Maryland Sheep & Wool Part 1

In order to get to the Maryland Sheep & Wool I had to leave my house after work and drive up to my parents' place 3.5 hours away. The general idea was that we'd leave around 4 or 5 am and Jackie would drive the five hours there while I slept. In reality I napped for about.. one hour. The rest of the drive was spent chattering excitedly about wool and spinning and knitting. Should have expected that, huh?

That left me in a short of hyper, underslept and over caffeinated state which is exactly the right state to be in if you want to spend all the money. We started strong, boys and girls, looking but not purchasing as we swept out from the entrance. We saw sheep and coo'd at them. We saw yarn and squeezed it. I studied roving but observed that I could dye what I saw myself. We visited The Merlin Tree booth and almost had a falling down. Merlin Tree is very, very clever and put out several of their wheels so people can try them. I spun happily for several minutes while Jackie arranged to have her Hitchhiker fixed and all thoughts of saving up for a Kromski Sonata escaped me.

Still, it wasn't until we found the Love Happiness Sangria booth that we got in trouble. They were selling lightly alcoholic, delicious sangria by the jug for $15. So we bought a jug, got a couple cups and a whack of ice, and proceeded to spend all the money. The first stop was The Homestead Hobbyist, an incredibly talented dyer I know from Ravelry. He'd done the dyeing for a spin-a-long I signed up for and when I got my fiber I just knew I'd been a jerk not to get some for Jackie.

*drool*

I'd gotten the two monster braids and asked around but Ken wasn't selling them at the Faire. D: Fortunately the lovely Lenora offered to bring her extra braid and sell it to me. Lenora is very kind - now Jackie and I have matching braids of some really luxury fiber to spin. She also bought two braids of Ken's Merman blend. He'd brought quite a few beautiful things but hadn't increased his price like every other vendor on site... making his amazing colours and exquisite fibers (yak! Mullberry silks! merino!) the most affordable thing at the fair. Seriously... he was selling merino-silk blends for less than some folks were selling junk felting wool.

Merman sparkle!

I bought 3.5 lbs of black merino from the fiber processing company Jackie likes and she picked up a whole whack of craft Romney for her dryer balls. She's making really pretty, useful things and has a shop down in Florida stocking them for her. I want her to make some for my Etsy shop but first she has to stop selling out instantly.

After dropping off our giant bags of wool, we got to the auction site just in time for the spinning and weaving tool auction to start. Whuff. We, uh. We bought everything. Okay, not *everything*, but we made a few key purchases. I bought an adorable Roadbug spinning wheel with one bobbin and a second bulky flyer and then later a bag of 5 bobbins to go with it. Jackie got an umbrella swift, a pre 1860s yarn weasel in really good shape, a Louet sized carrying bag, and... I feel like there was something else, but I can't think what.

The auction was very interesting. The auctioneer was engaging and professional as well as being a fiber artist herself. She generally knew exactly what the items were worth and got it out of us. The lower priced items went for much more than I expected - ball winders and shuttles were selling for crazy amounts as people got swept up in the bidding process. But the high priced items - spinning wheels, looms, and the like... they often sold for less than I'd expect.

There were a few exceptions - the auction had three pieces of Golding  equipment for sale and basically everyone was waiting for those. A ballwinder went for $550, a spinning wheel (!!!) for $2000, and a ring spindle for $150. The auctioneer said she'd never seen a single piece of Golding equipment up for sale in all her time and I believe it. These were exquisite pieces of craftsmanship and everyone knew it.

Of special interest to Jackie and me were two Country Craftsman spinning wheels. Jackie and I each have one and Jackie recently bought a second one that's missing a few parts (treadle and footman). We love our CC wheels passionately and we've been debating whether the spare is worth getting the missing parts turned... if we could sell it at a profit or what. The CC wheels at the auction went for very pleasing prices. There was an unfinished Franzek with stool, distaff, lazy kate, and six bobbins that went for $600. I had to chew on my auction number to keep from bidding on it myself - it had a jumbo flyer and all those bobbins. I've never seen one of those for sale.

The Merlin Tree Is Amazing

So we spent the weekend at the Maryland Sheep & Wool and I have soooo much to tell you about that. But first, I want to talk about The Merlin Tree. They make ultra portable, reasonably priced travel wheels in two models: The Hitchhiker and The Roadbug.

Hitchhiker.

Roadbug!

Now Jackie bought a Hitchhiker some time ago and really liked it right up until she tripped over the thing and damaged the wood on the drive system. It was really minor damage but in a connection point so she decided not to spin on it again until she could get it fixed. So when we saw that Merlin Tree would be at the Maryland Sheep & Wool, we took it with us. Jackie asked if she could buy a replacement for the part that was damaged... but Merlin Tree said, leave it with us for the day and let's see what we can do.

And then when we picked it up that evening it was totally fixed and spinning beautifully... and they didn't charge her. That's going above and beyond there. It was a total accident, absolutely not the fault of their craftsmanship in anyway. But they took it and they made it a beautiful, fully functioning wheel again.

And then they did something that absolutely floored me.

At the auction a Roadbug came up for sale. I'd spent about 10 minutes spinning on one of their demo wheels so I knew I could spin on it and the travel design is perfect for my lifestyle that involves a lot of going to see Jaime. And a lot of going to spin ins. :) So I bid. And bid. And bid and bid and bid... and won. It wasn't in perfect shape but the biggest problem was that the tension knob had been chewed on by a dog and was split - no longer functioning well. So I went to see if I could buy a new tension knob from them.

First, they were pleased by the price I'd paid for it - about $180 less than it would have been new. I can understand that... knowing that your wheels hold their value used is an important consideration to a spinner. Keeping more than 50% of it's value even after it's been beaten up a bit and badly needs some wood wax, that's good information for a dealer. So I asked if I could buy a tension knob, and they gave me one for free.

This is a really little thing - they cost $6.50 on the woolery and I'd have gladly paid for it... But it absolutely floored and charmed me they they let me have it. If you go and wander around their website, look at their wheels, you start to understand something about this husband and wife team: They're people. They're a couple of people who decided to fulfill a need they saw in the spinning community. They adopt sheep, they have huge, spoiled dogs. They made design choices for the needs and convenience of their customers... who they want to be happy spinners.

They could easily have designed the wheel, like every other spinning wheel company in the world, to use only their specific bobbins. Then we'd all have to buy another set of a million bobbins from another company.. but instead, they chose to use the most common and inexpensive bobbins on the market so that we'd always be able to find some. They've made ethical, thoughtful design decisions that have a direct effect on their bottom line. That's amazing.

For that tension knob, these people have made me a fan for life.

Judgemental Cat

This is the face Noel kept making while I was knitting Jaime's hat...

Little cat throwing shade on my knitting, y'all.

Maryland Sheep & Wool: Preparations Continue

Tonight after work I'm going to drive 3.5 hours Jackie's house where I will sleep until approximately 4 am and then we will drive 5 hours to Maryland. I have not packed. I have not even figured out which wheel(s) I am taking for the spin in. I am almost utterly unprepared.

But I have finished (I think) spinning all the yarn for my February Lady cardigan. I have spun around 880 yards of Romney wool and another 330 yards of merino wool. The merino is still drying so I don't have a good picture of what it all looks like yet. When I get home I'll take a picture of my sweater's quantity of hand dyed, hand spun wool... But for now here's a picture of some of it drying:

Here is a picture of some of it, hanging out in my dark house...

And in a spirit of uncharacteristic diligence and planning, I actually knit a swatch of the lace panel to make sure the colour wasn't tooooo busy for it.

Having finished my spinning, I resolutely put everything down and began knitting frantically. You see, I only let myself have four projects going at any time... and I have exactly four projects on my needles right now. Soooo many needles, so few projects. :( And they're all really boring right now! Garter stitch forever, stockinette forever, foot rows leading to a toe decrease. Boring, boring, boring! But I absolutely must finish one of these projects so that I can start my cardigan. I have nothing exciting to wear to the MSWF to show off my knitting... But I can absolutely be working on the February Lady while I'm there!

... You think I should take a half day from work to finish my knitting?

Maryland Sheep & Wool - Preparations

There are 5 days until I leave for the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival... or, atleast, until I leave to grab my stepmother and THEN head to the sheep & wool. Certain preparations must be made!

1. Reserve a hotel room.... Done! I found a good deal on Groupon - $42 off for a decent hotel and 30 minute drive from the festival.

2. Pay all bills for the month... almost done. Mortgage is paid, Rent will be paid shortly. Credit cards, phone, insurance... all done.

3. Decide how much I'm willing to spend at MSWF, remove that cash from bank account.

4. Freeze all non-cash methods of payment in a large block of ice. If I want something badly enough to excavate it from a foot of ice, I probably ought to buy it.

5. ... Two feet of ice...

6. Pack. Pack.. everything I've ever knitted, ever. Maybe a few especially phenomenal skeins of yarn to knit on while I'm there. I need to represent around my knittas, yo.

7. Check weather... done. It is going to be in the SEVENTIES all weekend! Why! I have knit NO summer stuff! I'm going to be surrounded by knitters and NOT SHOWING MY COLOURS. For the love of wool, why!

8. Begin knitting summer garment. I'm pretty sure if I knit non-stop I can finish something in time for the festival. I mean, I have a few vacation days and Jackie's driving the first leg of the trip...

Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival - Totally Unprepared

I just realized the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is THIS WEEKEND and Jackie and I have made NO PLANS!

How did this happen?! What were we thinking?!

I immediately texted my (beautiful, talented, wonderful) stepmother, "The MSWF is this weekend and we have made no plans!"

She was quick to reply, "I thought you had no money."

Ridiculous woman! Obviously I have sheep and wool money! I just won't have any food money... which is fine, because I need to lose some weight anyway.

So... we're going. I'm looking for hotel rooms now. :D

Misadventures in Knitting

I'd like to show you a picture of Jaime's socks and how tiny their little stitches out and how manly the greens and tawny brown plies look, all knitted up... Unfortunately, the socks are in time out and do not deserve to have their picture taken.

Let me explain... Thursday I went to my fiber arts guild meeting where we had a guest giving us a lecture on bobbin lace. I originally thought we were going to have a hands on bobbin lace experience but it was more of an informative speech on the history and materials necessary. Now, due to my obsessive / addictive personality, I have to sort of limit what I allow myself to get interested in (See: my three spinning wheels and metric arseload of fiber). It didn't take me long to realize that for the sake of my sanity, storage space, and eyesight... I absolutely can not get into bobbin lace.

Still it was a lovely evening. I like spending time with other fiber folk - there's something very relaxing about being surrounded by other people with a shared passion for something the rest of the world thinks is a bit quirky. And I'd taken my socks along so I sat back in my comfy chair and commenced to enjoy an hour of devoted knitting time in excellent company. I finished the heel flaps. I began turning the heel cups. I finished the heels and started my decreasing instep rows, complimenting myself on my speedy mastery of two-at-a-time DPN socks. Once I've finished the heels and picked up the stitches, I feel like the whole sock is a home stretch from there. I was definitely feel confident about those socks when the meeting ended.

So, uh. Imagine my surprise when I pulled them on later to check the length and found them feeling... really odd. After some squinting, poking, and fussing... it turns out, I screwed them up. I mussed up the heel somehow - apparently I was distracted enough to turn them off center - both the same way. So I have to frog and start over but I'm just not feeling up to it right now, so the socks are in time out. That didn't stop me from dragging them all over this weekend, but they're still in time out.

But that's alright because progress was made on other fronts. I took the alpaca to Jaime's place, measured his head, and cast on a beanie. 

Ignore my messy work desk. 

It's just flying along. Spend enough time working 2.25mm needles and 3.75 will feel HUGE!

I also started plying all that sweater stuff for my February Lady. I filled one giant bobbin and now I'm chewing on my fingers over whether I'll wind up with enough yardage for the whole shebang.

So far I've plied, washed, and dried about 530 yards. It's a 3-ply, light blue, dark blue, and a dark brown. I've yet to take a picture that does the colour justice but I love it. Love it, love it, love it. If I don't have enough I'm not totally sure what I'll do... sob hysterically for awhile, probably.

I was a little worried my yarn would be too busy for the lacey part of the pattern so I knit up a few repeats to test - again, terrible lighting but so pretty!