Thursday, May 08, 2008

So much to say!


Peek a boo

By now, I'm sure you have read thousands of accounts of the always fabulous Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I'm always a little slow on these things, so I apologize for the delay in my reporting. What can I say - I still haven't recovered from the weekend!

It truly was AWESOME. I had so much fun. I spent Friday afternoon helping Jolene set up the Cloverhill Booth. And then I worked both Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the register.

Ready for Business

I think it came out so well. Sarah had some mad organizational skills and was fantastic about getting everything and everyone together. The booth was a HUGE success. Soooo many people stopped by to buy, and buy, and buy! I think Jolene can be very proud of herself!

On Friday, since I was able to have first dibs, I started the downward spiral of my wallet by purchasing these lovely items from the Cloverhill booth.
Handmaiden goodies
That's two skeins of Handmaiden Casbah and one skein of Seasilk. It's crack people - CRACK. I love, love, love Handmaiden yarns. The colors are so beautiful, the textures are delicious. I can't wait to make some socks out of that green.

Saturday was a giant flurry of spending money. Soooo much money. I'm embarrassed. Shameful, shameful spending!

Here's the rest of my haul.
Tess and Brooks Farm
Brooks Farm and Tess
I am a huge fan of Tess sock yarns and the laceweight was a deal. (Though I've been told the dye runs....)
I have drooled over Brooks Farm yarns for years now. It just had to be bought.

Spirit Trail
Spirit Trail silk. I actually bought one of these skeins at the Homespun Fiber party, but decided I needed another. I'm currently perusing lace patterns for this. This picture does not do it justice.

Peace Fleece
Peace Fleece. Sorry for the overexposed picture. The color of this yarn is so gorgeous it just kills me. It's orange, it's red, it's yellow. I think I am most excited about this purchase. I have just today, cast on for a Must Have Cardigan from the Paton's Street Smart booklet. (I know this pattern has become totally trendy schmendy, but it's pretty and I want it!)

Golding Spindle

This is my new Golding Spindle. I blame Jen. She's a horrible enabler! I have never been much for using a drop spindle. I own two, but I never really got in to it. I think I needed a Golding to change my mind. It is so lightweight and it spins for days and I have actually used it repeatedly since I purchased it.
stuff to spin
Random fiber to play with on my new spindle.

Last year at S&W, I was on a huge brown and blue kick. This year seemed to be more about the reds and oranges....

And we just won't discuss all the food. It was "no diet weekend" and I took full advantage of that. Yummy! And crazy expensive - I feel like I spent as much on food as I did on yarn. But not really!

Jen and I tried to go to the Ravelry meetup on Saturday afternoon, but it was insanely crowded so we gave up pretty fast. But I did go to the Ravelry party Saturday night which was good fun, but I think I was too exhausted to enjoy it fully. I did enjoy hanging out all my pals though. Many thanks to Eleanor who kept me company for quite a while! I'm glad we got the chance to hang out for a bit! Head over to Eleanor's blog and give her congratulations for her huge win! She won many ribbons at the Skein and Garment competition! And while you are at it, go congratulate Jody too! She won two ribbons also! I have incredibly talented friends.

And if you'll allow me to toot my own horn a bit... I won too!
I won!

I was SHOCKED. And soooo excited. I've won ribbons at the county and state fairs before, but to me - Sheep and Wool was kind of like winning the Olympics of knitting! So exciting!

I was trying desperately to finish my Faux Russian Stole in time to enter it in the Skein and Garment competition. I tried so hard. You have no idea the amount of desperate knitting I did! But finally around 11:45 a.m. on Friday, I realized I had no chance in hell of finishing in time. The fact that I wasn't able to finish it made winning a blue ribbon for my mittens all the more sweet.

But, I am pleased to say that I FINALLY finished my shawl Tuesday night. I did such a happy dance. I've been working on it since mid February. I still need to give it the full photo shoot it deserves, but here's what I have so far...
Blocking
Detail

I can't think of anything else to babble about, so I leave you with some obligatory sheepy pictures!

DSCN5638DSCN5621DSCN5590DSCN5611bw


Llama llama duck

Ok, so he's not a sheep. But doesn't he look like a Dr. Seuss character??

10 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

It was so fun to hang out!!! I had a great time. Looks like you scored some nice stuff - the color of the Peace Fleece is beautiful! That will show the cables perfectly! The stole - WOWZAS!! You should enter it next year!

7:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, the Handmaiden is so gorgeous. And the spindle is beautiful! I'd like another lighter weight spindle-- I'm a fan. ^_^ I had such a great time this weekend; it was awesome hanging out with you at the partay. And! Congrats on the mittens. I admit to snapping a picture of them too, going "I know Coleen! She knit these!" Yaaaay yarn!

8:26 AM  
Blogger bySarah said...

congrats on your ribbon, and your spindle.
handmaiden IS crack - it makes me want to knit lace...
and
thank you for the compliment!

9:07 AM  
Blogger Pheelya said...

Your shawl is gorgeous!!

12:21 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It was great to see you! And I don't have my Sheep & Wool blog post up yet, so you're not the last!

5:43 PM  
Blogger cici said...

awesome awesome pictures. I can't get enough of seeing everyones account of the MDSW. The shawl is exquisite!

10:00 AM  
Blogger Karen said...

I am so proud that I was able to withstand the fumes luring me to the Sea Silk...I really really really almost bought it, but I had already made one trip back to the car to put away purchases, so....
It was so good to run into you at the festival! Congrats on the blue ribbon:) And that stole is gorgeous!

3:58 PM  
Blogger Jody said...

Great pics!! I'm so glad you finished your shawl!! It's gorgeous!!

4:32 PM  
Blogger KT said...

Congrats on the ribbon! The mittens are great! And the stole - Wow!! It's fantastic!

8:15 PM  
Blogger brsmaryland said...

Congrats on your blue ribbon! It's a testament to your skill to receive a ribbon at Sheep and Wool, where the judges really know what they're looking at. Your shawl is beautiful too.

10:44 PM  

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