Sunday, November 21, 2010

SAFONA, New Holland, PA





SAFONA, New Holland, PA

What a wonderful day Louise and I had. We went to the SAFONA Fiber Festival in New Holland, PA. It was mostly Alpaca and just wonderful.

I bought my first drop spindle and got a quick lesson. I was doing great there, but when I got home it didn't work as well. I will have to go to the KnitPicks website, they have a great tutorial.

Of course I had to buy yarn, the funny thing is it wasn't Alpaca, it was cotton from Wolle's (a German pronunciation, V oo lees). The pictures show the three skeins I bought, one is for a Christmas present swap. I also have pictured my drop spindle and roving, I picked up a small pack of Alpaca to spin.

My feet should be warm, I picked up two pairs of Alpaca socks for $19.00, what a great bargain. The last picture are some of the vendors business cards. We also discovered an Alpaca Farm which is right in our neck of the woods in Thurmont. It is KenDen Alpacas, run by Kenny and Denise Favorite, their phone number is 301-271-3399. They said you can see their farm going up Rt 15 towards Emmitsburg, it across the road from Catoctin Mountain Orchards off Roddy Road.

It is so beautiful in Lancaster. We saw many horse and buggies, but I didn't get any pictures, maybe next time.

Of course we had to visit some local yarns stores. If you have ever heard of Old Susanna's, it is exactly as everyone has said. Yarns piled to the ceiling, small pathways through the yarn and tables of patterns. No rhyme or reason, but I am told she knows where everything is and can find it in an instant. I would only go back if there was a yarn I couldn't find anywhere else or that was discontinued, if they made it she has it. All I can say is Interesting.

Louise and I then went to "Kitnit Fine Yarns" on Old Hickory Road in Lancaster, PA. What a wonderful store. It is small but has the most beautiful samples and yarns. We both of course had to buy several patterns each, I also picked up buttons for my Moms sweater.

Our last stop was Christmas Tree Hill at the Mansion. There are several of these stores in MD, Hagerstown is the closest, but none like this one. It is housed in a sprawling old Mansion, decorated for Christmas all year long. We found some great ornaments, but they also carry Department 56 and beautiful furniture. I got some Christmas shopping done and could have spent a lot more.

Wow two posts in less then 2 days, how am I going to keep up this pace.

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