05.07.08
Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival 2008
Happiness is attending a fiber festival –
See more festival photos here.
What an experience! I went with Maria and Jocelyn, two experienced MDSW festival attenders who showed me, the newbie, the ropes. We did so much!
Day 1:
- Wake up at 6:30 a.m., shower, continental breakfast at The Days Inn because not enough time to go to Waffle House.
- Pack bags, load-up the car with spinning wheels, get breakfast / coffee for Maria & Jocelyn.
- Drop off Maria’s and Jocelyn’s spinning wheels.
- Run to The Fold. Stand amazed at the line that is already there. Push way in to look at the yarn. Stand in line and chat with other excited knitters. Spend time going back to look, consult with friends, go back, consult — purchase two skeins.
- Help Maria take her fleece to Zeilinger’s.
- Wander around main exhibition hall. Become very excited by the process of wool rug hooking. Buy a starter kit, marvel at the designs of the rug hookers working at the table. Very nice ladies - they answered all my questions
- Lunch - pit lamb sandwich. Decide still hungry and get a lamb burger.
- Go to Judith MacKenzie McCuin’s talk on Getting Your Fleece Processed.
- Maria & Jocelyn go to their spinning class.
- Find a grassy, shaded area and nap for an hour. Wake up and work on Raquel’s scarf.
- Eat vanilla ice cream dipped in chocolate. Feel sick.
- Go back to main exhibition area and contemplate which yarn to buy. Decide to put off for tomorrow.
- Meet up with M&J. Share a plate of ribbon potato chips with everything - sour cream, cheese, jalapenos, bacon bits, fake green onion bits. Now truly sick.
- Just as we’re about to make our way to the car, we get distracted by the yarns and rovings at Persimmon Tree Farm. M&J buy more roving.
- Drive to the Ravelry party. Accidentally walk through a wedding reception. Arrive way too early so sit outside of the pool and chat with Michelle from Philadelphia & Kristy from Minneapolis. (Forgot their blogs names!)
- Ravelry party starts. Get nametags. Get drink tickets. Get drinks and munchies. We sit outside but get annoyed by the bugs and retreat to the inside. Get teased for being too New York and not able to handle bugs. Jocelyn’s friend meets up with us.
- Leave Ravelry party to get dinner - Ethiopian food in downtown Fredrick. Jocelyln completely charms the owners because she lived in Ethiopia for two years.
- Back to the Days Inn to pass out.
Day 2
- Wake up at 6:30 a.m. to pack up the car and check out.
- Maria goes to class. Go shopping with Jocelyn.
- Buy yarn from Persimmon Tree Farm in a beautiful orange and brown colorway.
- Buy yarn from The Fibre Company. $4.50 a skein!!! Go with ten of basic black and ten of a gorgeous blue to complement Darren’s eyes.
- Back to main exhibition hall to buy a rug hook and embroidery hoop. Want to start working on my rug hooking kit.
- Jocelyn convinces me to try out spinning wheels. Meet Jim of the Yarn Barn, bond over the fact that I’m from Lawrence, Kansas too. He teaches me how to spin and try out various wheels - the Lendrum Folding, the Kromski Sonata and the Ashford Traveller. So tempted to purchase one but exert self control . . . for now.
- Lunch - another pit lamb sandwich - this time the platter!
- M&J go to color knitting class.
- Find nap location from previous day. Start working on rug hooking. Take nap.
- Wander from tent to tent in case I missed anything good.
- Go back to the music performance area. Sit under tree and knit on Raquel’s scarf.
- Meet up with M&J, eat, pack and get on the road. There is so much in the car that I can’t see Jocelyn in the back seat. Thankfully we’re all petite women and we can fit amidst all the fiber!
- Arrive home safe, sound and fiber happy!
