Maryland Sheep & Wool Report -- and a winner!

I"ll always have a special place in my heart for Maryland Sheep and Wool, the first outdoor fiber festival I ever attended. I can't remember exactly how many years I've been going; probably close to ten by now. This year Laura and I were joined by Jen (hooray!) but faithful traveling companion Jim was working and unable to come (boo!).  Although we had a great time, we missed Jim dreadfully.

Look how sad Laura and Jen are.....

Even Jen showing me all her tats couldn't make up for Jim not being with us....

But we soldiered on. I was not very quick on the camera, as I missed taking photos of so many of the friends that I met:  Knitty D, Marilyn, Willietattoos, the lovely Ann from Gosh Yarn It!, etc. but I did get a photo of some of the Loop girls, or "Craig's Angels," as I like to call them.

Note that I have cropped Erika's hands out of this photo.  She knows why.

It seemed to me that the show wasn't quite as crowded as it was in years past, but you can judge for yourself, for here is the traditional photo of the midway.

Although they claimed to have Philly cheesesteaks

I'm not sure I believe them.  I was, however, quite pleased with the ice cream cone I sampled....

We saw many, many fiber animals, including the just-sheared alpacas (their backs looked like velour!)

and obviously a whole lotta sheep.

I had to laugh at this particularly stubbborn ovine, who just didn't want to go into the show ring.

His poor handlers had to half-shove, half-carry him into the ring, and even then, the sheep had the last laugh because his one handler ended up flashing us, by cracky.

This is the PG-rated photo.

We all thought the weather on Saturday was hot and I got a mild sunburn, but in the afternoon, clouds rolled in, and by 2 p.m., it was overcast. No rain, just clouds.

We showed rare restraint when it came to purchasing.  Jen snapped up a gorgeous cone of magenta Bartlett's wool; Laura was tempted by some sportweight Peace Fleece; and I found some delightful handspun yarn

amid the lovely soaps of Maggie's...

These are some of the shaving soaps but the regular goat's milk kind are fabulous and now you can order online!

We left a bit early, exhausted by the sun and the fun,

and I have to say I was happy when I finally saw Philadelphia's City Hall displayed before me -- a sure sign I was almost home.

Next post will include my traditional series of photos from the prize winners' exhibit.....

Bijou Basin Giveaway winner:  The Random Number Organzier picked Kassia to win the free PDF! Kassia, I have emailed you using the email connected to your Blogger profile so look for the email.  Thanks, everyone!