Sheeping and Woolling in Maryland

I love a good fiber festival and I haven't been to one in a few years. When my friend Jennie the Potter invited me to join her booth crew in Maryland, I decided it was time for a return visit!

Everyone talks about Rhinebeck, and I've been to and loved Rhinebeck New York's Sheep & Wool festival many times. It's got a country-gone-urban vibe that's very different from what I've experienced at Maryland's Sheep and Wool Festival.

The Maryland festival [MDSW] is, frankly, huge. Very well attended this year — crowds lined up for the awesome branded merchandise with the festival logo [see poster at left] long before the show even opened Saturday morning. Barns full of every kind of sheep and many other fiber-bearing animals amused kids of all ages. Sunday was remarkable for the number of moms being ushered around the fair on Mother's Day, and pairs of bewildered sons and daughters trying to find just the right thing to give their mamas.

Me? I spent much of the weekend at Jennie the Potter's booth, helping write up sales and find her beautiful hand-thrown pottery new homes. I love getting to spend time with my friends this way, and having a home base at the fair means a lot of Knitty readers stopped by and got one of the new 2011 Knitty buttons. [Right now, the only way to get one is to meet me at an event somewhere...upcoming events for this year include Sock Summit 2011 and Vogue Knitting Live in LA.]

While waiting in line for the obligatory pit lamb sandwich, I heard the beginnings of the Parade of Sheep nearby. Did you know that there were originally 4 breeds of sheep that all current sheep descend from, and only one of these original breeds remains relatively unchanged? It's the Bighorn Sheep. Anyway, I had to get back to the booth, but next year, I'm going to grab a spot in the bleachers and watch all the different breeds go by with the interesting commentary to match!

I leave you with a few snapshots of my weekend. Did you go to the festival? Tell me about your experience in the comments!

Yes, I know that's not a sheep. It's an alpaca.

an excellent motto for the weekend!

Jennie's hand-thrown and carved mugs...they're fabulous

pluckyfluff -- free spinning lessons all weekend!

matching woolmark tattoos

some of my haul from the weekend: a new Dyak Swan spindle, Bullens Wullens tussah silk, yak down from Bijou Basin Ranch and silk/yak fiber from Shadeyside Fibers. plus a new Jennie cup to hold my spindles.

And for a great video of the weekend, visit this week's entry at Knitter's Review. You might recognize someone around the 5 minute mark.

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Congratulations to our Denise Needles winner: Anna from Illinois!