From Nancy Zeller: Jamaica, VT will be holding the 3rd Annual Jamaica Fiber Fest May 20th.  It will be up and down Main St - Contact: http://www.margiesmuse.com  They are expecting around 40 vendors!

Nancy will be hosting Michele Whiplinger, owner of Earthues natural dyes, for a workshop at her farm August 22-24 for an intensive 3-day workshop on Dying in the European Tradition.  Nancy's web site is http://www.longridgefarm.com - watch for further info on that.

April 15, 2006 - Denmark, ME SheepFest.  Small fiber festival, packs a lot of punch (and quite a few vendors) into a small space. If you know of a website for this event, please email me.

Listener Feedback

Lissette emailed me around the end of February and said that she's another one who keeps a sock in her purse in case she gets stuck somewhere.  She heard me mention it on a previous podcast, and said she thought she was the only one!   

I got a comment from Janet Szabo of Big Sky Knitting  Janet is the designer of the (FLAK) Follow The Leader Aran Knit-Along, and the author of several books, including one great book on Aran sweater design. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Nancy Born wrote to offer some West Coast fiber arts festival information.  Seattle Knitting Expo, April 28-30, http://www.seattleknittingexpo.com/

Black Sheep Gathering, Eugene, Oregon, June 23-25, http:// www.blacksheepgathering.org/

Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival, Canby, Oregon, Sept. 22-24, http:// www.flockandfiberfestival.com/ (still 2005 info) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Irie also wrote with info on the Black Sheep Gathering.

Ellen Bloomfield wrote to suggest I do a program or two on alpacas.  Awesome idea, Ellen!

Today's interview - broken into two parts - is on raising and processing flax.  I spoke with Johannes and Christian Zinzendorf of The Hermitage.  They can be found at FlaxForSale.com and on a blog at FlaxNow

Canterbury Shaker Village - Canterbury, NH - Sheep Shearing Day, Sat. March 11  Admission is $5.00
http://shakers.org/programs/?show=FAMILY
From the website - "Spring is here and it's time for our small flock to get rid of their thick winter coats!  Join us to watch the shearing and get hands-on with spinning, carding, weaving and dyeing activities!"

Spinning Wheel Sleuth - a newsletter about spinning wheels and related tools
Florence Feldman-Wood  http://www.spwhsl.com/

American Textile History Museum
http://www.athm.org

Spin-Off - build your own cigar box charkha information
http://www.interweave.com/spin/
pdf file - http://www.interweave.com/spin/projects/Cigar-boxCharkha.pdf

CrochetCast - Jeannie Gist in Texas

CandieCast - Candie Cooper - podcast about jewelry making

AussieKnit - Kate in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (love the accent!)

Musings of a Peaceful Knitter - Lisa

Time2Knit - Donny

WeaveCast - Syne Mitchell, Seattle

Music - Brobdinagian Bards http://www.thebards.net

Colonial Spinning Bee
Sunday May 21, 1 to 5 pm, at the "Old Chelmsford" Garrison House, Chelmsford, MA
http://home.earthlink.net/~judycat/id2.html
Judy Cataldo

Gore Place Sheep shearing festival
Saturday April 22, 10 am-4 pm, at Gore Place, Waltham, MA
Admission $10 - Children 12 and under are free
Spinners who bring their wheel and demonstrate are also
admitted free
http://www.goreplace.org/events/sheepshearing2006.htm

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
33rd year for the MD Sheep & Wool Festival
This year they are featuring the Lincoln breed
Admission and parking are free
May 6 & 7 - 9 am to 6 pm on Sat, 9 am to 5 pm on Sun.
Weather is variable - always the first full weekend in May
http://www.sheepandwool.org/
NO DOGS ALLOWED

NH Sheep & Wool - http://www.yankeeshepherd.com/
Hopkinton Fairgrounds in NH, May 13 & 14.  Sheep to Shawl competition, special Juniors division
Alpaca show

Shepherd's Harvest Sheep & Wool Festival -
same wkend - May 13 & 14  Washington County Fairgrounds, Lake Elmo, MN
Free Admission, Free Parking!
http://www.shepherdsharvestfestival.org/
The Festival was started in order to provide a venue where wool producers, wool consumers and wool artisans could come together and share the excitement of working with sheep and their fantastic product - wool. Gradually, the Festival has grown to include other fiber animals such as Angora rabbits, alpacas, and goats.
Live entertainment each day. Demonstrations are ongoing for sheep shearing, herding dogs, rabbit agility, spinning and knitting.

Massachusetts Sheep & Woolcraft Fair is May 27 & 28, Cummington, MA  http://www.masheepwool.org
No dogs allowed ; bill themselves as one of the oldest New England sheep fairs ; admission $5.00 per car.

Aug 19 & 20 is the 2006 Michigan Fiber Festival
http://www.michiganfiberfestival.org/
Allegan County Fairgrounds, Allegan Michigan
Not much more info on their website yet but there is some contact information

Wisconsin Sheep & Wool Festival, September 8 9 and 10
Jefferson County Fairgrounds
Johnson Creek, Wisconsin
http://www.wisconsinsheepandwoolfestival.com/
Admission is $5 per person, children under 8 are free.  Admission is also free from 5 to 8 pm on Friday

Vermont Sheep & Wool Festival
champlain Valley Expo Center in Essex Junction, VT
September 9 & 10, 2006
http://www.vermontsheep.org/festival.html
At this one there is a company that rents RVs

Finger Lakes Fiber Arts Festival
Hemlock Fairgrounds, Hemlock NY
Sept 16 & 17 2006
http://www.gvhg.org/fest.html
Countdown on their site - only 192 days until the next festival!
Fleece, skein and garment competition info is prominently featured on their front page.

New York State Sheep & Wool Festival ( http://www.sheepandwool.com/),
also known as Rhinebeck because it's held at the Duchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, NY.
Admission is $10 per person.  In 2006 it's being held on October 21st and 22nd, but according to their own literature it's always held the 3rd weekend in October.  Norm Hall wheels

Additional fiber festival information
http://www.thistlecovefarm.com/fiber.html

Sorry the podcast is late. It will be a few more days. The kids are home on school vacation, and that means everything is a little off schedule right now. In the meantime I have created a one-minute promo. As always, feedback is welcome!