So, below you'll find a very photo heavy "diary" of my trip down and back!
All packed up and ready to head out! I drove down the day before the festival so I could set up a canopy tent with some help from the event committee. So, before I left Urbana, I stopped by my local Giant grocery store to grab a few things and some Starbucks for the road. (please excuse my pollinated/dirty car; it was one of the few things I didn't get done)
I made really good time getting down to the Midlothian/Powhatan area. Even with a few stops along the way and taking a wrong exit. Full disclosure, I am renowned for getting lost/taking wrong turns. Just ask some of my friends. They can tell you all about it. ;) And I-95 South wasn't bad at all! (well, I did accidentally take the HOV lane around the heavy construction and couldn't get out of it...which is WHY I got down there in excellent time!)
I did have to stop off and pick up some gravel to weigh down my tent. And saw this super cool looking Western store! Next time I go down to Midlothian I will be stopping here!
Once I got into Powhatan I quickly made my way to where the festival grounds were and chatted with the lovely staff. Seriously. They were so well organized and pleasant. I couldn't have asked for better people to work with. I had help with setting up my tent(Mary Claire, You rocked! Thank you again!). But once it was up I took a while to arrange my tables. The section my booth space area was in, was gently sloped. So I wanted to make sure the tables had good footing and wouldn't hobble if someone leaning was on them. But aside from that, I got the basics set up quickly, so all I had to do the next day was set up my merchandise.
After the canopy tent, tables, and crates were set up I left to go to my hotel in Chester, VA. I relaxed, had chinese food for dinner and painted my nails! (I used Julep polish in Esmerelda)
I left at 6:30am from the hotel to get gas, Starbucks and then to head back to Powhatan! (are you sensing a theme here? Good coffee for road trips is essential!)
I got everything set out and ready about 45 minutes before the gates opened for the festival goers. Note the paper flowers/punis my daughter made for the booth to the left of the sign.
I am planning on bringing them to every festival I can!
Also, I was very excited to visit a few nearby vendors. I didn't snap very many pictures sadly. So below are a few of the ones I did happen to get.
I met Dani from KSC Designs. And wow. Her eye for color and pattern is incredible!!
That green double chevron box bag was calling to me. And I had meant to go back to see if it was still there. But, things got crazy once vendors started breaking down their booths. So I couldn't really leave my tent to go see her. BUT! I do plan on stalking her etsy shop. Regularly.
I also had some amazing booths around me. Kelly Glass Studio was full of lots of pretty fibery and non-fibery stuff. The spindles I wanted. Badly. But I held off because my son wouldn't be able to resist the shiny spindle with the metal shaft..with sharp ends. Cygnet Hollow Farm was also next to me but I didn't snap any pics. However, the owner's daughter Guinevere was a delight. So much so, that I gave her a display-only pom-pom for her to play with. She made me think of my Gwen and how much I would love having her along for shows when she is older.
My husband Jeff and our son Henry came down from Maryland on Saturday to give me a break, find me some lunch and hang out for a bit. Henry fell in love with the sheep! And kept running to where they were being held by the sheep shearing demo area by the stage. He was super cute, a teensy bit grumpy. But we can forgive him that. Both of my men had a good time.
Jeff and Henry went and got me an incredible BBQ sandwich for lunch. Which had coleslaw on it...and honestly. I hate coleslaw. But THEIR coleslaw was amazing. Fresh, not too sweet not too tangy. Just enough crunch without any bitterness. So. It is fair to say I am finally after 29 years of loathing coleslaw entirely.... now converted to liking it. A bit. Or more specifically I like their coleslaw!
So at the end of the day this was all of the hand carded punis I had leftover. I brought 17.5 ounces of punis and left with 5 ounces. I met so many amazing people and had a lovely time. I did on the fly hand carding demos and supported spindle demos. And, chatted with a lot of people about what punis are and the differences between them and rolags. Lots of education in the Gourmet Stash booth!
I took a bit longer to break down than I would've liked. But I really attribute that to just being tired. I headed back to the hotel and hung out with Jeff and Henry for the evening.
We took Henry to the indoor pool and I spun some punis on my supported spindle. It was very relaxing. And as you can see Henry had a ton of fun! (not pictured is my husband, who is right across from Henry)
The next morning we loaded up the cars, had a quick breakfast and headed out for Frederick, MD.
There was a ton of traffic on I-95 NB and I really just wanted to get home. Fast. But, I did the whole 3 hour drive back with no pitstops. And when I got into the house, I left the car in the garage unpacked and sat down and played with my spindle. It is safe to say my brain was zombie-like. All static, no coherent thoughts.
All in all...I had a great trip! On Monday I took inventory and put up all of the punis in the shop. I do have some new Make Your own Punis Kits that I need to list; but I am having an issue with my tutorial file. So once that is taken care of I can print the tutorials and then put them up for sale.
If you happened to come out to the festival this past weekend. Thank You! It was a wonderful day. I hope you come to the festival next year. And the year after that...and the year after that. ;)
Hope everyone has a spectacular week! I know my week will consist of some much needed down time peppered with a bit of work. Also, I will gearing up for Maryland Sheep & Wool this weekend. I am attending as a festival goer and planning to meet up with a bunch of friends and hang out.
Two weekends in a row full of fibery goodness! I am one lucky lady!
Take Care & Happy Crafting!!
Kate
