Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival: the report

I was going to try to work this entry to the tune of “My Favorite Things,” but I am no lyricist.

It was a great day this past Saturday, as it was the beginning of the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. Cue “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” The festival was the most crowded that I have ever seen it. A drive that normally takes Mr. Penney and I less than ten minutes to make, took over a half hour; and the parking lot was nearly full when we arrived at 10:30 AM.

You would think that the collection that I have built up from years (becoming decades) of going to MSWF that I wouldn’t feel the compunction to buy anything new, and yet new projects raced through my head as I saw the fleeces, rovings, and yarns that were available. Here is what I got on Saturday:

• 1 ounce of bison roving from Still River Mill
• 2 pounds of roving from The Barefoot Spinner (a yearly purchase)
• A charcoal gray half fleece from a Romney/Corriedale cross from Triple R Farms (a yearly purchase)
• Fair Isle Sweaters Simplified from Philosopher’s Wool
• 2 gyros
• 1 vanilla cream soda

Mr. Penney ably carried my bags through this, although I got the distinct feeling that he was growing tired of the whole thing after about an hour.

I did get to see some friends (not counting vendors,) as well. The one that I have not seen in a while is Roseann, from my Chesapeake Fibre Arts Guild (CFAG, unfortunately) days. She has been living in VA for a while now, but still does the pilgrimage every year. We actually got to talk this year, as opposed to last year where we were carried off in opposite directions by the crushing tide. It was good to catch up and exchange blog addresses.

Some final thoughts and observations:

• Is there some kind of traffic pattern that is supposed to be observed when walking through things like this? I ask because I always seem to get stuck behind people that are not moving as fast as I would like them to move. In general, people just seem to be oblivious to the “oncoming traffic.”
• Obesity seems like it is an issue with the fiber population. I say this as I continue to inch up in pant sizes.
• Why can’t I just play with fiber for a living? Oh that’s right. Money. Dang!