News From The Nest

Time Flies

Well, I must be having fun!  Time sure has flown.  I find it hard to believe that tomorrow is June 1st but that's what my calendar is telling me.  The flowers are saying it's June.  Here is the first red rose out of the garden and it smells delightful!  I have two clematis (the other is pink and white) planted in the same pot and had the intention of them blooming at the same time.  Well, they don't.  How pretty that would have been.

What have I been up to this past week??

I worked all week - driving a lot between appointments.  I drove 320 miles start to finish on Friday alone.  I was almost into Danville, VA on Hwy 29 North from Greensboro, NC when the skies opened up!  It poured!  It continued all the way home (about an hour east of Danville).  That was okay because I was expecting a visitor!

Sally arrived at the house via her little blue VW bug shortly after I did.  She left Cedar Key, FL early that morning and made it to my houre in VA around 6:00 PM.  We promptly popped open a bottle of wine, sat at the kitchen table, and caught up.  Out came the knitting needles, recent purchases, etc. in a "let me show you this" and "have you seen this?" visit. 

I just love Sally!  I have such a good time with her.  Our meeting was serendipitous.  I was at rug hooking camp in the early 1990's and mentioned to another rug hooker that I didn't know anyone living near me who hooked.   She gave me Sally's name - at that time she lived in Richmond (2 hours from me).  I called her and introduced myself and soon after we arranged for me to drive up and meet her.  With my boys in tow to attend a Welcome House Korean Picnic sponsored by the Korean school and the adoption agency in Richmond we went through to adopt our boys, I met Sally.  We all went to the picnic and had a grand time.  This meeting led to many more shared weekends and overnight stays.  My boys loved going to her house.  We always had such a good time together.  Still do! 

Yesterday, we headed off to Greensboro, NC to Gate City Yarns.  We stopped by Simple Kneads Bakery (YUUUMMMMM!) and Mary Contrary (nice shop with the cutest greeting cards).  The weather could not have been more perfect.  We ate lunch outside at an umbrella'ed table at Liberty Oak Restaurant & Bar right across the corner from Gate City.  I had a Granny Smith sandwich with turkey, Granny Smith apple slices, bean sprouts, and blue cheese.  Delicious!  Then, as if either one of us was suffering from a driving / riding deficit, we headed off to Hillsborough, NC.  There, we visited Hillsborough Yarn Shop, Callaway Jewelry - Spiral Studios, and Matthew's Chocolates (where sadly no purchase was made).  I had my camera with me the entire time but  thought I didn't.  Result - not a single picture was taken!

Finally, we made it home - fed all my four-legged friends and settled down - again - at the kitchen table with our knitting needles.  This  time, I taught Sally the Magic Loop method for socks using a #2 35" circular needle and a skein of Ty-Dy (80% superwash wool, 20% nylon) from Knit One Crochet Too.  This yarn is so light and  cool  feeling.  Perfect for summer socks.  She did very well and I got her through the heel flap, the heel turn, and the gusset pick-up stitches.  She's ready to start on the foot part.  I worked on my cabled baby blanket  and only have about 23 rows left before I start on the border.  I can hardly wait to start on the border!  Can't wait to knit that purple onto the lime green.  I finished the first sock and have started the second one. 

We also exchanged stuff.  She gave me one of her clivia's babies from a plant that she takes back and forth with her from Florida to Maine.  The plant is from one her mother had and has bloom shoots that produce clusters of orange flowers.  The roots remind me of an orchid.  I have it laying out to dry a bit before planting it.  I sent an aloe plant that I fell off my plant and I rooted and a lavender plant rooted from my big bush in the garden.  I also send tons of cut herbs with her - rosemary, lemon balm, mint, and santolina - to make eye masks and whatnot.  She'll have the most fragrant car on Interstate 95 North!

She got on the road about noon today headed north to Portland, ME.  I miss her already.  There she goes down the driveway headed to Maine.  Bye, Sally!  Come back soon!

After Sally left, Annie and I walked the backyard, put shelled sunflower seeds in the saucers for the bluebirds, and filled the birdfeeders.  The bluebird box on the  east side of the driveway has a very well-built nest (second this season) but no eggs yet.  The one of the west side is awaiting a new nest.

I also took some pictures of the gardens.  Need to get mulch and pine needles and then I'll be done for this year.  In the picture on the left, you can see the corner of my studio and the walkway leading to the perenial garden beside it.  In front is another garden - the one that used to be full of rosebushes.  Some have died so I've pulled them up - need to pull a few more up - and have planted / transplanted some new stuff to fill the space.  The picture to the right is St. Frances of Assisi watching over the azalea bushes.  (You can click on the pictures to get a closer look.)

On the way back up the driveway to the house, I took this picture.  It's my favorite view of our home, Rebel Hill.  The thought of leaving the house, the studio, the yard, the gardens after 25 years just turns my stomach.  Things change, don't they?

More Garden Work

It was back in the garden this afternoon.

I pulled up mint mercilessly.  I love the stuff but it just takes over.  Fortunately, it is easy to pull up.  The roots run just under the surface of the dirt and the plant will pop up here and there.  A couple attacks a year keeps it pretty well confined to its area.  I dry the leaves and use it in my soap.  It's so cooling and smells so fresh.  I also LOVE it in iced tea.  So refreshing! 

The plants I transplanted yesterday looked okay.  The black-eyed Susans and the lambs ear were still a little limp looking but the black and blue salvia was very perky.

I think I'm going to like the oak leaf hydrangea (top left picture).  Vickie, at the  garden center, said it blooms spring and summer and then the leaves will turn orange in the fall. 

As I was coming up the hill after watering this morning, I saw Earl Gray watching something v-e-r-y intently.  A black SNAKE!  All coiled up.  Not good.  Don't like snakes - especially as I wade through the tall plants and groundcover in the garden.  Earl was just watching it.  George would have had that snake for lunch!

I'm starting on the toe of the sock I showed yesterday.  I  always hold my breath that I'm starting the toe at the right place - especially when I'm making the socks for someone else. 

And, like I said yesterday, good help is hard to find!  This time it was George who was taking a siesta as I worked away.

Sharon tagged me for a Meme to list six unimportant things that make me happy.  I'm going to say that they're little things - not unimportant things. 

1) the smell of the earth after a good summer rain,
2) the fragrance of flowers - gardenias, magnolias, etc.,
3) a purring kitty cat,
4) knitting outdoors on a cool sunny day,
5) spotting a rainbow, and
6) watching birds at the feeder and playing in the yard.

I'm supposed to tag six other people.  I'm just going to tag two - Diane and Robin.  Hopefully, they won't mind playing along!

Wishing everyone a restful and thoughtful Memorial Day holiday tomorrow. 

How Does Your Garden Grow??

Hope you are having a pleasant Memorial Day weekend.  Andy and I joined Mom and Dad and a few of their friends for hamburgers on the grill Saturday night.  Hamburgers on the grill with all the fixin' are soooo good!  

I was pooped Saturday!  I had worked in the rose garden all day -- turning it into a not-for-roses-only garden.  I've lost a few of the bushes and it just didn't look great.  With the questionable / pending move to Ohio, I didn't want to spend a lot of money on stuff that I was going to have to leave. 

A birdbath and three azaleas are in the center of the garden (picture top left).  I bought two knock-out rose bushes and an oak leaf hydrangea.  I positioned the rose bushes on one side of the garden and then placed the hydrangea on the other side for balance.  Then, I filled in with black-eyed Susans, black and blue salvia, lamb's ear, and lavender transplanted from the perrenial garden.  Andy had turned the dirt for me to help kill the grass and weeds.  The dirt was just huge clods - hard as bricks!  I worked in some peat moss and watered like crazy.  I hope everything makes it because I don't want to do it again!!! 

Next, I need to take on the perennial garden.  The mint has gone wild and so has a groundcover.  Things are blooming slowly.  The lilies haven't popped open yet.  The calla lilies have pushed up through the dirt.  The cone flowers and daisies look like they're going to do well this year.  But, I have to get in there and pull up LOTS of mint and also that dang ground cover. 

It's hard to get good help these days.  Earl Gray took a siesta in the chair as I toiled away.

George showed up just as I was putting everything away. 

Gracie was out and about, too.  She tends to stay far away from  George these days.  He's terrible -- intimidates her -- chases her whenever he sees her.  As a result, she spends a lot of her time inside with me.  There she can eat and rest in peace.

I'm working on several projects - one of which is a pair of socks out of Lang Yarns' JAWOLL Color Aktion Superwash.  These are the funniest looking socks I've ever made.  I cast on 64 stitches and the cuff is a K2, P2 rib.  This yarn came with a little spool of nylon tucked into the center of the skein.  I used it for the heel and will use it again when knitting the toe.  It really made for a thick heel.  I sure hope these socks fit the recipient! 

Thanks for reading! 

Sedalia Spring Fiber Fair

The 4th Sedalia Spring Fiber Fair was held this past Saturday at the Sedalia Center in Big Island, VA.  This fiber fest has been plagued by horrible weather in the past.  This morning looked to be a little iffy but the rain held off.  The clouds just made the setting more beautiful. 

Big Island is in the middle of nowhere near Lynchburg and Bedford, VA.  When you're at the festival, you are surrounded by mountains.  Still coming down from the Maryland Sheep & Wool high, Sedalia is a nice restful show.  It's small, you easily run into friends, there's lots of seating if you want to sit and knit with your buddies, and the view is restful.

This year, there were 40+ vendors including the ever popular Kid Hollow Farm (wonderful roving, yarn, etc.), Misty Mountain Farm (patterns, yarn, roving, etc.), ISeeSpots  Farm, Lawre's Laine (the BEST knitting bags ever), and Strauch Fiber Equipment Co. (drum carders, ball winders, etc.).   There were a few new (to me) ones this year - Crazy4Dyeing being one of them. 

I enjoyed test-driving the Spinolution spinning wheels - the Mach 1 and the Bee - in the Wild Hare Fiber booth. 

It was also fun to sit and eat lunch under the tent and just observe everything going on in front of me.  I was able to visit with Nancy, from Vinton, VA.  We hatched a plan to go to Backstitches in Lynchburg after leaving the fair.   

There were llama.  As I ate, there were a couple being taken for a stroll around the grounds.

There were freshly shorn alpaca.  So cute!  All head and eyes.   

Needing nothing much after going to the mega Maryland Sheep & Wool, I purchased 8 oz. of Shetland roving to try in a beautiful shade of gray, a couple of patterns, and a skein of yellow/gold/olive laceweight yarn.

  Backstitches sent out an email announcing a big sale so Nancy and I decided to stop in and check it out.  We were glad we did!!!  I picked up some Noro Kuryeon Sock Yarn and Cascade Sierra (80% cotton, 20% wool) - all HALF PRICE!  That made the Cascade $4.00 per skein.  I got six skeins - enough to make a short-sleeve sweater.  A short-sleeve sweater for $24.00 - a deal!  I also have a niggling to make that 3-button wrap that's so popular.  We'll see.  The yarn is a light shade of olive green!  My favorite color!

My peonies have about bloomed out.  The rains didn't help matters - beat them down.  I thought all of my bushes were white but the one on the end produced blooms that were this very pretty shade of pink.

Oh, I wish this blog was scratch and sniff!  These flowers smell sooo sweet!

So Far Behind!

I'm so far behind -- haven't blogged since May 10th!  How did that happen??  I promised to tell you about the vendors at Maryland Sheep & Wool -- or at least some of them!  There were sooooo many great ones!  Always a terrific show!

This year, Mary Ann Pagano from Three Waters Farm was there.  Her roving is gorgeous!  No wimpy colors for this dyer!  I love her rich earthy colors.  She is from North Carolina and sells her products in Yarns, Etc. in Chapel Hill and is also a vendor at Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair in Asheville in October.  I stocked up on her fiber recently at Yarns, Etc. so was able to leave her goodies for other Maryland Sheep & Wool shoppers. 

I purchased two great kits from All About Yarn's - a local knitting shop in Columbia, MD - booth.  One was Queen of the Earth Scarf and Stole with two skeins of Zephyr Laceweight 50% Merino, 50% Tussah Silk in Sable colorway.  The other was a stole kit from Frog Tree in 100% Suri Alpaca.  The colorway - a gorgeous olive green!

Kiparoo Farm had the coolest kit!  Kiparoo's Twig Collection - an Eco-Chic Linen Purse Kit.  The kit includes directions, linen yarn, a tree branch that's been cut in half for the handles, and a wooden button (a cross-cut of a branch).  Can't wait to do this!

I was VERY tickled to see Jennie The Potter there this year.  I had looked at her site several months ago and wanted to place an order.  I  was able to save shipping by purchasing from her at the wool fest.  I LOVE my mugs and yarn bowl.  Please check out her site!  Too cute!

Gale's Art had a booth.  I purchased a Trindle and some roving.  By now, you've probably heard the buzz about these cool spindles.  The Trindle was designed by a physics teacher and I think it looks like a tinker toy.  It spins like a dream!  When in action, it looks like some NASA space station. 

Of course, with my affinity for all things birdy, I couldn't pass up these Serendipity knitting needles with the birdsnests on the ends.  I also bought a pair of Hiya-Hiya Needles to try.  A few patterns and the book, Fiber Gathering, a couple of ditty bags, pretty much completed my haul. 

There were so many more fabulous vendors.  Spirit Trail Fiber, Susan's Fiber Shop, Wild Fibers Magazine, etc.  Maryland Sheep & Wool is definitely the cream of the crop as far as fiber festivals go.  I don't know whether or not I'll be in Virginia or Ohio next year, but I'll start saving for the 2010 show anyway.  If not Maryland - maybe a festival in Ohio. 

For Mother's Day, Andy and I went to Danville and had lunch at Mom and Dad's.  We celebrated Mother's and Father's Day gift-wise.  I'll be on my way home from Ohio on Father's Day.  What's inside those packages, you ask??????  For Mom - a garden flag, garden notecards, a pressed flower bookmark, and a pair of earrings.  For Daddy - a small birdfeeder to hang at the kitchen window and a "Nestie".  I got the "Nestie" at Maryland Sheep & Wool.  It's a wire cage filled with wool that you can hang so the birds can pluck some fiber for their nests.  I think it's so funny when I find cat hair in my birds' nests.  Seems a little funny that cat fur should keep baby birds warm.

I have been knitting.  I've finished two of the Mason-Dixon bibs.  I'm using Peaches & Creme yarn and #6 knitting needles.  I love these flower buttons!  Great accent for these bibs.  I'm still working on the cabled baby blanket and just turned the heel on sock #1 of a new pair. 

Bluebird Update:  The five bluebirds in the "west" box fledged while I was in Maryland.  I cleaned out the box and placed a new nest cup in it.  Within three days, Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird had built a new nest.  Now, it's ready and waiting for eggs.  I checked again today when I served up some mealworms, but no eggs yet.  The "east" box is full of five babies that look ready to fledge any day now.  The parents for these young birds are VERY protective.  I deliver mealworms to their saucer every night and it never fails - they swoop at me and chirp like crazy.  They fly straight at me and then veer off to the side when they get close.  The parents for the "west" box have never swooped at me - never in all these years.  Funny how different.  The "east" parents do NOT like me opening the nest box to check on their babies.  Oh well.  Got to do it!  This is the first time the bluebirds have nested in this box and hopefully, they'll nest multiple times this summer like the parents of the other box.

Earl Gray Update:  I think Earl Gray likes being an indoor-outdoor kitty!  He has NEVER played with cat toys.  Even when George and Gracie were little and played with them - Earl never seemed interested.  Now, Earl LOVES them!  He runs all over the place chasing the little plastic balls with the bells inside.  He also has two favorite stuffed mice with bells on their tails.  He will carry his favorites around in his mouth and MEOWS repeatedly.  He also will come and stand up on his hind feet beside me wanting to be picked up and cuddled.  He's a hoot!  A spoiled rotten kitty!  And now, Gracie kitty thinks she's an indoor cat, too!!!  (In this picture, Earl is sitting on top of the collapsed kitty tunnel - taking a play-break!)

Is anyone reading signed up for Knitters Connection in Columbus, Ohio in June???  I'll be there!!!!!!!!

Coming up in the next post --- Sedalia Spring Fiber Festival review.  Beautiful location in the middle of nowhere!

 

The Artwork

And the Maryland Sheep & Wool review continues with fine art and photography entries. 

I love watercolor and there were several entries in this medium.

These two paintings were simply suggestions of sheep.  Very interesting. 

The suggestion of sheep is all the human eye needs to connect the dots and identify the subject in these paintings.

Sometimes, I like suggestion paintings.  They "goose" my own imagination and  creativity. 

This print to the right was so cute!!  The sheep are following the cat down the snowy trail.  The artist was a vendor - booth was in the Main Building but the name escapes me.  What a cute picture!

Another great watercolor is this group of resting sheep on the left.  I love how the artist showed the sunlight on the sheep.  The colors and this placement of light make it a warm and cozy little piece. 

Take a look at this fellow!  He looks so curious!  Great foreground-background in this painting.  Also, the artist achieved such texture in painting the fleece.  Looks like you could just sink your fingers right in.  As you can see by the blue ribbon in the left corner, the judges agreed.

These two framed pieces used a very different medium.  Wool!  Yes, it's not just for spinning, knitting, felting, or weaving anymore!  Wool makes terrific landscapes, too.  

This photograph was just wonderful and I think it would make a great watercolor.  I hope this little lamb doesn't eat all the colorful flowers like Argyle in Barbara Brooks Wallace's wonderful children's book. 

It's been awhile since I read the book but here it goes as I remember it .....  Argyle sees all these beautiful colorful flowers in the next pasture and decides to go eat them.  Well, his wool turns all the colors of the flowers.  The farmer's wife begins knitting his wool into argyle socks.  The socks sell like crazy and the farmer and his wife make a lot of money.  The town puts Argyle on display in a pen in the center of town and the mayor awards him ribbons.  Everyone is happy except Argyle.  He's away from all his sheep buddies.  He also can't get to those flowers he likes to eat anymore.  As a result, his fleece fades back to its natural color.  The mayor takes back his ribbons and sends Argyle back to the pasture.  The farmer and his wife are very upset.  Everyone is unhappy --- except Argyle!  Years ago (back in the 1980's), I participated in a sheep to shawl with Clothos Children at Maymont Park in Richmond, VA (Wikipedia link - can't pull their web site up at this time).  There was an Argyle book signing and one of the Maymont sheep had been dyed with Koolaid in a multitude of colors.  It was a great day and the children loved it!

I'll finish up with the Maryland Sheep & Wool report soon - I promise!  Next post, will include some of the vendors and my purchases!!!

Hope everyone has a wonderful Mother's Day.  I think we all mother something - be it children, husbands, pets, etc. - so let's ALL celebrate today!!

A Yurt

Well, before I go onto the artwork I want to tell you about another felted feature at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. 

There was a yurt there this year. 

Mehmet Girgic and Theresa May-O'Brien were there with a yurt and their felted goods.  Check out their site - Woodscape Artistry. 

What is a yurt, you ask?  Check out this definition.  According to Wikipedia, a "yurt is a portable, felt-covered, wood lattice-framed dwelling structure used by nomads in the steppes of Central Asia". 

The yurt at Maryland Sheep & Wool was exactly that.

Nomads traditionally used yurts for housing because they were relatively lightweight and very protective against the elements.  Their construction made them easily portable when they had to pack up and move on to another place. 

Here you see lots of examples of felting hanging from the sides and on the top of the yurt. 

Inside was really cool.  You can see the wooden frame lashed together.  There were felted rugs or wall-hangings rolled up leaning against the walls. 

Mehmet was doing a felting demonstration when I visited.  He was arranging the first layer of wool on a mat.  He was using something like a hand-held rake to tease the wool into  place. 

Here's a picture of one of the hangings that was displayed on the side of the yurt.  Very pretty with great perspective.  Love those colors!!

Now, if you want a yurt, go to this site and see these!

A yurt is not just a yurt anymore!!!!

 

More Maryland Sheep & Wool

The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival claims to be the largest wool festival and is always held the first full weekend in May.  This year was the 36th year.  The parking and admission are free.  There are more than 250 vendors and 1,000 sheep.  The festival offers classes, workshops, demonstrations, musical entertainment, sheep dog trials, lots of food choices (both healthy and not so much!), the sheep shows, sheep to shawl auction, etc. etc. 

It has something for everyone - young and old. 

Very educational - the event is a great place for introducing people to new fiber arts or various breeds of sheep. 

I really enjoyed the barn featuring different breeds of sheep.  (Pictured above - Scottish Blackface Sheep) I walked through and viewed the different breeds and talked with the owners.  Many of the stalls had set up informational displays telling about the breed and included samples of the fleece, roving, and yarn.  Some of the booths also had items for sale.

I didn't get the breed of this sheep (pictured here on the left).  He was something!  Look at those bedroom eyes!  He ate up all  the attention he was receiving from festival- goers.  His name was Marquis, I think.  A more appropriate name would have been Romeo or Casanova.  He was SO sweet!  I rubbed his nose and head and he just leaned into my hand.  To the right, is a picture of him getting a little love from Issy and Linda. 

Sunday, I visited the building that housed the Skein & Garment and the Fine Art & Photography entries with Mary.  There were beautiful examples of knitting - from shawls to sweaters to mittens.  There seemed to be more felted items than I had seen before -- several extraordinary ones. 

The shawls were displayed nicely - folded with tissue paper in between the layers so you could see the lace detail.

This felted stone tower with Rapunzel letting her hair down was unbelievable!  I wanted to touch the tower so badly to feel how thick it was but there was no touching allowed.  There was a felted vine  with pink and yellow flowers.  And, look at that Rapunzel -- pearls and cleavage!  

This felted knitting sheep was adorable and reminded me of this year's festival logo.

Then, there was this Native American felted bust. 

Phenomenal detail in all of these felted items.

To the right is a basket full of natural hand-dyed yarns and a little sheep in the middle busily knitting.  Included in the basket is a detailed info on the dying of the yarns and a plan on how to use them in a sweater.  Wonderful presentation. 

There were several felted wall-hangings but this one was  outstanding.  I don't quite understand the fourth place ribbon because I thought this piece was really fantastic!  Just the planning that went into the design alone blows me away!  The background was wet felted and the the detail was needle-felted. 

Next post, I'll show you the artwork that caught my eye.

Until then, this post has come to an end!

I'm Back But Not Totally

I'm back home and I'm exhausted!!!  But, it's a GOOD exhausted!  I got home last night about 9:30 PM.  It was raining so hard that I decided to stop for supper in Colonial Heights, VA.  Emmy was able to meet me.  We talked forever - it was great to see her! 

When I finally got home, Earl and Gracie were ecstatic to see me!  Earl thought I was going to let him outside!  He meowed incessantly.  He's really gotten funny about being an inside kitty.  I catch him playing with all the cat toys I leave lying around.  He's never paid them the slightest bit of attention before.  I'll be working on the computer and I hear him in the other room chasing that little plastic ball with the bell in it.  Or, I'll put them all up and I go in the room later and he's pulled them all out. Too funny!

The car excitement continued on Saturday.  I hit a piece of tire tread from a tractor trailer and it went up under my car.  As I looked in the rearview mirror, I saw the cover to my spare tire from up under my car spinning to a stop in the middle of the highway.  I circled around - prepared to risk life and limb to try and pick it up from the middle of the highway instead of paying X number of  dollars for a new one - but couldn't find it.  Oh well. 

What a fun time!  The Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival was terrific even though the weather was not very cooperative.  Saturday - it sprinkled rain on and off.  Sunday - it flat out  poured allllll day long.  I felt so sorry for the outdoor vendors.  I'm sure some inventory was ruined due to the weather.  

Kudos once again to the festival managers.  Each time I went into a restroom - there was always toilet paper!  I don't think this is a small feat with the number of people that went through those restrooms over the weekend.  So, thanks, festival managers, for paying attention to the
deTAILS!    

As I walked around shopping, I ran into lots of people I knew - some I see fairly often and some I haven't seen since last year's festival.  I stayed at the Hampton Inn in Columbia, MD - the one on Columbia 100 Parkway.  I think I had just as much fun at the hotel at night knitting and jabbering with new friends as I did at the show.  All of us were soooo tired Saturday night that we ordered out for pizza and sat right in the breakfast area of the hotel and ate supper.  Then, we knit and had show and tell of purchases and projects.  If I'm able to attend the show next year, I will definitely stay at this Hampton and I hope all my new friends do, too!  Fun Fun Fun!!!!!

I didn't take tons of pictures this year - the weather was just not very conducive.  I did get some, though. 

The picture of the baby above ---- I have no idea who this child is but I officially award her the "Cutest Darn Baby Award" of the 2009 MD S&W Festival. 

Here's an Angora Rabbit having a little snack and a pen of Angora Goats eating up the attention from all the passers-by. 

Next up are two sheep getting last minute snips to their fleece before they hit the show ring.  The black one on the right was absolutely beautiful!!! 

These young ladies were sitting with one of their Katahdin sheep.  Developed in the United States, this breed is a hair sheep and sheds - no need to shear.  This one had finished shedding for the season and felt like a man's head with a crew cut.

These sheep were dressed to impress!  They looked very patriotic.

Dreadlocks were the preferred hairstyle for these Wensleydales.  Definitely curly locks!

This morning, I had to be in Chapel Hill, NC by 7:45 AM (1.5 hours drive  for me) and now I'm sitting in Winston-Salem, NC waiting for a 3:00 PM appointment.  Talk about welcome back to the work week!!  What a rude awakening after such a fun weekend!  What's that saying -- We owe so off to work we go!  Well, enough said!

I leave you with these two super sweet little Shetland sheep.  They're so little compared to some of the other sheep and such sweet dispositions.

More later! 

 

Signs

A funny thing happened Thursday night on the way to Maryland.........

However, it was not a bit funny!!

I'm cruising along on Interstate 95 north - just reaching the first exits for Fredericksburg, VA when someone passed me and mouthed something to me.  I couldn't understand her.  When I pulled up alongside her, she rolled the window and I did the same.  "I think your back tire looks flat."  I pulled off and headed for a nearby Exxon and called AAA.  There was no putting air in this pancake.  AAA came and put on my spare. 

Thank goodness for AAA and thank  goodness my spare was a full size tire!  I reached Jane's house a little after 10:00 PM.  It was a l-o-n-g day!!  Next week, I'll have to go to Toyota and find out why my car's tire pressure sensor didn't notify me that my tire was going flat.  It never lit up --- nothing.  I'm very thankful that that lady took the time to tell me about the tire. 

Friday morning began my fibery weekend.  Jane and I headed to St. Michaels, Maryland.  We ate lunch at the Key Lime Cafe and then walked across the street to Frivolous Fibers.  I love this store!!  In the front, there is pottery, jewelry, etc. and yarn and knitting supplies in the back. 

Believe it or not, I didn't buy any yarn but I did buy this pendant!  The background is ribbon and the motifs are cut out of paper.  Too cute!!!

We continued walking along the street - stopping in a few other great little shops - Chesapeake Bay Outfitters, Hype, etc.  We stopped in at St. Michaels Perk Coffeehouse for a St. Michaels Latte, too.  What a cute coffee shop!

Next, we went back across the Bay Bridge and stopped in at The Yarn Garden and Barnes & Noble in Annapolis, MD. 

To end a perfect day, I joined Jane and her husband, Don, for dinner at Yellowfin in Edgewater!  Macadamia encrusted Mahi-Mahi with a Thai peanut sauce and grilled asparagus.  YUMMMM! 

We had a window seat at Yellowfin and a great view!

After dinner, I headed off to The Hampton Inn in Columbia, MD.  I walked into the lobby and spied people in the breakfast area winding yarn.  The clerk at the desk said he had 70 check-ins since he got to work and 68 of them were here for the MD Sheep & Wool Festival.  When I got in the  elevator to go up to my room, the door closed and I saw this.  Signs, I tell you!!

After putting my stuff in the room and moving my car, I headed to the breakfast area to knit with a roomful of   strangers who weren't strangers after about 5 minutes!  There were knitters from Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan, and Delaware.  In the works were socks, shawls, sweaters, bibs, dishcloths, etc.  Kristin finished her February Lady Sweater, sewed on the buttons and modeled it for us.  Spectacular!  From a distance the yarn looked black but close-up, there was a lot of teal in the yarn.  Very pretty!

Remember, if you see this tote bag at the festival, please stop me and say "hello"!

Yes, the signs are everywhere --- sometimes you have to look for them and sometimes they just smack you upside the head! 

I want to leave you with a beautiful picture from St. Michaels.  The window boxes and pots of flowers along the street were so pretty.