Yes, it’s worth the twelve-hour drive from central Texas to the mountains of New Mexico. The Taos Wool Festival is the place to find American-grown animal fiber of every description: sheepswool, mohair, angora, llama, alpaca, and probably more that escaped my attention. There’s something for textile-lovers of all persuasions:
fleece and batts for spinners and dyers
yarns for dyers, weavers, crocheters, and knitters
finished garments, rugs, art, and accessories.
Here’s my 10-yr-old, Eva, choosing mohair locks, one ounce for $2.00. “What do you do with those?” a lady asked me. “Oh, you can spin them, or use them in a wall hanging,” I said. But who knows what Eva will do with them? She always surprises me with her ingenuity.
Mohair and mohair/wool combinations were impossible to resist in Brooks Farm’s booth. We stood in front of their small mirror, trying one skein after another to find the perfect one for our complexions. Eva looks good in cool greens, yellows, and blues. I prefer the warmer tones. Here’s our purchase.
The Wool Festival hosts competitions for handspun yarns, home accessories, garments, and fleeces. The items must be made from American-grown animal fibers (the percentages differ for the various contests). I plan to enter a wall hanging next year, so I bought some wool quilt batting.
My husband, Charles, played with our two-year-old, Ella, while we shopped. She fed and petted the wooly animals, and climbed in a tree. Many dogs were at the show, and she had to visit them all. By lunchtime, she was hot and tired and ready to go.
While Ella had a nap, Charles and Eva went to the Rio Grande Gorge.
