Sunday, June 29, 2014

The Festival

So I mentioned in my last post that I attended the Magnolia State Fiber Festival again this year.  Last year was a blast so I was really looking forward to this year even though Melissa couldn't go because she had to work but it was great that Stacy could go and Lorelei was there again plus some other great friends from my LYS so I felt better (<--masterful use of the run-on sentence, thank you).  Once again, we booked in at the Anchuca Mansion in Vicksburg, MS for our stay.  I couldn’t get the same room we had last year, which was awesome, so we took the one across the hall which was pretty cool but definitely not awesome like last year, which is why the only pics I really have of the B & B are of the pool:

See that gray sky?  Yep, it pretty much rained all weekend.

However, my friend Stacy and I went up the day before everything started and did some extra sight seeing.  We landed at the Biedenharn Coca-Cola Museum in downtown Vicksburg.  Vicksburg was the first place Coca-Cola was actually bottled for distribution.  Before then, to get a Coke you had to visit a shop with a soda fountain like this one:  

Where's Lisa?





Yes, that’s me behind the blue phone in the mirror, the presence of which clearly demonstrates my smokin’ photography skills.  There was also a lot of Coke memorabilia, which was cool.  More pictures of that can be found here on my Google+ page (warning--I am totally NOT that blond anymore, although I would be if I could justify spending my yarn money on my hair).










Goat cheese is my Kryptonite
During the festival, we also enjoyed some great food.  In fact, Stacy and I ate twice at the Walnut Hills Restaurant (once by ourselves and once after the whole crew had gotten there) where we had this yummy plate of chicken breast stuffed with spinach and goat cheese served over angel hair pasta.  

It was so good, we ate it at both visits.



And as for the festival, it was good.  I have to say it was not as great as a year ago, as one of the vendors I liked the most last year, Yarnhouse Studio from Opelika, AL, was not there.  I scored some fabulous Madelinetosh at their booth last time.  I scored zero Madelinetosh this time.  But here is a pic of my yarn haul:

Much smaller than last year, no?

The pretty pink and gray fingering yarn is from Heavenly Fiber.  I’ve decided it doesn’t want to be a pair of socks, but I don’t know exactly what it wants to be yet.  I’m open for ideas (I've got 438 yards).  The gorgeous silver/gray yarn is 100% silk lace weight from Lost City Knits.  I bought a skein of their silk last year and I’d been looking forward to getting another all year.  If I can ever find the courage to actually wind the silk, it will turn into something lovely.  The two blue skeins are LCK’s Twin Canyon Merino/Silk blend.  I bought a skein of this last year too and it was wonderful to knit with.  I used it to make my Stadium Upgrade scarf. 

If Lost City Knits had not been there, this trip would have been a colossal disappointment.  There was a lot of fiber there, but mostly un-spun.  Spinners were happy.  Non-spinners, not so much.  So, in order to fend off my resentment for a lack of yarn, I decided to buy this:

Rookie alert...
It’s a drop spindle and some batting. (Did I get that right, Stacy? Stacy knows the difference between roving and batting and every other fiber-y thing produced because she is awesomely crafty and totally rocks anything she sets her hand to.)  Using a drop spindle is a very low-tech way to spin your own yarn.  I have attempted to spin pictured fiber and can freely admit I totally suck at it.  However, I’m not giving up and might even show you some pictures eventually, like maybe next year when I’ve managed to spin something that doesn’t look like a mutant fiber monster.



So there you have the recap from this year’s MSFF.  If there aren’t any additional yarn vendors next year, I probably won’t attend, although I hear there’s a great festival in Oxford, MS so a substitute road trip may be called for.  And with my yarny friends, that is always a good time…

Lisa

6 comments:

  1. The blue yarn is gorgeous and you will crack spinning - that fibre will turn into something fabulous!

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  2. I love the pink/gray yarn. I hope you get the spinning thing figured out. A few years ago at Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, I decided it would be a good idea to buy a wheel. Yeah not such a good idea, I've decided I don't have the patience for spinning right now ;)

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    1. Oh no! I am amazed when I see people spinning with a wheel. Not sure I'll ever get to that point, but never say never, right? : )

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  3. That is lovely roving you have and stick with the spindle. You'll get the hang of it and then think of all the lovely yarn you can make!

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  4. I can't decide which of your new yarns is prettiest. They're all so lovely!
    I keep coming back to this post and finally figured out why - the photo of the pool under a cloudy sky looks to me right now the way those beach photos of Hawaii normally look. Like heaven.

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