Our Trip To The New Jersey Sheep and Fiber Festival September 11, 2021

Saturday, September 11, 2021

Today was the NJ Sheep and Fiber festival Hunterdon County 4H Fairgrounds in Ringoes NJ on the usual 1st weekend after Labor Day Sep. 11-12, 2021.

The Sheep & Fiber Festival is presented annually to showcase the beauty of sheep and other fiber animals, as well as to offer a variety of products for sale by breeders, vendors and artisans.

This is the fourth time we've been to this one. They didn't have it last year because of Covid-19.

The weather forecast was sunny and for temperatures to be in the low 80's.

We left after breakfast at around 9:30. We had two stops to make before we could begin the actual trip. First we picked up a prescription at CVS and then filled the gas tank at WA-WA.

According to GPS - Seri - the trip to Ringoes, NJ would take us about 90 minutes.

The first hour of the route was very familiar. It's the way we go to my daughter's house.
The road, Route 539 is a two lane county highway.
There are many traffic light intersections along the way. This breaks up the traffic pattern into strings of about 4 - 10 cars steadily moving, caravan style.
Much of the route passes through isolated areas of the Pine Barrens and the eastern end of the Fort Dix entity of Joint Base McGuire–Dix–Lakehurst. In these stretches, the route has a speed limit of 55mph, one of the few two-lane roads in the state to carry a 55 mph limit. Along much of the road, there are passing and no-passing zones.

Now I am a strict observer of the speed limit. In the sections of the road where passing is allowed, it's annoyingly obvious to me that most drivers do not obey the speed limit because I always get passed. I never understand why these impatient people feel that those perhaps five minutes they may save by passing me is so urgent. I must admit I gleefully love it when I catch up to them at the next traffic light.
Even at my steady, obeying the speed limit speed, we arrived at the fair grounds in the 90 minutes that Siri predicted.

As we pulled into the entrance, there were people directing cars into the various parking areas. I think I was supposed to stop and pay an entrance fee. But I thought they were waving me on, not waving me to stop.
Oh well. Sorry, Sheep Breeders. I'll catch you next time.

Compared to other fiber festivals we have been to, this one is fairly small. There are four barns. Two of the barns are where the animals are being shown. The other two barns are filled with vendor booths. There are various types of vendors all having to do with fiber, and fiber crafting. I would say the majority of the vendors are selling yarn that they have hand dyed.

There were not a lot of people in the first two barns. They were the ones where the sheep and goats were being judged and shown.

The vendor barns were quite crowded. This posed a dilemma for me. Mask or no mask. I would say 2/3 of the people were not wearing masks. As we entered the vendor barn, I told Ross we should mask up.

Once we started through, Ross took his mask off. I kept mine on.

These festivals are typically tough to navigate through. Most of the vendors have single booths and they are small. Once the booths are filled with product displays, there isn't must room for customers to comfortably browse.

I was a little concerned about how Ross would do today. There is a lot of walking. Also, it can get quite warm in the barns. He is now a slow mover. He also gets distracted easily. In times past, I would usually be walking ahead of him, not worrying about whether he was in sight because I knew we would eventually catch up to each other.
Today, we walked side by side. Since he is somewhat unsteady on his feet, I suggested that he bring his cane and it did help.

Because customers were elbow to elbow in the booths, I wasn't comfortable being that close to others. I was constantly making sure I kept track of where Ross was which made browsing and shopping nearly impossible.

I personally know four of the vendors. I had another couple of favorite vendors that I wanted to visit.
I found the way the layout of the booths were described in the brochure difficult to understand.
For instance one of the booths I wanted to visit was listed as being located "4 SE Wall'.
Huh? I assume the 4 meant barn 4 and SE was the South East Wall? Again it was probably just me, but I couldn't even find where the barns were labeled as being 1, 2 3 or 4.
Even though we walked through the entire two vendor barns, I never found the booth at "4 SE Wall".

We did find Helen and Mary Beth of the "Crafty Toads" but they and their booth were so busy we just waved, said hello and then moved along.

We were able to chat a little with Christina the owner of Chelsea Yarns. Christina is also one of Ross' favorites. He enjoys exchanging quips with her. She helped me pick out yarn for a sweater pattern that she and a designer collaborated on.

The yarn is gorgeous! That turned out to be the only purchase I made today.


Normally, at these affairs, I would buy single skeins of yarn from various sellers. I have quite a stash of those singletons without a specific idea for their use.
I am quite happy with my one purchase this time because I bought enough yarn for a planned project.

After completing the tour of the two vendor barns, both of us had had enough.
I started out tired from 1-1/2 hour drive to get the fair. Knowing that I had another 1-1/2 hour drive back, I knew it was time to go.

There's a diner right near the fairgrounds. We decided to stop for lunch. We both had grilled cheese sandwiches and pink lemonades. It was a good break to be able to sit and relax before the drive home.

We got home around 3:30. We turned on the Navy game and chilled out the rest of the evening.

Yarn haul from Chelsea Yarns

Even though these fairs are hectic and sometimes impossible to navigate, I still love going. It's yarn. Yarn for for the hobby I love. Yarn and the hobby I love both keep me sane and giddily happy.

Move This Here and Put That There And Cozy Afghans Too

This weekend we had a tease of cooler weather.   I am happy to be living in a locale where there are definite season changes.   It's perfect for someone like me.  I tend to get get fidgety when things stay the same for too long.  I suppose it's the reason I frequently re-arrange my furniture.

I reflectively and mindfully understand that re-arranging things is a way for me to have control over something, while at the same time distracting myself from worrying about things that I have no control over.

An important factor that usually preempts a re-arranging episode is the acquisition of a new piece of something that I have to find a place for.    In a way, I suppose the acquiring of things is another example of a benign way to rearrange my "life".

I would describe the moods of acquisition and re-arranging to be obsessive and compulsive, respectively.

Ross will testify, in awe, of the many times he has left the house, only to come back to find a huge armoire moved from one room to another or the bedroom flipped all around.

The most recent rearrangement happened yesterday at 6:00 a.m.

There was a course of events precipitating this one, which I will attempt to describe.  It may seem rambling and have no context, but at the end it will all make sense.

I am an enthusiastically compulsive knitter and crocheter.  In conjunction with my hobby, I have joyfully acquired and accumulated massive quantities of gorgeous yarn.  In knititng/crochet lingo these yarn quantities are referred to as stash.

Most crafty people are constantly either oohing and ahhing over their stash or they are having extreme feelings of guilt.  It's a back and forth kind of experience.

For the past month or so I have been in the guilt stage of my stash.

I thought the best way to accomplish an effective de-stash was to knit and crochet blankets or afghans.   Blankets and afghans use up a lot of yarn.

So in two months I completed one afghan and am halfway through another.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that over many years I have knit or crocheted over 50 blankets and afghans.  Most of those have been given away as gifts.

I also have quite a collection myself.  Some are slung over the backs of sofas and chairs. Others are folded at the foot of beds.

I have come to understand that these creations, which have become a welcome part of our home,  provide comfort and warmth for not only us, but for many of our guests.
They are within easy reach and are often the first object the kids grab when they settle in to spend the weekend.

They trigger memories of my mom's last days when she stayed with us.  She loved our bright sunroom and would often nap on the sofa, covered up with an afghan that she herself had crotched.  That afghan, now lovingly draped over "her" sunroom sofa is a bitter sweet reminder of my mom.

As I worked on my recent afghan project,  I stopped now and then to admire the design of the stitch and the color choices I made.

When I looked at the individual blankets here and there around the room, I began to see them not only as comfort pieces, but as works of art.   It was then that I decided they should be displayed that way.  At that moment,  the compulsion to find a blanket rack kicked into high gear.

I began the search with our local second hand shop.  It was my lucky day because I immediately found a rack in very good condition.  I think I paid five or ten bucks for it.

But, I could only fit three blankets on it and I definitely have more than three.   It took me a couple of days to find another one.  Which I did at Goodwill.

Now I had two blanket racks displaying three blankets on each one.  But I had no place for them.
They needed a special place.

On a sleepless Monday, at 3:00 a.m. I began planning my furniture re-arrangement.  By the time I got up out of bed at 5:30, I knew exactly what was going to be moved and where it was going to be moved.

When I am in my re-arrangement mania, the adrenaline is pumping.   I can lift, haul, carry and push if necessary, heavy and awkward pieces of anything. By the time Ross got up that morning, I had moved around and or swapped two chairs, a lavender wicker desk with matching chair, a table, a foot stool and a storage chest.   I'm not quite sure I like the wicker desk in that spot.  I think it needs a piece of art on the wall above the desk.

I do like the blanket racks and the way they show off my creations.

I am content...for now.

 Are you a "re-arranger" or are you one who "likes things just the way they are?

A to Z 2019 April Blogger Challenge - The Letter Y - Yearly

I will be posting six days a week for the month of April - (with a rest day on Sunday).
Each post will begin with the corresponding letter of the alphabet beginning with A and finishing with the letter Z.

I began participating in this challenge in 2012.   With the exception of last year, I believe I completed the challenge each year.   Last year I lost steam somewhere around the letter W.

Yearly

I have mentioned in my previous posts that I host a YouTube podcast called Joey's Scarf.  The main themes are knitting, crochet and yarn.   The podcast name is in honor of my son Joe.  Joe passed away from colon cancer in 2011.
I started the podcast in January of 2017.  On an episode in February of that year I asked followers of my podcast to join me in knitting or crocheting something in honor of someone they lost.  Or perhaps they would want to create an item for someone they care about.
Personally, when I am making something for a specific person, I am thinking about that person while I am knitting or crocheting.    
I asked the participants to share what they were making, who they were making it for and why.
I explained that on the anniversary of Joe's birth, April 4th, I would randomly select someone from the group and send that person a gift of appreciation. 
Beside me there were six others who joined me.  The stories from each one touched my heart.  The items they made were beautiful. 
One of the women had just lost her daughter to cancer.  Even though we are thousands of miles apart, we made a connection and continue to keep in touch through social media.
That first year I decided to send each of the woman a little something to show my appreciation.  Their participation was a comfort to me, especially at that time of the year, near Joe's birthday. 

This has become an annual event.  April 4, 2019 was the completion of the third one.  Some of the same women have participated each year,  as well as a couple of new people.   I continue to appreciate the sometimes heartbreaking and but always heartfelt experiences that have been shared with me each time.

A to Z 2019 April Blogger Challenge - The Letter K In My Space

It's April - That means I will be participating in the A to Z Blog Challenge.

I will be posting six days a week for the month of April - (with a rest day on Sunday).
Each post will begin with the corresponding letter of the alphabet beginning with A and finishing with the letter Z.

I began participating in this challenge in 2012.   With the exception of last year, I believe I completed the challenge each year.   Last year I lost steam somewhere around the letter W.

Knitting

Of course my K word is Knitting.  It takes up space in my our life.  Yes, knitting also takes up space in Ross' life.  Or I should say our together life. 

In his own way Ross is involved in my knitting.  

I find it endearing that he pays attention to what I'm knitting.  
"What's that going to be?" he'll ask.
Or he'll try to guess, "A pair of socks?" 

Sometimes, when I get frustrated with a project to the point where I will rip it out, he'll gasp and say "You're not taking the whole thing out, are you?"  
He's always shocked when I do that and he always says the same thing.

He comes yarn shopping with me most of the time.  As he follows me up and down the aisles, he will occasionally  pick up a skein and ask, "What about this one?"  
He hasn't quite gotten the the fact that yarn comes in different weights, so he shops for yarn by color.
His color pallet taste is different than mine.  He likes the grays, navies and tans.  
I like all the other colors.
Once he realizes that I'm going to be awhile and that I'm not going to buy that gray yarn, he'll find a chair to sit on and pull out his kindle.   He is very patient.

Together we have been to many yarn festivals.  Yes, for those not familiar with the knitting world, there is such a thing as a celebration of yarn and the animals that give it to us.  
Mainly, though a yarn festival is a way for all creators of anything having to do with knitting and crocheting to congregate and show off their wares and hopefully sell then too.

 Ross takes part in my knitting YouTube podcast, which is called "Joey's Scarf."  He will pop in at the end to say hello.  He does have a fan base. 😉

I like to show off my accomplishments.  He is my photo shoot photographer.

Since he genuinely seems interested I thought he should learn to knit. 

Apparently he is more comfortable on the periphery of my knitting space.


Dear Ross, 
If you happen to read this post, and in case I have not told you this before, I love that you are in my space, whatever space that happens to be.
Happy Birthday!! Love, 💕
Lynda

A to Z 2019 April Blogger Challenge The Letter C - Hooks and String

It's April - That means I will be participating in the A to Z Blog Challenge.


I will be posting six days a week for the month of April - (with a rest day on Sunday).
Each post will begin with the corresponding letter of the alphabet beginning with A and finishing with the letter Z.

I began participating in this challenge in 2012.   With the exception of last year, I believe I completed the challenge each year.   Last year I lost steam somewhere around the letter W.
Let's see how far I get this year.

Crochet

I've been crocheting for 40 plus years.  I started when I was pregnant with my first child, Jennifer.
I became interested when I saw the beautiful items my mother-in-law made.

I think the first thing I learned to crochet was the "Granny Square".  And at the time mostly grannies were the only ones crocheting.

I've made many afghans over the years.  My most ambitious project was this one.  It's pretty cool, don't you think?

It is made up of granny squares.

Each square is about 3-1/2".  There are 17 squares across and 17 squares down.  Which means there are 289 squares.

There is one odd square.  Can you spot it?

It's kind of amazing what one can create with a hook and string.

When I first started crocheting, the only places available to buy hooks, string or yarn was the local 5 & 10, the drugstore, or a general all purpose store like K-Mart.

The hooks were plain - steel for fine cotton work, aluminum for heavier blanket acrylic yarn.

Now, of course there are many different styles of hooks and many different choices of yarn. Both can be found at a local yarn store or online.



Crocheting has made a come back and is quite popular among people of all ages and genders.




I am mostly a knitter now, but I still love to crochet and when I get a little bored with knitting, I'll pick up a hook and string.

A cozy crocheted shawl for spring