as i noted when i was talking about the fiber festival, all of the pretty hand-dyed yarns do not really do a whole lot for me. when i go to events of that kind, i make a beeline for anyone selling fiber for spinning (like the stuff i showed you a couple days ago).
best of all, though, is anyone selling raw (unwashed, right off the sheep) wool fleece, like this stuff.
that was part of a whole fleece i bought at last year's festival, and i will talk more about what happened once i got it home, maybe tomorrow... maybe.
i was so disappointed at the showing of raw fleece at last year's festival that i went so far as to leave a (lengthy) message on their contact/suggestion page begging them to fix that for this year. imagine my glee when i was checking out the schedule/program for this year, and there was the phrase WOOL BARN!
yes, please... and thank you very much!!!
i was on the fence about even going to this year's festival, but that was all it took to make up my mind. so off we went.
the wool "barn" was a smallish tent with a few tables holding a few fleeces. i walked around, poking at each one, pulling out a tuft or two of wool to subject them to the thorough fondling that is an understood part of assessing the thing for future use.
that is when he showed up.
he had been deep in conversation with some folks when we got there, so now he turned his attention to us, launching right into his practiced sales pitch. the "barn" was an effort of the wool growers co-op.
wool barn guy: do you know about the co-op?
me: yep. i bought fleece from them on several occasions.
i am fairly certain that my response derailed his planned presentation, because everything shifted instantly into casual conversation mode. we introduced ourselves. his name is Nathan.
Nathan: where you guys from?
me/him: Montreal.
Nathan: really? the accent sounds so different.
me: that's because i'm from Brooklyn and he's from outside Toronto.
then we chatted on for a bit. then things got interesting.
me: i think the first whole fleece i ever bought was from you guys.
Nathan: was it a good experience?
me: oh, it was fantastic. that is my go-to stop after that. even when i want something specific that i know you won't have, the co-op can usually put me in touch with a farmer who does.
this is where it got even more interesting.
me: there is one guy there that i probably drive crazy every once in a while. his name is Jim. do you know Jim?
then Nathan gave me a strange look.
Nathan: Jim retired a while back. i used to be his apprentice, so now i am doing that job.
then we marveled at the smallness of the world, and he shared a few humorous anecdotes about Jim. we chatted on for a while, and i warned him that if he ever gets a message from someone who describes them self as "that crazy lady from Brooklyn", that would be me. then my favorite animator and i wandered off to look at other things.
our tummies eventually began to rumble, so we went to a booth in the food tent where a farmer guy had been roasting a whole lamb, and his wife (who is a cheese-maker) had promised us that we would not be disappointed if we returned to try some when it was ready. it was being served along with what she assured us would be the best cheesy-potatoes we ever tasted.
so we tracked back that way to have lunch.
we paid for two plates of lamb, potatoes, and salad, which he took over to a table while i went to look at a booth that was selling beers. i showed up at at the table a few minutes later with a bottle of hard cider for me, and some (non-alcoholic) ginger beer for him. [he hates the taste of most alcoholic things, which means that i have a designated driver for life. trust me... i know!]
he had chosen a table at the far end of the food tent, over near the small stage we had walked past earlier when some ladies were giving a demonstration about angora rabbits. the first time we walked by, she had what looked like the world's biggest ball of fluff up on a table, and she was carefully snipping away bits of its massive cloud of fur. when we passed by later, another lady was siting in front of a spinning wheel with a different equally-super-fluffy bunny on her lap, and she was spinning directly from its fur (they molt naturally, so it does not hurt).
the stage was empty now, and they were setting up for a new speaker. i was in the middle of sitting down when i noticed who it was.
me: oh, wow... it's new Jim.
then we both laughed.
him: is that what we're calling him?
me: oh, you know he's gonna be "new Jim" from now on.
and, yes... those potatoes were spectacular.
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