I’m having a great time seeing the different patterns you all have chosen for our 6 week Mini Challenge! (And apparently a lot of you are like me – you do better with a shortened time period. It keeps us focused, right?) You can find some pattern links in the comments on that post, and you can find more under the Mini Challenge thread on the Loopy Groupie board on Ravelry. Remember, we’re offering a 20% off discount on the yarn for this challenge (details here on how to get the discount), if you don’t have something suitable in your stash. I’m making the Zoe Cardi with Universal’s Supreme Cotton and can’t wait to get it done. Come join us!
We had over 1100 entries in the “win a Spring Fling Goodie Bag” contest – wow! We let the Random Number Generator do its thing and it picked 6 names from the comments section to win the bags. We’ll be sending them out to: Sandi O. in MA, Ruth Anne D. in OH, Sara B. in CA, Monica D. in CA, Theresa T. in Italy, and Mary Beth O. in MO.Ā A big congratulations to the lucky winners and thanks to all of you for sharing your favorite pattern designers!
One of my favorite parts of attending Maryland Sheep and Wool is seeing all of the beautiful sheep. It’s just a good thing we don’t live on a farm, or I’d be bringing some home. I wish you could click on each picture and hear their loud “baaa’s”. Some of them were downright funny! Like this guy – I caught him in mid-baa:
This one was too tired to be talking:
You want to see that sweet face up close, don’t you? Here he is:
These two looked like twins:
And maybe these two, too? I loved the markings on their heads:
This sheep had such pretty colors – mocha, red, black, tan:
The Black Sheep seemed very mild. Not at all prone to cause trouble, as black sheep do.
The sheep that made me want to eat Oreos:
The one that was too hot and tired to prop his own head up:
The Evil Dude:
Sheep Curls:
And a clear indication that some four of these sheep were supposed to go home with me:
I’ll add a few more sheep photos into Friday’s post. I took too many!
Sheri whodidn’tseeanyangorabunniesthisyear.Weretheythere?
I did see some angora bunnies – just a couple of cages in one booth. But I much prefer the alpacas.
We were in a vendor booth that had angora bunnies and Jess bought some of their angora to spin.
I never get tired of sheep photos!
When will you be selling that awesome bag at TLE? I can’t wait! Yes, I have a bag problem – ha!
I love all the sheep! it breaks my heart that anyone can eat such lovely creatures.
You know that “berger” means “shepherd” in French, right?
why oh why did you mention the bunnies? I’m going to small regional fiber fest next week and want a bunny but don’t really need a bunny…they have to be fed and cleaned up after. Fortunately a friend is going with me who will keep me from buying one…I hope.
You do have that meadow next to the office that could use some sheep grazing to keep the grass down š
The summer sweater is such a tempting KAL. Yall don’t judge if I buy,again, more yarn just for this specific challenge…… I just got back from my knit group and I gave them the gifts I got for them at Spring Fling and they liked them; they really liked them. I used the Spring Fling bag — it was a big hit too. I am now knitting a birch leaf shawl out of the flamingo pie smooshy (all this Spring Finginess is surrounding me). I know that yall have moved on to sheep and wool but I am still basking in the Fling and considering the mini KAL. This feels like a report to the powers that be but I mean for it to be a thank you for all you do. You have a far reaching, joy sharing effect that few can maintain. Thanks, a thousand thanks, and thanks again.
I saw and held an angora bunny this weekend along with alpacas! I was at my friend’s Alpaca Farm helping with the shearing….and her bunny got a haircut too! You can see the photos of the fun on my friend Sara’s blog.
http://dpngirl.blogspot.com/
On Friday, I was heading to Columbia Mall which is relatively near the Howard County Fairgrounds where the Sheep and Wool festival was held . In a pick up truck right beside me were two lovely sheep. I got such a kick out of seeing them and knowing where they were going!
Loved the sheep pictures! They made my day. Thanks!
Those pictures make me want to pet some sheep! š
That black and white guy with the big horns looks very much like the Jacob ram I had many years ago. Nice spinning fleece.
Yeah, oreo sheep!
Love the sheep pics, can’t wait to see more on Friday. Hope you have recovered from MSWF. Congratulations to all of the contest winners.
I didn’t see any bunnies either although I heard there were some. It was so hot that the owners probably kept them well in the shade and not out in the open. Poor critters.
The sheep pairs could have been siblings! We caught part of one of the judgings where they were looking at matched pairs. Who knew?
And I found some bunnies! Baby Angoras for sale–they looked like the brown wild rabbits you see everywhere, but fluffier. And more expensive. By the time I was led to them on Sunday, it looked like most had been sold off–there were only three left.
I keep saying I need to get sheep for my yard to solve the mowing and fertilizing problem, and a goat or two to keep the weeds down. š Mama’s in on the idea, as is BFF Liz, but the hard part is convincing the Village Board and Township Board why they should make exceptions to those darned zoning rules for me. Something about “no livestock within limits….”
Congratulations to the Loopy “bag ladies”.
Love the sheep pics, evil and not-so-evil, you never can tell about a sheep in sheep’s clothing š
Love the sheep pictures! Sounds like too much fun, even with all the heat and humidity to contend with!
That 6-week mini challenge sounds tempting—even I might be able to actually finish something in six weeks!
I loved the sheep photos, especially Evil Dude!
One year at the MD Sheep & Wool, we were touring the stalls and there was one with a heap of little sheep in it (I forget the breed but very small and puffball with spindly legs). They started to all baaa at once and these two sheep dogs in the stall next them answered with reproving barks. I wish I could imitate it here–it was as if they were saying “Cut that out!”
Hi Sheri!
Didn’t you just want to curl up and snuggle with the one taking the nap?
I think I may have lost my mind a little when I heard the words mini-challenge. I said I’d spin yarn, but after having dug in and started last night, I figured I might need more than a week to finish it before knitting the sweater. Right this second, I can’t even add up how many weeks there are in the challenge. I don’t even know if I can knit that fast. It isn’t going to be a giant needle kind of tank. I have to think about this a little more.
Oh duh, “six week mini challenge.” Maybe I’ll just do the other tank top I chose.