knit two together

if it’s the second saturday in september, that can mean one thing and one thing only:

knitter’s fair!!!

i love how this is the third recap that i have in my blog records of my favourite annual outing with mom. (the 2010 report is here! the 2011 account can be viewed here!).

mom and i figured out that we have been attending the knitter’s fair every year since [we think] 1994. we have only missed ONE year (2002) when i was away on a vacation! we are very proud of our track record. this year was one of the wettest, weather-wise (the rain was BUCKETING down when i got up in the morning; happily, by early aft, the sun was shining!).

9:30 a.m. – we’re ready to go!

9:31 a.m. – we’re ready to go! [i couldn't decide which departure photo to use, we'll just throw both in - haha!]

upon arriving at bingeman’s, we discovered that next year there will be a change in venue:

2013: see you at the aud in kitchener – the knitter’s fair has outgrown bingeman’s!

and something else new this year…

i want to know what happened to prompt this discontinuation! were children poking each other with knitting needles??!

mom and i have a touring method that we use every year: we circle each ballroom to see what’s available – we look only, except if we see a deal of the century, then we purchase immediately. i kid you not, booth number FIVE, and mom found the first deal-i-o of the day!

mom’s first purchase: seventeen balls of astra for $10! now that’s a bargoon!

variegated yarn is my weakness, and these skeins had a silver thread running through – file these under “perhaps!”

koigu yarn remains my favouritest – no purchase made as i can pick it up any time at “shall we knit,” should i so desire.

knitting humour!

only the brother will find this name as funny as i do! cracks me up every year!

i did not have any specific missions in mind, this year. if i happened to find a blanket to make for the mcc relief sale next may, that would be great; if i found sweaters for little e and cutie c, that would be bonus, but i was not searching for anything in particular…

i loved this PATTERN as an option for an mcc donation, but the finished size – about two feet square – was way too small!! too bad…

sadly, e and c are too big for the sweater kits we saw – all geared to the sub-two year old age group.

mom’s second purchase: four skeins of briggs & little for $20!

[mom's intention for the day was to stock up on yarns for project linus blankets and prayer shawls...as you shall see, she should be set for the next twelve months!...]

a now-annual tradition! a photo with brenda (hi, brenda!) -> brenda made her sweater with leftover yarn – awesome creation, eh?!

mom’s third purchase! red heart – the orange (same as my sweater) for $2.50 a ball, the blue for $3.50 a ball – amazing! mom was on a real roll!

two more afghan possibilities???…

unfortunately, this design was for artistic purposes only – no pattern or kit available!…

i love LOVE loved this striking blanket/throw…but it was about 50% crochet…i do not crochet!

mom’s fourth purchase of the day! briggs & little, $4 a skein (NO TAX), any colour, any type!

whew, we needed a break at this point, as you can well imagine. a coffee/tea stop hit the spot! we also made a run back out to the rav to drop off the mega-bags we mom had accumulated. yarn is heavy!

regardless of the weather, i ALWAYS wear a handknit to the fair…my $4 sweater drew quite the compliments this year!

perfect strangers kept stopping me to comment on either the sweater colour or pattern – i proudly shared that the yarn cost me four bucks!

and the yarn of the year award goes to…this silk blend from zen yarn garden. oh my gosh, i have never felt yarn so soft, silky, luxurious…($35 a skein!!):

i wanted to curl up in this yarn and bury myself!

the “if-money-were-no-object” project…

i’d wear this bohemian sweater with my denim cut-off shorts and big loop earrings!

…but at ~$150 for the kit, i passed it by, boo hoo.

it took me a while to decide what i wanted to do…in the end, i concluded that the briggs & little deal was giving me the best vibe:

i will make two blankets! i’m envisioning lace creations…stay tuned!

mom’s fifth purchase! yet more briggs & little!

[the briggs & little vendor was absent last year. when we commented to the guy that we were so happy he was back, he said they will be returning EVERY year from now on as they are moving from quebec to ontario. yippee!].

the day’s celebrity moment: while we were lunching, featured guest speaker, the yarn harlot, passed within six feet of us! i totally chickened out of asking stephanie for a photo. i don’t know why??? i am not shy, but i couldn’t find the gumption to approach her! photo opp failure!

truly, all i want to do with my free time now is knit and read (i’m into jennifer weiner’s fly away home and sue grafton’s r is for ricochet) or knit and watch foodnetwork -> knitter’s fair always fires me up, creatively!

what a great, fun, ♥ happy ♥ saturday. our calendars are marked for next year (september 14th!).

~*~*~*~*~

btw, this is blog post number 700!! so…if i blog three times a day starting now, i could hit one thousand by my birthday!

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