Things I learned at Maryland Sheep and Wool

+ When the parking looks like this:
It is very helpful to close a mylar helium balloon in your car door to make it easy to find. It also helps to have a cooler of cold drinks in the car so you have a lovely little oasis to escape to when the crush becomes too much. It was windy enough that I needed to plug my ears, but too warm for my Ear Bags. So I discovered that a little cotton wadding is a nice noise buffer in a big crowd.

+ When you purchase a pattern and they have the sample there....
take a picture! Sadly, I forgot to write down the yardage of the Unable to Buy Anywhere Else Yarn that the pattern calls for. However, it is knit bottom up, soooooo No Sweat. R-i-ght.



+ When you thinking about going, quietly lurk at Spindlers, because they are pros and will tell you all the tricks: comfy shoes, good bag,which vendors carry what, Map, Plan of Attack, carry cash because credit card lines are jammed. Thank you for all the good advice. BTW, I think lurking is such a mis-nomer, I prefer WallFlower thankyouverymuch.

+ Be prepared to stand in line with your cash and plan of attack. Actually two lines. I spent 40 minutes meeting gracious knitters while waiting to enter The Fold. I actually saw a lot of 'famous' people but didn't talk to them.
I enjoyed the standing in line part because I got to knit socks, meet people, and look at the Socks that Rock colours as people came out of the booth.It made a big difference to see the colours live. After waiting to fondle, I waited 25 minutes to pay, and I don't resent a moment of it.

+ Ask the vendor if they will hold onto the big bag of roving until you finish that barn. While roving is soft I got tired of being thwapped by others wrestling with their purchases. I actually waited to purchase my roving until the very end, half hoping that it would find a different home, but it was still there, and is now here.

I ran other errands in the Baltimore area while there. The Invisibility Cloak kicked in at the MAC store, so I went to Nordstroms and bought MAC there. I might be offended by the situation except it happens in a lot of stores - including yarn stores- and I'm resigned to it. I knoshed my way through Whole Foods and stocked up on food for the rest of my stay in Southern Tier NY. It was good to go Metro for a spell, and better to leave it behind.