Where Am I?

I am here, just not posting much.  I'm going through one of those lulls.  I'm not writing much, and I'm not reading other peoples' blogs.  Sorry.  It is partly the nice weather and all the yard work and trying to ride my bicycle more often, and it is partly getting ready for classes and shows.  It's all good, but I've been absent.  

I have a couple of new designs ready, which I will have this weekend at the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair at Hallockville Museum Farm this weekend.  I love this show -- because it is close to home and I get to see all my friends and neighbors and because I love Hallockville.  It is a sweet, small museum run by the tireless Executive Director Herb Strobel and his trusty sidekick, Assistant Director Beth Motschenbacher and lots of volunteers.  I have been a member for years, and I have demonstrated rug hooking there in one manner or another for the last two decades.  It feels like home.

Here's the information for this year's Fleece and Fiber Fair:

THE LONG ISLAND FLEECE AND FIBER FAIR

Hallockville Museum Farm  6038 Sound Avenue  Riverhead, NY 11901 631-298-5292

May 16 & 17, 2015 10am- 4pm both days- Rain or Shine!

The Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair is the first of its kind in the region to bring together the diversity of fiber arts activities! Visitors will see and learn how local artisans craft wool and other animal fiber into beautiful finished pieces of clothing and art. The fair provides two fun-filled days of demonstrations and hands-on learning that can be enjoyed by the whole family. Visit both days for a variety of demonstrations, workshops and local artisans selling their handmade supplies and products in the Naugles Barn Fiber Market! There is something for everyone.

The setting for the Fair is like nowhere else on Long Island- the various activities and demonstrations take place throughout the picturesque Hallockville Museum Farm campus and in the historic buildings that date back to 1765.  Food vendors sell a variety of freshly-prepared lunch items for guests to enjoy while relaxing in the picnic area shaded by apple trees. If you are visiting from New York city, you may purchase tickets to ride on the private charter coach by following the red button at right. Sit back and relax as the bus takes you door-to-door from Manhattan to the Fair!

For the safety of all animals on display at the event, please leave your dogs and pets at home. Thank you for your cooperation.

Admission rate per day:
$6 adults/ $4 ages 5-12, ages 4 & under are free. Family rate of 2 adults+2kids, or 1 adult + 3 kids is $15.
All admission fees directly support the not-for-profit educational mission of Hallockville Museum Farm.

Demonstrations and Activities Include:

Animal Displays- Meet the sheep, llamas, alpacas and angora rabbits that provide the fleece and fiber needed to make fiber goods like yarn!

Basketweaving- Learn how plant fibers are woven into baskets and other functional pieces.

Sheep Herding- Watch expert herders and their trained Border Collies move a flock of sheep across the pasture.

Llama Obstacle Course- The Long Island Livestock Company Youth Showteam will lead the llamas through the paces of various obstacles in a display of fancy footwork!

Sheep & Llama Shearing- Learn how fiber is harvested during informative demonstrations by an expert shearer.

Carding and Spinning- See raw fiber being de-tangled and teased apart to prepare for the next part of the process, spinning. Watch spinners at their wheels turn fiber into spun yarn!

Dyeing- Learn how natural and chemical dyes transform fleece and wool into every color under the rainbow.

Knitting- Watch knitters up close as they work on a variety of wearable pieces. Plus pick up new techniques you can use on your own projects.

Needle Felting- Learn about how you can create sculptures from wool felt with this interesting technique. NEW! this year we are offering a one-hour workshop on May 16 at 11:30 during the Fair. Details and sign up here.

Rug-Hooking- Watch and learn as skilled rug hookers demonstrate this craft.

Weaving- The Hallockville looms will be on display to see how fiber can be woven into cloth, and other pieces such as shawls and tapestries.

Quilting- Quilting artisans will demonstrate this technique and you can even try it out yourself!

Scenes from the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair

I tried posting from my smart phone on Saturday, but apparently it isn't smart enough!  Of course, it could have been me who wasn't so smart . . .  but we won't go there!  Here are some photographs of the weekend, which was beautiful and breezy and full of fiber.

Our Booth in the Naugles Barn

Our Wall of Wool

One of Barb's Bunnies

Barb's Hen on an Egg Pincushion

Sweet Sheep Pin by Barb/thimblefolk

Setting Up Saturday Morning

Taj Mahal Farm Fleece

Long Island Livestock Booth

Baskets by Barbara Blossey-Chuvalas

After Shearing

Angora Goat

Peconic Ruggers Setting Up

Mama and Baby Piggies

Cherry Blossom Time

The first week of May is spectacular around here -- we have our own little cherry blossom festival.  The street is lined with these trees and they just glow against the sky -- whether its blue -- like it was yesterday -- or gray and rainy like today.  In a few days the wind will lift the blossoms from the trees and we'll walk in swirls of pink snow.  Love it.

When I'm not out enjoying the spring flowers, I'm in the dye kitchen elbow deep in wool.  The colors just keep piling up.  I'm preparing for the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair to be held at Hallockville Museum Farm on May 17 & 18.  Barb and I have a booth in the barn.  It is always fun, so please come and see us!  If you are taking the bus from NYC, I've donated boxes of note cards to the goody bags they'll be giving out.

Dye Day and My Darling Daughter

I've been doing some dyeing, getting ready for the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair coming up in a couple of weeks.  I was inspired but the colors in the yard.  The daffodils are on the wane now, but the cherry trees that line our street are about to burst, as are my white lilacs.  The violets are out, the trillium are nodding their heavy heads, and the dandelions are everywhere!  So nice to see all this color after the long grey winter we had.

My daughter flew in on a red eye Friday.  She's spending a couple of days with us before a business meeting in Westchester tomorrow.  Its so nice to have her here.  No work for me today!  I'm going to enjoy her company while I have it.

Dan Tracy Designs

Meeting creative people is one of the best things about vending at fiber festivals. I met woodworker Dan Tracy at last year's Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair (coming up on May 17 & 18 this year).  Dan had a beautiful array of hand-turned wooden bowls, knitting needles, crochet hooks, and buttons.  I was particularly taken with his hand made tools -- I loved the feel of the wood in my hands.  How can wood feel so much like silk?  I suggested he try his hand at rug hooks, and gave him one of mine to take home.  (I am a collector of hooks, both old and new, so I have plenty to share.) It wasn't long before he sent me a rug hook of his own making -- he even wrought the actual hook from brass. The handle is made of spalted maple (spalting is the discoloration that occurs in wood from stress or fungus affecting a tree while it is alive).  Isn't it a beauty?  I love it.  The brass hook is nice and deep which makes grabbing wool strips easy, and the handle fits my hand just right.

It wasn't long before Dan made more hooks . . .  and started making proddy tools after he discovered that many rug hookers make prodded rugs too.  He uses a variety of woods:  buckthorn, curly maple, cherry, apple, spalted maple --  some natural, some dyed -- each one more beautiful than the last.  He makes pencil hooks as well as regular hooks, and he offers a variation in the length and width of the shafts and the handles, so you are sure to find one you love.  He signs each hook, too.   

These are not just hooks to last your lifetime, they are heirlooms!

A rug hooker mentioned snippet bowls to Dan recently, so of course, he made some snippet bowls.  He sent me pictures of them.  They were all lovely, but I confessed that I am a slob, and my snippets all land on the floor until I force myself to get out the vacuum and suck them up.  A few days later, my very own personalized snippet bowl arrived in the mail.  Dan is not just a great woodworker, he's a really nice and thoughtful guy.

I will be selling Dan's hooks and proddy tools at the shows Barb and I do this year, so if you want to test one out, come by our booth. (Go to the Shows and Events tab in the navigation bar above to see where we'll be this year.) Of course, you can contact Dan yourself at his website: Dan Tracy Designs, where you can see a video of Dan in action and read about his process.  He's also on etsy and Facebook. Dan will be here live and in person for the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair at Hallockville next month, so stop by and see him and his exquisitely made wood work.

On the March

I'm so happy to see the back end of February. Even though there is still snow on the ground and the thermometer read 18 degrees when I woke this morning, the days are getting longer, the sun is growing stronger, and the birds are returning to Greenport. March means spring is drawing near!

A few weeks ago a large flock of robins (what were they doing here so early?) descended on our front porch, eating all the winterberries from the Christmas bouquet in my sap bucket.  I watched them for a while, flitting and flying against the monochromatic background of white snow and gray sky.  I thought about how their wings are sort of paisley-shaped and wouldn't it be fun to hook a whimsical bird with paisley designs all over it? I decided to design a new pattern called Birds and Branches. It's a fairly large mat, to fit the piece of linen left over after I draw a White Whale Tavern pattern.  (I am always trying to find a way to piece together my patterns so that I don't waste any costly linen.)  

I measured the piece of linen and did the arithmetic to have the pattern fall with a four inch border, but, of course, I measured wrong and the pattern is too big.  Arrgh.  Measure twice, cut once.  I'm now in the process of redrawing the pattern to fit the linen.

The bird pattern sparked another paisley-centric design, this time with a sheep instead of birds.  I have paisley on the brain, obviously.  I also have sheep and fiber festivals on the brain -- our show season will start in a month and a half with the 105th Connecticut Sheep and Wool Festival on April 26, 2014, followed by the Long Island Fleece and Fiber May 17 and 18, 2014.  I want to have lots of new stuff for our customers, so I'd better get down to business!

Scenes from the Weekend

Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair

It's that time!  Hallockville is hosting, once again, the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair, along with the Long Island Livestock Company.  Barb is heading down today while I work on a few last minute things.  We will be in the Naugles born on the west side of the farm.  Please come and visit!  The weatherman says it will be a beautiful weekend!

I also want to give you a head's up on our next show.  Barb and I are pleased to announce that we will be vending at the Eastern Long Island Quilt Show, June 8 & 9 at Suffolk Community College in Riverhead, New York.  More information to follow, but to learn more now go here: Eastern Long Island Quilters Guild.

Scenes from the Long Island Fleece & Fiber Fair

Our booth

In the Naugles Barn

The Peconic Ruggers Booth

  

Sheep

Two day old lambs and their mama!

My favorite: Angora Goats

Bake Sale

We had a wonderful weekend weather-wise out on the Hallockville Farm.  The wind blew relentlessly on Saturday morning.  Even though our booth was in the barn, the wind whipped through the open doors and just wore me out!  Attendance was good, the animals were wonderful (I didn't get photos of the rabbits, lamas and alpacas, unfortunately.) I enjoyed watching the dogs on the agility course and I enjoyed conversing with all the fiber-loving folks who stopped by.  Next up: Barb and I hit the road for the Midwest Fiber & Folk Art Fair in Illinois, just about a month from now.

I've been meaning to write about my spectacular Mother's Day, but haven't had the time.  It was such a great day, I am having a hard time finding the words to describe it . . .

Fun at the Fair

Here are some photos of the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair.  We had a foggy start to the day, but a lot of fun.

Don't Be a Day Late and a Dollar Short . . .

Like me!

Tomorrow is the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair at Hallockville Museum Farm.  Barb and I will be vending.  My guild, the Peconic Ruggers, will be there, too, demonstrating and spreading the gospel of rug hooking.  Come and join us, pet the animals, and try your hand at a variety of fiber arts.  It will be a great day out on the farm.  Hope to see you there.

For pictures of last year's fair and more info, click here: Hallockville

Hallockville Fleece & Fiber Fair

Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair

Saturday, May 22, 10 AM to 5 PM

6038 Sound Avenue, Riverhead, NY

 

Click here to read more about it: Hallockville

 

I wish I could attend this event at Hallockville this weekend, but Clara is graduating on the same day!  The Peconic Ruggers will be there, and will give a formal demonstration at 2 pm in the Chicanowitz House.  They'll have frames and hooks available so you can try your hand at rug hooking.