Maryland and ever after

Like most of the rest of the knitblogging universe, I went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival last weekend. My in-laws live in Columbia, MD, a short hop from the festival, so the first weekend of May is a very convenient time to schedule a family visit. My step-mother-in-law is also a rabid fiberholic, so we left for the show early on Saturday and left the menfolk at home to entertain themselves.

At the show, I immediately pounced on a small Border Leicester fleece from Betty Levin and Ellen Raja who, ironically, live less than 10 miles away from me here in Massachusetts. I have a long history of buying fleece from these ladies. They and their fabulous fleeces are responsible for my Border Leicester lust. This fleece will soon be mixed with a lovely alpaca fleece from "Mr. Wotes" of Red Barn Alpacas.

I maintained control until nearly the end of the day, and then I went whole hog: a sweater's worth of cashmere (Oh my!) from Hunt Valley Cashmere, and some handpainted 65% wool, 35% camel from Just Our Yarns. Very yummy. See photo.

My step-mother-in-law outdid me, however. She bought a beautiful custom-made tapestry loom from Fireside Fiberarts. It makes the Schacht spinning wheel that I finally ordered to replace my 20-year-old Lendrum seem modest in comparison!