I love New Jersey breeders! Especially in September when they hold the Garden State Sheep Breeders Association Festival.

I Even Bought The New Jersey Breeders’ Hat

Each year, usually on the second weekend in September, the New Jersey Sheep Breeders Association holds their sheep and wool festival.

It’s a relatively small festival, but it attracts some really nice fiber vendors. I’m very fond of seeing local-ish vendors who have unique items for sale. There’s a vibrant and active 4-H presence in this area and they take their sheep breeding very seriously.

The young lady above was about to show this sheep in a contest later on today. Thaddeus an I both agreed, the sheep seemed almost unrealistically perfect. I hope she wins.

Yes, this year I went with Thaddeus, so I was a bit more selective in what I purchased. In addition to the hat (which I will enjoy wearing at the Men’s Knitting Retreat in a little over a week), I purchased two hanks of yarn.

Angora Online had a Merino/Yak/Nylon blend sock yarn that she hand-dyed. I loved this color combination I picked it up immediately to buy it. And then I saw the price. US$22. I was kind of amazed she could sell it so inexpensively.

The Golden Purls had a lot of really beautiful items as well. I wanted a unique hank of Worsted weight yarn. Their 4-ply worsted in superwash merino in colorway “On The Lanai” was just the item I was hoping to find.

That’s all I bought, although I probably would have bought more if Thaddeus hadn’t been there. But I’ll have plenty of opportunity to fiber-shop at the Adirondack Fiber Arts Festival in 2 weeks. It’s just down the mountain from the retreat center.

Current Knitting

I finally got back to knitting the Silvatica Stole.

I love how it’s looking, but it’s slow-going. And I’ll be distracted with a few items I need to work on for an “expert table” I’m hosting at the Men’s Knitting Retreat.