The Return of Njörðr’s Wanderers

After being rained out on Saturday last year, Njörðr’s Wanderers will be making a return engagement this year. We portray a typical seasonal trading camp found along waterways between Ireland, Iceland, France, and Denmark, between the years 800-1000. We focus on the people, activities, and goods found within these camps, in a living history format using appropriate roles, clothing, techniques, and equipment. We set up our camp with merchant’s booths, tents, and workshops, where one would meet crafters and traders in textiles, fur and ivory, foodstuffs and fisherfolk, town guards, religious figures and nobility, and transients and travelers.

For the 2023 Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, Njörðr’s Wanderers will explore how wool was instrumental in fueling exploration and trade. We will show wool, textile, and garment production by costumed crafters, with recreated examples of tools and technology used in the various stages of wool production, including the loom, comb, and spindle. Importantly, we will also discuss the power and relationships between women, magic, mythology, and wool, and how women drove the early Medieval economy. As the demonstrations are continuous and informal, the visitor may enter the camp at any time and interact with the crafters in an organic, living history environment.

We participate in several events throughout the year, including Military Through the Ages at Jamestown Settlement (Mar), Frederick Fiber Festival (Apr), Carroll County Celtic Festival (June), Maryland Irish Festival (Nov), and several events throughout the year at Fort Loudoun Historic Site, including the Across the Centuries historical timeline (May). Our members are in Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, and we welcome opportunities to collaborate with other living history groups, sites, and events.

Njörðr’s Wanderers will be camped out at the western end of Midway Boulevard, beyond the Lower Corral vendors and across from the Sheepdog Demonstration area.

To find out more, look for Njörðr’s Wanderers on Facebook or email .

Njörðr’s Wanderers from the 2021 Virtual Festival

Njörðr’s Wanderers: A discussion on the role of wool in the Viking Age

Thus Comes the Maiden: Norse poetry on fiber and society

Fiber Etymology: The evolution of fiber terms

Fiber Lore: Fibers role in cultural belief

The Golden Thread: The role of fiber arts and the fates

Warm up for the Festival with Winterfest 2024!

Registration is now open for two days of virtual spinning, knitting, and fiber preparation classes to be held on February 3 and 4, 2024.

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Registration is now open for Winterfest 2024 at lessonface.com/sheepandwool!! Out third annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival Winterfest is two days of virtual fiber arts seminars, to be held on on Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4, 2024. The following instructors will be teaching fiber prep, spinning, and knitting:o Kate Atherleyo Maggie Caseyo Roy Clemeso Shana Coheno Jill Duarteo Laura Linemano Sarah Schirao Emily WohlscheidThere will be a free keynote lecture on Sunday at 12:00 pm ET. In "A Year in the Life of a Fleece Producer", Lee Langstaff of Shepherd’s Hey Farm will take you on a journey through a year at her farm in Maryland. The lecture is free, but you must sign up through Lessonface.Find full details of all the classes and register online at www.lessonface.com/sheepandwool.#MDSW #winterfest2024 ... See MoreSee Less
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Registration for Winterfest 2024 begins tomorrow, Saturday, November 18 at 12:00 pm ET. The class schedule and complete details are now available for preview at lessonface.com/sheepandwool. The "Enroll" button for each class will be activated at noon tomorrow.Out third annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival Winterfest is two days of virtual fiber arts seminars, to be held on on Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4, 2024. The following instructors will be teaching fiber prep, spinning, and knitting:o Kate Atherleyo Maggie Caseyo Roy Clemeso Shana Coheno Jill Duarteo Laura Linemano Sarah Schirao Emily WohlscheidThe keynote lecture on Sunday at 12:00 pm ET is "A Year in the Life of a Fleece Producer" by Lee Langstaff of Shepherd’s Hey Farm. Lee will take you on a journey through a year at her farm in Maryland. The lecture is free. Join the lecture by clicking the Join button that will start showing 35 minutes before the lecture time.#MDSW #winterfest2024 ... See MoreSee Less
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Announcing the third annual Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival Winterfest, two days of virtual fiber arts seminars, on Saturday, February 3 and Sunday, February 4, 2024. The following instructors will be teaching fiber prep, spinning and knitting:o Kate Atherleyo Maggie Caseyo Roy Clemeso Shana Coheno Jill Duarteo Laura Linemano Sarah Schirao Emily WohlscheidYou can preview the class schedule at sheepandwool.org/winterfest-2024/. Registration will open on Saturday, November 18 at 12:00 pm ET. Complete class descriptions will be available at that time. Watch for the registration link to be posted on our website and announced on social media.#MDSW #winterfest2024 ... See MoreSee Less
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