Archives for category: Fiber Event
Final preparations for MDSW are underway!
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ITW at the 2013 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
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With less then a week until the festival I realized that I probably should make an official announcement that ITW will be vending at the 2013 Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival! We are so excited to be attending again, and unlike last year; we had more then a month to prepare!!
Date: Saturday, May 4th & Sunday, May 5th
Time: 9:00 – 6:00 / 9:00 – 5:00
Location: Howard County Fairgrounds
Address: 2210 Fairground Road, West Friendship, MD 21794
Website: Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
Interactive showgrounds map: 2013 Sheep and Wool Festival
Booth location: Main Building – Booth B16
Fiber Event: Spring 2013 Hudson Valley Yarn Crawl
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The semi-annual Hudson Valley Yarn Crawl is on!! The 2013 Spring Crawl will take place the weekend of March 23rd & 24th. Clear your calendar and plan on a weekend of shopping as the crawl has grown to include shops and farms in five New York counties, Connecticut and a collection of local online-only fiber and yarn retailers!!
Website/Flyer: Hudson Valley Yarn Crawl
Online Interactive Map: Google Map Link
Hudson Valley Yarn Crawl on Facebook: Link HERE
Dates: Saturday, March 23rd & Sunday, March 24th
Ravelry Group: www.ravelry.com/groups/hudson-valley-yarn-crawl
Shops and farms in the March 2013 Crawl:
Blackberry Hill Farm – Hudson, NY ,
Black Sheep Yarns - Kent, CT
Black Sheep Hill Farm – Pine Plains, NY
Buckwheat Bridge Angoras – Elizaville, NY
Clay Wood & Cotton – Beacon, NY
Cornwall Yarn Shop, Ltd – Cornwall, NY
Countrywool – Hudson, NY
Hudson Valley Sheep & Wool Co. – Red Hook, NY
Midnight Merinos Wool Loft – Red Hook, NY
Nancy’s Spinning Fancies – Cornwall, NY
Out Of The Loop – Hopewell Junction, NY
The Perfect Blend Yarn & Tea Shop – Saugerties, NY
Pinewoods Farm Wool Shop – Saugerties, NY
Sheepy Valley Farms – Medusa, NY
Spruce Ridge Farm – Old Chatham, NY
The Knitting Garage at STICKLES – Rhinebeck, NY
The Warm Ewe - Chatham, NY
White Barn Farm Sheep and Wool – New Paltz, NY
Local online shops in the March 2013 Virtual Crawl:
Nancy Broe Studios
The Roving Shop for Spinners
Into the Whirled Fiber Arts
bitches get stitches world aids day project 2012
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Today is World Aids Day.
AND
Today ‘Bitches Get Stitches’ is hosting a pretty awesome fundraiser…
Allow me to share the story in some of his own words:
with the help of many generous sponsors,
i have a total of 39 prizes to give away to you, my lovelies,
in order to help raise money for the lansing area aids network.
every $40 we raise means one more person can find out their hiv status in a safe, confidential, and professional environment at no cost to them.
wanna to help me out?
and get your hands on this loot?
the how:
1. on december 1st, click this link to visit the lansing area aids network website and make a donation via paypal. the suggested minimum donation is $40, the cost of one rapid hiv test. however, i know $40 is a lot money for a lot of people (myself included). since i don’t want to discourage anyone from making a donation they can afford, all donations will be accepted, even if it’s only $1.
2. shoot me an email at bgsworldaidsdayproject@gmail.com with your contact information and the amount you donated. the details of your personal information will be kept confidential. this is so i can keep track of the total as it grows, and so i can make sure you get your prize.
3. winners will be chosen at random. it could be you!
the fine bold print:
*entries will only be accepted on world aids day itself (dec 1st)! this means 12:00am – 11:59pm is your 24 hour window to make a donation and send me an email to be entered to win some loot. i’m in the eastern standard time zone here people, so my giveaway is too!
ITW at the New York Sheep & Wool Festival
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Date: Saturday, October 20th & Sunday, October 21st
Time: 9:00 – 6:00 / 10:00 – 5:00
Location: Dutchess County Fairgrounds
Address: 6550 Spring Brook Avenue – Rhinebeck, New York 12572
Website: NYS State Sheep & Wool Festival
Booth location: Building C – Booth C38 & C39
According to my To-Do list, I am suppose to share my 2012 Festival schedule today. Instead, I would like devote today’s blog post to the fact that ITW was officially pulled from the waiting list and added as a vendor at the 2012 Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival!!
While I would LOVE to share how awesome, and I mean AWESOME, an opportunity this is, time is tight. SO, lets just go with a big ‘ole…
::SQUEE::
Date: Saturday, May 5th & Sunday, May 6th
Time: 9:00 – 6:00 / 9:00 – 5:00
Booth location: Main Building – Booth B16
Location: Howard County Fairgrounds
Address: 2210 Fairground Road, West Friendship, MD 21794
Website: Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
Now, if you will please excuse me, I have some work to do…
Fiber Event: Fall 2011 Hudson Valley Yarn Crawl
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Live in or around the Hudson Valley? Looking for something to do next weekend?! Gather your friends, pile into the car and go for a crawl!!
2011 Hudson Valley Yarn Crawl
Website/Flyer: www.countrywool.tripod.com/hvyc.pdf
Online Interactive Map: Google Map Link
Hudson Valley Yarn Crawl on Facebook: Link HERE
Dates: Saturday, November 19th: 10-6 & Sunday, November 20th: 12-4
Ravelry Group: www.ravelry.com/groups/hudson-valley-yarn-crawl
Shops involved in this round of the tour:
The knitting garage at STICKLES – Rhinebeck, NY
Countrywool - Hudson, NY
Spruce Ridge Farm - Old Chatham, NY
The Warm Ewe - Chatham, NY
Out of the loop - Hopewell Junction, NY
Hudson Valley Sheep and Wool - Red Hook, NY
Midnight Merinos Wool Loft - Red Hook, NY
Fabulous Yarn - Tivoli, NY
White Barn Farm - New Paltz, NY
Year Round Yarns – Valatie, NY
Pinewoods Farm Wool Shop - Saugerties, NY
In case you did not already hear, please allow me to share some exciting last minute news. At 4:54pm this evening Into The Whirled was officially pulled from the waiting list and added as a vendor at The Fiber Festival of New England at The Big E on November 5th & 6th!!
Lets see how much one woman can accomplish in 48 hours, shall we?
Date: Saturday, November 5th & Sunday, November 6th
Time: 9:00 – 5:00 / 9:00 – 3:00
Booth location: Booth 231-W
Location: Eastern States Exposition
Address: 875 Memorial Ave, West Springfield, MA 01089
Website: The Fiber Festival of New England @ The Big E
Some social networking links for the curious:
Ravelry Group
Facebook Group
Words cannot even begin to describe the awesomeness that took place at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY last weekend…
Setup and stocking on Friday
When I first received the news that I had been accepted as a vendor I was dumbstruck. So much so that I replied to the show organizers and inquired if they had forgotten to add the word ‘Not’ in front of the word ‘Accepted’ when they notified me of the status of my application. Even after my entry fee check was cashed I waited for a message informing me that they had made a mistake and would be refunding my money! You may be wondering why I was so suspicious of an error – let me explain. Up until this year – it was darn near impossible to be accepted as a vendor (think “someone must die for another to gain access to a booth” kind of impossible) BUT with the opening of building C that all changed! Dozens of new vendors were given the opportunity to showcase their wares at this years festival, and what an opportunity it was!!
The entire booth – all 11×30′ of it
Even with months of preparation I wished I had more time. It is amazing how many “this is the best idea ever” ideas pop up in the eleventh hour! No worries, that is what the ‘ToDo’ list is for and those ideas will eventually be realized. Into the Whirled is in this for the long haul!!
The fiber wall
At this point, rather then ramble on endlessly I would like to take a moment and thank someone who endured (yep, properly chosen word) the past few months. Without photographic evidence you will just need to trust me when I say that ITW took over the house. Not a single room was spared. Be it dyed stained, littered with wool, re-tooled to hang wool on, resurfaced to hand-dye on, you name it – WOOL TOOK OVER the house. James, dear-sweet-supportive-unsuspecting James – Thank You.
The yarn wall
Those who attended the festival might have had the pleasure of meeting James, if not, perhaps you heard his infectious laughter. Expect to see more of him in the future. Into the Whirled is growing, be it festival or forum, James will be playing a larger role in its success!!
Packed and ready to roll on Sunday night
Having saved the best for last; I would like to sincerely thank each and everyone of you who supported ITW at the NYS Sheep & Wool Festival – be it in spirit or on site. It is an honor and privilege to be part of this community. Thank you for allowing me to add some colour to it!
So. Um. YEA! The festival was over a week ago and I still owe y’all a blog entry. My apologies on the delay! I promise, my excuse is a really good one – from the moment I pulled into the driveway (which in and of itself was a tremendous feat (I will explain further, I promise)) I have not stopped working! Between the October installment of the Into The Whirled Fiber Club and last minute preparations for the NYS sheep & Wool Festival, it has been a whirlwind of fiber dyeing madness!!
Last weekend was spectacular! But then again – how could anyone ever really complain about spending a weekend devoted to fiber? Seriously?!
Before typing another word, I simply must say Thank You again to everyone who stopped in, said Hi, gave me hugs, showed me finished projects, offered to watch the booth so I could take a break, brought me yummy snacks & fabulous handcrafted presents, and supported this crazy little endeavor I have chosen to call my “career”. Thank You. I count myself among the blessed, you folks mean the world to me!!
Onto my promised tale…
With production rolling along and as the inventory collection grew – one thing became very clear – my little mini-SUV was no longer capable of hauling the new display system, inventory, luggage and one human – let alone two. The solution? A cargo trailer!!
Not only was this the first time I was attending SAFF as a vendor, but this was the first time I would be piloting the trailer ALONE! I will admit the nerves were a little frayed at first, but like everything – practice makes perfect. Well sorta…
Driving = easy.
Going forward = fabulous.
Hitching = sorta easy.
Unhitching = easy peasy.
Backing up = not so easy, actually really freaking challenging!
Thankfully I was able to avoid all backing up situations until I returned home on Sunday night. Safely at home, in the middle of the night, I was able to devote a great deal of time to truly comprehending how to back a single axle trailer into the driveway. After 20 minutes of Jackknifing the trailer I finally grasped how to maneuver the darn thing!
Funny, in the year of numerous “firsts” – learning how to pilot a cargo trailer was not something I ever imagined. Nor did I imagine it would prove to be such a momentous accomplishment. But then again, I never imagined that I would be doing half the things I am doing today.
Rambling aside – time to share some pictures!!
Being one of the first to arrive on the grounds does have a certain charm. This is what Building 12 looked like on Friday around 10:30am.
Booth assembled, trailer unpacked and ready to setup the display!
Chaos before Calm
Open and ready for business!!
Now imagine this…
This booth size was 10 x 10.
In two weekends ITW will be at the NYS Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY - Building C – Booth 38 & 39.
Booth size? 11 x 30.
Crazy? I know!! Awesome? I know! That being said I need to step away from the keyboard and get back to the studio!!