The first weekend in May has become one of my most eagerly anticipated weekends of the year — once it passes, I immediately start making plans for the following year. You may be asking yourself what could be so exciting — the annual Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival of course!
This year's Festival was particularly exciting because in addition to Mike (has now attended 3 Festivals) and Andy (2 Festivals in addition to trips to the NY and CT events, and the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Festival), my friend Kirsten came to town from Chicago for the occasion (we've gone to Stitches Midwest together). The weather was projected to be a steamy 93 degrees, so we decided to left DC fairly early on Saturday to get there before the sun could get really intense and before a good chunk of the crowds arrived.
While that turned out to the right call, the heat and sun were still pretty intense in the morning when we arrived, so instead of attending events like the sheep dog trials, making several rounds to the various food stands and doing a lot of wandering through the vendor areas, we tried to focus on basics and make sure we visited all of the vendor booths once and got the key food offerings (for me, the food is less important because I don't eat meat and these Festivals are known for their innovative and expansive lamb options). This strategy turned out to be good for a number of reasons — in addition to ensuring we didn't get too wiped out in the sun, it also limited my yarn purchases to a fairly shocking three skeins — all from Brooks Farm, a Texas-based company where I have purchased some lovely yarn from in years past. I purchased a skein of Acero in a maroon shade, another Acero in a beautiful emerald, and a Solo Silk in a light blue. While I don't know what I'll do with the Acero skeins (though I was thinking maybe socks?), I think I'm going to make a modified Swinging Summer Shell, which was on display at the Brooks booth, with the blue Solo Silk skein — I just hope I purchased enough though (always the concern of knitters!)!
And while this clearly goes without saying, I am very much looking forward to next year's Festival!
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