I saw, only two managed to pen the sheep - and one of those, unfortunately, ran out of time. It was clear that another youngster wasn't quite ready when its owner re-leashed it and retired from the field. Another very funny episode happened when one competitor finally got down to the sheep at the far end of the field to return them, and instead chased them in to the parking lot :-D But it was very fun to see them - I always enjoy sheep dog trials.
Happily ran in to K, another friend, during lunch on Friday and we discovered that we were staying at the same hotel! She came with me Friday evening to a very good farm-to-table restaurant in Whitewater, called The Black Sheep, where I had made a reservation for dinner. We both had goat meatloaf (which was a mixture of beef and goat)! I had a very good glass of Petite Syrah. K had poutine for a starter, which she let me taste. I confess I never have to have it again. Maybe it's because I'm not a gravy person (never have been - my mom never made it - just not big on sauces), because, French fries: Yum! Cheese: Yum!
I also saw my friend, D, but she was working in a booth so we didn't have much time to catch up with each other. Also ran in to a local friend I'm not particularly close to any longer. It was lovely to see her and I miss her, but it wasn't my choice to distance myself. So it goes; still, it was very nice to see her again. Ran in to another friend, K2, in the parking lot (where I always try to park in the "Duck" lane - I park on the back side of it so I always think "Duck Butt" and never lose the car :-D) Anyway, I was so happy that she flagged me down and I had a few minutes with her and her travel companions to catch up as I headed to my afternoon class. On the way to said class, I ran in to a FB friend I had never met in person! How fun!! I say "ran in to" for all these, because they all found me. Apparently I'm pretty clueless when I'm shopping :-D
I stayed at the Baymont Inn in Whitewater. It was OK, but I will not stay there again. The bed was horrible - like a rock - and after a long day of walking on concrete on Friday, my feet, legs, and spine were so tired and painful that I really needed a good night's sleep. It was not to be. I woke multiple times in the night in pain from the mattress . . . and the towels were about four grades below what my health club has . . . Alrighty then.
I headed back to the Festival early Saturday morning to start my classes. My morning class was Blending on a Hackle, taught my friend, Diana Armes Wallace. I've taken this class before - this repeat was to cement my knowledge. I have my own hackle (from the first time I took her class), but I got a great leather cover for it this from her this time. I gained new knowledge and definitely cemented what I had learned from her previously! Yay!
Saturday afternoon was a class with Jane Grogan - she's wonderful! I had taken continuous strand weaving from her years ago at the now defunct Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair. This time, I took a pin loom weaving class. It was great! I got a new pin loom - a 4" one, and we made little sachets. I was frustrated with the yarn that kept breaking on me, but I learned a lot and really enjoyed seeing Jane again and taking class from her.
I had wanted to take this class because I have a 2" pin loom that was my grandmother's - not my Irish grandmother - my other one. I had a few things from her that I never knew what they were - one was the pin loom, and the other was a linen tester (which is a tool you use in spinning). I never saw her do any handwork of any sort, which makes it interesting that these things came from her.
The only drawback about both of my classes was the chairs. Oh brother . . . I am admittedly well-padded, except, apparently on the very bottom of my ass. JesusMaryandJoseph the chairs were awful! This, combined with the terrible night's sleep I'd had at the hotel the night before made for the one major change in my weekend plans.
I got a little more shopping in on Saturday after my afternoon class, and then I went to the Lamb Dinner. Food at the fair last year was very poor. This year they had some food trucks, which were a welcome addition. I ate lunch from Noosh, a Sephardic Jewish food truck from Madison, both Friday and Saturday. OMG it was great!! Yum! I had a lamb sausage gyro both days because it seemed the easiest, and because I got some yogurt/tzatziki sauce with it (calcium :-D). The official fairgrounds food vendor this year appeared to be very understaffed all weekend and the lines were unreal both days. Because of the lines, I never tried it. Both days at Noosh, the lines were shorter and very, very fast! And - the food was excellent! If you live in Madison, look for the Noosh truck!
Back to the Lamb Dinner. The menu was posted:
American Lamb and condiments
Spicy Lamb Meatballs
Cabbage Salad
Saffron Rice
Rolls & Butter
Raspberry Layer Cake
Frosted Layer Cake
Iced Tea, Milk & Lemonade (never saw any milk, and I couldn't get any water!)
I don't know what I was expecting (certainly not table decorations in the orange and blue Chicago Bears' colors in the middle of Packerland :-D). Actually, I do know what I was expecting. I thought they were going to roast lamb at the fairgrounds. Nope. It was slices of lamb in a steam tray. :-( The meatballs were not spicy, but then I didn't have the sauce. The Cabbage Salad was Cole Slaw - I had a lot of this because I never saw any rice. There was a steam tray of veg, but it was empty when I went through the line. They had cheesy potatoes (maybe instead of the rice? Or maybe that was a Saffron Rice??? I don't think so, but you know, I'm not sure :-D ), which were salt bombs, but I did have some because I was hungry. I also had some Cake (frosted but not layered) because it wasn't chocolate. I had some Lemonade because I couldn't get water - I only drank half of it because it was pretty much just liquid sugar (which does not always agree with me).
So - a very disappointing dinner that I had really been looking forward to. And not well-attended, either. Kinda thinking others knew something I did not . . .
And now we come to the major change in my weekend plan. On my way back to "Duck Butt" in the parking lot, I realized that I just could not face another night in that hotel bed. So, I drove back to Whitewater, got my suitcase, handed in my room key, and took the hit for the cost of a night I had paid for but not cancelled in enough time. I got on the road home at 7 o'clock and was home by 9:45.
I will never use the GPS in my car again. Granted, I haven't paid to update it since I got the car three years ago. I haven't done so because I have a TomTom with free lifetime maps. Oh. My. God. On the way there, once I left the expressway, the car GPS thought I was in a field for about an hour of the trip. And then, on the way home, it took me all the way over to Lake Geneva, and pretty far in to Illinois on Route 12. I finally picked up I-290 in Schaumburg. For those of you cognizant of the Chicagoland area, I know you're laughing that I was on Route 12. I should have just pulled out the TomTom - I will use it exclusively in the future.
My last hiccup of the night was not knowing that the exit ramp off the Tollway at Dixie Highway is currently shut down. This has to be extremely recent because I used it in the last couple of weeks. I had to drive a few miles out of my way to the Halsted Street exit All in all, however, not a horrible thing. I made it home, unpacked the car, partially exploded my suitcase, drank half a liter of water and and fell asleep in the chair in the sunroom :-D I woke up and got into bed about 11:45 and slept like a stone. I got up around 7, I think, and then fell asleep in the chair again this morning for an hour :-D I have been pounding water all day, attempting to get rehydrated. My normal 3 liters/day did not happen on either Friday or Saturday.
And, after all that I know you really just wanted to know what I got, right? :-D Here's the haul:
And here's the part of the haul that's actually for me:
L-R, Back: the leather cover for my hackle, two interesting cook books, a black Christmas dish towel that will be perfect in my white/black kitchen, more beautiful cards from Barb Lassa, some Eucalan (I can now block my Find Your Fade!), and some Frabjous Fibers silk hankies.
L-F, Front: Blackberry Ridge Colorflow worsted weight in the Bright Santa Fe colorway, Ogle Designs Nature Trail sock yarn in the River Rock colorway, Blackberry Ridge Kaleidoscope fingering weight in the Boundary Waters colorway - and Kaleidoscope Sport Weight in the Autumn Oak colorway, Ewetopia BFL BFF in the Tree Swallow colorway (sweater quantity), some Apple Jack & Peel scented soap, some lavender hand scrub, a Chibi and a new Susan Bates ruler, and a cute little pull-open bag to put stuff in in my backpack!
That's the story! Even though I came home a day early, I highly recommend this festival. The vendors are great, and varied, and a lot of them you don't see at big shows like Stitches. I saw a lot of the "clown barf" yarn that has bee popular for the past few years (neon brights, lots of speckles, etc.), but I also saw a lot of truly gorgeous stuff (some of which came home with me :-) ). Even with the disappointment of the long awaited Lamb Dinner, the food was WAY better this year than last, and there were a LOT more choices. In addition, this festival offers some of the best classes around. They offer some really interesting classes and have a LOT of variety in them.
I'm still taking tomorrow off ;-)
This cover of an old Stevie Wonder tune is one of my favorites. Something mellow for a September Sunday, and hey, let's face it, sometimes you just need a little Luther, . . .
I went to the Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival this weekend. It was great!
My plan was to take a couple days off work - greatly needed - and drive up on Friday and come home Sunday with a recovery day on Monday. The plan was to shop on Friday, go to a nice restaurant Friday night in Whitewater (where I was staying), take two classes on Saturday, go to the Lamb Dinner Saturday night, participate in something called Unwind Saturday evening off-site, go back Sunday morning for a last look around, and then a leisurely drive home with recovery day on Monday.
Things went pretty much according to plan. There were a few changes and some welcome additions!
Unwind was cancelled before it started - the organizer didn't book the hall . . . Oh well, I'd never attended so didn't know what I might be missing :-D
First, my friend, T, met me up there on Friday and we had a terrific time!! We don't get to see each other very often even though we are not all that far away - real life conspires against us in this regard quite often - but we had a great day and got some very good shopping in. We are excellent shopping partners. She has very good color sense, and she is always well prepared with her list! We also had plenty of time to catch up with each other, which was very welcome.
The day started with a quick rain shower. I remain thankful for the tiny travel umbrella my cousin, ME gave me to me for one of my overseas trips a number of years ago. It remains tucked in a side pocket of my backpack and it came in very handy for the very short cloudburst as I watched the sheepdog trials and waited for T to get there. I think the dogs we saw were young - there was more hollering than whistling, and "LIE DOWN" was the command that most of the dogs struggled with. Of the ones I saw, only two managed to pen the sheep - and one of those, unfortunately, ran out of time. It was clear that another youngster wasn't quite ready when its owner re-leashed it and retired from the field. Another very funny episode happened when one competitor finally got down to the sheep at the far end of the field to return them, and instead chased them in to the parking lot :-D But it was very fun to see them - I always enjoy sheep dog trials.
Happily ran in to K, another friend, during lunch on Friday and we discovered that we were staying at the same hotel! She came with me Friday evening to a very good farm-to-table restaurant in Whitewater, called The Black Sheep, where I had made a reservation for dinner. We both had goat meatloaf (which was a mixture of beef and goat)! I had a very good glass of Petite Syrah. K had poutine for a starter, which she let me taste. I confess I never have to have it again. Maybe it's because I'm not a gravy person (never have been - my mom never made it - just not big on sauces), because, French fries: Yum! Cheese: Yum!
I also saw my friend, D, but she was working in a booth so we didn't have much time to catch up with each other. Also ran in to a local friend I'm not particularly close to any longer. It was lovely to see her and I miss her, but it wasn't my choice to distance myself. So it goes; still, it was very nice to see her again. Ran in to another friend, K2, in the parking lot (where I always try to park in the "Duck" lane - I park on the back side of it so I always think "Duck Butt" and never lose the car :-D) Anyway, I was so happy that she flagged me down and I had a few minutes with her and her travel companions to catch up as I headed to my afternoon class. On the way to said class, I ran in to a FB friend I had never met in person! How fun!! I say "ran in to" for all these, because they all found me. Apparently I'm pretty clueless when I'm shopping :-D
I stayed at the Baymont Inn in Whitewater. It was OK, but I will not stay there again. The bed was horrible - like a rock - and after a long day of walking on concrete on Friday, my feet, legs, and spine were so tired and painful that I really needed a good night's sleep. It was not to be. I woke multiple times in the night in pain from the mattress . . . and the towels were about four grades below what my health club has . . . Alrighty then.
I headed back to the Festival early Saturday morning to start my classes. My morning class was Blending on a Hackle, taught my friend, Diana Armes Wallace. I've taken this class before - this repeat was to cement my knowledge. I have my own hackle (from the first time I took her class), but I got a great leather cover for it this from her this time. I gained new knowledge and definitely cemented what I had learned from her previously! Yay!
Saturday afternoon was a class with Jane Grogan - she's wonderful! I had taken continuous strand weaving from her years ago at the now defunct Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair. This time, I took a pin loom weaving class. It was great! I got a new pin loom - a 4" one, and we made little sachets. I was frustrated with the yarn that kept breaking on me, but I learned a lot and really enjoyed seeing Jane again and taking class from her.
I had wanted to take this class because I have a 2" pin loom that was my grandmother's - not my Irish grandmother - my other one. I had a few things from her that I never knew what they were - one was the pin loom, and the other was a linen tester (which is a tool you use in spinning). I never saw her do any handwork of any sort, which makes it interesting that these things came from her.
The only drawback about both of my classes was the chairs. Oh brother . . . I am admittedly well-padded, except, apparently on the very bottom of my ass. JesusMaryandJoseph the chairs were awful! This, combined with the terrible night's sleep I'd had at the hotel the night before made for the one major change in my weekend plans.
I got a little more shopping in on Saturday after my afternoon class, and then I went to the Lamb Dinner. Food at the fair last year was very poor. This year they had some food trucks, which were a welcome addition. I ate lunch from Noosh, a Sephardic Jewish food truck from Madison, both Friday and Saturday. OMG it was great!! Yum! I had a lamb sausage gyro both days because it seemed the easiest, and because I got some yogurt/tzatziki sauce with it (calcium :-D). The official fairgrounds food vendor this year appeared to be very understaffed all weekend and the lines were unreal both days. Because of the lines, I never tried it. Both days at Noosh, the lines were shorter and very, very fast! And - the food was excellent! If you live in Madison, look for the Noosh truck!
Back to the Lamb Dinner. The menu was posted:
American Lamb and condiments
Spicy Lamb Meatballs
Cabbage Salad
Saffron Rice
Rolls & Butter
Raspberry Layer Cake
Frosted Layer Cake
Iced Tea, Milk & Lemonade (never saw any milk, and I couldn't get any water!)
I don't know what I was expecting (certainly not table decorations in the orange and blue Chicago Bears' colors in the middle of Packerland :-D). Actually, I do know what I was expecting. I thought they were going to roast lamb at the fairgrounds. Nope. It was slices of lamb in a steam tray. :-( The meatballs were not spicy, but then I didn't have the sauce. The Cabbage Salad was Cole Slaw - I had a lot of this because I never saw any rice. There was a steam tray of veg, but it was empty when I went through the line. They had cheesy potatoes (maybe instead of the rice? Or maybe that was a Saffron Rice??? I don't think so, but you know, I'm not sure :-D ), which were salt bombs, but I did have some because I was hungry. I also had some Cake (frosted but not layered) because it wasn't chocolate. I had some Lemonade because I couldn't get water - I only drank half of it because it was pretty much just liquid sugar (which does not always agree with me).
So - a very disappointing dinner that I had really been looking forward to. And not well-attended, either. Kinda thinking others knew something I did not . . .
And now we come to the major change in my weekend plan. On my way back to "Duck Butt" in the parking lot, I realized that I just could not face another night in that hotel bed. So, I drove back to Whitewater, got my suitcase, handed in my room key, and took the hit for the cost of a night I had paid for but not cancelled in enough time. I got on the road home at 7 o'clock and was home by 9:45.
I will never use the GPS in my car again. Granted, I haven't paid to update it since I got the car three years ago. I haven't done so because I have a TomTom with free lifetime maps. Oh. My. God. On the way there, once I left the expressway, the car GPS thought I was in a field for about an hour of the trip. And then, on the way home, it took me all the way over to Lake Geneva, and pretty far in to Illinois on Route 12. I finally picked up I-290 in Schaumburg. For those of you cognizant of the Chicagoland area, I know you're laughing that I was on Route 12. I should have just pulled out the TomTom - I will use it exclusively in the future.
My last hiccup of the night was not knowing that the exit ramp off the Tollway at Dixie Highway is currently shut down. This has to be extremely recent because I used it in the last couple of weeks. I had to drive a few miles out of my way to the Halsted Street exit All in all, however, not a horrible thing. I made it home, unpacked the car, partially exploded my suitcase, drank half a liter of water and and fell asleep in the chair in the sunroom :-D I woke up and got into bed about 11:45 and slept like a stone. I got up around 7, I think, and then fell asleep in the chair again this morning for an hour :-D I have been pounding water all day, attempting to get rehydrated. My normal 3 liters/day did not happen on either Friday or Saturday.
And, after all that I know you really just wanted to know what I got, right? :-D Here's the haul:
And here's the part of the haul that's actually for me:
L-F, Front: Blackberry Ridge Colorflow worsted weight in the Bright Santa Fe colorway, Ogle Designs Nature Trail sock yarn in the River Rock colorway, Blackberry Ridge Kaleidoscope fingering weight in the Boundary Waters colorway - and Kaleidoscope Sport Weight in the Autumn Oak colorway, Ewetopia BFL BFF in the Tree Swallow colorway (sweater quantity), some Apple Jack & Peel scented soap, some lavender hand scrub, a Chibi and a new Susan Bates ruler, and a cute little pull-open bag to put stuff in in my backpack!
That's the story! Even though I came home a day early, I highly recommend this festival. The vendors are great, and varied, and a lot of them you don't see at big shows like Stitches. I saw a lot of the "clown barf" yarn that has bee popular for the past few years (neon brights, lots of speckles, etc.), but I also saw a lot of truly gorgeous stuff (some of which came home with me :-) ). Even with the disappointment of the long awaited Lamb Dinner, the food was WAY better this year than last, and there were a LOT more choices. In addition, this festival offers some of the best classes around. They offer some really interesting classes and have a LOT of variety in them.
I'm still taking tomorrow off ;-)
This cover of an old Stevie Wonder tune is one of my favorites. Something mellow for a September Sunday, and hey, let's face it, sometimes you just need a little Luther, . . .
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