7 posts tagged “maryland sheep and wool”
Among the memories, the following items will keep me busy throughout the coming year:
Among the memories, the following items will keep me busy throughout the coming year:
Sunday was given to taking my three younger daughters to Sheep and Wool. What fun they had!
I love seeing my girls absorb the sights and sounds around them. They learned so much, hands-on, from the people who live it. We really enjoyed the Festival this year. Can't wait until next May!
Wanted to take a moment to archive the beautiful winners that caught our eye in the project room of Maryland Sheep and Wool this year.
What a day. It started quite early, leaving the house by 6:00 AM to get there by 7:15 (had to stop for coffee!) The Western Maryland Ravelers set up right front and center, so we could have a pitstop/meet-and-greet/hangout for the day. Great idea, and one we'll repeat! Trillion stopped by to say hello, and I had to get a pic of her modified jean jacket, with Mrs. Weasley sleeves!!!
You can't quite tell, but I have my buttons - including my new Ravelry logo pin - on the strap of my bag. My new Braided Ruana Shawl got lots of compliments. Since I hadn't washed or blocked it, it was shedding ALL over my black Ravelry beta tee - not a good fashion match!
I fell into bed around midnight, totally exhausted, but blissfully happy. And I went back for more the next day!
I picked up my spindle again... this time, it was my supported ceramic spindle from last year's Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. The roving was purchased there as well, from Persimmon Tree Farm. I'm not sure what I'll make from this tiny bit of yarn, but it was fun, including making the smaller Nilla Noddy! :-)
We had a pretty relaxed weekend, which was a wonderful change! Friday we took the girls out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. We waited nearly an hour to be seated, but had a good time laughing, eating peanuts, and just spending time together without a deadline looming - a first in nearly a month! Afterward, Emilee and I went to Borders - it was their Teacher Appreciation Weekend - and had coffee, read magazines, and chatted a bit.
Saturday was spent at the Renfrew Pumpkin Festival, about 7 miles from us. It's an annual thing for us. The admission includes going through their food line, where we can choose a couple of slices from a table full of a gazillino homemade breads. Then it's a choice of either black bean soup or veggie soup - both are yummy. A fresh apple from the local orchard and a cup of cider rounds out the meal.
Rachel wouldn't let me take her picture, but you can see that everyone enjoyed themselves. It was SO breezy and chilly, though! We only stayed about 1.5 hours. The highlight is the pumpkin trebouchet... people can buy pumpkins which get loaded, and every 7-8 minutes, you hear "PUMPKIN!!!" Everyone looks over to see the huge round thing lobbing across an empty field and KABOOM!!! shattering into a burst of orange pieces.
We headed to Borders for the teacher apprecation day, where it was much warmer! More coffee, more magazines, and lots of reading with Becky in the kids' section. A stop by Home and School Connection provided some new workbooks for the girls - Health for the younger ones, Biology for Emilee. Rachel is going to town with her schoolwork, so she added a couple of other workbooks - Japan and the state of Maryland. She really wants to move "ahead," so she's got several subjects going, multiple projects in each subject, and doing lots of daily work.
Then home to watch Click, which had amazing makeup! I did some wheel spinning, and finished a nice creamy white merino single. It's amazing to watch the wheel go around and see YARN forming! And it's so much quicker than the spindle, although there's something very cool about spindling - I don't think I'll ever give it up completely.
Sunday I took the girls to Frederick to hang out with my old Nestmom.com partner and her gang. They were celebrating a couple of birthdays, and my girls hadn't seen her girls in more than a month, maybe two. Had a very nice visit, and worked on a crocheted blanket for a gift.
Then home, where we watched X-Men: The Last Stand and I did some more spinning. Finished a matching merino single, and got it plyed, skeined, and soaked. The spinning isn't the most consistent, and the twist is a little strong in several places. But for a first go on the wheel, I'm pleased. It's useable, although I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet.
I learned so much while working on this yarn. I finally got to practice the different draws I've read about, but couldn't get coordinated on the spindle... the long and short draws, and spinning from the fold. I was amazed at just how thin those fibers can be, and still hold together. I watched while I plied, and could see how I hadn't been putting enough twist in the plying to offset the twist in the singles, and how much more balanced the yarn became as I increased the plying twist.
This merino is pretty long and slick, so I'm anxious to try with some plain ol' inexpensive "bag o' wool" that I have from Maryland Sheep and Wool two years ago - a friend bought a large bag with six shades of blue in it. That's up for tonight! It's not nearly as well prepared and smooth, so I'll play around with it and see what I can learn.
Today brings a bit of schoolwork for the girls, as well as catching up on some housework. The girls now have territories - sections of the house for which they are responsible. They don't have to do ALL of the cleaning, they just see that it gets done. And they do have to take care of the "leftover" stuff that doesn't belong to anyone and is still there when everyone has grabbed their own stuff to put away. Makes it much nicer for me... a little less maid work.
And me? I've got a much more light work week, so I'm digging into the pile of boxes left over from our yard sale, uhm... two months ago? Listing some stuff on the local e-lists for sale, and maybe eBaying or Goodwilling what doesn't go quickly. A clean house will be mine!
Saturday was spent at the Renfrew Pumpkin Festival, about 7 miles from us. It's an annual thing for us. The admission includes going through their food line, where we can choose a couple of slices from a table full of a gazillino homemade breads. Then it's a choice of either black bean soup or veggie soup - both are yummy. A fresh apple from the local orchard and a cup of cider rounds out the meal.
Rachel wouldn't let me take her picture, but you can see that everyone enjoyed themselves. It was SO breezy and chilly, though! We only stayed about 1.5 hours. The highlight is the pumpkin trebouchet... people can buy pumpkins which get loaded, and every 7-8 minutes, you hear "PUMPKIN!!!" Everyone looks over to see the huge round thing lobbing across an empty field and KABOOM!!! shattering into a burst of orange pieces.
We headed to Borders for the teacher apprecation day, where it was much warmer! More coffee, more magazines, and lots of reading with Becky in the kids' section. A stop by Home and School Connection provided some new workbooks for the girls - Health for the younger ones, Biology for Emilee. Rachel is going to town with her schoolwork, so she added a couple of other workbooks - Japan and the state of Maryland. She really wants to move "ahead," so she's got several subjects going, multiple projects in each subject, and doing lots of daily work.
Then home to watch Click, which had amazing makeup! I did some wheel spinning, and finished a nice creamy white merino single. It's amazing to watch the wheel go around and see YARN forming! And it's so much quicker than the spindle, although there's something very cool about spindling - I don't think I'll ever give it up completely.
Sunday I took the girls to Frederick to hang out with my old Nestmom.com partner and her gang. They were celebrating a couple of birthdays, and my girls hadn't seen her girls in more than a month, maybe two. Had a very nice visit, and worked on a crocheted blanket for a gift.
Then home, where we watched X-Men: The Last Stand and I did some more spinning. Finished a matching merino single, and got it plyed, skeined, and soaked. The spinning isn't the most consistent, and the twist is a little strong in several places. But for a first go on the wheel, I'm pleased. It's useable, although I'm not sure what I'll do with it yet.
This merino is pretty long and slick, so I'm anxious to try with some plain ol' inexpensive "bag o' wool" that I have from Maryland Sheep and Wool two years ago - a friend bought a large bag with six shades of blue in it. That's up for tonight! It's not nearly as well prepared and smooth, so I'll play around with it and see what I can learn.
Today brings a bit of schoolwork for the girls, as well as catching up on some housework. The girls now have territories - sections of the house for which they are responsible. They don't have to do ALL of the cleaning, they just see that it gets done. And they do have to take care of the "leftover" stuff that doesn't belong to anyone and is still there when everyone has grabbed their own stuff to put away. Makes it much nicer for me... a little less maid work.
And me? I've got a much more light work week, so I'm digging into the pile of boxes left over from our yard sale, uhm... two months ago? Listing some stuff on the local e-lists for sale, and maybe eBaying or Goodwilling what doesn't go quickly. A clean house will be mine!
