festival
Never been so happy to be jet lagged!
Guys, I’m excited to tell you that I just came back from a wonderful, exciting and very fulfilling two week trip to Japan! I still can’t believe it! I had been dreaming of this trip for YEARS, and it finally happened!
Although the plane trip there and back was dreadful and plagued with multiple problems and delays, this trip was worth each and every second of it, and more.
First, I briefly visited Fukuoka then headed to Hiroshima and Miyajima Island, then spent three nights in Kansai where I explored Kyoto and Osaka, followed by quick two days in Hakone taking full advantage of then onsen and mountains and finally headed to Tokyo for a packed week, including the spending some time at the Sanja Matsuri.
I cannot even begin to tell you guys how amazing this trip really was, but what made it even more special is actually all the wonderful people I met along the way. Here’s a quick shout out to my two penpals, Eriko and Misa, who were kind enough to dedicate some of their time to show me around their area and put up with my terribly limited japanese! And also to other fellow travellers I was lucky enough to spend some time with (Bernard, Isabel, Phaedra, Ben, Joana, Steve – I will remember all of you, let’s definitely meet again somewhere!), and lasty to all the kind hearted japanese people that I met on the way, and who decided to reach out to me (ゆこさん, あまのさん, くまちゃんとみんな！本当にありがとうございました！).
I was even lucky enough to run into my very favorite YouTuber, a kind soul and wonderful human being called Norm, who’s the heart and soul behind the Tokyo Lens channel (if you don’t know him, definitely check it out!)
Of course, I have MANY fiber related things to share in regards of this trip but this post is already long enough, so I’ll save that for another time.
And guys, I still have so much more to share with all of you so stay tuned because I have some very exciting projects coming up that I think (and hope!) you’ll be interested in.
Back on track
Hey guys!
This fall has been insanely busy for me, and things are just now starting to get back to normal – which means that I finally get to do things that I have not been able to do in a while, yay! Among other things, I finally took time to ply the singles I spun during the Tour de Fleece this summer (I know… that was months ago!).
Although I did have my doubts while spinning it, I must say that I feel pretty satisfied with the finished product, which is quite a relief. The larger skein is a generous 597 yards of heavy lace 2 ply yarn and the other, small skein is 6 grams of leftover navajo plied in a fingering weight yarn. I am not too too sure what I’ll be doing with this yarn, but I do have a few options. Chances are, it will probably end up as a shawl in a (relatively) near future. 🙂
In other news, I also visited the Vermont Sheep and Wool festival this weekend, and had a blast! The colors are now in full swing and the drive to Tumbridge was amazingly beautiful. We stayed for a few hours on Saturday afternoon, walked around the vendor stands, watched a sheep shearing demonstration and petted a few adorable Border Collies who were there to show their sheep herding skills. We had a lot of fun, and (obviously) I came back with a few additions to my stash. 🙂
In the picture below, you’ll see an A-MA-ZING pink Suri/Silk batt from Biltmore Wool Barn (Brewster, MA), a soft-as-a-cloud blue Merino/Tencel roving from Fiber Stash (Colchester, VT) and the cutest sock kit I have ever seen – the Tallulah sock pattern from Sivia Harding, complete with handpainted fingering weight yarn and matching beads! I fell head over heels when I saw this one, I simply couldn’t resist!
Since I missed the Twist Festival this year and definitely won’t be able to make it to Rhinebeck, that’s as good as it gets for me this year, but I’m fine with it. What about you guys? Which wooly festivals have you been to or do you plan to go to this year?
Crafty Effie 