This was my fifth year at Maryland Sheep and Wool, so I feel a bit “seasoned” – even though there were some nice and welcome changes at the festival this year – more space for large vendors, recycle bins, extra lavatories.  It was nice to see the organizers improving on a good thing – making it even better for the future.  I initially planned to attend one day  only, but then I had the opportunity to go both days – and that was pretty great! There is always so much to see, but I felt that I covered a lot of ground and actually saw nearly every barn and vendor section this year – and I think this is the first year I can say that!

I got to meet up with some wonderful people – many of them for the first time, and re-unite with friends I have met in previous years. This year’s weather was extremely hot and shade was a very sought-out commodity. So, the meetings all happened under the shade trees, in the shaded pavillions, or standing in the cold drink lines!  One such meetup, near the lemonade stand, was the re-unite with Tania “Mikomiao”, a long-time Flickr contact.  We met briefly last year, but had the chance to snap a pic this time.  Tania was down from NYC for the day with several friends.   I also had the wonderful opportunity to meet Kim and Heather as well as Heather’s daughters.  Heather’s daughter Pia also happens to be a huge Penguins hockey fan – so it was wonderful to meet her!

She’s even wearing her “Got Evgeni?” shirt! 

I also got to see several Ravelry friends, and many more Flickr friends too.  Funny how it takes a big festival like this to actually see the local people!  I got to talk to Mai and Emily (who both live in the area, but we never meet up, unfortunately) and Tina who was down from NYC.  And many thanks to several people who said hello and introduced themselves while standing in lines, walking down the aisles ~ it’s so much fun to meet everyone!

On Saturday, my mom and aunt and I melted in the heat, but still had a lovely day.  My aunt is visiting from Alabama after years of hearing me talk about the festival – she finally got to experience it herself.  She knits a lot, and like my mom is also interested in felting.  They both bought a bag-full of roving, and my aunt bought this adorable felted animal book.  I can’t wait to see what they come up with!

Auntie with her felt book – first purchase at MDSW! 

 
Mom with her bag-full of roving on the scale 

I picked up Jenna from the airport – in from Seattle – and I think this is her fifth MDSW as well (four of them we have been together).  We enjoyed a fun night with Kris, Kelp Kelly and Allison at my favorite Indian restaurant… and although tiredness from all that heat (and sunburn) was hitting me square in the face, we also went to a pub for a few drinks.  I was such a lightweight and I nearly fell asleep at the table!  Nevertheless, it was great fun – and I only wish we had some photos to share!  (that happened last year too with no camera!)

Stashbusting has been forefront in my mind for several weeks, and while I did make some purchases at MDSW this year, I didn’t buy nearly as much as in previous years!  I tried to stick with unique fibers/designs that I haven’t seen in other places – as well as some very utilitarian non-yarn purchases…

Non-yarn purchases:  Kookaburra Wool Wash, Size 10 55″ needles, buttons from Jennie the Potter, a *wooden ball winder*, and two knit patterns from Noni (felted jacket) and ShiBui (mohair pulli)

The wooden ballwinder has been on my list for three years – I always look at it at Stonemountain Fibers – but this year, I took action!  Now, it is mine!  I haven’t tried it yet… but as you can see below, I have some new yarn to try it with! 

1. Farmhourse Yanrs Silk Spun Cotton, 2. Brooks Farm Acero, 3. Davidson Domy Heather – Sportweight, 4. ZWool Natural Dyed Wool, 5. Creatively Dyed Yarns Worsted, 6. Davidson Natural Bulky Wool, 7. Creatively Dyed Yarns Fingering, 8. Spun Monkey Handspun 

I didn’t realize until I got home that several of the yarns are in three distinct color families – neutrals, blues/greens, and golden browns.  I guess I am particularly drawn to these colors now!  I don’t have specific patterns in mind for many of them – but single skein projects are usually hats and scarves/cowls, so that is what these might become!  The Davidson Domy Heather in the periwinkle seems very well-suited for the Plain and Simple Pullover (Ravelry link) and may become that for a fall/winter layering piece.  The Creatively Dyed Yarns and the handspun were my splurges – I just fell in love with the color explosions!  The green CDY is  a fingering weight and seems very well-suited for some funky socks.  The worsted weight will probably be a hat.  The handspun will be a hat and cowl or mitt combo. 

For the second year in a row, we got to see all of Jennie’s lovely pottery pieces!  Last year, Jenna bought a mug, and I picked up a necklace and several buttons.  This year, I was thinking about a mug, but I held off.  She does have a particularly cute cookie jar that I had my eye on!  We met up with my friend Amy  and Little J at Jennie’s booth, and Amy got a mug and a little bowl – Jennie’s stuff is just too cute to pass up!  Here we are after the purchasing - hot, but happy!

Jenna and I enjoyed some downtime on Sunday afternoon over some potato ribbon chips.  MDSW is such a fun festival, but they are *severely* lacking any healthy eating options.  With the exception of drinks, this is the only food that I know of that a vegan can have at the festival – and that’s only after checking that is indeed fried in vegetable oil – and asking them to hold the cheese and sour cream.  Any vendor who offered some healthier fare would do so well there!  I do bring my own snacks – nuts, a fruit, etc. - but it’s another thing to carry in, and I would be happy to patronize a vendor that offered something other than meat-on-a-stick.   I don’t like to complain, because I know that MDSW is a big effort by lots of volunteers – and they remain admission-free to keep people coming in – but a local vendor/community group would do so well offering up something simple like sandwiches, wraps, or falafel.  I am wondering how a letter-writing campaign would go over… 

Nevertheless, MDSW remains a highlight of the year – both in seeing friendly faces and sweet animals, but also in taking the pulse of the fiber community.  Even with the down economy, it seemed like there were so many people out, enjoying the day, and buying lots of things.  It is always a pleasure to buy quality products from small businesses – with the proceeds going directly to them.  Even more of a pleasure to actually meet and converse with these vendors – and sometimes see the sheep/alpaca/bunnies/goats that the fiber came from! 

Vancouver provided many fibery opportunities, both with a finished knit, some stash enhancement, and some inspirational artisan galleries as well…

I started this cowl – the Tuesday Night Cowl (free pattern on Ravelry!) by Susan Lawrence - the morning of the Olympic Knitters meetup that Felicia and I coordinated on February 20th.  I brought along the Cascade Venezia from my stash and decided to  cast on this pattern because I wanted something bulky and simple – the antithesis of my recent knits.

“Van-COWL-ver” is what I am calling it – corny, but a nod to where it was made   The yarn was nice to work with – bulky, silky, and a lovely shade of blue.  I used big fat US 13 needles.  The cowl incorporates some tucking with large cables.  It’s really a cool pattern and I plan on making it again with some of the other chunky and bulky yarns in my stash.  Susan has put together the pattern for three different weights of yarn, so it can easily be used for stashbusting!

As far as the stash enhancement goes, you saw Felicia’s lovely studio in the previous post – and I picked up some lovely things from her:  A merino/silk laceweight in a gorgeous olive color and two balls of merino/kid mohair blend colored with natural dyes.  Christa, our wonderful hostess (her Rav profile!), works at one of the yarn shops in downtown Vancouver… so when she was scheduled to work one of the days last week, I decided to pay her a visit at Three Bags Full… what a treat!

In the top photo, Christa and I are modeling some Koigu goodies that are store samples.  The shawl I am wearing is one of  Christa’s own design, Colourflow Wrap (free on Ravelry!) that uses gradient Koigu colorways.  It feels amazing, and it got me thinking about how nice one of these would be around my neck… still contemplating.  Christa is wearing the ubiquitous (and beautiful) Charlotte’s Web shawl.  I asked Christa to help me find some yarns unique to British Columbia for my souvenir pieces – and I came away with these new hanks:

Gala Wool Naturals in Glacier Blue, Mustard Field, and Fern – all the colorwork possibilities!   The lovely lavender colored yarn is Unwind Yarns Beaujoulais Fingering weight Merino Silk – both dyed by BC area dyers.  So, when I knit them, I can think of British Columbia

…and last Saturday, Christa and I had the chance to sit down and have a little crochet lesson… over brunch with our guys, Christa taught me some of the basics, and by the time we had finished our food, I had managed to finish a row that included singles, doubles, and trebles. I need some more practice, but I love the way it feels to be doing something new with yarn. We’ll see where it goes from here!

Our afternoon/evening in Granville Island was one of my highlights of the trip.  Granville is home to several artist studios, including some very talented fiber artists.  I spent a lot of time in the felt shop Funk Shui, loving the artist’s aesthetic.  She does some amazing things with felt.  I bought a great leafy headband that will be perfect for yoga… and anywhere else I want to wear it.  No picture of it now, but soon!  Another artist was showcasing some artwork in one of the small gallery window displays in the Circle Craft shop.  At first glance, it was all about the felt dresses – so delicately adorned with silk ribbon embroidery and beads… but WAIT!  vintage hockey gear too?  Almost too good to be true!

Check it out!  vintage gloves on the left mannequin, and blocker pads on the right one.

Along with the historical photos of women playing pond hockey in dresses behind the mannequins, you can see the artist was going for the juxtaposition of the elegant dresses with the hockey gear.

Pretty ingenius, eh?

Through my teacher training program last year, I had the opportunity to meet some truly amazing and gifted people.  So many varied interests and passions, yet we all came together to learn more about yoga and to deepen our own practice! 

I had the pleasure to talk to Kath before teacher training started in late 2008.  As a fellow knitter, she found me online before we started studying together and we exchanged a few emails before meeting at the studio.  Over the year, we grew closer and I have the joy to call her my dear friend.  We can talk about yoga, we can talk about knitting and yarn ~ it just flows and it is beautiful. 

One of Kath’s many offerings is that she is also fluent in American Sign Language (ASL), and she just started teaching her first yoga class in ASL at a local studio.  When she asked me to help her with a little photography project for her class, I jumped at the chance for this special project.  She wanted to put together a visual set of poses with the proper alignment for her students.  Since she is teaching the class in ASL, she cannot always demonstrate the pose because her hands will be used in the pose.  That is where the photos come in!

We met up at the studio on a quiet Sunday afternoon;  the air was cold and there were flurries of snow, but inside, the sunlight cascaded in the windows, and set a perfect scene for the yoga photos.  Above (clockwise from the top left), Kath does sukhasana “easy pose” with her hands in Anjali mudra “offering gesture”.  This is the way that we begin and end each class.  In the next photo, she demonstrates a full body pose called eka pada svanasana, or “one legged dog pose”.  This pose is a preparatory pose for hip opening and also works on upper body strength and balance.  The next is the recognizable adho mukha svanasana “downward facing dog pose”.  The final pose is utthita parsvakonasana “extended side angle pose” which also opens the hips, as well as the shoulders and chest.

Just a note on the use of Sanskrit terms: the style of yoga that I practice (Anusara) honors the tradition by using these names while also realizing that not everything can translate word for word.  Additionally, Sanskrit can be the universal language of yoga (similar to how Latin is used for biology in Linnean taxonomy) no matter where you are in the world.  It’s a nice fit.  Plus, the language is phonetic, and if you sound it out, it is pronounced exactly as it looks.  I love learning more Sanskrit as I study yoga.

While this photo project was a true joy to do, Kath must have felt that she wanted to give something back~ and while there was absolutely no need to do so, it was a pleasant surprise when she presented this lovely yarn to me this past weekend:

 She says that this bulky yarn is the perfect tonic for my small needle/fingering weight projects of late.  I look forward to casting on for a bulky cowl or hat on size 15 needles once I finally finish my Olympic sweater

I tried something new this year for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival.  It was precipitated by the experiences of previous years when I felt completely overwhelmed and out of touch with all of the sights, the people, and the things around me.  This year I made a conscious effort to be fully present in the moment – a mindfulness practice of not being overexcited and overanxious and just really focusing on the here and now.  I just let it flow naturally.  And I have to say, it definitely made for a lovely and meaningful experience.

I got to meet generous people who offered their time to come up and say hello.  It meant so much to me, so I thank you.  It is truly a pleasure to see so many friendly and welcoming faces.  This festival is such a highlight of my year for many reasons, but it is definitely the connections with people that mean to most.  Spending the weekend with my best friend Jenna definitely sweetens the pot… I visited her in Seattle in March, and just a few weeks later, she is here to see me (and to go to the festival, of course!)

…and of course, the yarn.  Practicing mindfulness at a commercial event can be a challenge.  Obviously, the point of the festival is to celebrate the animals, their fiber, and the arts surrounding the uses of said fiber – and you celebrate all of those things by pulling out your wallet and taking things home with you.  So, I thought that the best way to take this mindfulness aspect into a commercial event was to truly think about my purchases, and to support the companies/shops/farms that I bought from.  I went in with the intention of buying from small local farms and dyers- my definition of local expanded a bit, but nevertheless kept to the “small” qualifier, because nearly every vendor at MDSW is a small business, often family-owned and operated.  I wanted to support the local economies of my state, Maryland, as well as the few surrounding states.  My parameters expanded down to North Carolina, and up to Maine, and hopped over more than a few to Minnesota, but I am happy with what I got and the vendors that I supported.

1. Shetland Tweed fingering, 2. Hoodie + Pendant, 3. Handspun Wool,

4. Folktale Handspun, 5. Three Waters Farm Handpaint, 6. Pucker Brush Farm Handspun,

7. RoseSpring Farm handdyed, 8. Angora/Wool handspun, 9. Tess Raw Silk,

10. Noro Cash Island, 11. March Hare fingering, 12. Tess Merino Worsted

I still did enhace the stash by quite a bit, but believe it or not, much less than previous years.  The Noro was the only commercially available yarn I bought, and that is because the deal was almost too good to believe.  Noro has that power over me…The vendor highlights for me were definitely 1) Jennie the Potter’s booth.  Jennie creates amazing pottery, buttons, and pendants.  I bought one of her pendants and two sets of buttons that I have not photographed yet.  She is so talented, and I am now officially a huge fan   and 2) ever-present love for Melinda and her beautiful yarns as Tess Designer Yarns.  I was tempted by so so many, but came home with a beautiful blue merino (more story on this later!) and a lovely golden raw silk.  The thing that was so special about both of these booths is that I got to talk to both Jennie and Melinda for awhile and get to know them better.  It is wonderful to make those connections.  They both do such amazing work!

I didn’t take as many photos this year as I usually do – maybe because it was rainy and overcast – but you can view what I did take over here.  I had the opportunity to meet some really amazing people that I got to talking and did not even get a photo… I regret that, but I don’t regret the chance to talk more with them.

—

So, for all of this talk about me procuring new yarn, I thought it was about time I did another contest around here – a chance for YOU to procure some of your own!  Plus, I would love to hear from some of you that rarely comment but tell me that you read my blog (you know who you are!)

The new cowboy kerchief from Morehouse Merino (who sadly does not come to MDSW anymore…) The winner will be able to choose between the two colorways in the middle of the photograph:  the gray/yellow or the maroon/blue combo.   I will choose the winner randomly by Wednesday afternoon (May 6th) at 4pm EST.  If you like, you can leave me a comment telling me more about a time when you were completely “in the moment” – whether it be while knitting, spinning, doing yoga, or just about anything else.  I would love to hear about it

~Thank you~

You know me well enough by now – and  you know that I never turn down a little yarny tourism in a new city.  Luckily I had my girl Jenna to help me plan for a fun evening of shop hopping.  And it was so much fun to meet up with a few Seattle friends, Rebecca and Laura!

FIRST STOP: Fiber Gallery in Seattle – a lovely shop with so many beautiful yarns.  What a treat to meet Jessica, the manager of the shop, and a fellow long-time blogger!

Rebecca is a shopper with a mission!  she picked up some lovely things in record time – while I was still waltzing around on yarny high, she already had yarn in hand and was at the register!  Jenna was instantly drawn to a cute little ball of single play variegated yarn (Zauberball!), and I poked around being indecisive for a good amount of time.  Of course, once I decided, I was very happy with my choice … see?

Malabrigo Lace in gorgeous colors: Tuareg, Verde Esperanza, and Bobby Blue

…next to Bad Woman Yarn to meet Laura!

A lone ball of Schulana Sojabama came home with me – a nice color match for the leftover ball I have from my Pintuck.

…and we wrapped up the evening with a quick trip to Weaving Works.  Unfortunately, our time was short – the shop was closing, and I had to make a decision fast.  Of course, once I saw the yarn, I knew it was for me right away… I wanted something unique and special to this location.  I found it!  …and finding this kind of made up for the fact that I didn’t get to look at any of the huge book selection or the weaving things.  Next time

Spincycle Handspun

We had a great dinner with Laura and Rebecca at a yummy Indian restaurant.  As always, I am always so pleased with how easy it is to find conversation and common bonds with online acquaintances.  Laura is in grad school and her classes sound like things that I would absolutely love – she shared a few of her required text titles with me   and Rebecca and I had plenty to talk about since we both love yoga!  So nice to meet you ladies, and I hope we have the chance to talk more soon!

At the Nordic Knitting Conference, there were several vendors selling beautiful yarns, and I picked up some lovely laceweight (hey, it packs pretty easily in an already-full suitcase!) in these muted tones.  I was thinking about a lightweight sweater – maybe with stripes.

Last weekend, Jenna, Kris, and I headed over to the Bainbridge Island and the Olympic Peninsula – we crossed the Puget Sound on a ferry!

That was a fun process in itself, and once we got to the other side (we passed under a rainbow to get there – what a great way to start the day!)  we headed a beautiful yarn shop on Bainbridge Island: Churchmouse Yarns and Teas.  And it seems like they knew I was coming… the whole display in the front of the shop was yoked colorwork sweaters!

Churchmouse had a nice little clearance bin going and I also picked up this old Rowan book and a shop scarf pattern.

My yarn odessey around Puget Sound was complete!

…but I do have some more Washington adventures to share…