Maryland Sheep and Wool 2015

So as we catch up on the blog I decided to  talk about my trip to Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. I say my trip, because this year Jess didn't go. I had a nice time, but I definitely missed having my bestie with me.  I hadn't planned on going either until a friend of mine posted on Instagram that she was wondering who was going.  In the end it was the two of us and another friend who got up early on a beautiful Sunday morning and took the 3 hour drive to MDSW. Of the three of us, I was the only one who had been to the festival before.  I went with a game plan in mind. I needed buttons for my Grandpa Cardigan. I knew I wanted to look at Into the Whirled's booth, and see if we made it in time for Miss Bab's special colorway.  I had a few other places I knew I wanted to check out.  The only thing I needed was buttons.  This is what I came home with that day:

Can you see the buttons? They are next to the pink yarn...

I got a bag of Odds N Ends from Into the Whirled. I am looking forward to spinning these up for Tour de Fleece this year (Fiber Fangirls will have a team again this year too!) I visited the Little Barn booth (not in my original plan), and got three bags of fiber for about $16! I plan to somehow spin that fiber up into either corresponding skeins or some kind of gradient.  I managed to snag a skein of the Miss Bab's MDSW colorway in a fingering weight yarn.

So bright and lovely. In the past, I have knit up socks with my Miss Bab's yarn, but this skein is all merino so I am not sure what I will make with it. I picked up a skein of Marigold Jen yarn. This is a new to me yarn, and I know I will knit it up to make a pair of socks as a gift.

The pink yarn is an unknown yarn that I saw at the Sweitzers Countryside Fiber Mill booth.  It is 4 ounces of many a DK weight yarn and the color drew me right in.

I got a gradient set from Fiber Optics yarn. I bought a braid from them last year and now that I know how to n-ply (thanks Julia!) I can spin that up. In the mean time, I can knit up this lovely gradient set that has cashmere in it....

Chocolate to Aqua

I also got a needle felting kit for sheep from Going Gnome, a lamb cookie cutter, some cute sheep cards and an adorable yarn bowl and necklace from Jennie the Potter. I don't have a great photo of my buttons, but will post them on my sweater when I get them on there.  It was a fun day, and I got way more yarn and fiber than I intended, but it is MDSW and only comes once each year.