Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
I see this listed on Wikipedia as the largest and oldest Sheep and Wool Festival in the country. I don't know if these assertions are correct, but it certainly was a popular place to be yesterday. Women, unsurprisingly, outnumbered men by about 10 to 1. And though there were plenty of families there with children, it's obvious that most women prefer to go here with a group of other women. I did. I went with two of my stitching friends. One of us is an experienced knitter. One wants to learn. And me, I'm more into the crocheting, but want to learn to spin and weave.
In the barns - the sheep getting sheared or just trimmed are very vocal about the whole process. Makes me wish I lived near a sheep farm as I love to hear them baaahaaaing.
After shearing, some of them sport some colorful coats.
Someone embroidered a Some Sheep sign a la Charlotte's Web. Love it.
Look. It's some sheep.
I asked and was told the stocking was 8 foot 10 inches long. Said it was only meant to be 6 foot, but it kind of grew past the plan.
Good eats just like at any fair. I had a bratwurst with sauerkraut because that's what I wanted.
There is even musical entertainment.
Okay. I confess. I left without purchasing yarn except for what was in a kit. Hard to resist, but I need to focus on using what I already own.
Okay. So what did I buy?
A needle felting kit. I couldn't decide between the dragon and the peacock. The dragon won! A small lap weaving frame. Just going to experiment. A crochet hook with instructions for knitting with it. We'll see how that goes. It's probably easier to use knitting needles. And those aren't scissors - it's another curved hemostat. Very handy for pulling needles through tight places.
And then there was the lady with the antique stuff. I think this haul was somewhere around $20. Why buy it? Because I like old stuff and my grandparents worked in the textile mills. And there's even a shoe mold there because I worked in the shoe shop during the summers. (Specifically, I used to work for Timberland back when they actually manufactured stuff in the
U.S. of A.)
2 comments:
Unsurprisingly, many of my ancestors also worked in the mills. I should try to find some things like that. My mother used to have a shoe last (like you, worked in shoe mills as did Maggie! Maybe I'll get her to tell one of her injury stories.) Have you ever read Loom and Spindle? I read it for a women's history class in grad school. I was fascinated.
It sounds like you guys had a great time. And I love your purchases! Someday I want to learn how to do needle felting.
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