Another one bites the dust, as the song goes but it was a great event. We had no traffic, parked easily, set up our chairs near the pavillion and had a great day. The DHs were suportive, uncomplaining, and pretty wrapped up in their techno toys. The crowds were not overwhelming and the weather, while warm, was not hot nor muggy. I noticed several vendors said this was their last visit. What a change from previous years when you had to wait for someone to die to get a space; Carol Leigh’s Hillcreek Fiber Shop said they were going to smaller fests closer to home and were cutting MSWF, SAFF, Rhinebeck. They haven’t been at Stitches East in 3 years
I had a great time but had some problems getting around with my stiff, sore joints despite ibuprophen. The terrain is hilly and sometimes uneven. We set up camp near the middle in the clearing near the pavillion and that worked for resting, eating and drinking, dropping off packages, and meeting up.
The food was typical carny fare: sandwiches, cold drinks, deep fried everything including what people called heart attack on a plate!
We walked around the barns for shopping but we also visited the animals. There were quite q few rare breeds there, Hog Island, Manx Lougtham, St Kilda to name a few. There were sales, shearing, and competitions but there was just too much to see and do it all. This year we missed the auction because we were looking at the fleece sale and tracking down fleece. I didn’t buy any fiber because I bought a fleece the week before at Connecticut. There was a prize winning cormo that I really liked but it was 7 lbs and just too much to deal with right now.
I got some replacement shearling bedroom slippers and some maple cream for topping oatmeal and toast but I didn’t get anything else. You must pace yourself and it was strenous just seeing all the booths. I could have gone back to next day to shop but I was too sore. In fact, we should have gone back because my BIL left his power cord to his laptop plugged in by the Pavillion. He is the celebrity of the group because he is pictured in the slide show that Clara Parkes of Knitter’s Review did of the festival.
There is a little rivelry between MSWF and Rhinebeck over who is bigger, better, more vendors, more folksy, more for spinners, etc etc etc. My take is that they are very similar with many of the same vendors. I think there more country in MD and it is geared toward the shepherds as well as the fiber fans while Rhinebeck has something of the state fair about it. There is a NY pavillion with food stuffs from all over the state: wine, cheese, spices, breads and baked goods, pastries, honey, maple syrup, hot sauce, cheese, pickles. MD has farm equipment and country music (better than the pan flutes at Rhinebeck, what’s up with that?) MD is free while Rhinebeck charges admission. The NY venue is a little nicer with more paving, atms, and more and better bathrooms. But they are both lots of fun.
The rest of the weekend we did our usual Wash DC rituals: eating. We go for Pho and then to the chinese market across the street.
My SIL bought a variety of vegetables and sauces, but we just bought baos and some pigs’ trotters (feet) for DH’s mother to cook up Indian style. The butchering in the market is different than western style and there are many things you would never see at Stop and Shop, like pig intestines, snouts, lambs’ tongues, live fish being butchered, conch, live eels and bullfrogs (in a net so they don’t jump away) and millions of varieties of sauces, pickles, and condiments.
On the way home, we stopped at Indiantown A.K.A. Iselin NJ and picked up some Indian food for dinner and the freezer as well as a tasty lunch of masala dosa, a huge crisp fried pancake made of fermented rice flour.
I did not do any fiber damage, but I got a new baby: a Schacht Sidekick wheel which I have already spun a bobbin of yarn on.
