Maryland Sheep and Wool - the takeaway

The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival came home with me - in a small way. 

I forced myself not to stop in or even look at the auction tent - I caught glimpses of beautiful spinning wheels and looms from the corner of my eye. Someday, the right spinning wheel will find me. It's like waiting for the right guy to show up in your life....much patience and restraint needed in the meantime!

There is sooooo MUCH YARN and other fiber goodness that one could blow their entire savings in a gluttonous frenzy. Aware of that, I decided to approach this festival like a museum curator - searching out just the right pieces that would round out my collection. I also took along an 8x11" bag and limited myself to whatever it could contain.

I've been trying to spin a bit more, both on my great wheel and the drop spindles, so some fiber was in order. The multicolored batt on the left seemed to have a well-combed preparation, perfect for the great wheel. The yellow ball is basic 100% merino. The bottom fiber is 100% silk - I was hunting for something new to tackle, and this silk called to me. Now to figure out how to spin it!

Black Laceweight Merino - for a gift. I suspect this JaggerSpun is a mill end, thus the handmade label.

 Malabrigo - oh how I love thy colors! One of my goals was to find a yarn I've never knit - and this famous brand fit the bill. I'm a bit wary about how a single will wear (pilling??). This will likely become a scarf or cowl for a gift.

 50/50 merino/silk "Solo Silk" from a vendor from Texas (I'm so bad at remembering names!). The colorway is a bit more subtle of a gray-neutral-cream than what the photo shows. I fell in love with a (free!) scarf pattern and decided to knit something for myself. I'm usually drawn to red or blue yarns, so picking this colorway was branching out for me. This is for the "try something that pushes my color envelope" category.

And some non-fiber goodness: heavenly delicious Maple Cream from Justamere Tree Farm (and the kids don't like it! Wahoo! It's all MINE!), an antique egg darner which will be put to good use, and ceramic buttons from Melissa Jean Designs to go with a sweater on my to-knit list.