The past week and a half have been filled with wonderful fibery adventures.  The morning after our return flight from Tucson, we jumped right into preparation for last weekend's Knit Weekend at the Slater Mill.  It was the first time that Ball and Skein vended at Slater.  Friday night's festivities started with at the 'Fireside Ordinary' at the Sylvanus Brown House, a beautiful restored mill house on the site.  There was music, storytelling, food and drink.  The house was lit with candles and warmed by three open fireplaces.  It was a fun.  I did see a couple spinners and knitters in the crowd.  

Afterwards, we headed over to the cocktail party.  It was so much more than cocktails, beginning with a lecture on the Shetland Isles by Gudrun Johnston and trunk shows, featuring the work of Thea Colman and Ellen Mason.  

The vendors set up in the mill (museum) amongst the old machinery.  It took a bit of imagination but the results were worth it.  Visitors strolled through the museum to shop.  As a vendor, it was magical.  Outside, light reflects off the river as it races to the falls. The windows in the mill are still glazed with old wavy glass.  Looking out at Saturday's snowfall was beautiful, a step back in time.  Inside the mill, it was dark. I can not imagine how anyone, children or adults, could manage to do the fine mill work in those conditions.  Even with today's modern track lighting, it wasn't enough for me to have worked by.

Thanks Polly Hopkins for taking this picture.  

You can check out the weekend itself on Slater Mill's event site.