Posted under MDSW & stash & swag
I went hog wild at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival. I’m a little ashamed of all the shopping I did. Seeing it piled up all at one time might just bring on an anxiety attack of severe proportions. So I thought that if I cut it up into tiny little pieces it might be more manageable and that maybe I could deceive myself into thinking it’s not that bad. We’ll see how that works out for me, shall we?
First off, I haven’t touched a spindle in quite awhile. Veronica will attest to the fact that I prefer my beloved Suzie over the beautiful spindles I have at home any day. She will also attest to the fact that I already have a nice collection of spindles going as it is. So I went to MDSW saying I would not be buying spindles. I said, “I am not a spindler. I will not buy a single spindle.”
Famous. Last. Words.
Yes. Those are five spindles you see before you. Five!
It all started when BFF Shelly had to pick up a special order from the Golding booth. Since she and Other BFF Carole know Tom Golding she just had to socialize with him and linger over her purchase.
This left me with time to browse his booth and gaze at the candy pr0n spindles. I fell in love with this one.
Before I headed to the mainland, I had been having a grand ol’ time watching Season One of The Tudors. I don’t think I could ever get tired of seeing Jonathon Rhys Meyers half naked. So what attracted me to this spindle was how much it looked like it came right out off the set.
Check out the side shot.
It’s one of his smaller spindles, so that allowed me to rationalize the purchase a little better. It still had me dumbfounded and I kept muttering, “I bought a Golding. A Golding!” all the way back to the van.
My next purchase came about while I was waiting to meet up with Alison, so it’s all her fault really. ;-) She was running a little late so I had to find something to do with myself until I could meet up with her. I ended up wandering the Main Exhibition Hall and I stumbled upon this beauty. A dragonfly spindle from Bergschultz.
Can you see the dragonflies? A *cough*male*cough* non-spinner, non-knitter friend of mine just squinted at it and said all he could were wings and not dragonflies. Le sigh. I can see the dragonflies. That’s what counts. And I love the colors of the whorl. So there.
Moving along with the spindle saga, we find ourselves hearing that even though Hatchtown Spindles weren’t on the vendor list, they were able to bring some spindles to sell in kits with another vendor. A little background story is needed here.
Back when I first learned how to spin from Carole, I learned on a drop spindle. Carole is a spindle collector. We won’t even mention how many spindles in her collection we managed to count. My little spindle collection is a drop in the bucket compared to hers.
Anyway, she’s the one who turned me on to the Hatchtown Spindles and I have been in complete and utter love since. I had at least 3 of them before she moved back to the mainland. Unfortunately they got damaged in a move. I have been without a Hatchtown since then and I haven’t had any luck getting my hands on another. These spindles are really popular.
I came away with one this weekend. Isn’t she pretty?
Next up is the Bosworth. Without the Hatchtown spindles to use for so many years, the Bosworths quickly became my favorites. It was an extra treat to be actually meet Jonathon Bosworth, the maker of the spindles.
I just knew that any spindle I chose from him would be special. This one really is as it’s also a sister spindle to the one BFF Shelly got as she bought one in the same wood. It’s a featherweight in Zebrawood.
My final spindle was also my final extravagance. I had fallen in love with this one on Friday and I kept returning to the booth to see if anyone had bought it. On Sunday it was still there, so after not much urging from Shelly, I crumbled like stale bread and bought it.
All that prettiness is sterling silver, so she was a little pricey. I think it will be worth it though because I’m really in love with it and Alison has the brass version of it. So I have another sister spindle! Not to mention she’s really well made and she spins like a dream. Shelly calls Golding spindles the Lamborghinis of the spindle world.
When she’s right, she’s right.
How could I resist?
Now I usually have pictures of felines to share, but since I’m vacationing I thought I’d share a picture of another type.
Pixie girl Rochelle and the German Shepherd Cheyenne. Gotta love the hellhound look on that dog. Doggie love sure does ease the absence of my darling cats.
Happy Wednesday you all! Thanks for reading. There’s more to come! :)
