Better than a box of chocolates

I try to be a good human bean, but this time of the year? When MDSW happens? And again in the fall when Rheinbeck takes place?

I fail. Miserably.

I'm filled with envy and bitterness at all the lovely, lovely fibers and tools and fellow bloggers that have the chance to attend these East Coast festivals. I lurk and sigh with longing at the stash folks acquire there. Or the new spindles. Or new wheels and other tools that are ripe for the picking, especially if you're good with your elbows and can get to the front of the line. And the chance to get to meet all those vendors universally adored by the spinning public! The creators of the tools we hug and squeeze and call George treasure...man that's cool.

But then I see reports of long flights and long lines and packed barns and I have to remind myself that I get verra, verra cranky in those types of situations. When the sea of humanity makes me feel like one of the sheep in the pens at the fair, or one in a herd of cattle (anyone else out there MOO out loud in long lines and crowded conditions?), I get antsy and headachy and just totally overwhelmed.

So it's probably good that I may not see MDSW or Rheinbeck in the coming years. After all, that's what the internet is for! For porn remote fiber acquisition! I dream of having access to so many different kinds of wheels in one building, but that's a temptation my poor pocketbook doesn't really need at this point in time. Maybe when I win the lottery! I'll just travel from wool festival to wool festival, and take every class I can get into.

Yeah! That's the ticket! (The winning one!)

In the meantime, I am soothing my only slightly bitter (semi-sweet?) self with anticipation from opening the second box from Skylines Farm. You may note the link there off to the right in my sidebar. This is because Melissa has the absolute best Romney and Romney cross fleeces I've ever seen. I've mentioned Georgia here before, but I have, um. *blush* Four more of her fleeces this year. They're that good.

Actually, I went back to check and, um. I have five of her sheep this year. In my defense, three of those are half fleeces from Irene, Linda and Nadine. Those were in the first box, and they're all truly lovely Romney cross fleeces. The other two are full fleeces from Haley and Lily, which resulted in me realizing I didn't have any of her full Romney this year. Oops! So I actually have fiber from seven of her sheep, if I include Georgia and Frances from last year.

Whoa.

Anyway, I haven't even opened the box that has Haley and Lily in it, because I've been saving it for a) when I'm feeling a bit blue and b) when I have time to wash them both up, as well as c) a better plan for storing the washed fleeces than the "oh shit I'm out of boxes and shelves so how about paper grocery bags for now?" option.

Tonight, however, I'm gonna have a little fiber fest of my very own and open that box! And this time I'll avoid camnesia and take pics as I go.

And I'm going to run like hell from the link posted earlier today on one of the fiber lists for Utopia Ranch's natural colored fleeces. Unless someone is interested in going halvsies?