Phillippa and I left early on Saturday morning with the truck very well packed with brightly coloured fibre, for a 2 hour drive to Stocksfield Community Hall. When we arrived a small army of ladies helped us unpack the truck and made us both a warm drink. We hardly seemed to get our fibre out on the stall when we were surrounded by a hoard of ladies wanting to buy. Just before lunch we seemed to have a lull and we were able to draw breath and have a bit of a look round at the other stalls. Fellow smallholders Richard and Steph were there, so I was able to have a quick chat and find out the latest on their new calf "Tommy" as in "Little White Bull" fame, and his mum. I also had a good look at the interesting yarns the Threshing Barn had bought and two of the guild ladies were waring amazing lacy knitted scarves, the yarn being spun on a drop spindle. Drop spindling is a skill I'm determined to master, one day!!!!
By 3 o'clock both our fibre stocks had been greatly decreased, I'm so glad I took Phillippa's advice and dyed another kilo of Rainbow alpaca roving, and we were absolutely shattered.
Packing the truck to go home took very little time and we have an invite to go back next year.
Sat in our kitchen at 6 o'clock last night we both suddenly realised that Woolfest is 6 weeks away and we both have greatly reduced fibre stocks. We are going to be "mad dyeing women" over the next few weeks. But before I can start dyeing, first thing tomorrow morning I will be ringing my fibre supplier for 11kgs of Alpaca tops, 4kgs of camel tops and some Yak down, followed by some very busy evenings over a dye pot.
Despite the extra work going to Stocksfield has created, it was such great fun and that's what selling fibre is all about, if I didn't want the extra work, I wouldn't work on selling my fibre.
Next weekend is the Bank Holiday, the Resident Vandal will be here to help us ear tag the lambs and Blue Tongue all the sheep.
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