Yes, finally those words I've been wanting to type for three years — Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival! Since I last went in 2006, I wanted to go back every year since then. Unfortunately though because of my crazy work schedule, I haven't been able to go again until finally, this year when I made a commitment to myself to go. So, early on the morning of Sat. 5/1, I got in the car with Andy and Mike and we headed off into Maryland even though there was a strong projection for rain all day. In what appeared to be a sign that we made the right decision, as soon as we parked, the clouds cleared up and the sun came out!
We first methodically planned our way through the vendors, before embarking upon the first set of outdoor vendor tents. After I made a few notes of myself of shops I wanted to return to, we then decided to get an early start at some of the lamb stations ("we" is a loose term as I am vegetarian!). Andy and Mike started with some barbeque lamb ribs, while I decided to just get some french fries and a fresh-squeezed lemonade. The rest of the day pretty much followed in that order — stops at vendors, followed by food breaks. The crowd seemed much larger than 3 years ago, and so I had to make several returns to vendors later in the day when the crowds dissipated a bit. I ended up buying only a small amount of yarn (yay to myself for staying within budget!) from Brooks Farm (two hanks of a deep purple Mas Acero and one of Solo Silk in a deep pink), Flying Fibers (one ball each of a dark grey and cream aran weight new wool), and Bijou Bison Ranch (two skeins of75% yak down/25% merino at Andy's request) — more will follow on these yarn purchases as I finally figure out what to do with them. We also purchased a wicker basket for me to put my ongoing projects in a basket instead of all over the apartment, so it was a very practical trip as well :-)
The day ended with ice cream cones and a sheep dog demonstration (one of my favorites from the '06 Festival) — without a doubt, the most memorable Saturday in months!
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