Sheepfest: Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival 2007

Last weekend was the 34th (and my 1st) annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival (MdS&W). The anticipation leading up to this premier fiber festival excited me so much that I could hardly sleep the night before. Even so, I sprang right out of bed at 7am (unheard of, under normal circumstances) and walked out the door a little after 8am. The drive to the Howard County Fairground took longer than I would have liked - close to an hour. As soon as we took exit 80 off Rt 70, we saw cars crawling along, bumper-to-bumper.

Traffic leading from the highway exit to the Howard County Fairground.

The entrance to the Fairground.

As soon as I walked onto the Fairground, I experienced overwhelming sensory overload. Stretching in all directions were rows of booths, all bursting with colors and textures. The mingled scents of roasting meats (yum, lamb gyros!), frying dough (yum, funnel cake!), and various animals (umm, not so yum) assailed my nose. My fingers literally itched to bury themselves in mounds of fibers and yarns. A feeling of inexpressable joy and excitement swelled inside me, stretching my mouth in a wide grin and cementing my feet to the ground as I tried to decide which way to turn first.

One of my favorite vendors - Tess' Designer Yarns.

I finally managed to settle upon a direction (left) and let myself walk into the Tess' Designer Yarns booth first. Tess' was already packed - not only with skeins upon skeins of colorful, hand-dyed, variegated yarn and knitted samples, but also with people, mostly women, nearly all in a state of dazed euphoria; I was indeed surrounded by kindred spirits. After somehow identifying a few items I was interested in, I managed to wiggle through the crowd and tear myself away to continue my exploration.

Along the way along, among, and through the barns, I passed lots of eager people...

Line at the Fold booth, stretching right out the door.

...lots of fluffy little animals...

Pygora goats at the Sheep Thrills Fiber Farm booth.

Funny looking critters, aren't they? A pair of alpacas.

The goat likes to jump & climb.

...lots of fascinating booths...

A lovely selection of merino and merino-tencel roving at the Opalessence booth.

Sheep fleece sale in the Main Exhibition Hall.

Gorgeous example of Fair Isle knitting at the Yarns International booth.

...and lots of demonstrations.

Fluffy lil English angora bunny, whose fur will then be spun...

...by the Spinning Lady into yarn on her spinning wheel.

Me, happy... Sheep being sheared, not so pleased.

Before returning to the Tess' Designer Yarns booth, I finally managed to locate one of my very favorite vendors - Brooks Farm Yarn...

Brooks Farm Yarn booth - one of my absolute favorite vendors of the MdS&W.

...where I couldn't resist a lovely skein of 100% mohair yarn from the Widows & Orphans rack.

Brooks Farm Yarn: 1 hank of Primero 100% kid mohair yarn from the widows & orphans sale rack... Isn't it pretty?

Along the way, though, I did make a few more purchases:

Opalessence: 8oz of teal merino-tencel roving.

Golding Spindles: 2" very lightweight drop spindle.

The teal merino-tencel blend roving had so silky-smooth a texture and so lustrous a color that I couldn't resist. As for the Golding Spindle... Well, those are considered by many to be among the best drop spindles available. The brass ring concentrates the mass on the outside of the whorl for a longer, more even spin. This one is so tiny and light that it is perfect for spinning lace-weight yarn. I can hardly wait to attack the merino-tencil roving with the Golding!

After I did one last lap around the barns and booths, I allowed myself to return to the Tess' Designer Yarns booth, where I made a few purchases of both yarn:

Tess' Designer Yarns: 2 skeins of sock/baby weight superwash merino for a baby sweater (for Gregg's friends who are expecting).

Tess' Designer Yarns: A close-up.

...and pattern.

Tess' Designer Yarns: Pattern for a lovely beaded shawl... And I got to meet the designer!

I was very excited to meet the designer of that last pattern - a lovely beaded shawl designed to be made with a gorgeously soft alpaca-silk Tess' yarn in subtle shades. We were able to chat a little bit about knitting, the pattern, and life before exchanging contact information. Best of all, she is an alum and former professor of mathematics at my own alma mater - Columbia University!

Alas, the glorious day had to come to an end, but I couldn't leave MdS&W without at least one impulse buy...

Misty Mountain Farm: 4oz of merino combed top.

And now, all that's left is to wait (rather impatiently and eagerly) for the next Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, always the very first weekend of May!