Okay, back up a bit. So I wasn't exactly mucking about. It was more like me, strolling about the Howard County Fairgrounds, drinking in the sights, fondling the soft things, and doling out the cash in exchange for said soft things. Oh, and eating. I was in heaven.
Last year was my first trip to S&W. In retrospect, I'm glad my first time was alone. (Okay, on some level, that sounds totally wrong. And weird. But anyway...) I was there from around 8:30am until around 5:30pm, walking around, gazing around, mostly in a daze, buying a few things here and there, touching more than a few things here and there. I gradually familiarized myself with the atmosphere, the layout, and the sheer spectacle, slowly but surely. And that one day was enough. Sort of.
Fast forward to 2008. This year, I was at S&W both days. A full weekend of fiber-y goodness. What a way to celebrate my (gulp) 28th birthday, right?
Saturday was the serious day - serious exploration, serious shopping. I went with a couple of knitting friends from Ravelry (and my local meet-up), K and T, and my sister L, leaving the house around 7:30am and arriving at the Fairgrounds by 8:30am. We lucked out and got a great parking spot relatively close to the entrance, perfect for a mid-day trip back to the car to deposit Treasure, part 1.
Above: Standing in line at The Fold with an arm "full" of STR... In the spirit of full disclosure, Two of those skeins of STR are T's. I felt inadequate with my single skein, so she let me borrow hers for the photo.
Almost as soon as we began walking towards the entrance, we spotted another fellow Raveler, J. J was set up literally across the (goat) path from the entrance. And I do mean set up. Her vehicle, sporting a large "Western Maryland Ravelers" banner, occupied one parking space, and right behind it was a circle of folding camp chairs, where J lounged comfortably, holding court. J and her contingent had arrived at 6:30am, early enough to stake their claim to the small plot of prime real estate they called home base. I was in awe. I wasn't even snoozing the alarm clock at 6:30am, much less awake, on the road, or at the Fairgrounds! Consider me duly impressed; J is officially one of my heroes.
As it turns out, I was the only anal, obsessive one in my little group to have done extensive research and created a (mostly) comprehensive Excel spreadsheet - sorted alphabetically and geographically! - of this year's vendors. I had a sort-of plan of attack, but somehow, after I'd mentioned stumbling across and photographing the perennial line at The Fold the previous year, we ended up at their booth.
Above: Standing in line at The Fold.
At 8:30am, there was not yet a line to get into the booth to explore the three makeshift walls filled with skeins of STR, only a line to pay for the loot. I didn't see any harm in just looking, so T and I entered the booth while K and L staked out a place in the pay line. I was remarkably restrained, thoughtfully selecting a single skein of the STR Lightweight, in colorway Pebble Beach, after rejecting Farmhouse, which I'd admired & coveted on the Blue Moon Fiber Arts website some months before. Meanwhile, T selected a couple of semi-solid skeins of the Heavyweight. As we waited for the clock to strike 9 o'clock, the registers to open, and the shopping to begin, we agreed that K and T would explore some of the options for lace yarn (for K's wedding shawl) while L photographed livestock and I waited in line.
Above: Some of the many reasons for the increasing-by-the-minute line at The Fold.
As I waited, I had the opportunity to observe the S&W world around me... And my jaw dropped as I witnessed the incredible line of people waiting to purchase t-shirts. It just went on and on and on and on...
Above: T-shirt line, Building 1.
Later on, I read on Ravelry that some people waited a couple of hours to get their t-shirts! I was glad I hadn't been one of those people, not that I would have been, for the very simple reasons that (a) I'm not deeply committed to t-shirts that are emblazoned with logos, brand names, slogans, etc (other than college t-shirts, those are the exception to the rule); and (b) I don't relish standing in line. Oh, and (c) my preference would be to save the money for more fiber-y goodness. Different strokes :o)
Above: More STR.
Back to my line. As I waited to get to the register, my sister waltzed in for a look-see and added another skein of STR to my "pile" (of one). STR skein #2: Highway 30. I debated the merits of the two colors until L came up with a Solomon-esque suggestion to purchase both. Pure genius! I congratulated myself for my restraint (while simultaneously fighting down a surge of envy) as I glanced around me at women whose arms were filled with skein upon skein of STR. My sister, in the meantime, selected a skein of the Heavyweight in colorway Brick, a semi-solid red that she declared to be the epitome of "Nantucket red."
Above: My STR purchases; Highway 30 on the left, Pebble Beach on the right.
We finished up at The Fold before 9:30am, so L and I strolled through Barn 3... And so continued my adventures in wool.
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