Maryland Sheep Breeders Association

www.marylandsheepbreeders.org

The Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival is the flagship event of the Maryland Sheep Breeders Association (MSBA). The association also organizes the annual MSBA Shearing School in early spring as well as a range of sheep, wool, and lamb promotional and educational activities; a scholarship fund; and an annual members’ dinner.

Officers

President: Steve Breeding
Vice President: Emily Chamelin
Treasurer: Colleen Histon
Secretary: Carolann McConaughy

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

Lee Langstaff, Co-Chair
Jeff White, Co-Chair
Gwen Handler, Chairman Emeritus

2024 Directors

Chris Dehne
Susan Schoenian
Penny Sica
Kate Warner

2025 Directors

Amanda Cather
Kenneth Farrell
Laura Kefauver
Nancy Starkey

2026 Directors

Sarah Capmbell
Ollie King
Lee Langstaff
Naveed Malik

Membership

Anyone with an interest in sheep and sheep-related topics, products, markets, or activities is welcome to join the MSBA. You don’t need to own or breed sheep or even reside in Maryland. If you want to join a community that shares a passion for this amazing and useful animal, its related products, businesses, or activities, MSBA would be happy to have you. Whether you are a farmer, shepherd, spinner, knitter, dyer, chef, student, or animal lover; or a sheep, wool, dairy or agriculture-related business; or just interested in learning about any of these – you are welcome to the MSBA community and resources!

As a member you will:

  • Join an active and friendly community of shepherds and others
  • Support the core activities of the MSBA
  • Receive the Maryland Sheep News, an informative newsletter that is emailed to all MSBA members three times a year
  • Receive regular publications from the American Sheep Industry Association
  • Receive priority consideration for enrollment in the Maryland Shearing School (applicable only if you own sheep), and your family members will be given priority consideration for the annual MSBA scholarship
  • Receive free admission to the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
  • Receive a free copy of the Festival catalog by mail
  • Pay a reduced commission on any fleeces consigned for sale at the Festival’s Fleece Show & Sale (membership must be current as of April 27)
  • Be able to promote your farm or business through a free profile page on the MSBA website, marylandsheepbreeders.org.

Annual membership dues are $25. The membership year runs from October through September. Dues received before June 1, 2024 will be recorded as paid through September 30, 2024. Dues for new memberships received on or after June 1 will be recorded as paid through September 30, 2025.

County Associations

Frederick County Sheep Breeders

Kristan Latham, President

Dedicated to all things related to sheep and goats. Offering a variety of opportunities to our members, and educational and community experiences to those interested in learning more about the sheep and goats we raise. Membership is not limited to Frederick County residents. Find us at www.fredericksheepbreeders.com and on Facebook @Frederick County Sheep Breeders.

2024 Festival Gear Now Available

A selection of 2024 Festival Merchandise is now available. We have short-sleeved t-shirts, long-sleeved hooded t-shirts, three styles of bags, and two sizes of posters. Click "Read More" for details on how you can get yours!
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Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

5 days ago

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
Henry Clemes is co-founder of the “father and son” fiber arts team @Clemes & Clemes, Inc. based in Pinole, California, Henry has been building innovative and elegant fiber arts equipment and sharing his knowledge about fiber preparation for 50 years. We are pleased to have him back teaching three full-day drum carding classes this year. Although Carding for Color: Tints and Shades has sold out, there are still a few seats available for Exploring the Drum Carder and Carding for Color: Fractals. Registration is available at www.lessonface.com/sheepandwool ... See MoreSee Less

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Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

5 days ago

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
There are still available seats in some classes! Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is delighted to welcome Peggy Doney from Colorado Springs, Colorado to the roster of new instructors this spring! Life for Peggy was never the same after taking a spinning class with her neighbor years ago. Before she knew it, Peggy was spinning, knitting, dyeing, and creating silk fusion. Eventually, Peggy became a dyer for Treenway Silk, began exploring her own colorways, and developed her own color recipes through experimentation with gradient, triad, and monochromatic studies. She has a special interest in making accurate, reproducible dye recipes that reflect colors found in nature. Peggy loves to share her enthusiasm and knowledge of dying and has been teaching for several years at gatherings, guilds, and festivals including Taos Wool Festival. Two of her classes have already sold out, but there are still limited seats available in Tints, Tones, and Shades, Oh My! In this class, students will learn about the role of adding white, black, and gray to colors, as well as using different additives to achieve consistent depths of shade. But don’t let color theory intimidate you! Peggy will make sure you leave with lots of beautiful samples, and she is bringing lots of dye jokes and her big box of crayons as reference material! You can learn more about Peggy by following her The 100th Sheep and you can register for her class at www.lessonface.com/sheepandwool ... See MoreSee Less

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Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival

6 days ago

Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival
Teacher Spotlight! There are still limited seats available in some classes! Meet Jill Duarte, one of our amazing instructors at Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. Many of you know her as the co-owner of Hipstrings and a frequent contributor to PLY Magazine, but you might not know Jill also holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Evolutionary Biology! Jill’s background in science and love of fiber arts has informed her business and is reflected in the fiber, yarn, and tools she creates and produces. Jill describes herself as “inordinately fond of short-stapled fibers and fast spinning tools.” Like many of us, she cannot just stop with one fiber pursuit, and she finds herself knitting, spinning, dying, crocheting, weaving, and sometimes felting. As an author and teacher, Jill is dedicated to the resurgence of modern fiber craft that is based on a foundation of technical and historical knowledge. This year Jill is sharing her expertise with several knitting and spinning classes including Fiber Speed Dating, Spinning Short Stapled Fibers , Getting Started on a Supported Spindle, Spinning for Consistency, and Knitting with Handspun Yarn. Although a few of her classes are sold out, a limited number of seats for the remaining classes are still available here: www.lessonface.com/sheepandwool#mdsw #mdsw24 ... See MoreSee Less

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