Man's Eye View of Michigan Fiber Festival, Part 1
Thank you to everyone who left us happy anniversary wishes. We had a most wonderful day, ending in a delightful restaurant (schwa) and we are looking forward to what our 9th year brings us!
This year, I wanted to bring you a different perspective of the Michigan Fiber Festival. By now, you all know what gets my attention when I am at one of these things, so this time, since both John and my Dad were with me, I thought it would be fun to just give them my camera and let them show you what (mostly non-fiber oriented) men see at a fiber festival. Because they were such good sports (they knew that mom and I just wanted a little more time to go shopping) and did such a good job of capturing their own spirit, and the festival, I have decided to post most of their pictures, in order, over the next several days. With a little running commentary by me, of course. How could I resist?
WARNING: This is a very picture heavy post. Apologies to those of you on dialup. I think the pictures and the story they tell are worth the wait. And I did try to make them as low-res as I could in hopes that they would load faster.
This is the one picture I took at the Allegan County Fair Ground in Allegan, MI. How could you not like a festival that starts with an enormous chicken?
My dad, who has always been the family photographer, has an eye for seeing the artistic elements in the everyday. I love the handle on this grinder. Almost like a sunburst design.
When I asked Dad what was in this picture, I was expecting to hear something interesting about the piece of equipment. The answer I got: "it's a bunch of guys around a machine". I think this might be the fiber festival equivalent of opening up the hood of a car in your driveway on a Saturday afternoon when the other guys are all out mowing their lawns. Especially if everyone decided to bring their own lawn chairs.
This might be my favorite picture of the whole batch. I have no idea what kind fo sheep it is, but I love how dad managed to capture what I think is the essence of a sheepy face: wooly, a bit solemn, actively interested in something. You just want to reach out and give the sheep a little chuck behind the ears.
Clearly grain grinders and other antique equipment aren't the only machines of interest at the MFF. John took 4 pictures of this car, from different angles, just to make sure I had a good one I could use. He told me "I think you'd look pretty good in that knitting with the top down as we drove to the lake shore". Clearly, this man knows how to get what he wants.
Not sure which of the guys took this one. MFF is nice because it supports those who want to camp out. When you're camping in one of those, you're definitely camping in style.
The guys must have headed back into the sheep barns to find this guy. How could you not love his color and his horns and beautiful curly locks. Once again, I wish I knew what kind of sheep this is. Given the size of the horns and the shape of the face, I'm thinking one of the older, less domesticated breeds. Anyone recognize this guy?
Stay tuned for part 2 tomorrow... we get deeper into the livestock barns and check out more of the local scenery.
That's great the see the man's eye view of the fiber festival. Men can be quite dear, can't they.
~firefly
I like the man's perspective. Except for the machines, it was quite sympathetic.
Fun photos! But tell John it's really hard to knit in a convertible. I've tried and it's just too windy.
What fun! My favorite is the one of the men sitting around the machine in lawn chairs.
I just love that sheep face. The hairdo is great as is the steady gaze. Great shot!
Fun pics, It sounds like they know how to have a good time. That last pic might be an angora goat? I remember seeing a pen of them mixed in with the sheep...
maybe it's a shetland. They are the smaller of the sheep breeds and older.
Looks kinda Angora-goaty to me! ;-)
I'm with some of the others, I think that's a goat at the bottom.
Yuor hubby has great taste in cars. :) I suspect I would get something similar out of my hubby if I could ever get him to go to a fiber festival with me. :) He would spend a lot of time with the various spinning wheels. He's rather fascinated with them from an enginerring perspective. :)
You WOULD look good knitting in that little beemer!
The rooster made me laugh....DH once came with me to a conference and he took a picture of the golden rooster in the lobby. what is it with guys and roosters?
Great pictures, but none could beat that wonderful wedding picture! Happy anniversary!
The non-fiber-person viewpoint. Funny!
"Camping" in style? I'm almost certain that RV has more square footage than my apartment.