Sunday, May 8, 2016

MDSW 2016 Part 1


The alarm went off at 6 am yesterday morning and I jumped out of bed and hit the ground running. I had someplace to be.



 It took me about an hour and a half to make the drive up to the Howard County Fairgrounds. I thought I was outsmarting the crowd but oh, no. Everyone else must have thought the same thing because at 8:30 the traffic was horrific and the parking lot was already almost full.



 It was a grim spectacle. We have had two weeks of rain and it took it's toll on the outside vendors.


I had vertigo from sinking into so many mud holes while trying to shop. The booths were sinking.



That's the line for Miss Babs and yes, I am standing at the end of it. It took me 50 minutes to pay for my one skein of sock yarn. I did have fun commiserating with my fellow linemates. We had to be crazy to stand in a line that wrapped around the building-in the cold drizzle.



At first the main hall looked like this. Not bad. When I got back in after paying for my yarn it was elbow to elbow. Not good.


 To escape the crowd I went to the garment and skein competition exhibit. I was underwhelmed this year. I did like this mini sweater though.



I also liked this kid's poster contest winner. It was captioned "wool is fun!". It is, isn't it?


 I kept seeing herds of ladies with sheep ears. Then I learned why. For $40 you too can join the herd with these crazy cute headbands. Baaaah....



 Outhouse selfie! It's my favorite part of the fest. No lines. No waiting.



 Lunch.



I ate my pretzel while watching the sheepdogs do their thing.



 I spent so much time looking at the fleeces that three different people thought I worked there and asked me questions about fiber that I couldn't answer.


 I couldn't find anything that I wanted but I did find more of Finley. He's the lovely little fleece I bought last year that I am washing and spinning now.


 The stitch marker swap went well.



I brought 40 packs with me and came home with only 8.


I ended up with a handful and then some.



I got my badge....


...and a snowcone. Rootbeer.


 My last stop was to pick up something green for The Mister. He sat it out this year but gave me a fistfull of cash to spend so I wanted to bring him back something. He really wanted a lamb burger but I'm not going there.


Back in the car I took stock of what I bought and spun a tiny bit of the fiber for next year's shawl before hitting the road. I'll show you what I bought tomorrow.




7 comments:

  1. It looks like fun...well except for the mud and rain! I wish I lived closer to a festival like this. I like all of your markers.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  2. It looks like you had a good time despite a few challenges!

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  3. Fun!! Love all the cute stitch markers.

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  4. Sorry about the weather, but with all that beautiful yarn, fleece and sheep to see I can't imagine the bad weather got in the way. Looking forward to seeing all you decided to buy.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  5. So jealous ! I love your stitchmarker sales!!

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  6. The stitchmarker swap must have been fun.

    I was just glad I wore my hiking boots - that was some serious mud.

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