Last weekend Hubba and I went to the Estes Park Wool Market. This was my second time visiting, and Hubba wanted to come along. So of course I let him. ;-) I sure love that he appreciates fiber and fiber animals as much as I do and Estes Park is a great place to see it.
I know this is a smaller show, but the only other fiber show I've attended is the Taos Wool Festival. So if you were at TNNA last weekend, Maryland earlier this year or have attended Rhinebeck before, you may not be so impressed, but I'm gonna tell you about it anyway. ;-)
The Estes Park Wool Market is one of the few opportunities I have to see Cashmere Goats (my favorite) and lots of woolly sheep up close and personal.
The Estes Park Wool Market is one of the few opportunities I have to see Cashmere Goats (my favorite) and lots of woolly sheep up close and personal.
Of course, my knowledge of sheep breeds remains pitifully poor, but I do know the black goat is cashmere and the goat in the bucket is angora.
There was a Paco-Vicuna tent. I sure do like their faces. :-)
There was a Paco-Vicuna tent. I sure do like their faces. :-)
There were llamas, alpacas and bunnies too, but I apparently didn't take any photos of them. :-/
However, I did get a few shots of the sheepdog demonstration. I really enjoyed it because I hadn't seen a herding dog in action before.
However, I did get a few shots of the sheepdog demonstration. I really enjoyed it because I hadn't seen a herding dog in action before.
In my opinion, Estes Park is a fantastically beautiful place and I always enjoy visiting. It's at the entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park and home to the Stanley Hotel. You may have heard of the Stanley Hotel if you know much about The Shining.
Estes Park sees a huge tourist season in the summer. So I believe the Wool Market is perfectly timed between winter and vacationers. :-)
Oh, I almost forgot... this is a Fiber Arts Friday post. ;-)
I have learned to bring a canvas bag and pocket of cash to things like fiber (and veggie) markets so I don't bring home or spend too much. With that being said, I still found a lot of fun fibers to spin in the upcoming Tour de Fleece.
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| Clockwise from top-left: llama batt, paco-vicuna roving, paco-vicuna cloud, yak roving, quiviut (musk ox) roving, baby camel roving, bison down cloud, cashmere cloud, angora roving |
I'll tell you my goals in another post, but I thought you should know that I have joined up with the Team of Wonder again. :-D Our team feels like it's a lot bigger than last year. I'm really looking forward to it and there is room for more so join us. ;-)
Finally, we wrapped up the day with a stop at the Cherry Store, because who doesn't need a gallon of ice-cold cherry juice?
At the end of the day, I sure felt a lot like this guy. :-)
Be sure to visit the other Fiberistas for today is Fiber Arts Friday.
Looks liek a fantastic day and some lovely shopping, looking forward to seeing what you spin up
ReplyDeleteGreat pictures and also some great fiber finds! See you over at the Team of Wonder
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a great fiber day. Glad you had a good time and picked up some lovely things to spin.
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing the dogs herding - such fun! Llamas and alpacas (as well as their related cousins) do have the cutest, most expressive faces. They are always my favorites, to be certain.
ReplyDeleteLove the weekend trip, and especially love that last photo. :)
I really enjoyed reading your two entries this week. We are going to a county fair on July 4th and the thing I look forward the most is the sheep dog contest. Love watching how the handlers work with their dogs, and how the dogs work with the sheep.
ReplyDeleteThoughts on changes - it's never easy. I'm glad most things had turned out positive in the end. Good luck with the work stuff!
Thanks for sharing you experience. I've not attended this show and it sounds like you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to hearing more about your spinning adventure with the Team of Wonder.
Happy Fiber Arts Friday!
I can't wait to see how that fiber spins up for you ... I'm particularly intrigued by the yak!
ReplyDelete@VdV - That rancher cracked me up. We passed by him a few times and he was completely zonked. lol.
ReplyDelete@Vivian - thank you very much for your support. I do appreciate it. :-)
@Spinster Beth - the yak is sooo soft.
oooh, I love the fiber you bought! I can't wait to see how it spins up and all of your commentary. I've never seen a vicuna in person nor have I petted the fleece so I am super jealous.
ReplyDeleteNo market is too small if you find exactly what you want and it looks like you did.
Our Team of Wonder is about four times bigger than last year...I am super excited!
Estes Park sounds like a great fiber event. I love the smaller shows where you can get to know the vendors and look forward to seeing them each year. My son and DIL have visited The Stanley on one of their many trips out to Denver. There's a place out there that they spend a couple of weeks mountain biking and for the life of me I cannot think of the name of the city. Eh, not important anyway. LittleDog is impressed to hear that you notice when he's not around for awhile. The moebius posing was totally accidental, The Torso is affixed to one of my sewing tables that has to stand in front of one of the cubicles in my studio. Thank you for visiting and have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteIt's a Paco-Vicuna (alpaca showing vicuna traits) rather than a Vicuna (wild relative of the alpaca).
ReplyDeleteI have 3 seperate samples of Paco-Vicuna... the 2 shown here and one more cloud that was already in my stash. Maybe there's a TdF challenge in there somehwere??
I think the small festivals can be just as wonderful as the big ones - and Estes Park is beautiful (my family used to visit there when I was little). Also, a good reminder that I need to get planning for the Tour!
ReplyDeleteLooks like a great day; the cherry juice sounds fantastic!
ReplyDelete