it's not what you see

It's what you don't see.

What you do see here is the way cool result of an indigo dyeing demo at the CT Sheep, Wool, and Fiber Festival yesterday. Folks brought their own fiber/yarn for some time in the dye pot. The best part about dyeing with indigo is that the fiber comes out of the pot sort of a greenish-yellow, as on the left in the pic above, but then reacts with oxygen to turn the most gorgeous shades of blue. We put in some yet-to-be-spun fiber that will be the main part of a knit or felted hat, and the novelty yarn that Scott and Leah spun, which will be the folded up brim of the hat.

What you don't see is Scott and Leah in their glory among other spinners, participating in a demo of spinning novelty yarns, and pawing the luscious alpaca and angora and other ultra-soft and beautifully dyed (or natural) fibers. You don't see Jesse enjoying the dog trials or helping folks set up their booths or romping with Colin. You don't see the ox cart rides and kid activities, or the fantastically entertaining musical performers, or the steady stream of friends that we ran into during the day. You don't see us camped out for the afternoon in the sunshine, listening to the live music and tales, visiting with old and new friends, spinning and knitting and oh so content. It's impossible to catch that kind of day in a snapshot, so I didn't even try, but it was Good.