Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival 2011
May. 8th, 2011 05:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crafty_packratYesterday I rode up to MdS&W with wolfshark, her spouse and her friend -- taking the back roads and winding state highways up. We got there at about 10 am, as planned.
The first thing I did was go to Thorne Farm, where I bought tomatoes (Red Robin, Super Sweet 100, Black Cherry), peppers (2 plants of Fish, which I'm pretty sure was what fruited well last year; anyway, it was the only variegated-leaf variety they had, and that's what last year's good performed was), tomatillos (Toma Verde and Purple, since you need two to set fruit as they won't self-pollinate) Basil (Lime, Lemon, and Cinnamon) and Nasturias, which are edible. I've given up on trying to get eggplant to set fruit -- the best year I had with them, I only got two eggplants, very late and very small.
I got the Hog Island wooltwistedchick had asked me to look for at Fingerlakes Woolen Mill.
I picked up an Akha from Carol Leigh's Hillcreek Fiber Studio to replace the one that was broken (probably by the maintence guys, moving stuff after my apartment sprang a leak last summer). She has the nicest ones I've seen, small and delicate and quite wonderful for spinning short-staple fibers like cotton and angora. I also picked up a cheap lucet, a niddy-noddy small enough to tuck into my backpack and two bottle of synthrapol, one for me, one fortexasgrandma.
At Two Icelandic Farms, I bought two ounces of angora in a pale fawn/caramel color, and two ounces of Icelandic roving.
I also stopped at Bullen Wullens and got two ounces of silk roving, and two grab-bags. One was of a pale green -- I suspect it was a unsuccessful dye lot, but it's actually a rather nice celadon -- and the other was a mix of bits and bobbs of at least five colors. I can even out each of the colors with combing, and then I should have enough fiber to spin yarn for some entrelac socks, which I've long wanted to try.
Wandering through the barns, I found someone selling tiny packets of Cushing's Dye, so I bought a packet of magenta. I'll use it to overdye the cashmere sweater that I bought online on final sale -- it was advertised as 'raspberry' and turned out a horrible shade of pink. Magenta will be an improvement, and I figured spending $3 in the attempt was a reasonable risk.
I also bought a trindle with an additional set of arms. The trindle I bought last year didn't have the interchangeable arm/weights, so that was kind of nifty.
Since Shelridge Farm didn't show up, I was kind of at a loss -- I wanted to get yarn for the Irtfa'a pattern from them. But walking through the barns, I lucked out on Serendipity Farm. They had a cone of weaving wool in a lovely fuschia that will do for lace knitting, and a ball winder capable of winding up to 12 ounces. Considering the only ballwinders I've seen for the last few years with a capacity over 4 oz were the super-expensive Strauch jumbos, I felt this was a great deal.
ETA: I totally indulged myself and bought a raven-decorated spindle that is suppose to glow in the dark from Halla at the Indigo Hound booth.
Then I had lunch of lamb 'fajita' -- it was actually a gyro on pita, so I have no idea why they were calling it a fajita -- and 'Texas' tea, which was sweet with a fruit flavoring. I'm not sure what part of Texas they meant it to be from. As I was eating, I ran intozana16 and got to examine the spindle of the woman sitting next to us. It was a Jenkins Kuchulu, which was tiny and adorable and extremely sturdy. I am definitely going to keep my eyes out for that!
At Tuatha I picked up the amber and black necklace I didn't get last year. I figured if it was still there this year, it was meant for me. I also bought a copper penannular for an extremely good price, but not any of the three remaining enemalled Dionysus pendants. I figure if there are any left next time I go to Tuatha, then maybe I should buy it then -- not that I drink, but he's also the Liberator as well of the God of Wine and Beer. And the pendant comes in a redware style and a blackware style -- both are lovely.
The Beefolks had radish honey and bamboo honey, which tastes similar to but lighter than buckwheat -- it has a nice caramel finish. And they had their honey candy, which is always tasty!
Thenzana16 and I walked over to Friends In Reed, which is a consortium of several local basket-makers, and have the most reasonably priced baskets at the show. Also, they stand behind their work -- I was able to get one of their market baskets repaired after I cracked the handle by over-loading it. The wood-bottomed basket I had spotted earlier in the day was available, so I picked it up, and then walked down the row long enough to get three mint plants (chocolate, orange and peppermint) and then back to Thorne Farm to pick up my other plants.
Then I met up withwolfshark and company right on time, and was back at the Metro in a hour. An hour after that, I was home.
wolfshark, her spouse and her friend -- taking the back roads and winding state highways up. We got there at about 10 am, as planned.The first thing I did was go to Thorne Farm, where I bought tomatoes (Red Robin, Super Sweet 100, Black Cherry), peppers (2 plants of Fish, which I'm pretty sure was what fruited well last year; anyway, it was the only variegated-leaf variety they had, and that's what last year's good performed was), tomatillos (Toma Verde and Purple, since you need two to set fruit as they won't self-pollinate) Basil (Lime, Lemon, and Cinnamon) and Nasturias, which are edible. I've given up on trying to get eggplant to set fruit -- the best year I had with them, I only got two eggplants, very late and very small.
I got the Hog Island wool
twistedchick had asked me to look for at Fingerlakes Woolen Mill.I picked up an Akha from Carol Leigh's Hillcreek Fiber Studio to replace the one that was broken (probably by the maintence guys, moving stuff after my apartment sprang a leak last summer). She has the nicest ones I've seen, small and delicate and quite wonderful for spinning short-staple fibers like cotton and angora. I also picked up a cheap lucet, a niddy-noddy small enough to tuck into my backpack and two bottle of synthrapol, one for me, one for
texasgrandma. At Two Icelandic Farms, I bought two ounces of angora in a pale fawn/caramel color, and two ounces of Icelandic roving.
I also stopped at Bullen Wullens and got two ounces of silk roving, and two grab-bags. One was of a pale green -- I suspect it was a unsuccessful dye lot, but it's actually a rather nice celadon -- and the other was a mix of bits and bobbs of at least five colors. I can even out each of the colors with combing, and then I should have enough fiber to spin yarn for some entrelac socks, which I've long wanted to try.
Wandering through the barns, I found someone selling tiny packets of Cushing's Dye, so I bought a packet of magenta. I'll use it to overdye the cashmere sweater that I bought online on final sale -- it was advertised as 'raspberry' and turned out a horrible shade of pink. Magenta will be an improvement, and I figured spending $3 in the attempt was a reasonable risk.
I also bought a trindle with an additional set of arms. The trindle I bought last year didn't have the interchangeable arm/weights, so that was kind of nifty.
Since Shelridge Farm didn't show up, I was kind of at a loss -- I wanted to get yarn for the Irtfa'a pattern from them. But walking through the barns, I lucked out on Serendipity Farm. They had a cone of weaving wool in a lovely fuschia that will do for lace knitting, and a ball winder capable of winding up to 12 ounces. Considering the only ballwinders I've seen for the last few years with a capacity over 4 oz were the super-expensive Strauch jumbos, I felt this was a great deal.
ETA: I totally indulged myself and bought a raven-decorated spindle that is suppose to glow in the dark from Halla at the Indigo Hound booth.
Then I had lunch of lamb 'fajita' -- it was actually a gyro on pita, so I have no idea why they were calling it a fajita -- and 'Texas' tea, which was sweet with a fruit flavoring. I'm not sure what part of Texas they meant it to be from. As I was eating, I ran into
zana16 and got to examine the spindle of the woman sitting next to us. It was a Jenkins Kuchulu, which was tiny and adorable and extremely sturdy. I am definitely going to keep my eyes out for that!At Tuatha I picked up the amber and black necklace I didn't get last year. I figured if it was still there this year, it was meant for me. I also bought a copper penannular for an extremely good price, but not any of the three remaining enemalled Dionysus pendants. I figure if there are any left next time I go to Tuatha, then maybe I should buy it then -- not that I drink, but he's also the Liberator as well of the God of Wine and Beer. And the pendant comes in a redware style and a blackware style -- both are lovely.
The Beefolks had radish honey and bamboo honey, which tastes similar to but lighter than buckwheat -- it has a nice caramel finish. And they had their honey candy, which is always tasty!
Then
zana16 and I walked over to Friends In Reed, which is a consortium of several local basket-makers, and have the most reasonably priced baskets at the show. Also, they stand behind their work -- I was able to get one of their market baskets repaired after I cracked the handle by over-loading it. The wood-bottomed basket I had spotted earlier in the day was available, so I picked it up, and then walked down the row long enough to get three mint plants (chocolate, orange and peppermint) and then back to Thorne Farm to pick up my other plants.Then I met up with
wolfshark and company right on time, and was back at the Metro in a hour. An hour after that, I was home.
