Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2016

Last week we attended the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival in West Friendship, MD. Click here for the pictures. 

We decided to leave on Wednesday morning since my hubby didn’t want to drive all that way just for a 2 day festival. So, we left home about 7:30 and drove north. We took I85 to I77 and then caught the Blue Ridge Parkway at Fancy Gap. It was a beautiful drive and we stopped at the many overlooks. When we reached Roanoke, we had lunch at the Roanoker Restaurant which always has wonderful food. Then we returned to the parkway only to find out that we had to take a detour. The parkway was closed from a little north of Roanoke to Bedford, VA due to paving which was expected to be completed until September. About 4pm, I called the Comfort Inn in Waynesboro, VA to make a reservation ($79.99) because a lot of hotels were sold out for the James Madison University graduation.

On Thursday we had hoped to go to Harper’s Ferry and the C & O Canal but it was raining all day. Instead we headed to the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (Air and Space Museum at Dulles Airport). I will post about it tomorrow so come back and read about our awesome visit there. We ended up at the Comfort Inn in Herndon, VA ($89) for the night.

We were going to get on a shuttle that would take us to a metro so we could go to DC today but due to the rainy weather, we changed our mind. We headed to Linthicum Heights where our hotel was – Hampton Inn ($98/night) but we were too early to check in. The Arundel Mill Mall was only about 5 miles away so we headed to the mall. We walked around the huge mall and had a great time. We also found a Chick-fil-a to have an early dinner before going to the hotel.  

We left the hotel at 7:15am on Saturday morning and got to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival by 8. I’m glad we wore our hiking boots because even though it didn’t rain, it was really muddy everywhere. The first place I went to was Miss Babs so I could get the special skein of yarn dedicated to this year’s festival. Then we walked around the vendors and met up with friends from NY. We had lunch with them before I went to the podcaster meet up at 1pm. Then we walked around some more and I bought lots of goodies. By 4pm, I was ready to go. We went back to the hotel and rested before going to Bob Evans for dinner and it was awful.

On Sunday we left the hotel at 7am so I could see the sheep to shawl competition. Then we watched the sheep shows before leaving around 10am for home. We got home about 7:30pm.

I’m so glad I went because we had a great time.

Things I Learned:

1.     Bring hiking boots always in case of mud!

2.     Next time, see how much hotels are in Frederick.

3.     Don’t eat at Bob Evans.

4.     Check gauge for yarn before bringing it as a project on a trip.

5.     Have back up plans in case of rain.

6.     Even though I could have bought a lot of these things on line, it was much more fun to touch and pick things out in person.

Original photo by Pat Hensley

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2015

This past weekend we went to the Maryland Sheep and WoolFestival. This was the second year that I’ve been and it was even more fun than last year!

We left home on Thursday and wandered around the parkway enjoying the views. We ended up staying at the Fairfield Marriott ($79/night) in Harrisonburg, VA. The next day we headed up to Maryland and stopped at antique stores along the way.

We checked into the Hampton Inn South ($139/night) at 4pm. We didn’t get a microwave or fridge for $5/night extra but we got room 104 on the ground floor, which we liked. We stayed at this hotel last year and liked it so we returned. Then we met up with my friends Wendy (Massachusetts), Lois (California and Maine), and Denise (Kentucky) for dinner at Bertucci’s which was a nice place. It was really nice that they were staying at the Springhill Suites right next door to my hotel. After dinner, they came to my hotel and we knit in the lobby until 9:30.

On Saturday we left at 7:30 for the festival. I immediately went to Miss Babs booth to get the event colorway yarn  and got in the line for an hour before we could pay for it at 9am. Then Don and I

spent the day walking around the festival. We went to the sheepdog demonstration, which I really enjoy. We stopped midday to eat snacks that I brought and continued seeing all the vendors. I stopped at Cooperative Press and met Shannon Okey who said they will send me ebooks to review on this blog! I’m so excited. I also spent the day taking instagram photos of cowls in different vendor’s booths for a Cooperative Press contest. At 1pm I went to the podcaster meetup and was so thrilled to meet the podcasters in person. I also met mojaveknitter and beaglemomknittr who will be at the Minnesota knitting retreat with me. By 3pm, we were pooped and headed back to the hotel. We stopped at Five Guys for dinner on the way. I was able to rest up before going over to my friend’s hotel and knitting with them until 10pm!

On Sunday we went back to the festival at 8am to see the Sheep to Shawl competition. I enjoy watching them sheer the sheep. Most used electric shears but one man was using shearing scissors. We walked around the barns and it was fun seeing the booths without the hordes of people in them. About 10am, we decided to head for home. We arrived home about 6:30pm.

 It was a wonderful trip and I had a really great time! I’m really looking forward to next year!