wow, that’s a lotta cars. here we are at the entrance to the MDS&W show—my first time back in five years.
before we left for our fiber adventure, james made us all a farmer’s breakfast and served it up
he might live in a man cave but his manners as a host are thoughtful and accommodating. i would have loved for him to come along with us for the day (i don’t know why, but i always have an urge to enlighten my family members about our tribe, even though they’re not at all curious), but this was his first day off all week and he had plans to see the wolverine movie.
and let’s face it—i was running off to the sheep and wool to avoid having to go to a superhero flick, so i couldn’t exactly force the issue.
so david and i set out (and wouldn’t you know, i have not one picture of david at the fair)
as soon as we walked in we started seeing people we know, like cosette (no photo, sorry), and several people from last weekend’s loopy spring fling, including lisa.
a few steps along we ran into lyn and her friend, who i think is named kathy, but i could be wrong (i really need to start writing down names; it’s embarrassing not to remember after speaking with someone for 10 minutes about something as important as knitting.)
and along came lou while we were talking—another spring flinger. i was really impressed with the number of people that appeared in maryland just a week after convening in st louis—including the beautiful sheri berger who i did not take a picture of (but it would have been awesome to get one of her and david together).
we went first to the big building. we weren’t five steps in the door, i think, when we spotted a booth i had hoped to see, but wasn’t sure i would
norm hall wheels. oh my.
i wanted to order one of his little spinning chairs, having no hope of ever owning an actual NH wheel. so i was excited that he was here. that’s donnag who you’ll recognize from comments, stopping by to say hi. and lola stopped in to show us her maplewing which she is knitting from alpaca he spun on her norm hall wheel. wow. and i so didn’t get a photo, damn.
and there were wheels to spin on, too, waiting for customers to pick them up. well, that was it for me, pretty much. i spent the next hour or so spinning on this beauty.
i finally did stumble up out of the chair and wander off, but the rest of the show was sort-of a blur. all i could think about was that wheel. wow. what a spinning experience.
i vaguely remember seeing the booth for signature needles and thinking i should get a set (having seen and felt some last weekend, i am sold that these are beautiful knitting tools). we walked some more and david bought a felted wool throw for the sofa from fulks’s farm (no website, sorry). we have one of their soft romney rugs.
we looked at some yarns and talked to more people—omg, i met ysolda who is traveling in the states for several months, along for the day with jess, casey, mary heather, and jess’s mom from ravelry. we all made plans to catch up at TNNA in june.
but all that time i was only half paying attention to my surroundings—my heart was back in that booth with the wheel and david knew it. soon we wended our way back there so i could spend a little more time on it—like about two hours.
mr. hall got a spindle out and joined me and it was almost just like sunday spinning class—we talked and talked. he lives in a part of NY state that isn’t far from where i grew up—my dad took us often to that area to fish and explore.
from time to time we drew a spectator or two, including a few children. this little guy was a bit shy at first but once his hands touched the fiber he was entranced.
i had him put his hand on the loose fiber to feel the pull of the spinning singles deep within it. i’ll never forget the look on his face when he felt the energy thrumming through. he started mimicking my drafting, pulling fiber as if he’d done it all his life—it was truly a magic moment and one i feel honored to have experienced. i looked at his mom excitedly and said, “he gets it!”
then she put her hands on the fiber to see what all the excitement was about—so cool. i noticed later, that they were checking out drop spindles at another booth; i sure hope they went home with one.
we finally left, dragging ourselves way from the wheel—i’d hogged it long enough. sigh. i was pretty bummed about leaving it behind. but soon i ran into another cheerful face
long-time reader and enthusiastic supporter, peg (darn, i dunno her ravlink)—isn’t she great?
that was it for me—that was a wonderful day. i didn’t buy anything, can you believe it?? i always buys something. unfortunately, there was just one thing i wanted to buy and let’s face it, we need new front steps and porch railings. heh.
i finished up my secret project while we hung out and waited to go to dinner—last night we went out with james’s friends for a birthday celebration. after that we went home, called my brother to chat (since we were all in one place for once), then watched the wrestler (awesome film, really).
i worked on david’s new sock and got through the heel and gusset
i really love how this is turning out—i just hope i can write a pattern in several sizes efficiently.
today we’re leaving; we’re going to hit up a local korean place for a sushi lunch before we hit the road, then head out. i’ll probably work on the tulip sock in the car
while i daydream about the wheel i want to marry some day.
35 thoughts on “reeling”
Anne,
When I read this post, I sooo understood how you felt! About 6 years ago I went to the fiber festival in Boerne, Tx. I met Bill Wyatt and his wonderful wheels. http://www.wyattwheels.com/norwegian.html
The following year I made my husband go to the festival with me and introduced him to Mr. Wyatt. I have been dreaming of living with the Norwegian Wheel for a long time. Unknow to me, over a year ago my husband contacted Mr. Wyatt and asked if he would build a wheel for me as a 25th anniversary gift. Mr. Wyatt told my husband he would, We found out over the course of the year it took to build the wheel, that Mr. Wyatt had lung cancer. He and his apprentice continued to build the wheel. He passed away in March a few days after he approved my wheel for shipping. I have this lovely wheel and it would be a pleasure to show it to you. I live in Cleveland, so please feel free to let me know the next time you come up to visit the farmer’s market?
I saw you and David at the festival on May 2, 2009 but you were surrounded by your fans. I could not get to talk to you about my favorite blanket on knitty.com. I will be purchasing the yarn for it soon. I am looking for a substitute yarn for it.
Wow what a day! Wish I could have made it, looked like fun!
Looks like a perfectly wonderful day!
Is there such a thing as a bad day at the Md. Sheep and Wool Festival? Wish I’d been there! BTW, don’t think of Wolverine as a superhero movie; think of it as a chance to gaze at Hugh Jackman for 90 min. LOL
I’m glad you enjoyed the festival Anne; I didn’t even look for you all – figured you were already headed home and boy, it was hard to stay dry. That’s another good reason to stay with the spinning in a dry building. It would have been nice to meet you all. I hope that young fella takes an interest in spinning – if his Mom was there, gotta be in the genes! Safe travels home.
You look like you had a wonderful trip!!! I’m soooo jealous that you got to spin…..I would love to learn…I can drop spindle but have no clue as to what kind of wheel I would need for a beginner….the whole trip looked exciting!!!!
What a wonderful moment for you Anne with that young boy! I hope his mother takes advantage of this experience for the whole family. That’s what so great about spinning/knitting; sometimes words aren’t even necessary.
I love David’s new socks! I have some Briar Rose Grace and love the feel of that. I can only assume that Grandmother’s Blessings is wonderful too. I’m available if you need a test knitter. Let me know.
Carol
Saw you both of you out of the corner of my eye and then lost you in the crowd. I’m glad that you had a wonderful time!
I was looking for you…but I’m afraid the yarn fumes still get to me and I sort of zone out.
It sure looks like you and that wheel were meant to be together! One day, who knows…
Isn’t Norm a great guy? I just love chatting with him. I am forever grateful that I own one of his wheels.
I have always wanted to go to Maryland, but I am a wee bit afraid that I would get overwhelmed by the sheer volume of people there………and…..I KNOW I would lose my car in that parking lot..LOL.
I’m glad you were able to go and have fun!
Sounds like you had a grand time! I was so hoping that wheel was going to go home with you…oh well…long engagements are ok!
Sounds you had a wonderful time – and I LOVE that heel on David’s new sock – hope you do manage a pattern!
fun 🙂
i love david’s sock!
That was me . . . Lola . . . I’m so sorry you didn’t get a chance to take a picture of my shawl-in-progress. The shawl is coming along quite nicely. I’m thinking of entering it at the Maryland State Fair if I can finish it in time.
Anne- It was a successful day- you got to try out that amazing wheel.
Couldn’t you have put a deposit on one? I SO want you to have it.
I thought of you Sunday, when the Gospel appointed was “I am the Good Shepherd”. I knew you would be having a lovely time at the Sheep & Wool Festival, and you were!
Wish the wheel could have come home with you. Le sigh.
Amazing that the young boy “got it”! That must have been a really wonderful moment for you 🙂 And maybe, your David has made plans to get that wheel – I’m keeping the fingers crossed!
It was a wonderful day, capped off by meeting you and David! You looked like that wheel was meant for you . . . Thinking good thoughts that it will make its way to you, somehow.
Clearly you went on Saturday–because byou’re dry in all the pictures! I went Sunday and had a blast but wow, was it muddy! What a bummer to miss you again (I’d emailed you after Rhinebeck confessing that I was too chicken to run after you, after you saw me and my Simurgh in the Briar Rose booth). Perhaps sometime. You seem like such a lovely person.
The story about the boy is wonderful. My 14 month old son is absolutely fascinated by yarn and my knitting. I don’t spin, but I’m hoping someday he’ll want to learn to knit.
Looks like you had a great time! The little boy is adorable!
Sounds like so much fun! I’m looking forward to the Midwest Fiber show this summer. Maybe I’ll get to try my hand at spinning again. I’m glad you had a good time–if I’d been there I would definitely have been looking for you so I could say hi. 🙂 Maybe I’ll learn to spin before my grandson is old enough to learn and I can teach him–I put knitting needles in his hand when he was a baby…I figured it couldn’t hurt 🙂
It was good to meet you and David on Saturday… hope I didn’t interrupt your spinning too much! Hard to believe it’s over again — I keep petting the roving I bought, which is sitting next to my desk as I work, as a soft, luscious reminder!
Oh, I can just “hear” the longing in your writing! It sounds like such an amazing wheel — at least you know now which one you’re saving up for 🙂 And yes, Signature needles are very cool tools; I’m considering a second set of dpns even as we speak! It sounds like a fabulous weekend 🙂
I can’t get your description of the little boy’s response to spinning out of my thoughts.
These are the moments of greatest joy to me, when I feel a seed planted in fertile soil.
Thank you.
Sounds like so much fun, and what a lucky little guy!
awww maaaan!! i totally didn’t even see you! well that sucks but glad you had a great time.
I’m sorry I didn’t get to see you (we went different days) but I’m glad you had such a great time. I had a great time too! Even with all the rain! MDS&W is an amazing thing.
Anne,
It was so wonderful for my Husband Paul and I to meet you and David – I am now an official Anne groupie! And it was so great talking with you and for Paul, talking with David. I’ve enjoyed your discussion of your design process and your designs for shawls, sweaters, cowls, socks for many years. Thank you for sharing your experience spinning. I never realized that it’s all about feeling the energy. Thrilling. Have a wonderful week.
All the Best,
Peg
I love the heel on David’s sock! Trying to figure out whether you k or p on the return trip; guess I’ll have to try it both ways. (I’m pretty sure it’s K)
Sounds like it was a wonderful day, and I’m so glad you had such a wonderful spinning experience! Oh, and I agree with you re the movie: I thought The Wrestler was brilliant. Mickey Rourke, who knew???
I’m so glad I saw you and David at MDS&W! I had only decided to go earlier in the week — I really didn’t need more yarn after being at the Spring Fling. :o) As usual, the festival was so inspiring and I wished I had more money to buy all the yummy yarn I saw.
I love the David sock!! I must have that pattern.
See you at the Summit!
Just found out from my friend that you were there. I didn’t know or would have looked out for you. My friend and I did your Morning Glory scarf together a couple of years ago during a one month diet we did at the same time. The next year we did the Gust Scarf. Gust was waaaay easier. It would take me 45 min to get through one repeat of Morning Glory.
I was at MDSW from about 8:30 am to 8pm. Finished up at the spin-in. Volunteered in the new express t-shirt booth. Great fun! And I only live about 30 min away from it. Have been every year for about the last 12.
great photos – and that Norm Hall wheel….. sigh…. You would have had to drag me away from it also. what a treasure.
Comments are closed.