Two Days at Maryland Sheep And Wool!

When I moved back to Baltimore, I knew that there were some serious perks to being here. One of the biggest happened over this past weekend, May 5 & 6 – the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.

My weekend was spent being booth help for Hobbledehoy Yarn + Fiber and Marigoldjen Hand Dyed Yarn. Duties included helping out with customers, talking with the lovely Liz, Jenny, and co-helper Adele of Looliemom Fiber Arts, showing folks how to use the fibers in the booth, and trying not to get in the way. I succeeded at some of these things. 😉
Because I was having such a grand time there, I forgot to take photos. Therefore, all the ones you see here are from folks kind enough to allow me to use theirs! 😀

Some of the highlights of this weekend – and it really is only some, as there were SO many:

• getting to meet/see/chat with fiberistas Melissa [Wild Hare Fiber Studio], Arlene [Spin Artiste], Esther [Jazzturtle], Ashley [Neauveau Fiber Arts], Elysa [No. {222} Handspun], and Charisse [ColorCrazeFiber]
• FINALLY getting to meet my friend Carrie, who made amigurumi zombie doppelgangers of Rob and myself a while back, and who will be selling her creations shortly [YAY!]
• Seeing my pal and all-around awesome person and crafter Christen [Creepy Cute Crochet and NeedleNoodles]
• Getting to meet and spin a while with my wonderful friend Ashley, who until now, I only knew online. We will be spinning together again at Camp Pluckyfluff in October!
• Sneaking away to do a tiny bit of shopping and a TON of sweating, as it was hot and crowded. This makes for a slightly unpleasant experience inside some of the barns, but it is a GOOD thing, because crowds usually mean sales.
• Talking to all the sheep in the barns. Having some of them look for nose pets.
• Seeing about 3270972350723508 people that I know [hence why I’m not listing you all, I just *can’t* or that would be the entire post! Plus, my brain, she cannot remember all the details. Poor brain.]
• Getting to meet the Knit Girllls [of the Knit Girllls podcast]and watch them knock out half of the Hobbledehoy booth with their and their entourage’s shopping frenzy. They’re awesome and it was an honor to meet ’em!
• The amazing camaraderie of being in a huge place filled with Your People – the ones who speak your language, love what you love, and are part of your wooly tribe. I love you all so much.

I managed to get a few things for the biz, which of course YOU will be seeing transformed into other things here on my website soon… there’s something so magical about getting fiber artistry from another fiberista and piling my own magic onto it, too. It is like a build of images and color/texture sense, creating from what came before in order to build something magnificent and rare.

[ahem, okay]

YES! I got a metric buttload of fiber from Liz of Hobbledehoy, of course – I mean, I was in her booth all weekend! I have a veritable rainbow of beautiful fiber. I’ll try to take photos, but the lighting has been miserable, what with all the grey days. I also got some mega-awesome fiber packs from Elysa/No.222 – she does this thing with BRIGHTS against neutral, natural, textured wool, and it really appeals.

I bought *one* thing that is ostensibly for Threeravens, but even more so for me – a supported Russian lace spindle from The Spanish Peacock.

The wood is pink ivory, it spins like a DREAM [even though the operator is full of issues while learning], and it is a joy to work with as I fumblingly learn how to use it. Expect a blog post all about it. I am in love.

There was SO much else to buy! I was good, because I am trying to save up for Camp Pluckyfluff, but here’s a little taste of what you missed…

Would I go back again next year? HELL YES I WOULD. And I will. And if I can swing it, I’ll be vending there. I missed a ton of things to do – there was a sheep-to-shawl, a parade of the sheep breeds, shearing, sit and knits, judging of yarn and fleece and garments… plus a ton of sheep-themed food [I heard the pit lamb was delicious, but I just can’t eat the lil’ fluffies, plus the prices for food there are hiiiiigh] and even plants, pottery, and other interesting items that I just never got a chance to inspect because, hello! I was overwhelmed! 😉

If you saw the girl with the BRIGHT red, long hair there, that was ME. Next time, please DO come say hello! Big thanks go to Rob, who was a trooper on Saturday despite getting heat-sick, Liz and Jenny who were so much fun to spend a weekend with talking about everything under the sun, and my Tweedle-twin Adele who made me laugh SO DAMN much on Saturday – never a dull moment! Until next year, MDSW: BAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH! <3 Pertinent links for this post include: Hobbledehoy Yarn + Fibers - http://hobbledehoyfibers.blogspot.com/ [blog] and http://www.etsy.com/shop/hobbledehoy [shop]
Marigoldjen Hand Dyed Yarns – http://www.etsy.com/shop/marigoldjen
Looliemom Fiber Arts – http://www.etsy.com/shop/looliemom
Wild Hare Fiber Studio – http://www.etsy.com/shop/wildhare
Jazzturtle Creations –
Spin Artiste – http://www.spinartiste.com/
The Spanish Peacock – http://www.etsy.com/shop/SpanishPeacock
Neauveau Fiber Arts – http://www.handspunartyarn.com/
ColorCrazeFiber – http://www.etsy.com/shop/COLORCRAZEFIBER
No. {222} Handspun – http://www.etsy.com/shop/no222
NeedleNoodles – http://needlenoodles.com/home/
The Knit Girllls – http://www.theknitgirllls.com/wordpress/