may

as i look back on this month..... it is a blur! family life and responsibilities took over my time in a ginormous way. intermingled with that were all my favorite fiber events. i'm still not sure what end is up, but i do remember that the fiber stuff was amazing!
maryland sheep and wool really ushers in the beginning of the festival season. sandy's car was full this year as five of us went on the adventure. with a full vehicle, the chances of bringing home a sheep were pretty slim!

friday evening the gals needed ice cream and what should we happen to find? it didn't take us long to start filling our carts with those 'must have' snacks that only trader joe's has.
saturday morning dawned cool and bright, perfect way to open the weekend.

we had several must see's and with the crush of people last year, i knew that i had to get into those spots early. i found fiber optics three years ago ( the first year that they were at maryland) and  made that my first must see. kimberly was gracious and with only a few of us in her booth, able to chat and discuss fiber and yarns. i fell hard and left with a bag full of goodies. i wandered on, revisiting old favorites and finding some new treats too.

many of us find each other on the hill around mid-day for a lunch break and more importantly a show & tell. that gives us time to hit those vendors that we may have missed. by the end of the day, food and beverages become the necessities and we show & tell again at the hotel......

what you don't see in this photo, diane getting a lesson in ombre spinning. we overtook the largest table in the room and sorted her fiber into an ombre pattern. she brought her wheel and got started! next step will be casting on the radiance wrap.

sunday morning i sat and spend a fair amount of time with the hansen e-spinner folks. mrs. hansen walked me through each model and feature. i've been saying forever that this is on my wish list and now i have absolutely no reason not to make it happen.

joan found a wood turner who crafted lovely spinning tools. she had us all go back to get the lesson from lea on the correct pronunciation and use of the nostepinne. she was amazing and as you can see...... we all got one!

fiber friends...... priceless!