…and needles and knitters.
Yesterday, I attended, by the grace of my step-mom (who is a non-knitter, no less, and actually a bit perturbed by the whole phenomenon) the K-W Knitters’ Fair. My step-mom, wisely, dropped me off, and took off to do some ‘new house’ shopping around the city… I think the mayhem would have probably been overwhelming for her lol. After a week spent more or less on the couch (knitting and demerol are interesting but you need to open-minded - and prepared to rip - which I wound up having to do… simple row counting just doesn’t work on demerol, I guess) trying to figure out what my gut would allow me to eat and feeling like I was taking a chance every time I ingested anything, even water, I finally lamented on Friday evening that I was probably going to miss the show. Driving any distance is just not something I can take on with confidence these days, and I’ve been getting around and managing by the grace of my family (mrBear has been utterly awesome). The K-W show would have meant an hour+ drive and I was slightly paranoid about getting there and not getting home due to exhaustion or another freaky painful attack. So I was extremely grateful to my step-mom.
It was one of the most awesome times to be had, despite the crowded knitters clawing through each other to get a closer look at the offerings. The selections ranged from everything to absolutely everything. It is a totally knitting-focussed show (as well as some spinning supplies offered), so there was none of that ’so, have you tried this awesome steam iron for $400′ demoing going on, and no scrap-booking tables (I have nothing against scrapbooking nor scrapbookers, but I do find the prevalence of scrapbooking supplies at some shows just a little over the top and it really reduces the bang for the buck for me, in terms of entrance fees).
I was a ‘good girl’ (in my mind, at least). I went in with the frame of mind I would stay away from hand-dyed sock anything. I mean, I live surrounded by superwash merino, in 20 colourways, on a daily basis, and never mind my general stash is in the hundreds of pounds… however, despite being a dyer, I just have a natural inclination towards hand-dyed merino. It’s the colour, I think; or colour combinations… there is just so much fun and potential in a skein of sock merino.
However, I found many alternatives to suit me fine within this framework, and I finally, near the end of the show, decided one skein was ok, and added a skein of ‘three rivers’ Yarntini from The Sweet Sheep to my bag. (Plus, it’s self-striping, so … well more justifications, not logical ones, but ‘in my mind’, sensible in light of my yarn being non-stripey. ;))
Speaking of The Sweet Sheep I was very excited to finally meet proprietor Michelle! Michelle and I have a working relationship but had never met in person. I also had the pleasure of meeting fellow dyer Erin who was hanging out with Michelle. I ‘met’ both Emma and Stephanie (yes, that Stephanie) in passing, and bumped into Wanietta, who I could have probably yakked with into the evening, even tho we’d not met before, either.
All of this made the day perfect in itself, but I did manage to add a few more things to the stash, as well: Wellington Fibres‘ two-ply 80/20 Mohair Wool concoction in Wellington Natural Grey (which is simply divine; it feels ultra-silky), and house yarn City Silk (50/50 wool/bombyx light fingering weight) from The Black Lamb, in a sort of ‘beet-juice’ colourway. That one, I had to practically slug someone over since I was noodling through the offerings for this colourway, looking for a few which were more alike than less alike, and a woman snuck up beside me and grabbed two I’d just set down which I should’ve hung on to. I said it might come to a few punches (jokingly) and she said ‘hardly; it’s only yarn’ (in a slightly snarky tone) but wouldn’t let go of the ones she had and pulled them into her chest like a small child. I wound up with two which are going to be slightly different, but I figure they will have a sort of ’sunrise glow’ in the end, deepening between the two skeins for a bit of a gradation (I’m thinking shawl or tank for this yarn).
And, last but not least, two skeins of Zephyr from Four Seasons Knitting in mahogony, for the Paisley Long Shawl, which, in person, is oh, sooooo nice. I feel immediately, even though by the time I’d gotten to the samples table I’d sort of talked myself into not buying any lace yarn, given the amount of lacey projects currently (and planned for the future) on the go… logic? Who cares.
All in all, given the offerings, it could have been a more stash-enhancing day than it was. ;) I saw some folks with so many bags they could barely get around in the lobby let alone inside the hall. I will have photos on Ravelry one of these days; it’s all too gorgeous for words.
It made up for this yukky week, and I’m glad to have gone. I do apologize to anyone waiting for yarn because there will be a few delays over the next little while as I ease my way back into production. It’s one of those types of things you just cross your fingers about never happening, hoping everything keeps moving along as scheduled. If dyeing wasn’t so physical I’m sure I’d be back at it by now… however, at this point, I’m aiming for tomorrow. Today, however, I’m going to have to pick up even more gumption, as my eldest, the one who is now taller than me (sigh!) is in the need of school supplies and other things, and he’s waited all week to finally get out shopping… so wish me luck; walking around two days in a row just might be pushing it…
