Veni, vidi, shopi...

The event: Waterloo County Knitter's Fair

The venue: Bingeman's

The vendors: 90 in all, with some that were new (to me, at least)

The people:

The green blur is my mother rushing off to get herself some alpaca (not really, but it could have been).

And this was one aisle of three - we arrived much later than our usual time, and found it to be very crowded indeed, almost off-putting.

Not to worry, dear reader, we, your intrepid yarn shoppers, were not put off. Not in the least.

The booty:

Oh, where to begin? Well, sock yarn was everywhere, in every form and colour, but I prefer to scout out those items which cannot be bought at regular yarn shops, and I did very well indeed:
(I am can't seem to upload any more pics, for some reason - I am pissed beyond words, but will make do with these)

From Shelridge Farms -
I got the aqua greeny blue sock yarn in the centre upper left;

and Koigu (a colourway I haven't seen before from them) - that would be the pink in the forefront

and a newcomer (again, to me), Lindenhof Wool Mill
lovely, soft wool / mohair blend - a while back, as part of the SP8 exchange, we were asked what sort of yarn we would describe ourselves as? - this, in fact, is me, as a ball of yarn... (the multicoloured cake right at the front - I had a much better picture of me, but again, we will have to make do)

My first purchase was this gorgeous Polwarth/Leicester blend from Rovings -
literally five minutes in the door and I was clutching this to my chest like a drowning woman grasping a life ring - just look at that colour... mmmmmm..... (purpley/blue on the left)

and a kit to make thrummed mittens from alpaca - I wish you could feel it, it is absolutely decadent...these won't be for me, but will make a lovely Christmas gift for some deserving soul - at least, that's how I rationalized it...

I also treated myself to a set of blocking wires that comes in a 3 foot long tube for storage (so clever!), which should come in handy when it comes time to block my Lace Wings Shawl, which time is fast approaching...

and the purchase of the day?

The basket. For $15.

$15. Yup, you heard me. Picture this poor guy, working alone in a small end booth, completely overrun by rabid knitters, each wanting their own handwoven basket. For $15.

Different colours, different sizes. One of a kind. $15.

He thought perhaps he had underestimated the demand of knitters, and thinks that for next year he will get a bigger booth, and extra hands.

So probably the biggest kick for me, apart from the obvious adrenaline rush that only a great yarn shopping excursion can provide, was seeing so many women toting their purchases in these baskets. I told my mother I would stop buying once my basket was full. I learned that one can cram an astonishing amount of yarn into a basket and still have space. Unfortunately, I also learned that my basket capacity outmeasured my wallet capacity significantly, and so had to leave with a little room in my basket.

Which was okay, really - don't want to be greedy or anything... and I guess my kids do need to eat occasionally...