SHEEPYWOOL!

Okay so after a long delay (sorry y'allz), here is my report on MDSW. Which I have taken to calling "SheepyWool." Don't ask, even I don't understand how my brain works. Here we go... All pictures of my stuff are at the end, so if that's all you want, start scrolling.



Saturday was... interesting. It was pretty cool, but overall it was entirely too crowded. I didn't enjoy Saturday as much as I could've because of the crowds. However, there were definite highlights. It was just Mom and me, and I told her that the place I HAD to hit first was Golding. And the Bosworth's booth. So at Golding's booth, as I drooled over all the amazingly gorgeous one-of-a-kind spindles he had with vintage rings around the edges and such, I heard a familiar voice and turned around to see my friend Lorraine. She pointed out to me the little laceweight spindles he had made using Tibetan mandalas. So I tested one. And I bought one of the two remaining mandala spindles. OMG.



So from there I learned how to use a charkha at Journey Wheel, and so that's what I'm saving up for next year. We saw... a bunch of stuff. I don't even remember it all. Most booths, though, we couldn't even get into because there were so many people. Ridiculous. At some point, we realized it was time for lunch (LAMB! *YUM*) with the knitting guild, but we only found Trillian and Turtlegirl and I think at that point they also had Artsygal (I'm so sorry, I never did catch your name...) with them. But she might have wandered off. I don't remember who I saw when. Trillian and Turtlegirl looked AWESOME in their semi-matching Tomatoes. I wish I had a pic, but alas though I brought my camera I did not use it. Forgot in my daze that I had it.



Anyway, after lunch I found Gryphon and company for the knit blogger's lunch meeting in front of the pavillion. That was fun, I met some very nice people. Had a very pleasant chat with a couple from Gryphon's spinning guild, mainly. But I didn't stay long because there was more shopping to be done and, well, I had to track down my mother. Which I finally did, despite her not hearing her phone. Subsquently, I bought not only my very own lazy kate basket but also a ball of fantastical roving. I don't know if I can describe it accurately other than to say it looks cosmic. I got a couple of books too, Spin, Span, Spun which I had seen referenced in a few places, and Handspindles, both by Bette Hochberg. Saw some lusciously fluffy alpaca fleece the same color as my hair (or as close as you're gonna get), failed to find The Merlin Tree, and bought a sample of llama fur. Came home, just about collapsed, started spinning some silk on my mandala spindle, and went to spend the evening with the boy while finishing my skirt (thought I'd forgotten that, didn't ya?). Finished the skirt just in time.



Sunday was far superior to Saturday for me. I had finished my skirt! And I wore it with such pride :) Also, it was far less crowded. Dad came with us this time, and we met up with some family friends. We had a blast with them. Over the course of the day, I bought my 2.7 lbs of alpaca fleece that matches my hair, a pair of Indigo Hound combs, another Golding spindle (I'll tell you more about that), a packet of baby camel top (also more about that later), several silk caps in various yummy colors, about a pound of roving from Tintagel Farm, a skein of beautiful silk I couldn't put down, and a partridge in a pear tree. Okay so I'm kidding about the partridge. But seriously folks, I don't think I've ever spent that much money in one day. In between those things, we ran into Trillian and her hubby, Turtlegirl, Artsygal, and Roxy several times which was awesome. One of those times, I was testing out the Hitchhiker wheel from The Merlin Tree. This was one of my goals for the festival. And yes, I will be purchasing one. At first I had a really hard time with the treadle because my foot is very small. However, after a few suggestions from the creator (who by the way is a wonderful and very amiable man) I was off and running and there was no going back. The only problem? He didn't have any left. Online ordering only by then. So I will have to wait. *sob*

It was an exhausting but thoroughly rewarding weekend. I can't wait till next year. Can't. Wait.

So, you want pictures do you? Well I only photographed some of my stuff today, so the rest will come tomorrow or Saturday. But for now, I give you:



A mysterious, rather large basket. What could be in such a basket?



Well... and I swear this is all that's in it...
Alpaca!!!

Glamor shots:


Combs and combed top. Like little hurricanes of 'paca coming your way. Here I am! Rock you like a hurricane!

And for color comparison:

See what I mean? In reality, both my hair and the fiber are less orangy and more auburn/coppery than that (like the pictures above), but you get the idea. Very close in color.


Okay moving on. Golding spindle from Sunday. The story is I was thinking about getting this spindle for Mom and teaching her to spin. But she didn't want me spending all my money on her (something about having already bought her a ring at R.E. Piland the day before, ya know, whatever) so I wasn't going to, but then we got to talking with Tom Golding (who by the way is a very nice man, in addition to being a phenominal craftsman) about the fact that Mom used to do a lot of needlework, and he'd love to have more stuff like what he used on this spindle and I tested the spindle and I finally realized that the poor thing was trying to tell me all along that it wanted to go home with me. I now own what may be the single most beautiful hand spindle in the world. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Briar Rose (yes I just came up with that name just now... oh sorry I'm ruining the climactic revelation):

Um yes. That is, in fact, vintage petitpoint (sp?) around the edge. And no, I'm not letting it out of my sight. Much like her namesake, Briar Rose does not get to talk to strangers. (p.s. the picture is a little yellowy because of the light... I do not know how to edit these things)


The fiber I'm spinning on it is my camel top. Whoever coined the phrase "like buttah" must have been talking about baby camel fiber. Oh my goodness. The softest, smoothest-drafting, fluffiest fluffiness that has ever been fluffy. Love at first spin. Though it does tend to get away from me, being somewhat slippery. Like alpaca with slightly less tooth.


And for our final photo, I give you Tingagel Farm's "Guinevere" roving:

Isn't she lovely?