MDSW

I know if you didn't go to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival (MSW, MDSW), you might not want to hear about it.

...so feel free to skip this photo-heavy post* about The Adventures of a Monkey, a Fish, and Sweet Basil in a Fiber-Lover's Paradise if you're so inclined:

Update 5/11: Now with storyline!

Dancing Fish and I both had other commitments on Saturday night, so we woke up very early to drive down to Maryland. We talked Sweet Basil into meeting us there. We stood at the gates and were soooo excited. A quick call to Sweet Basil confirmed that we had about 20 minutes to snarf up some corn dogs before we became three.


After meeting up with my favorite kim-chee yum-yum, we ran into some of these guys near the entrance. I am now trying to convince Rock Star that we need to adopt some to take on walks around the neighborhood with Barley.


The tasty trio then headed to see the vendors, VENdors, VENDORS! - truly wolves in sheep's clothing, if you know what I mean.

We met some crazy hookers named Mary and Kunni from Forestheart Studio in Woodsboro, MD. These women are a HOOT and I will be ordering my first rug hooking project from Mary as soon as I become gainfully employed. It's a rabbit in a garden, but she doesn't have it up on the web yet.

We stopped by the Hunt Country Yarns booth, where I bought a skein of Mango Moon recycled rayon (viscose). No project in mind, I just liked it.

Dancing Fish picked up some beautiful stuff at the Seaport Yarn booth, where Susan was a very helpful enabler. You can hop on over to DF's site if you want to see what she's going to make with it. I don't want to steal her thunder, but it's gonna be bee-you-tee-full.


We only got through about half of the main exhibition hall before we tuckered ourselves out enough for a little break.


I tried to get an action shot of my new yarn, but my camera focus isn't as fast as the Moon.


Here's a better shot of its colorway. It's called 'Dawn' but I call it 'Exploded Clown.'


If you haven't noticed by now, I travel by my stomach. My all-time favorite fair food is Lemonade Shake-ups, though they seem to be called just lemonade out here in the mid-Atlantic. It's simple - 3-4 lemons squeezed into a cup filled with probably about 3 cups of sugar, crushed ice that tastes faintly of carny smoke, and a splash of water. Add a vigorous shake by a cute 16-year-old and you have one of the most refreshing. drinks. ever.

This was not one of those, despite my spending $5 ($FIVE!) of precious yarn money on it.


Here are some loud and cute fiber animals. One very helpful Flickr community member told me that they are angora goats - not sheep as I originally thought (oops!).


We went to Sweet Basil's for an early dinner of grilled steak and corn, accompanied by beans and watermelon. Beverages were 'Big Fish' wine and 'Golden Monkey' beer. Yum! Thanks, D (and an exuberant, belated 'Happy Anniversary' to you both)!


Sweet Basil gave me a TON of seedlings for our new garden. It was so generous and I'm so excited about them that they shall have their own post later.

We spread out our finds of the day, which included a delicious skein of Brooks Farm. A very friendly alumna from a certain TX liberal arts university that I attended sold me this bit of goodness. It was hard for me not to buy green, but I went with a shade that is more kind to my complexion because I'm finally making Clapotis, like Steph.


Lastly, what kind of obsessive maniac would I be if I didn't buy materials for spinning? Yes, I'm following the pack.




To say it was a beautiful day is an understatement. I even stayed within my budget. How sexy is that?!

* as usual, some of the photos are blurry because I've sacrificed clarity for true color.