so yeah, we went to maryland sheep and wool this weekend sorta last minute, not really to go to the show, per se, but with a secret mission to accomplish in the area. i didn’t want to tell you about it til it was all done and decorated, fearing that i might jinx it.
so fairly early on friday morning (for us, anyway), we piled into the car with just a few overnight things and headed off. it was a spectacular day for a trip; after a chilly week, the sun shone bright and the air was very warm. we plugged in a good book and settled in for a nice drive.
david did the favor of driving the whole route and i knit almost all the way through my second movie night sock in STR lightweight (paula mae colorway, soon to be available).
i brought several sock projects along, in fact, and good thing too; i got all the way to the toe on this one in the car and ran out of yarn just before the end. i should have made my leg section a little shorter (four rows on each leg would have done it, darn!), but i’m a gambler. i have some leftovers from another STR sock that will probably do, but if anyone out there has a little paula mae left over to swap, i’d be all ears.
anyway . . . back to the original story
last year i went to MDS&W, spent all day in norm hall’s booth and fell in love with a spinning wheel that, with much regret and knowing full-well that for the time being, norm is not taking orders for new wheels, i walked away from in the end. afterward, i felt like a donkey for not buying it when i had the chance, but we really needed new front steps and i thought that just maybe, a day would come when i was in a better position to purchase one. then i started saving my pennies (and whatever else i could spare).
fast forward to april 2010, when i was at sock camp and happened to open my email early on sunday morning. two frantic messages from vanessa and kim were in my box, telling me to hurry up and go to the ravelry spinners swap board—someone was selling a norm hall tradewinds wheel.
the very one!
so i hurried over, PM’d the seller, begging and pleading, bonnie, and secured the sale. a win-win for both of us, just like that—sometimes, waiting for the right moment really works out. we tossed around several ideas for how i should pick up the wheel and after talking it over with david, he thought the best plan would be to go to maryland to meet bonnie and drive it home.
we got there mid-afternoon and met up with bonnie and her husband; the wheel is a real beauty, just wait til you see it. bonnie and her husband are fiber folks to the core and we had a nice hour or so of chatting with them while i spun a bit and got introduced to my new friend. after that, we sealed the deal, packed the wheel away in the car, and set off for eleganza yarns (you remember i went there to teach in february?). we were to meet up with erica and head out to kristi and paul’s place for an evening get-together. i met erica at sock camp and now were meeting at kristi’s—isn’t it a small world?
kristi and paul have a wonderful little farm outside of frederick, with two of every sort of animal. it was a gorgeous, golden evening, the kind you remember as having a quintessential summertime feeling. the grill was heating up, people were making their way up the drive, drinks were cooling on ice and chips were poured. we chatted in the kitchen for a bit and then headed out to visit the corral.
kristi is a favorite, obviously, since she’s usually packing some carrots or something the sheep love. but actually, lara was a big hit with them too—they were glued to her side there for a bit. seems they like beer as well as carrots . . .
the donkey is my personal favorite, but the sheep are pretty cute, too. one of them is a rare breed that i can’t remember the name of (kristi told me three times at least, but ah well, i can’t recall it).
the barn is really cool; looks like david gave it a careful inspection—we both love this type of building, with wide open spaces and lots of interesting light.
the stalls were just beautiful. this would make a fantastic workshop space, don’t you think?
we couldn’t stay into the evening, as we had a date to meet up with our nephew james for dinner and an overnight stay. so we said our goodbyes as the sun began to set and headed down to columbia. we had some pretty good pizza for dinner and a great night’s rest and the next morning, we headed for the fair.
it was another stunning day—the first truly hot day of the year for us (it tends to be a bit cooler in ohio). traffic was backed up pretty far from the fairgrounds—it was going to be very crowded (not like last year, when we drove right in).
sure enough. wow. we got into the fairgrounds and walked around the outside booths for a while, then headed to the big building. it’s a bit overwhelming to see so many fiber fans in one place. we walked the aisle, agog, literally. then we saw a familiar face
it was jennifer from spirit trail fiberworks. her booth was packed—and with good reason . . . she has gorgeous yarn and fiber, lovely samples, and she’s so committed; who could resist?
i love the newest addition to her booth, the sock display arching over the top—it’s brilliant.
not to mention her fans—these two fun ladies (i know you told me but i can’t remember your names now!!) and i were happily trapped in the back of the booth for a while, resulting in way more shopping than any of us thought possible in such a small space. in addition to incredible hand-dyed yarns, jennifer specializes in rare breed spinning fibers and always has a tempting selection of things for those that are looking for something different. in fact, she sent me home with a bag of north ronaldsay fiber in natural gray/blue to spin on my new wheel.
we’ve been trying to get together to look at her yarns for a while and i was really glad to have the chance at the show. her booth is always busy, no matter what show she does, so we just dove into the fray and got started. jennifer works with a number of yarn bases in all weights, each one more lovely than the last. she sent me away piled high with samples
three skeins of sunna fingering yarn, a blend of superwash merino, cashmere, and silk—simply yummy. left to right are colorways connemarrra, acadia, and ancient stones.
two skeins of the same fiber blend in birte DK weight (not listed on her site yet)
in colorways green velvet and rosewood.
one of these yarns will become a sweater design i’ve been contemplating—i’ve been searching for a yarn with just the right twist and bounce and i’m pretty sure one of these is it. it’ll be a challenge to settle on a colorway; i see lots of swatching in my future . . .
and then we turned the corner to gaze upon the wall of luxury lace and fingering yarns.
penelope, in colorway falcon’s eye, a merino/silk fingering yarn so yummy, you won’t want to stop knitting it. but of course, that’s just the beginning
this is another one not listed on her site yet—orihime, a 4-ply merino/cashmere blend, in colorway appalachia.
and finally, neith—a 4-ply cashmere/bombyx silk blend in an impossibly beautiful sea blue/green colorway called serenity. holy cow; i was overheating just from the excitement of it all.
there was much, much more and some day i will explore it all, but this is plenty to keep my brain busy for a bit. thank you, jennifer!
after bidding our adieus to the spirit trail staff, we wandered a bit further, appreciating rugs, yarns, and fibers on all sides, mostly from a distance—it was nearly impossible to get into most of the booths at this point.
still, i had a couple of specific things i wanted to look for. i found the carolina homespun booth and my friend morgaine and dove into the far reaches of a bin on the floor of the back corner, soon finding what i wanted.
a small packet of the über-delicious cashmere/tussah silk spinning fiber from chasing rainbows dyeworks
i purchased one of these at rhinebeck, having just spun up a similar packet in the evergreen colorway, which eventually became a pine and ivy shawl. and well, you might remember that my yarn supply for that piece was a nailbiter all the way to the end, fraught with chills and adventure.
much as i enjoyed that little caper, i may not wish to repeat it in the future and with that in mind, i vowed to secure another packet of the fiber so as to have plenty of supply for my next handspun shawl. no sense tempting fate twice . . .
a little further down we came across the peace weavers booth and stopped to say hello to melissa. i think you can get a sense from this photo just how crowded the place was—and we were in the big barn.
we headed outside in search of water or something cooling and found ourselves right in the thick of the food aisle at lunchtime. fortunately, there were a couple of stalls with short lines
including one that sold sno-cones, a favorite of david’s. i had never actually tasted one, so i took a chance and tried it. maybe it was the blue color, but i didn’t care for it—kinda chemical tasting—all the more for him, right?
we mosied toward the smaller buildings and made to enter a couple of them, but honestly, they were so jammed it made me clammy just to think about it. i wanted to look up a few more people, but wondered if i’d even get close to talking to them. at this point the sun was high and it was very hot; we were starting to be concerned about the wheel we’d left in the car and decided maybe we should head home.
we saw a few more friends as we ambled toward the parking lot, including kathy, from kansas city. i see kathy at nearly every fiber event i attend and i’m awed by her willingness to travel.
i really appreciated the air-conditioning in our car for the trip home; i think we were halfway there before i felt dry again. we finished our book (which made us laugh a lot; it’s funny) and enjoyed the nearly-empty roads on saturday afternoon.
we got in with plenty of time left in the evening for setting up the new wheel. a little cleaning, a few adjustments, a new driveband for spinning in double drive and i was set to go. this morning, i got up early to photograph it so you can appreciate the fine details and accomplished workmanship of this precision instrument
each part is just enough of a presence to do its job and not more.
each piece fits exactly into the next, but as softly and effortlessly as possible.
i love the simple whimsy in the shapes of the parts—they remind me of chess pieces.
while i appreciate wheels with ornate turnings, my favorite motifs are simple and abstract
these repeating carved lines, punctuated here and there by a square or round peg, seem just right to my sensibility; almost musical, in an appalachian way.
and don’t even get me started on the satiny, hand-rubbed finish. sublime is about the only word that comes close to describing it.
sigh. i love my new wheel.
will keep you updated on our adventures together . . .
61 thoughts on “things work out just as they should”
What a lovely story!
What a beautiful wheel! I can allmost feel the smooth wood.
What a beautiful man, David 😉
and beautiful socks.
Thank you!
By the way, have you ever tried knitting from the toe-up?
I like longer socks, and lack of yarn at the end is the main reason that I now allways knits from the toe-up.
Anne –
What a great story. Oh, this post gets extra points for:
a) travel
b) including David
c) sock knitting
d) knitting roadtrop
e) and lots and lots of animal pictures
Sounds like lots of fun. Thanks for taking us along to MDSW!
Hi,
I knew I saw your handsome husband at the festival Saturday afternon. I looked for you to tell you thank you for all your wonderful sock patterns, but couldn’t find you. My daughter thought I was crazy when I told her who your husband was, she said yeah sure. Just showed her his picture and she said okay that was him. Enjoy your wheel. Oh I almost bought the Paula May color way STR while there but went for the booby colorways instead.
Thank you once again for the great report on your travels and purchases….wonderful, what I would give to be able to buy visit one of those events….my goodness I wouldn’t have any money left afterwards.
Congratulations on a stunning acquisition. (And I enjoyed the MD report!)
I LOVE Jennifer’s yarns. She does such amazing things with yarn and dyes. Doesn’t hurt that she is a genius with the blues and the greens.
Had the pleasure of meeting David at MDSW on Saturday. He was standing in the middle of the aisle in the large building – most likely in front of Spirit Trail. I looked for you to introduce myself but the crowds and the heat were too overwhelming. I’ve been attending this festival for 23 years and have to say this was one of the hottest and most crowded. Came back on Sunday – crowds were less but the heat was still here. Hope you have an opportunity to teach here sometime. Would love to take your classes. btw – the classrooms are air conditioned! Enjoy your wheel – I have admired his wheels for years.
Like an adoption – congratulations! Looking forward to meeting her.
And, of course, fondling the new yarn and fiber…..
Thank you for taking us on the trip with you. One of these days I’m going to look into spinning, but it might be a good idea to get my girls into college first! Your wheel is beautiful. I hope you have a lovely time getting acquainted.
Love all the pictures – especially seeing kathy again! But my absolute FAVE is Mr. Donkey! I had a donkey growing up (broke my arm on him), and still have fond memories. This picture of yours makes me think of the Shrek donkey. So glad you got your wheel!
I saw Kathy’s picture before I read your comment. We met her through another knitting friend. She comes to visit and knits with our group. She is really a nice gal! Wish she lived closer.
Really fun post, Anne. I do hope you enjoy the wheel!
Ha ha, I LOVE that first donkey photo. And congratulations on your new wheel: looking forward to hearing more about it.
Anne- Wow, all that fiber- the mind boggles. Your new wheel is very handsome.
And I’m with David- but Sno-cones only taste good at an outdoor fair.
Congratulations on your wheel!! Yippieee! And I can’t wait to see your ideas for all that Spirit Trail gorgeousness.
What a fantastic weekend!!!…and the wheel-lucky you!!! 🙂
The new wheel is a beauty. I can’t wait to hear how she does for you.
And yes, that was a scorching day on Saturday! I made it into the large building, and that was about it for the same reasons as you. Wow was it packed! We bailed mid-afternoon and hunted up a local winery where there were no crowds, free tastings, and shady trees.
We went back on Sunday, and that was better. I hope to see you next time you’re in Maryland.
Whoo hoo!!!! She’s a beauty!!!!!
Congratulations on the fabulous new wheel with a wonderful story of aquisition to go with it. It’s enough to make me want to take up spinning again, especially when combined with the lovely yarn you spun for Pine and Ivy. (Resisting.)
And what a wonderful haul from MDSW! Yummy, yummy colors.
Great post – a little of everything; Jennifer was right.
I’m lusting after it all…
Thanks for sharing your day at MDSW. Congratulations on the lovely new wheel. I’ll look forward to reading about your spinning adventures with your new friend.
Also, lovely meeting you at sock camp and taking your great class. I have an even better understanding of the importance of swatching.
What a good and loving home the wheel has found…..
Not that I really want to know… But what is the link for the spinner’s swap board?
Enjoy your new wheel – what a story! 🙂
That is a stunning wheel, just gorgeous! I am in the process of deciding on my first wheel, what a decision. I am knitting with some N. Ronaldsay right now, love that fact that the sheep eat seaweed (I gew up at beach).
Congratulations – that Norm Hall is a major, major score. I look forward to seeing lots of beautiful yarn coming off that wheel!
Congratulations on the new wheel!! Lovely!!
I need to go back over all your wonderful pics…it’s like being there; dang that air fare was soo high 🙁
p.s. blue food is unholy!! LOL!!! 🙂
What a wonderful weekend! Thank you for sharing. BTW, what book were you listening to? We have a number of car trips in our near future and would love your suggestions!
Your wheel is just lovely. What are the woods it is made of? My knitting friend Jaime and I cooled down with ice cream, water and ice tea, sometimes listening to the old time musicians or sitting on the grass listening in on a grandmother teaching her grandaughter to spin. We were able to say hello to your gracious husband in front of the Spirit Trail booth and tell him how much we appreciate your patterns.
Anne, your new wheel is a beauty. I know you’re going to do some awesome spinning on it.
BTW, I’ve been bitten by the spinning bug since the Spring Fling. Had my 1st lesson last week.
Thanks for sharing your trip experience with us.
Wow, your descriptions are *almost* as good as being there! My sister went (drove up from Alexandria), and she phoned me from the long line of traffic waiting to get in. I am definitely not a fan of really hot weather or really crowded spaces, even for great fiber! I must say those first two yarns you showed, connemarra and ancient stones are to die for!
And I’m so excited that you have some new sweater designs in the works!
Congrats on the new wheel! That’s a rabbit hole I am resisting…
Well, that gal on the left in the Spirit Trail booth picturein the Knitting Sisters T-shirt is none other than Barbara!!! from the Richmond, VA knitters! Miss that group of gals since moving to Ohio. Glad you had a nice trip. MD S&W is awesome and so is your wheel!
I wish I would’ve known you were there, I would’ve hunt you down!
You’re going to really enjoy it . . . I’ve got a Norm Hall wheel and I love it.
Glad the Spinning Wheel Gods smiled on you and got you a wheel you’re clearly very excited about. Now get spinning, woman! We want to see some of that gorgeous handspun!
That is one gorgeous wheel! Congratulations 😉
Thanks for the travelogue–and the great pix. That donkey looks just like the character in Shrek, and your new wheel is quite something. I agree with you about the blue snow cone–I got conned into some blue ice cream last summer and it tasted like floor cleaner.
You guys are the most amazing multi-taskers on the planet 🙂
It turned summer here, too, this weekend, and I spent it turning over the garden and planting lettuce, bok choy, and potatoes. Still way too early here for tomatoes and such like.
Love the donkey at the top,
and the spinning wheel is beautiful, a lovely post
Ooo, I’m in your blog! How exciting!
Thanks so much for stopping by my booth, and for creating so many very beautiful designs and for keeping us all informed & entertained with your blog stories.
It’s a pleasure to know you!
(and congrats on the wheel, what a beauty.)
Had to laugh with David and the blue snow cone. Blue is my favorite flavor. Haven’t had one in years.
The new wheel looks very happy to be “home”.
Wow! Lucky you. So happy you are over the moon about your new wheel.
Best!
Wow. What a wheel. I can see why you needed to go and get it! I can’t wait to see what you spin on it 🙂 And thanks for the vicariously Maryland Sheep and Wool tour; I came so close to going, but I’m starting to think that waiting for Great Lakes was the way to go! Now to decide about classes — to take, or not to take, that is the question.
What a beautiful wheel. And I had no idea donkeys were so cute!
What a beautiful, beautiful wheel!!! Congratualtions on finding it at last and many happy years to you both!
But dang. I missed meeting you. I went both days, but we were running late Saturday and got stuck in the traffic for two hours! You may have still been there, but I suspect not.
I didn’t even try the booths on Saturday. I went through the barns and learned more about the animals instead.
It was much better the next day… we drove right in to the fairgrounds, and managed to get IN to the booths.
Oh well, maybe next year!
yay, i’m so happy you got your wheel! i remember how taken with it you were back when you two first met. 😉 i am also incredibly jealous of all these fabulous fiber festivals you seem to have on the east coast. i guess out here we have stitches west– which i should figure out a way to go to next year– and sock camp & sock summit way up north, but those are basically too far away to be possible for me. do you know of anything else in the southwest that i should be aware of?
Karakul Anne!
Good job!!!
That wheel is a work of art!
Beautiful wheel!!! When I grow up I want one a Norm Hall, too :-D. Congratulations on your score; his wheels are SO lovely, really works of functional art.
It was SO nice to see you on Saturday, even though it was so hot and steamy and crowded! Hope for a quieter visit one of these days when you’re traveling this way, or I’m traveling your way.
Happy Knitting! I’m playing with the Birte now, too (and so is Shelia) and really loving this new yarn. Hopefully on my website in the next week or two … or three.
Hugs, Jen
What a beautiful wheel — enjoy! Besides, you’re worth it 🙂 I like the donkey, too.
Sounds like a perfect weekend! So glad the wheel worked out (and you love it!)!
Love all those yarns too! So pretty! And, if you haven’t found an extra Paula Mae let me know. I have my skein from camp (haven’t wound it yet) and can either send you enough to finish your sock (its so pretty!) or the skein!
Thanks for sharing your fabulous weekend journey and your new wheel is truly amazing. Enjoy!
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