Countdown to Sheep and Wool

A big thank you and the contest winner!

2008-05-05T18:19:00.002-04:00

Thanks for making the Cloverhill booth a complete success!!!

The space went from this:

to this:

thanks to help of some awesome people (you know who you are) it all got setup and looked awesome.

Then the crowds came!!

Wow!!

We couldn't have done it with you!

And now for our contest winner!! Congrats Beverly!! We just had to pick Beverly for having the best fiber fest story:

Beverly wrote:
"I just returned from the Martha's Vineyard Fiber Festival. I went with a friend of mine from college, and while on the ferry over to the island, we couldn't help but notice a good-looking (Brazilian, it turns out) bunch of guys in motorcycle gear having a great time. I passed by on my way to get a coffee, just as one was taking a photo of the others. I offered to take a photo of all of them - as I always do - and did and thought nothing more of it - other than to lament to my friend that 15 or 20 years earlier, all those guys would have been swarming our table, chatting us up. Oh well, we thought, c'est la vie.

We got off the boat and were trying to decide how to get over to the festival: bicycle? moped? hitch? as we walked by the group, now with their motorcycles, waiting for another of their friends to join them. They motioned us over to ask where they should go on the island, and as I gave them advice, somehow it was suggested that we'd get some helmets and show them where to go. If I hadn't been with that particular friend, it probably wouldn't have happened - we tend to encourage one another's goofier sides - but there we were, on a gorgeous day, riding all over the Vineyard hanging onto to a couple of handsome Brazilian guys! Come on - what could we do? It wouldn't have been a good story unless we'd actually done it! We eventually even made it to the Fiber Festival - with our drivers no less! As I told my friends when I got back - BEST FIBER FESTIVAL EVER! See you in Maryland!"

Congrats Beverly! I'll be emailing you for your address.

ITS TOMORROW!!!

2008-05-02T08:00:00.002-04:00

SEE YOU THERE!!!

That's Jolene.

She'll be in charge.

This year, the baby will be on THE OUTSIDE.

2 days!!!

2008-05-01T08:00:00.001-04:00

Woolarina

Just a tiny bit more tantalizing fiber (from Woolarina) to hold you over until the real thing:

3 DAYS!!!

2008-04-30T09:01:00.003-04:00

A Verb for Keeping Warm

Kristine makes the MOST BEAUTIFUL fiber and yarn. She also sells natural dyes, bags, textiles, and even a very cool t-shirt design on her site. We will be featuring some of these lovelies in JUST THREE DAYS!!!

4 Days!!

2008-04-29T08:00:00.001-04:00

Seriously...only 4 days left!
We are offering a contest to pass the last fewer days quickly...check it out!

Today's Artist Profile:

Spritely Goods

Spritely goods is home to luxury blended fibers, unique handspun and handdyed yarns, original patterns, luxuriousl 100% vegetable oil soaps, and wonderful bamboo products...we are so happy to get our hands on some of her beautiful handdyeds for Sheep and Wool!!!

5 Days!! - And a CONTEST

2008-04-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Today's Artist:

Sheila Rovelstad Designs

Sheila's Knits with Sticks website showcases her gorgeous semi-solid dyed yarns like these...

Not only does Sheila create fabulous colorful sock yarns, she also makes stitch markers! These dangling stitch markers are made with semi-precious stones and crystals.

Sheila is generously donating a skein of her yarn and matching stitch marker for today's contest.

Contest details - along with more of Jody's sheepy pictures:

"Do you wanna know the details? Huh? Do ya? Do ya?"

The contest is simple, comment with your best fiber festival story, or if you've never been, share your expectations for this years fiber-frenzy. Contest happens until 5 pm eastern time on Wednesday. Winner announced Thursday.

Don't get caught with your head in a bucket - comment now!

6 days!!

2008-04-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

The Sanguine Gryphon

Gryphon's website offers handpainted and handspun yarn, handpainted and natural fibers and many of the tools that compliment them including patterns and spinning wheels. We cant wait to see all of the fibers she sends for sheep and wool...

Here is a sample of her handpainted wares:

(On a side note, I think I am going to have to stop browsing all of the artists' websites...cause now I am reaching a dangerous level of handpainted fiber coveting...as of right now, I am still holding out for sheep and wool.)

7 days!!

2008-04-26T08:00:00.001-04:00

Neighborhood Fiber

Along with having absolutely beautiful fibers, Neighborhood Fiber offers the added draw of naming their colorways after various geographical areas of my adopted hometown - Washington DC. Just reading the names makes me nostalgic for college...and look how beautiful they are:

8 Days!!

2008-04-25T08:00:00.001-04:00

Loop

A picture is worth 1,000 words, and today I seriously wanted to give you a million - because I could NOT choose which bats to put up pictures of...they are all so amazing. Seriously, you just have to see these hand-blended babies in person to get the full effect.

9 Days!!

2008-04-22T14:38:00.005-04:00

Artist Profile:

Kate at Dragonfly Fiber Designs

Kate says: I live in a suburb of Washington, DC with a husband, two children, and a dog, and two cats (who think they are my children) and as much yarn, fiber, and fabric (let's not mention the beads) as I can fit into a fairly small but cosy house. My master plan is to break into the yarn business so I can spend all of my time playing with yarn and fiber. Kate's blog is here.

Some of Kate's fibers and yarns for sale on her Etsy:

Merino Top

I have seriously been debating going back and buying this blue/green/brown roving all day, the colors speak to me, BUT I am trying to hold out to see what she has at sheep and wool. Somebody please go and buy it out from under me? (And FYI, I don't know Kate...haven't even met her yet, I swear.)

Corriedale

Superwash Merino

10 Days!!

2008-04-22T07:23:00.002-04:00

Artist Profile:
Khris at Chewy Spaghetti.

Khris says Chewy Spaghetti yarns are hand painted in the high desert of California. She takes inspiration from everything around her- and gives it her own twist. You can read about her dying, knitting, and more on her blog. You can also find her on etsy (go to etsy to join her blue plate special sock club).

Look at some of Kris's gorgeous yarns:

11 DAYS!

2008-04-22T07:03:00.002-04:00

Artist profile:

Marie at Brooklyn Handspun.

Marie lives in Brooklyn with her partner and 4 kitties. Her blog says she is addicted to Fiber arts and jewelry making, and that actually all crafty ventures will pique her interest. You can check out what Marie has been knitting and crafting on her blog...here are some pictures of the beautiful wares currently available in her shop:

Handspun

Hand Dyed

Roving

Bats

13 Days!!!

2008-04-20T18:54:00.002-04:00

We hope you are enjoying getting to know the artists as much as we are!

Profiles still to come:

A Verb for Keeping Warm

Brooklyn Handspun

Chewy Spaghetti

Dragonfly Fiber Designs

Loop

Neighborhood Fiber

Sheila Rovelstad Designs

Spritely Goods

The Sanguine Gryphon

Woolarina

And don't forget to visit our Ravelry Group!!

14 Days!!!

2008-04-19T18:03:00.003-04:00

That's right - only two weeks and we will all be hanging out drooling over fine fibers and yarns and sheep-y wares from around Maryland, and across the country.

Sorry we are so late posting today, but we have been hard at work on our very own DYE YOUR OWN SOCK YARN kits!!

Each kit included directions and supplies to make yourself a 4 oz skein of superwash wool sock yarn.

We started off dying the yarn we are using to tie the kits together, so you can see a sample of the colors included.

We bagged up single servings of the acid dye colors included in each kit.

We wrote you some excellent directions with hints and an inspirational picture. (Hint, dying is messy and may ruin your floor if precautions are not taken - this is underneath the drying yarn)

We put together baggies and stickers and tied it all together just for you.

We hope you love them as much as we do! For more pictures of the process, visit this flickr group.

15 Days!!

2008-04-14T22:02:00.005-04:00

Artist Profile: The Spun Monkey

Shannon at The Spun Monkey Fiber Shoppe is another of our fabulous indie artists this year. Her spinning is a wonder to behold.

But her artistry doesn't just stop there. She has some amazing felt scarves like this:

and Gocco greeting cards at her etsy shop that are just amazing!

Want to knit a wrap out of her amazing handspun? She has wrap kits too!

Here's a little intro from the Spun Monkey herself!

The Spun Monkey Fiber Shoppe is a one-mama biz in semi-rural southern Vermont. I live with my man, my little man, a sweet and tiny cat, and a flock of fabulous chickens in a sprawling olde farmhouse.

I purchase fibers from small family farms that use humane practices and from other indie artists with the same concern for animal welfare. My joy is in creative experimentation, and the fiber is my playground, so you will see a variety of yarn styles and incarnations of felt-work offered in my shoppe. I am honored and delighted to have my work represented with all the other fabulous artists at the Cloverhill table!

Come out out to the booth and say hello!

16 Days!!

2008-04-14T20:21:00.002-04:00

Today we are giving you an inside look at Michelle

from The Sweet Sheep.

Anyone who's visited her shop knows that there is something for everyone there! Not only does she carry some wonderful staples like Malabrigo, Louet, and Fleece Artist, she also sets the bar in carrying some amazing indie artists. Check out this cast of characters!

All Things Heather, Avery Allison Yarns, Briggs & Little, Brooklyn Handspun, C*EYE*BER Fiber Yarns, Colinette Jitterbug, Dream in Color, Dyed in the Wool Handmade, Fiddlesticks Knitting, Fleece Artist, Funky Carolina, Handmaiden Fine Yarns, Handspun Yarns, Hip Knits, Louet, Lovesticks Self Striping, Malabrigo, Marisol, Oceanwind Knits, Rabbitworks, S.O.A.K Wool Wash, Seacoast Handpainted Yarns, Self Striping Sock Club, Sheepaints, Shelridge Farms, sKNITches, Sunshine Yarns,
Sweet Sheep, Sweet Sheep Fiber Club, Zen Strings and more!

Not only does Michelle run a sweet site, The Sweet Sheep herself has her hands in the dye pot too! Lace kits, roving, and sock yarn are all included in her portfolio

Michelle's yarn and roving is just gorgeous. But hey - don't just take it from me... check out some her stuff!

Thanks Michelle!

17 Days!!

2008-04-14T16:54:00.000-04:00

Because we love our readers so much we are offering up a free pattern!

The pattern we have for you today is:

Merletto mitts!

Stats:
Pattern: Merletto Mitts
Designer: Jody Scofield of Javajem Knits
Yarn: Any sock yarn
Needles: US2/2.75mm

Spring is here at last, but there still may be a bit of a chill in the air and what ever way to keep the cold away than a cute pair of fingerless mitts!

Click the link below to download this free pattern:
Download Merletto Mitts

Or - for those of you on Ravelry, get it here

Don't forgot - there will be tons of gorgeous handpainted and kettled dyed yarn at the Cloverhill booth that would be perfect for this pattern !

18 days!!

2008-04-12T07:39:00.001-04:00

Today we have a special treat! A personal message from the queen of felted eyeballs herself, Jacey of Insubordinate!

Jacey is one cool spinning mama!

You can check out her wares here.

And now - on to the message!

Howdy Hi! I'm here, knee deep in felted eyeballs and carded batts, tick-tocking the days down 'till Sheep and Wool. Yep. I can't wait. This will be my first time having my yarn for sale at Maryland Sheep and Wool. In fact, this will be the first time my yarn will be for sale at any event as I usually can't build up enough of a surplus stock but I'm being miserly and really saving stuff back, by the time the actual day rolls around, I should have a mangle of Monster hat knit kits, a gory gob of Vitreous Humor eyeball yarn, and a stack of one-of-a-kind art yarns. I may even have a few fabulous new kits... But forget about me for a minute, what I'm really excited about is all the other fiber and fiber workers that will flank me on both sides! How awesome is this booth going to be? I predict maximum awesome-ness! Really, I get giddy just thinking of the handpainted sock yarn, the kettle dyed worsted, the fiber that's simmered and soaked to perfection, the sassy stitchmarkers.

Mama-E's gonna be there! Gawd, I love her! She's the coolest! and Loop! I fully expect to look into her eyes and see cold, dead, black pools gazing back, after all, selling her soul is the only way I can figure she could get such fantastic batts! And and and...everyone! I'm excited about everyone, but especially you! I'll be in the booth on Saturday afternoon, and if you keep an eye out you'll see my he-man partner, a strapping, bearded, tattooed rocker with a quick wit and rippling musculature, my young son, a tow-headed boy genius with an iron will and the face of a dewy baby fairy, and my sweet one-year old girl whose smile can light your heart even as her new teeth draw blood. Be sure to stop by and gimme a good pinch on the bum, or you know, go the more traditional route of saying hi.

19 Days!!!!

2008-04-10T22:15:00.000-04:00

Fiber!

Yarn!

Sheep!

Spinning!

and Knitting!

We are getting so excited!!!

20 Days!!!

2008-04-10T21:43:00.001-04:00

We added another amazing vendor's wares to the booth this week:
AMY O!

Amy O'Neill Houck of The Hook and I.

Amy is a crochet and knitting designer and teacher. When she's not knitting, you'll find her in the kitchen creating vegan recipes or writing food and nutrition articles for VegNews and vegetarianbaby.com.

She's published several books including The Color Book of Felted Crochet and she has a new book coming out in November called Knits for Bears to Wear.

She definitely creates some great crochet patterns! Just look at that gorgeous shawl!

Amy's patterns have been featured in magazines like Interweave Crochet and Crochet Today. She also self publishes some patterns on ravelry and through lulu.com.

I can't wait to get out my crochet hook and try one of her patterns!

(Who knew it could be so much fun to be a "hooker"!!)

21 Days!!

2008-04-10T21:12:00.000-04:00

Artists Profiled:

and

Mama E of C*eye*ber Fiber and Dawn Doran of The Knitting Gnome Stitch Markers

Hey there Fiber-philes! I am Erin, or Mama-E, the woman behind C*EYE*BER Fiber Yarns.
I am really looking forward to this festival for many (fiber addicted and compulsive) reasons! the biggest being getting to meet all of you!C*EYE*BER Fibers is mainly a wholesale company, and that means I don't get to see knitters/crocheters/and spinners love up on the girls as they go to loving homes. This is going to be a great experience for me.

Appearing with Mama is her friend and stunt coordinator-- Dawn, of Knitting Gnome Stitch Marker.

There will be loads of fun and hypnotizing stitch markers to keep you entertained and your stitches in line. Dawn goes crazy-mad for MDS&W and is looking forward to seeing everyone there-- please say hi!. She is also an ardent gnomophile--show her a gnome and get a free marker!

Click the picture above to see some of her markers up close and personal!

And folks - Mama is INVITING YOU to a pre-festival bash at her studio. Check out the details here.

Please note, most details of this post stolen from Homespun Yarn Party Blog with permission.

22 Days!!

2008-04-10T07:34:00.000-04:00

Artists Profiled:

The Unique Sheep is co-owned by Laura Bullins and Kelly Eells

They both live in North Carolina, though in different cities (Winston Salem and Trinity). They were strangers until their love of dyeing, and our mutual need for more help, brought us together. Kelly used to run Liisu Yarns but in January '08 joined Laura at The Unique Sheep. Kelly and Laura split all the dyeing and thrive off each others' ideas and excitement. They sell yarn and roving through their website and a lot of brick and mortar LYS. They also run a yarn club called The Seven Deadly S(p)ins and will be starting a Men's Sock Club-- The Ram Club-- this fall.

Their inspiration: "Yarn dyers are lucky because color inspiration can be found absolutely everywhere. In addition to finding inspiration for colorways in our everyday lives, we like to draw inspiration from photographs sent to us by our customers. Periodically we will issue a "call for photos" on our blog and invite customers/ blog-readers to send us their photographs that they think would make good colorways. We choose our favorites, turn them into new colors and in return send the photo-taker a free skein of yarn in "their" color!"

23 Days!! (Part Two)

2008-04-10T07:23:00.001-04:00

And the winner is...TINK

We picked using this random number generator.

Tink, you won a skein of sock yarn specially dyed by Laura at the Unique Sheep.

(Please email me your address to: bysarahs (at) gmail (dot) com.)
She won't be able to send it out to you until Monday, because YOU are getting the very first skein of her colorway inspired by the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. This is what she had to say about the yarn:

"it is inspired by my visit to the festival last spring. My mom and I took a roadtrip all the way from North Carolina and had an awesome weekend. The weather had just started turning warm and spring had finally arrived. The sun was warm but the air was still crisp and refreshing. On the drive back we reflected on the "colors" that the festival made us think about-- the crisp and clear light blue sky, the green of the grass growing on the festival grounds-- especially the parking lot!, and the yellow of flowers blooming in the fields where the shepherds demonstrated with their border collies."

I think you are in for a real treat because this is one of the Unique Sheep's other "inspired" colorways:

Wow!

More on the artists of the Unique Sheep in tomorrow's profile.

23 Days!!! (Part One)

2008-04-09T12:26:00.000-04:00

Did you enter the contest?

Did you tell all your friends to enter the contest?

Did you join the Ravelry group?

(We are having lots of fun discussions over there.)

Contest entries open until 6 pm eastern time TONIGHT!!

We will let you know who won this evening!

Thanks for playing!

By the way...did you know all the gorgeous animal photos we are using are taken by Jody? I just love all of her photography, and had to give her props!

Here's a preview of the crazy fun we had last year at Sheep and Wool.

24 Days!!

2008-04-08T11:50:00.000-04:00

Artist Profile:

Michael Sturtevant Woodworking

Let me say, the reason we are featuring him first: He's My DAD! (And I had ready access to his workshop and a camera.) I am so proud and excited about his drop spindles, not only because they are beautiful, but because they SPIN FOREVER (I am personally testing all of them as they are completed.) Now onto a little bit about Mike and his wares:

Mike lives in Cape Cod, MA and does woodworking of all kinds including: jewelery boxes, accent tables (nightstands, coffee tables, etc), small bowls and pens. He even made a Lazy Kate last summer. Mike started turning drop spindles out of exotic hardwoods because his daughter (knowing how beautiful they would be) nagged him until he made one. Then he thought they were cool, so he made some more. No, he doesn't really spin right now, but his daughter is working on it!

Here are some pics of Mike and his studio. (Notice the concentration involved in turning on the lathe.) He hopes you truely enjoy checking out his spindles at sheep and wool later this month, and will be adding pictures of more of the spindles to his flickr group as they are completed for the festival.

And of course, some of the spindles:

25 Days!!!

2008-04-08T08:07:00.001-04:00

CONTEST!!

We know you are as excited about sheep and wool as we are...just looking at the fiber animals in todays pictures has us thinking about yarn!

Please help spread the excitement.

Today's contest is simple: just link to THIS BLOG on your own blog.
No need to put it on the sidebar if you don't want to - just put us in your post for today, and tell your readers we are here and we are getting ready for sheep and wool! THEN, leave us a comment to let us know you linked. One commenter will be chosen by random number generator to win a skein of yarn dyed by one of the artists from the booth...we will reveal which yarn you have won when we close the contest on Thursday, April 10th at 6 pm eastern time.

Now go...start linking!

P.S. It counts if you already linked to us yesterday - just leave us a comment on today's post telling us.

26 days to go!!

2008-04-06T12:09:00.000-04:00

WHO?
Jody (aka Javajem) and Sarah (aka bySarah)

WHAT?
Blabbing about getting ready for Cloverhill Yarn Shop Booth at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival

WHEN?
Saturday and Sunday May 3 and 4, 2008
Starting at 9am!!

WHERE?
Howard County Fairgrounds
2210 Fairgrounds Rd.
West Friendship, MD
21794-9604
Main Building Position D2 and D3.

WHY?
We are so excited to be getting the chance to work at the Cloverhill Yarn Shop booth at Sheep and Wool this year we decided to start a blog counting down to the festival. That way we can share some of the cool behind the scenes stuff going on to get ready with everybody else. (Plus, then WE can remember it later, when it all seems like a mere dream.)

The booth is featuring 18 Indie Artists from around the country displaying their yarns and fibers, hand crafted stitch markers, sock blockers and hand carved wooden spindles. We are also featuring Handmaiden (Sea Silk and Flaxen products), patterns from a couple of excellent designers, and some really cool dye-your-own sock yarn kits complete with full color directions.

HOW?
A post each and every day til the fair – so you can countdown with us!!
Updates on what the artists are doing – with pictures!!
Cool Product Features!!
Contests – First Contest TOMORROW!!
FREE PATTERNS!!

ARTIST LINKS!
We know you can see them all in the sidebar – but here they are again, go drool to your hearts content over all of our cool artists!

Brooklyn Handspun

C*eye*ber Fibers

Chewy Spaghetti

Dragonfly Fiber Designs

Insubordiknit

Jolene Mosley Designs

Loop

Michael Sturtevant Woodworking

Neighborhood Fiber

Sheila Rovelstad Designs (blogless)

Spritely Goods

The Knitting Gnome

The Sanguine Gryphon

The Spun Monkey Fiber Shoppe

The Sweet Sheep

The Unique Sheep

Woolarina

30 DAYS!!!

2008-04-03T11:46:00.001-04:00

MORE COMING SOON!!