In the rear view mirror...

The last few days were a blur, but the professor has been carefully documenting things with photos so I could tell you about everything. First, he wanted me to mention that he brought two of our house guests to the Forks in downtown Winnipeg to see the Craft on the Loose exhibit put on by the Manitoba Craft Museum & Library. Here is a smiling house guest, pointing out my name on the exhibit's sign! The funny part is that although they all looked, they could not find my piece of weaving at this outdoor exhibit. The show is on at the Forks until the 20th of August, so if you happen to be down there and find my rug, drop me a line!

The sheep show and 1st annual fibre festival at Neepawa was fun. It was also cold, wet, and windy. The professor and I got up at 6 am so we could be driving to Neepawa by 7:15. When we got there around 9:30 am, the professor caught photos of a lot of the action. Here are a few of the photos he's sent along for our enjoyment.

There were sheep shearing demonstrations off and on all day. This shearer also managed to come to my class on "Marketing Your Wool." He has both Rambouillet and Cheviot sheep on his farm and we had a good talk while walking from one building to the next in the rain. I'm looking forward to talking with him again sometime when we are both a bit drier!

The festival was mainly organized by the 4H group, called the Prairie Shepherds of Manitoba. The sheep ring was very busy, with lots of kids showing and competing with their "meat" sheep. The sheep in the competition seemed to be mainly Suffolks. Of course, these sheep have wool too and it can be useful for the handspinner, but the emphasis here veered away from wool. That is something I can perhaps go into in another post, as I definitely have more photos from the competition!

Meanwhile, there were stockdog trials going on outdoors in the mud and rain. The professor took up a position along the fence and shot lots of photos of dogs and sheep in motion. Here's an example of the conditions. The dogs included border collies, and Australian cattle dogs, among others. This show was particularly interesting because the dogs were allowed mostly free reign when they weren't running the sheep and behaved themselves admirably. For the most part, these are working dogs and they didn't appear to bother any sheep or people when off-leash. It was a joy to see this.

Meanwhile, I was giving a talk and doing a couple other things at the event. To my amazement, my talk was a media attraction. I was interviewed for a radio station "spot," my class was taped for a cable access channel, and I was interviewed for a newspaper. I found the whole thing pretty surprising! (In retrospect, if I'd only known, I'd have combed my hair down a bit better. It gets sort of big and curly in the rain.)

The professor caught a photo of the classroom with the film crew setting up before my class really got underway. He says that at one point, every chair was taken, but I sort of lost track after a while. I found the clip-on microphone and the attention a bit distracting. Every photo seemed to catch me with another alarming expression...

This one is hands-down my favorite. Note the border collie (named Juno) at the front of the photo. This dog was a real lover and attended my whole class!


The fleeces I saw in the competition and the events were really very impressive. Considering the cold, wet, and windy conditions, it even seemed reasonably well attended. I'll write more about the spinning circle in my next post, but it was definitely a worthwhile day. The professor and I had to return home in the afternoon to our house guests, so we missed the lamb barbeque and other events. Also, my feet (in their handknit wool socks) were soaked clear through and I was ready for a hot shower and warm jammies at home. Even so, it was well worth the trip.

More to follow in my next post when I can grab a few more spare moments...

a deal

Teaching 4 days a week and having two sets of houseguests (it was three sets last weekend--we even used the living room sofa bed) has kept me from posting...but I miss you!

Just noticed today that Knit Green is on sale over at Amazon.com! 42% off of the list price. Click on the book cover over on the right column of the page if you're interested. So, if you've been thinking about buying the book for yourself or as a gift, now would be a good moment. I don't control the pricing in any way, and earn the same (very small) amount per book regardless. I just can't resist telling you about a deal...

I'm off to Neepawa on Saturday to go to their sheep show. Hopefully I squeeze in another post-with photos-before or after I leave. In the meanwhile, thank you for all those nice comments about my newly painted porch steps. The professor did a great job and I love the color every time I step out. It makes my porch feel all new and fashionable! More to come soon, I hope.

Neepawa fibre festival

Last fall, I gave a talk based on my book Fiber Gathering about fiber festivals in the United States to a group of Manitoba knitters. They said, "What's the closest festival in Canada for us?!" I just didn't really know...I'd only been living in Manitoba for a couple of months...

Now I know. The first annual fibre festival (Canadians spell this "fibre") in Neepawa is about 2.5 hours away from Winnipeg. It's being sponsored by the 4H Club and the Manitoba Sheep Association. There will be sheep dog trials, classes, and sheep competitions. There's a wool judging on Saturday and a fleece auction on Sunday. This will be the place to get Manitoba raw wool for spinning and felting, direct from the producers! Plus, it raises money for 4H, which is a great program in both the U.S. and Canada.

Here's the information below--I'm teaching a class for shepherds on how to market their wool and I'll be at the spinning circle. There will also be a felting class, too. If you're free August 13-15, I'm sure there will be a whole lot of sheep and sheep producers looking forward to meeting you in Neepawa!

If you'll miss the festival, but you're interested in spinning wool that comes from Manitoba, consider checking out this list of Manitoba sheep breeders. If you see a kind of wool breed that appeals to you, call that person up or drop them an email. I'm sure that if the farmer has any fleeces on hand, he or she would welcome your call. If the farmer doesn't have any fleeces left from this year, ask to be put on the list for next year's shearing. You just may fall in love with wool from Manitoba...

Please click on the below images and the information will be easier to read. I hope to see you at the festival! (It will be small this year, but if we support it, it will grow!)