Maryland Sheep and Wool 2014

Ah, the sea of humanity that is the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. 

Yes, in case you didn't know, it was this past weekend! I packed up husband and baby and dragged them allllllllllll 25 minutes over to the Howard County Fairgrounds.

Yep, it's that close. There are many reasons I prefer Rhinebeck over MDSW, but proximity is not one of them.

We spent Saturday morning there, enjoying some uncharacteristically nice weather--for Sheep and Wool it's usually either 90 degrees or raining--and we saw a lot of sheep.

The Romney Sisters! I love Romneys. They have the cutest faces.

 

And baby sheep!

JJ was a pretty good sport, but some of those sheep are LOUD and the baa-ing kept startling him.

After we finished visiting all the sheep and lambs, I hit the barns and exhibition hall for shopping while CP and JJ walked the fairgrounds--no need to crowd the vendors even more with a giant stroller. Eventually they stumbled upon a parking lot, which was JJ's favorite part--apparently he thought this was an event about touching truck tires.

I failed miserably on my "must buy" list. I wanted something from Jennie the Potter, but alas, the lines were far too crazy for a tired pregnant lady. I wanted to visit Into the Whirled, but I couldn't even find it. I wanted some cormo to spin (a fiber I really enjoyed working with at my spinning class), but the only cormo I found was really poorly dyed. And I wanted 1,000 yards of Aran weight yarn for an Artichoke French, and no one was selling it.

Here's what I did get:

Two nice skeins from Brooks Farm, some lovely merino fiber at a very reasonable price ($10 for 4oz; most places were charging double that), and oil for my wheel.

So, another Sheep and Wool has come and gone. And by the time the fall fiber festivals arrive, I'll be overwhelmed with a newborn, so I'm betting this will be my only event this year. I'm thankful it was a fun one! I'm already planning a mommy break next May: I go to Sheep and Wool alone and shop ALL day while CP stays home with the kids!

Did you visit MDSW this weekend? What did you buy?