Taos Wool Market 2012

14 Oct Taos Wool Market 2012

This time last Sunday, DH & I were on our way home from the Taos Wool Festival. This was the 29th year the festival has been held ~ it’s always the first weekend of October at the Kit Carson Park in Taos, NM. With 67 vendors, this festival is a good size to see everything and still have the time to chat.

There were the usual fiber producers, vendors selling finished products (like the felted hats that seemed pretty popular) and of course yarn. While I enjoyed trying on several of the hats, none fit ~ hats are always too big for me ~ and my main reason for going was to scope out some yarn for new designs I have in mind. I also enjoy visiting the fiber producers who bring their animals.

One exhibitor was South Mountain Alpacas (hopefully they will be a vendor next year).  Not only did they have some uniquely & beautifully dyed yarn, they brought these two adorable miniature goat does, and an alpaca with the most unusual facial markings I’ve seen.

On the yarn side of things, I found a very nice, sport weight single by Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Co. from Texas. The color I chose is called “Burnt Orange” that looks like a cross between brick & mauve. It’s destine for a sweater with some very special features ~ secret for now.

Then I found a worsted weight, more rustic yarn custom dyed by Diane de Souza. This yarn is a single color dye over 4 different color bases ~ which gives it very unique shading. She uses wool in white, light grey, brown & dark grey bases. Another sweater is the plan for this yarn ~ although it will be an outer wear garment using some design features I want to explore.

We visited our favorite shops at the Plaza, and checked out some new ones. And we ate at Michael’s Kitchen where we’ve never been disappointed with a meal.

On the way home we drove out to the bridge over the Rio Grande ~ an awesome sight! DH likes to visit the folks who set up tables to sell their wares along side the road. You never know what you’ll find. The canyon that the Rio Grande runs though is both deep & steep, with a rugged beauty found only in the Southwest. You can walk across the bridge over the river which is where DH took this photo from. Even with the tall railing you are very aware of how high above the river you are.

And while DH and I had a very enjoyable & relaxing weekend, we owe it all to our son who volunteered to look after everything here at home. Thanks son!

Everyone should take a weekend now and then to relax and recharge. It’s good for the mind, body & soul. Now I just need to get the projects I’m working on done so I can start on the ones I found the yarn for!

Happy Knitting! ~ Jean