Shepherd's Harvest

I spent Mother's Day at the Shepherd's Harvest Sheep and Wool Festival in Lake Elmo, MN. It was exhilirating, overwhelming and inspiring. There was yarn in every stage including on the hoof. Sheep dogs did their herding thing, there were shearing demonstrations, carding and spinning machines everywhere. You could buy fiber in any stage, roving, skeins (dyed and undyed), and even knit up! There were even angora rabbits for sale.

Here is what llamas look like right after they get a "summer haircut"





There were four buildings of vendors, with hand made stitch markers, buttons and beads, beeswax lip balm, hand made soaps (some were felted), felted dolls with sculpted ceramic faces and hands, leather purse straps, sweaters and hats and mittens and slippers and shawls and scarves and ... the creativity displayed was indescribable. There were felting hat forms, blocking boards, lamb recipes, and every knitting, crocheting, weaving, and felting tool and notion you can imagine! Ever seen a two-eyed needle?

There was a full schedule of hands on classes too, for spinning, basket weaving, using circular sock machines, dying yarn, machine knitting, even blogging. What a day of fiber fun!