Hello again from Maybelle Farm. Well, I survived the Vermont Sheep Festival!!!!!! Jonathan and I arrived up at the Tunbridge Fairground mid-afternoon on Friday Sept. 30 to set up the tent and unload the van. Number one, there should be a warning on all tent shelters: DANGER: Do not put this shelter up with your spouse !!!!!!!!!! It was raining and we both had our own ideas as to how to put the frame up. One leg was stuck and required a screw driver for some repairs......half-way thru Jonathan said "If you say one thing more, I'm leaving"!!!!!!! It finally went together with the cow print Moo cover was on. The sides that Jonathan bought were not for this type of a shelter. Thank God for Duct-tape!! Cheryl arrived when we were almost through setting up the ten. Then Jonathan helped Cheryl get her tent up. Jonathan headed for home and Cheryl and I put up everything we could and then went to the camper. There were 6 ladies and one 13 yr. old in the camper for the weekend. It was an evening of lots of conversation and laughs. Everyone to bed, but not much sleeping as we could hear the rain pouring down. I was so worried that my stuff would be blown all over the fairground, but come Saturday morning, Oct. 1, it was still there.
On Saturday it rained the whole day, with a lot of heavy rain! To say it rained really doesn't describe it! By late afternoon everyone in the outside booths were hopping up and down trying to stay warm. I have to say despite the weather, it was a lot of fun to see so many friends and people I have seen before or sold to. Agathe, Olivia,and Emma from our hometown arrived in the very heavy rain. I appreciate it so much that they came up and helped me get my 11 skirted fleeces to Zeilinger's, which had come to the Festival from Michigan, to have it processed into crew socks. Next to arrive was my buddy Donna and we got to laugh, grouch and have fun together. We went to the animal barn and only found two pens of Shetland sheep and were disappointed. Next Alison arrived and she had found the sheep barn towards the back of the fairgrounds. I went with her and thank goodness, Jonathan had left me there without the van! Oooooooohhhhh! I found several adorable little Shetland ewe lambs that would have fit very nicely into the van. Lets see, if I cut some holes in the plastic crates.....could I sneak them home???????? Ha, ha, ha!
Jocelyn stopped by next and we discussed all her lovely moorit lambs from our old ram Luther! Carlene, who had bought one of rams about five years ago - Toby, stopped at my booth. It was not busy on Saturday but I did sell quite a bit of the Shetland roving. It was fun to be able to show off my "Vinca Vest" and that helped to sell the wool. On Sunday Rayleen was up to the festival having lots of fun. I got to talk with Chet Parsons (the UVM Sheep Guy) for a few minutes and its always great to see him. Saturday evening Cheryl and I went to So. Royalton and had a very nice dinner and got warm. Back to the camper for more talking and laughing. Saturday night everyone slept because we were all sooooo tired.
Sunday afternoon I went to the town hall and taught a needle felting class: "How to make a Vermont Gnome". I had four ladies in my class and they did a fantastic job making their gnomes. I'm going to attach their pictures to this blog. I love teaching needle felting and seeing people enjoy finishing a project. When I finished my class it was about 3:30. Jonathan had arrived to help pack up and head back to Wardsboro. I put my crates with supplies in the van and we drove back to the place where the tent was set up. Time to pack up everything, take down the tent and head for home. Time for more heavy rain just when we are folding up the tent. Needless to say, we were both soaking wet, cold and hungry. We stopped in White River Junction and had the Chinese Buffet then headed for home. When we got to the house, I told Jonathan to just leave everything in the car. I came inside to a very happy Lettie (my Japanese Akita), put on my flannel pajamas and crawled into bed!!!!!!! Whew, that was quite a week-end!
The Maybelle Farm Fiber Camp Mural won 3rd prize and I have a picture of Cheryl with the mural. I have taken the mural back to the Wardsboro Library and it will hang there until the raffle drawing at the Gilfeather Turnip Festival on Saturday Oct. 22nd. I'm so proud of Cheryl and her students to have won both at the Deerfield Valley Fair and the Vermont Sheep festival.
On Monday I got up, took Lettie for a walk, went out to the barn and did chores and visited with all my sheep. I then had to unload the van and took all the crates into the fiber studio and spent the morning putting things away. I took the mural back to the Library, fixed lunch and went back to the farm to work. It was Open Farm Day for Shetland Sheep visitors to VT, but we didn't have any visitors. That is alright, because I got a lot of work done.
Now its time to head back to the barn for night chores, get everyone settled in, come home, fix dinner, crawl back into some warm flannel pajamas and watch "Dancing with the Stars"!!!!!! WHEEEEEE!!!
Goodnight from Maybelle MaMa
On Saturday it rained the whole day, with a lot of heavy rain! To say it rained really doesn't describe it! By late afternoon everyone in the outside booths were hopping up and down trying to stay warm. I have to say despite the weather, it was a lot of fun to see so many friends and people I have seen before or sold to. Agathe, Olivia,and Emma from our hometown arrived in the very heavy rain. I appreciate it so much that they came up and helped me get my 11 skirted fleeces to Zeilinger's, which had come to the Festival from Michigan, to have it processed into crew socks. Next to arrive was my buddy Donna and we got to laugh, grouch and have fun together. We went to the animal barn and only found two pens of Shetland sheep and were disappointed. Next Alison arrived and she had found the sheep barn towards the back of the fairgrounds. I went with her and thank goodness, Jonathan had left me there without the van! Oooooooohhhhh! I found several adorable little Shetland ewe lambs that would have fit very nicely into the van. Lets see, if I cut some holes in the plastic crates.....could I sneak them home???????? Ha, ha, ha!
Jocelyn stopped by next and we discussed all her lovely moorit lambs from our old ram Luther! Carlene, who had bought one of rams about five years ago - Toby, stopped at my booth. It was not busy on Saturday but I did sell quite a bit of the Shetland roving. It was fun to be able to show off my "Vinca Vest" and that helped to sell the wool. On Sunday Rayleen was up to the festival having lots of fun. I got to talk with Chet Parsons (the UVM Sheep Guy) for a few minutes and its always great to see him. Saturday evening Cheryl and I went to So. Royalton and had a very nice dinner and got warm. Back to the camper for more talking and laughing. Saturday night everyone slept because we were all sooooo tired.
Sunday afternoon I went to the town hall and taught a needle felting class: "How to make a Vermont Gnome". I had four ladies in my class and they did a fantastic job making their gnomes. I'm going to attach their pictures to this blog. I love teaching needle felting and seeing people enjoy finishing a project. When I finished my class it was about 3:30. Jonathan had arrived to help pack up and head back to Wardsboro. I put my crates with supplies in the van and we drove back to the place where the tent was set up. Time to pack up everything, take down the tent and head for home. Time for more heavy rain just when we are folding up the tent. Needless to say, we were both soaking wet, cold and hungry. We stopped in White River Junction and had the Chinese Buffet then headed for home. When we got to the house, I told Jonathan to just leave everything in the car. I came inside to a very happy Lettie (my Japanese Akita), put on my flannel pajamas and crawled into bed!!!!!!! Whew, that was quite a week-end!
The Maybelle Farm Fiber Camp Mural won 3rd prize and I have a picture of Cheryl with the mural. I have taken the mural back to the Wardsboro Library and it will hang there until the raffle drawing at the Gilfeather Turnip Festival on Saturday Oct. 22nd. I'm so proud of Cheryl and her students to have won both at the Deerfield Valley Fair and the Vermont Sheep festival.
On Monday I got up, took Lettie for a walk, went out to the barn and did chores and visited with all my sheep. I then had to unload the van and took all the crates into the fiber studio and spent the morning putting things away. I took the mural back to the Library, fixed lunch and went back to the farm to work. It was Open Farm Day for Shetland Sheep visitors to VT, but we didn't have any visitors. That is alright, because I got a lot of work done.
Now its time to head back to the barn for night chores, get everyone settled in, come home, fix dinner, crawl back into some warm flannel pajamas and watch "Dancing with the Stars"!!!!!! WHEEEEEE!!!
Goodnight from Maybelle MaMa
Cheryl and the Fiber Camp Mural on display in the Exhibit Hall.
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