First Ever MD Sheep and Wool

Oh. My. Goodness!

I love sheep. I love wool. I love knitters and the community we share.

I went on Saturday, and got there around 11:30. The line to get into the parking lot was long! (I know some people said it backs up quickly, however I had no idea such a phenomena was happening in MD yearly and I had no clue!) At first I just wandered in a daze. It was packed, and I don’t like crowds, so I didn’t want to push through all of the tents. However, that didn’t last too long.

After that, I walked through some of the booths. The colors!

All that yarn, to smoosh and squish and hug! It may be a good thing I have no nearby-LYS. I would by so much more yarn.

This is what I got.

First, I saw STR, which I had to check out, since I have heard so much about it and have not seen it in person. I got Footsey-Foo.

It is soft, and they had very pretty colors. Right next to it was some Gypsy Girl yarn.  

This color is called Cattails, which called to me. (She has some great colors, hard to choose.)

Then I wandered around, and thought better about buying a spindle, and found more yarn.

This is from Barefoot Spinner, some lovely sock yarn.

Then, I walked into and out of Tess’ tent several times. There was an Angora/Merino yarn that I brushed against that was luscious. I picked up several of her yarns, squooshing the yarn. I almost got this green/black colored sock yarn, however I did manage to put that down. However, I did get these

The first is lace weight lightly variegated yarn. I love it! I am now trying to find a pattern that would use it. The second is a very slightly variegated silver SILK yarn! SILK! My first silk ever! The color plus the feel was too much for me. I was overwhelmed.

Now I am looking for some patterns for the silk. I’m not sure what to do. I want a pattern that would use as much of the yarn as possible. It is 660 yards of sport weight. I was thinking it would make an awesome shawl, however is there something else that would be just as good? Weigh in if you have any thoughts.

I met up with some of the knit-bloggers who were there, but they were not ones I already read! Mel, Gryphon, Theresa, Mary, Susan, Coleen, Diane, ChaCha, and blogless Larissa. I didn’t get any pictures of anyone, however you can see some on their blogs. Mel and her husband were talking about how knit-bloggers have such a great community where everyone is helpful and supportive, and how that doesn’t happen everywhere in cyberspace. It is great to have fans!

I did walk through the exhibit hall, and there were some very nice woolen goods, however the best, most awesome use of wool was this…

They felted a statue of a bobcat getting ready to pounce on a chipmunk. How awesome is that?!

I also saw fibery animals! Here are some parting shots to share.

I can’t wait until next year.