It's Long (and Long Overdue!)

So much to blog... and I don't know where to start! Let's see... Maryland Sheep and Wool was pretty awesome. Scott and I got there when it opened, and the place was packed. We headed in and started looking right away for spinning wheels- if I left with just one thing, I wanted it to be a wheel. It didn't take long before we found a vendor with one I liked: Susan's Fiber Shop. Susan was super busy, but still took the time to help me try it out. It was the first time I'd spun on a wheel (if you can call what I did "spinning"), and it was a lot harder than it looks- but also super intriguing. Needless to say, I am the proud new owner of a Kromski Prelude with a walnut finish.

There aren't any pictures of it assembled yet because, well, it isn't assembled. Not that letting it sit in the box isn't killing me slowly, but I knew if I put it together nothing else would ever get done, and my knitting room needs to be finished! So no spinning for me until the knitty room is done.

With the wheel being sort of a big-ticket item, my budget didn't allow for a ton of other stuff at Sheep and Wool. But I did get a basket for the knitty room from Inger's Basketry:


Some wool from Cloverleaf Farms to spin up:


And some yarn from Brooks Farm (it's Duet, but I have no idea what colorway it is):

Scott and I stopped by the Western Maryland Ravelers' rest area a couple of times to say hello:

I heart the Western Maryland Ravelers, you guys are awesome!

We also saw sheep, alpacas, and goats. Scott found out that goats are only $150, so I suspect that I might find one in the yard someday (when we get a yard). Scott had a lamb burger, and loved it. I didn't venture anywhere near The Fold's booth- I still have some Socks That Rock from Stitches East, so I didn't feel it would be worth fighting the crowd. And lastly, the Ravelry Meetup was nutty. There was a pretty intense crowd, but I managed to get my little Ravatar sticker and button. Unfortunately, I learned a few days ago that the stickers are not waterproof (all the ink came right off in the rain) so it is no more. All said and done, it was a great time and I can't wait to go again next year.

Not being able to play with the spinning wheel proved to be great motivation to get the knitting room done. In fact, I got the paint a few hours after Sheep and Wool! Right now I am in the middle of painting, and hopefully tomorrow I can put the room back together. Painting is such a major pain in the ass... especially when everything needs to be painted- trim, doors, the ceiling... all of it. Ugh. But it's almost done, and totally worth it. And you can't see any pictures until it's done- it's more fun to reveal it all at once! But here is the "before" picture:




Maybe there will be an "after" tomorrow...

Lastly, the Clapotis. I don't have much done, as I've been a bit busy with the knitty room, but here it is.



It's tiny, I know. Sadly, it will likely stay tiny for a while due to the new wheel. But it's going well so far, and I think I really like it in the cotton. Well, I'm off to paint some more!