It’s 10 years since I first attended the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and I continue to find new and wonderful yarns and tools every year. This year I also met and spent time knitting with a wonderful group of women at the hotel.

My prized purchase this year if this shaker yarn box by Strouse Woodworking. I’ve wanted one for years and finally treated myself.

These handmade wood tools are simply beautiful. The needle case is ideal for my seaming needles and the crochet hook has inspired me to do a bit more crocheting.

On to yarn. I really have quite a stash right now so I tried to purchase yarn that was special to me. My first purchase was this beautiful sock blank by Gale’s Art. It is my first time knitting from a sock blank and I’m enjoying seeing the colors emerge as I unravel and knit from the blank. I would love to take a class on creating a hand painted sock blank. I’ll be on the lookout for one.

One of my favorite yarn companies is Neighborhood Fiber Company. They are located in Baltimore and I definitely want to visit them. They had a festival colorway called Friendship that I just love. I purchased 800 yards of their studio worsted. I’ve knit with the studio worsted before and it is a pleasure to knit. I’ll be winding this and knitting a swatch soon so I can decide on a project for this yarn.

My other purchase from Neighborhood Fiber Company was a shawl blank. I’ve never seen one before and I’m looking for just the right pattern for it. It’s 1000 yards of fingering weight merino in the colorway Seneca Creek.

Then it was on to Feederbrook Farms. This is the yarn that I used for my Crescent Shawl and I love the way the colors blend when knitting this yarn. The blue is for a new sweater for my granddaughter and the lovely fall colors are destined to become another crescent shaped shawl.

Of course no trip would be complete with a festival souvenir. This year I decided on the backpack. It was easy to carry some of my purchases using it.

On Friday, I made my first visit to Needles Up. It’s a small group of vendors in a pre-festival show and sale. I walked away with more sock yarn than I had planned on buying but the colorways were so exciting and I can’t wait to use them all.

I need to knit faster as I can’t wait to use all these lovely yarns and The Garden State Festival is in September and I’m sure I’ll be mesmerized by more beautiful yarns.