Harvest Home Farm – Fiber Fest 2014

I don’t really have any finished projects to showcase this week.  Sad, I know.  Instead, I want to tell you about a fun event we attended last weekend.  It was a fiber fest hosted at Harvest Home Farm near Whitehall, Wisconsin.  I encourage you to check out their website and read all about them and their mission!

The forecast was for afternoon thunderstorms, so we knew we needed to get there as early as possible.  The rain held off while we were there but it was quite windy!

Probably the highlight for all us was seeing this gentleman shear sheep.

He answered a lot of questions and talked in-between times to give himself a rest.  It is hard work – and he has quite the muscles to prove he does physical labor!

Because Grandma couldn’t do a lot of walking, we didn’t make it up to see the sheepdog trials.  A friend and I went to HHF’s first festival a couple of years ago and let me tell you, it’s quite a sight to see those dogs running around, guiding the sheep, guided themselves only by the trainer’s whistle!

There was also a blacksmith performing demonstrations.  We didn’t stay long to watch as we’ve seen a lot of blacksmith techniques before – either at the Rendezvous we attended when Papa and I were first married or at Norskedalen.

This beautiful old barn housed the vendors that were participating.  Sadly, I never thought to take a picture while we were inside.  It was also unfortunate that I think they actually had fewer vendors and demonstrators this year than they had two years ago.  Maybe it was a bad weekend (middle of June, Father’s Day, etc).  Two years ago they had a couple of loom weavers – including one full-sized loom and someone operating a spinning wheel.  This year, the spinner was replaced by a couple of pre-teens that were showing people how to needle-felt.  What fun!  There were basket-makers, woodcarvers, a local fiber mill, someone selling handmade soaps, a yarn vendor … and I’ve probably forgotten one or two.

Harvest Home Farm offers an opportunity to stay on the farm in The Grainery.  The best picture I got of it was actually the back.  Sorry.

Grandma was tuckered out by all the walking.  I think Papa and I could have stayed longer.  He spent a great deal of time talking with the soap-maker.

Little Chick’s favorite parts were playing with this old plastic tractor and watching the sheep shearing … “He’s gonna be NAKED!”

Two years ago I bought some of their local maple syrup.  My friend bought a couple of skeins of yarn which she made into Christmas scarves for presents.  I almost managed to escape the place without buying something this year until I stopped in the last building.  They had wool roving in beautiful colors for only $4.  I’m not sure if that’s a good price or not, but I have a drop spindle at home just dying to be tested out, so I picked up this beauty.