Recap: Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair 2016

Posted on May 19, 2016 | 0 Comments

This past Saturday my friends and I attended the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair (LIFFF) which is sponsored by the Hallockville Museum.  We took a bus out to Riverhead and were pleasantly surprised by sunny weather. 

Size is the difference between this event and the New York Sheep and Wool Festival (Rhinebeck).  Most people I know go to Rhinebeck to buy yarn and fleece. Every so often they take a quick detour through the animal barns. At LIFFF you see and learn the history behind the fiber crafts and your shopping can be done in less than an hour.

 

LIFF animals

We did a quick round of shopping and went to visit the animals. I used Periscope to live stream the sheep, llamas, places, and cows. If you have the app I believe to can see it since Periscope recent started to save the streams (username: soozenyc).  

We just missed Tabbethia from Long Island Livestock Company shear a llama but we did have the chance to talk about natural dyeing with museum volunteer, Colette.  She encouraged us to save our avocado skins and pits if were want to dye some pink yarn.

 

Knit n Wine

In our goody bag there was a coupon for a free wine tasting at the Martha Clara Winery which was on the other side of a busy road.  We managed to cross safely and grabbed some lunch before having some wine.  We enjoyed our "knit n wine" so much that we each purchased a specialized flight of wine sampling ("Aromatic", "Estate", "Library").

The day got cooler and cloudier as late afternoon approached.  Driving back into Manhattan on a Saturday evening was a traffic nightmare but the delay helped us narrow our restaurant choices for dinner (yay internet!).

 

Momosan Ramen Sake Chiagu Blog

We ended our day at Momosan by enjoying delicious bowls of ramen noodles.  We passed on the sake selection since we already had wine with our lunch.  But will are definitely going back to try the sake!

Posted in Fair, Fiber, Fleece, Hallockville Museum, knitting, Llamas, Long Island, Martha Clara Winery, Momosan, Periscope, Ramen, Wine

May's new Koigu KPPPM colors

Posted on May 06, 2016 | 0 Comments

These are May's new colors (from left to right): P127, P140, P204 and P360. They are 15% off until May 12th.

When you see the color yellow don't you think of summer?  While the brighter shades of yellow tends to look awful on me I find that warmer yellows like gold can serve as beautiful accents to the brighter primary colors I wear. I would certainly make a tank top with P360.

Color P204 is right up my alley - purples, pinks and streaks of yellow for contrast.  I wouldn't hesitant to wear this color near my face - it would be a great hat or scarf.

Do you like neon?  P140 is very bright and is just a step away from being a full blow neon color way. Whether it's a small or big project (a pair of socks, a child's sweater, an adult tunic) the colors would add an extra spark to your hand knit project. 

And the pastels of color P127.  The color is lighter that pictured in the photo and it does have a speck of navy here and there. I rarely see KPPPM in light colorways and  this one is pretty and subtle.

Although this week has been wet and dreary we're only a few weeks away from the holiday that kicks off summer, Memorial Day weekend  Make sure to sign up for our newsletter - I'm sending out some sale information in the next newsletter.  To sign up go to the Chiagu homepage and then scroll to the bottom of the page.

But first I'm attending the Long Island Fleece and Fiber Festival (May 14 & 15). For me, it's the last fiber-related event until October's New York Sheep and Wool. LIFF is less crowded and vendors don't run out of stock.  You have time to see all the events and demonstrations. I love that Tabbethia Haubold-Magee (from Long Island Livestock) explains the sheep shearing process as she is removing their winter coat.  She loves her work and she loves the animals. When we need a break we go to the nearby wineries (nearby as in crossing the busy road!).  The festival organizes a private  round trip bus out of Manhattan so we don't worry about have a drink doing our visit.  Come join us!

 

Posted in baby blanket, baby sweater, Festival, Fiber, Fleece, Livestock, Long Island, neon, newsletter, P127, P140, P204, P360, pastel, sale, socks, sweater, yellow

 

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