I always forget how much shows take out of me; usually I need at least a week after I get home to chill out and process and start getting back to normal. And of course the fact that I came back terribly sunburned this time is not helping matters!

So, Massachusetts Sheep and Woolcraft: there was the usual assortment of friends, food, fun, and fiber, plus the added bonus of a much needed road trip and vacation. Which means that all of the recovery (and sunburn) is so worth it.

I found a llama that looks like me:

And a wheel that matches mine:

And I found out how fast I can’t spin:

Wait, though—that one needs the backstory.

A few months ago, after hearing rumors that she had a super fast short draw, I challenged Lynn to a contest. A short draw showdown, of sorts. And showdown, we did, although it is now being proclaimed as more of a smackdown, but I maintain that I could’ve been defeated by much less if my yarn hadn’t broke at an inopportune moment.

In any case, after we spun fast and furiously for about ten minutes, our yarn was wound off together as one skein. This also gave us the opportunity to answer the age old question, “how many spinners does it take to wind yarn off of two wheels?”

And my yarn ran out first. (Lynn had a good 24 yards on me, which is what I’m holding above. She’s got the amount that we both spun—though you’ll have to ask her on the yardage of it.)

Still, it was my own fault for challenging her in the first place, and next year we’re going to have at it again in a long draw brouhaha. Neither of us are as good with long draw as short draw, so I’ll need to do some practicing.

I also ran into my fellow ISO/destash mod Kim, who happily handed over a copy of the fantastic Think Outside the Sox book in exchange for nothing but a hug and a handful of peanut m&ms.

There was Wollmeise on offer as well, but honestly it’s not my favorite and the book is much easier for Hillary and I to share anyway, as the m&ms weren’t just mine.

And that’s the highlights, really! I picked up a few skeins of yarn, one for a design project and one to knit Jennifer one of these:

Since she was quite enamored of it when I pulled it out to show off on Sunday.

I also grabbed some super delicious cormo/alpaca fiber, but then (stupidly!) handed over my flyer to have more bobbins made, so I can’t start playing with it just yet. It’ll be worth the wait, though; I love cormo quite a bit and having it blended with alpaca makes it extra delicious.

Oh, I did finally manage to find a project for the road, and worked on it quite a bit:

(blurry picture brought to you by how difficult it is to take a picture of my right hand with my left)

I ended up using the stitch pattern from the not-working socks after all—with a few alterations and in a different yarn, I think it looks fantastic. And I also think it’ll look way neater as full-fingered gloves than it would’ve done in just a simple sock. Hopefully I can get a pattern written up for them, too!

There’s also a quick test knit on the needles that I’ll hopefully have done and ready to show off sometime this weekend. Must knit faster!