The Fiber Arts Festival in Charlevoix was wonderful. This is one of the 6 fleeces that I purchased. It is a gray Icelandic fleece from a sheep named Ink. It is now washed and I am awaiting some Alpaca fiber samples which I will blend with it prior to spinning!
I also bought 5 beautiful Romney and Romney X fleeces from Big Hand Farm in Boyne City. The sheep were covered so the VM is minimal and the staple length is 5"-6"! I have one of the fleeces washed and it is a beautiful snowy white with a little luster. I have ordered some Merino top and some Bombyx silk to blend with the Romney. Time to get the dyepots out!
I also bought some yarn from Briar Rose for a couple of projects that I would like to knit. I think I have enough projects to keep me busy for the (shhhh) winter!
But the best find at the festival was a woolpicker!! I have been shopping on the internet for one and decided to wait until after the fiber festival. I was not really expecting to find one but I stopped in a booth shared by 4 women to look at the Icelandic fleece pictured above. As I was standing there talking to one of the ladies, out of the corner of my eye I spotted it sitting in the corner with a price tag on it. As it turned out, it was made by the husband of the lady to whom I was talking. As soon as I touched it, I new it had found a home!
