Finally!! MSWF!

Yes, I’ve been back for, what, almost two weeks? Yeah, that. But re-entry is a bitch, and I’ve been BUSY, y’all! Anyway, I’m probably the last person in the world to blog about MSWF (of those bloggers who went, anyway).

So yeah. Maryland! This year only NanC and I were able to go, and go we did! We left on the Thursday before the festival, and got to spend some time with her brother and family before the wool fumes had us all giddy and stuff. We got to go to NanC’s nephew’s baseball game, and a lacrosse game, and also just spent some time hanging around the house and stuff. It was great . . . I love getting to stay with them while we’re out there, and not just because it means we don’t have to pony up for a hotel room!

Friday we did more hanging out and “pre-festival-resting”, and then had a long laughter-filled dinner with my friend Kim who I know from my days at Penn State.

Ah, but that’s not what all you knitters came here for, is it?!

Sheep and WOOL!

This year was all about the sheep and the people, and less about the buying yarn for both of us — we both have yarn in our stashes from two years ago that hasn’t even been swatched! It worked out really well — we managed to skip the line for Socks That Rock at The Fold on Saturday morning, and met some really cool West Maryland ravelry folks who were tailgating in the parking lot.

We saw the sheepdog exhibition (which is absolutely amazing)
And also the “Carcass and Performance” competition, which isn’t as gross as it sounds (they use ultrasound to figure out the meat quality of the lambs!).

Smart NanC found a great recipe for a yummy picnic sandwich that we packed for lunch on Saturday (along with a bottle of wine and some other goodies) — this may have been our cleverest move ever; it was really nice to get out of the fray and sit down in the shade and eat our lunches. And bonus! We met up with our buddy Kelp (who is from Houston) and her friend Allison and they joined us for our little picnic.

Oh! Also! We went to the Ravelry meetup on Saturday, which was complete mayhem . . . way too many people crammed into the rabbit building, but fun anyway. And I had a Very Small World experience there, which I promise to tell you about in the next post (yep, I guess I’m a tease).

The ravelry party on Saturday night was an absolute blast (of course I forgot my camera!); I got to meet lots of people whose blogs I’ve read forever, like Sarah and Carrie and Chelsea. The only weird thing about that (and I think y’all can probably relate) is that when you meet someone whose blog you read, and whose life you know about, it can be a bit awkward . . . “HI! I read your blog!!!” . . . then there’s not much else to say without seeming like a creepy stalker.

Sunday we went back for more festival, and first watched some Sheep To Shawl action . . .
We also saw a llama with a funny haircut

The Parade of Breeds was really cool, but all my pictures sucked . . . in the bleachers we met some very nice ladies from Toronto.

Also, we got to meet Gale, whose blog has the best name ever, and which I’ve read for ages . . . it was so neat to put a face to the name! Also I got all reverse-starstruck when she told me she reads my blog, too.

I’m sure I’m forgetting at least half the stuff I meant to say, but hey, at least I’m posting this year! (last year it got to be so long after MSWF that I just gave up on posting about it)

As usual, I was sad to leave but also very exhausted . . . it was REALLY hard to come back to reality and work and all that stuff after such a fun trip. I’m already looking forward to next year!

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