Shepherd's Harvest 2009

The Shepherd's Harvest Festival was this weekend in Lake Elmo, MN. It's Minnesota's only big fiber fair. It's grown by leaps and bounds since I first attended in 2001. That year there was only one building with vendors, and the barns had sheep, llamas, and alpacas.

This year there were four full buildings of vendors, and the barns were even more full of animals.

It was cool, in the fifties, but at least it didn't rain!

I tried something non-fibery this year, and took a basket-making class with Ellie Lida. I have purchased a basket every year at the festival from Ellie, and this year she taught me to make my own!









We started with a bunch of bamboo strips, and wove the base.







We kept adding strips of various sizes, and even got to add some color.








And we ended with 10.5 x 12 inch 'Garden Girl' gathering baskets.

Ellie's explanations were wonderful.

I have another hobby to add to my repertoire. (Yeah, I needed that.)

I came away with a kit to make a wine basket, too.



There were piles of fleeces of every type.













There were vendors for almost anything fiber related you could imagine.







I managed to restrain myself and came away with a large Ellie Lida basket, a 7.5 pound Coopworth fleece from Carol Wagner at Hidden Valley Woolen Mill, some gorgeous BFL from Rivers Edge Weaving Studio, and two knife edge shuttles for my inkle loom.












Truth be told, it was more fun to watch the broad variety of people, than to actually spend any money. Fiber people are an interesting bunch...