Charmed by this ball of yarn

Just received my ball of yarn from England -- bought on eBay, used PayPal, and it was here in less than a week. And get this -- it was still cheaper (incl. postage) than ordering from anyplace I could find in the U.S. Let's just hope there were no European swine flu germs on the package. It's called Zauberball. Babel Fish tells me that zauber in German means "charm." So. . . "charm ball"??

Look at the crazy way it's wound. Also, click the photo to see the gradations close up. It's way softer than Noro. I'll use it to knit my Mom's birthday socks. Haven't decided on a pattern yet and am happy to take suggestions. Maybe the Circle Socks on Ravelry? http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/circle-socks

Or the Show-Off Stranded Socks? http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/show-off-stranded-socks

Or something lacey, like the Magic-Mirror Socks? http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Dasma/magic-mirror

I dunno. But I certainly am charmed by this ball of yarn.

MD Sheep & Wool!

(We did not wear our vests around the festival. We are way to shy for that!)

The most amazing thing happened. It rained the whole way as we drove to MD. When we got there it stopped and not another drop! Such luck! Who went? Jennifer, Angela, Wendy, John, and Dana...and thousands of other people. No evidence of a deep recession or swine flu worries there! It was a very fun day. Here is a link to a slide show.