Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2014

I was so excited to attend the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival for the first time! You can see my pictures HERE.

On Saturday we  got there really early so we could beat the traffic. The gates were open but the vendors couldn’t start selling until 9am so when we got to Miss Bab’s DSC_0023booth, I got in line about 30 minutes early. While we were in line, Tina (a knitting podcaster that I listen to) found me in line and we walked around the main hall together shopping. Also, while I was in line, my online friends, Wendy (another knitting podcaster) and Lois (who makes these awesome project bags) came by to meet me!  It was so much fun to meet these friends in real life because we have been talking on Google Hang Outs. It is so much nicer to meet people in real life! During the day I walked around the barns and main hall where the vendors were and of course bought a lot of stuff. Luckily my hubby is willing to be my Sherpa! We also went to the Sheep Dog demo where the sheep escaped out of the fence and we watched the dogs round them up several times. We also went to the sheep show to watch them judge the sheep. At 1:30 I went to the podcaster meetup and met TheKnitGirllls (Laura and Leslie), and Ooohfancypants from the Whatcha Swatchin podcast (Emily), MojaveKnitter and SheepDreamery (friends on Ravelry and Instagram). DSC_0064About 3pm, I was tired so we left and was going to meet Wendy and Lois at a Starbucks but went to the wrong one. Finally we decided to meet at their hotel and we visited for a few hours. Dinner was at Chipotle Grill.

We had another lovely day at Maryland Sheep and Wool on Sunday. We got there early (around 7:30) and watched the beginning of the Sheep to Shawl competition which started with the shearing of the sheep. We stood next to this woman and her son who explained everything to us and was really helpful. At 10:30 when we stopped by, we saw a shawl finished and turned in for measuring. We watched the Sheepdog Demo again and saw the sheep escape again. Then we also saw more of the Sheep show and before we left we saw the Parade of the Sheep Breeds which was really interesting. My hubby said he really enjoyed this festival because he learned so much and would be willing to come again. We walked around the outside vendors which I missed on Saturday because I got tired. I bought one more bag of fiber and a nostepinne which I’ve always wanted. Finally around 1:20, we left because we were exhausted. We came back to our hotel room but it hadn’t been cleaned yet. Around 3pm we left to eat an early dinner (we ate an early lunch at 10:30). When we got back, our room was cleaned and I was ready to just relax!

Things I Learned:
1. Get there early to avoid traffic!
2. Bring a big bag to hold all your purchases.
3. Plan on stopping at a bathroom early because there are long lines.
4. They don’t use the fiber on the belly to spin.
5. Listen to others who offer advice because it is good to learn something new!
6. Look at the knitted stuff that others are wearing.
7. Bring a snack to eat on when you get tired.
8. Wear a hat so you don’t get sunburned.

Original Photo by Pat Hensley

1 comment:

Sioux Roslawski said...

Pat--It sounds like you were in hog heaven...or I guess it would be more apt to say "sheep heaven."