Nevada County Fair

I enjoy any opportunity to come to the Foothill area, but I especially enjoy the fairgrounds. I came to the fair for the first time with my brother and several family members. Because I was so taken by the place and experience, the rest is vague. A couple of years ago, I came back as a member of a sheep-to-shawl team for the Conference of Northern California Handweavers and then again to participate with the Foothill Fiber Guild in the fair last year. This year Amy went with me and we had a great time sharing our love of spinning and fiber and the ability to spend real time with people we have only been able to spend time with virtually.

Years ago when my two oldest children were toddlers, I lived in Applegate and commuted through Colfax to my job in Grass Valley. Though we were in that house for only a year, that time is a large figure in the fabric of my life experience. My then husband was still on active duty, so my mother and I lived in this house as caretakers until his discharge, and then we lived there together for several more months. After two years of duty station in the Philippines, we didn’t know where we wanted to come back to the States to live. My brother arranged this gig so we could see if we liked the area and at the same time, watch the house for friends of his.

I fell in love the Foothill area and it broke my heart when it was time to move on. I was absolutely certain that one day we would move back to live permanently, and on this condition, accepted the move away, believing it to be temporary. My then-husband had been accepted to the School of Mines in both Idaho and Nevada, but we only had enough money to move ourselves to Reno. This temporary move has stretched into 31 years and remarriages.

It is with great pleasure that I attend this fair. I get to spend the day in an area that I love, doing something I love to do, while at the same time making new friends. Amy brought her Art Wheel, we met our new blogging friend Birdsong, and learned about silkworms and saw them munch leaves and make their silk. Well, they weren't making silk, but their owner showed us how they do it and how we get silk - worth the trip.

It was a huge thrill to be able to share my love of spinning with two children who totally *got* it. Having watched her cousin, the little girl experimented with switching hands, then just started using the inchworm method to make real yarn. I was so excited that I only got the one picture. We visited with other guild member and got to see the finished Tweed Project the Foothill team completed. They have set the bar very high for the rest of us in the Carson Sierra Spinners and Weavers Guild.