A Beautiful Day in Michigan . . .
Linda the Chicken Lady, Jamie the Yarnsnob and I boarded the bus to the Michigan Fiber Festival yesterday morning. It was a smaller bus than two years ago; still, it got us there and everyone seemed to have a good time.
I really do enjoy Michigan more than Stitches, and since they were on the same weekend this year, there really was no contest for me.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I am in the midst of The Great Cleanup of 2010. This includes yarn and fiber . . . I went to Michigan looking for some specific stuff - a good substitute yarn for Rowan Lightweight DK yarn for the Kaffe Fassett coat I'm wanting to make, beads for the Shipwreck Shawl, and a bead spinner for same. No luck on any of those things.
But I didn't come home empty-handed. You didn't think I would, did you? ;-) I bought a rug-hooking kit and hoop. Michigan is the place were I first got interested in this, but I never bought a kit because they all seemed so complex. But I have my beginner kit from Midwest this year, and so this Monk Santa kit has called to me for a number of years . . . It's going to be pretty kewl looking when it's done. Those bags are the wool strips to use for it.
There are two very small skeins of Blue Moon Fiber Arts handpainted silk roving. The dark one is called Corvid, and the multi one is nameless. I don't really know why I keep buying silk - I'm just determined to be able to spin it (thus far, not very well . . . :-S). So these little treats seemed like good practice for me and they were not expensive. And finally, a little button for the closure on the little bag I wove earlier this summer at Midwest.
Not bad, huh? :-)
I was very tempted by some beautiful wood worked looms, but now is just not the time.
And I managed to FINISH SOMETHING :-D
These are my Watermelon Socks. I started them on my trip to Morocco, and just never got them finished. There wasn't much left, and I was done before we were out of Indiana. They are matchy/matchy until you get to the toe. No idea why that keeps happening :-D This yarn is from Fresh Isle Fibers, in Canada. My friend, Laurie from The Knitting Garden was knitting on a pair of these a few years ago at the first Loopy Ewe Spring Fling, and I just loved them! Unfortunately, getting the yarn is not easy. You have to stalk the woman's website. Still, one day, I managed to get a skein, and now I have watermelon socks. And make no mistake - these are for me. :-D
The day started out rainy, but by the time we got up to Allegan, the weather had cleared, and although it was a little humid, there was no need for hats or umbrellas, and it was cooler than it has been in years past. Still, inside the industrial halls (where the vendors are) it's warm and party fans are the order of the day - both Linda and I have them, and I can't tell you how many people asked me about mine.
Here's a group of us! Jamie, Monique, Mimi, another guild member whose name I neglected to get (sorry!) and Linda. This was just after hot dogs and fries - and the concomitant discussion of what goes on a dog (If you're from Chicago - dogs have pretty much anything you want, EXCEPT ketchup. No ketchup. No. Just not done.) Poor Mimi, we gave her a pretty hard time ;-) - and just before the last look at all the vendors.
The only negative thing I can say about this year's festival was that the tables and seating that used to be in the pavilion (above in the photo) were missing - same thing with the other pavilion where the Guild made us an awesome lunch. I hope they get that figured out for next year.
And now, it's on to my day, which is looking to include the gym, and then the garage . . . film at 11 ;-D
I really do enjoy Michigan more than Stitches, and since they were on the same weekend this year, there really was no contest for me.
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I am in the midst of The Great Cleanup of 2010. This includes yarn and fiber . . . I went to Michigan looking for some specific stuff - a good substitute yarn for Rowan Lightweight DK yarn for the Kaffe Fassett coat I'm wanting to make, beads for the Shipwreck Shawl, and a bead spinner for same. No luck on any of those things.
But I didn't come home empty-handed. You didn't think I would, did you? ;-) I bought a rug-hooking kit and hoop. Michigan is the place were I first got interested in this, but I never bought a kit because they all seemed so complex. But I have my beginner kit from Midwest this year, and so this Monk Santa kit has called to me for a number of years . . . It's going to be pretty kewl looking when it's done. Those bags are the wool strips to use for it.There are two very small skeins of Blue Moon Fiber Arts handpainted silk roving. The dark one is called Corvid, and the multi one is nameless. I don't really know why I keep buying silk - I'm just determined to be able to spin it (thus far, not very well . . . :-S). So these little treats seemed like good practice for me and they were not expensive. And finally, a little button for the closure on the little bag I wove earlier this summer at Midwest.
Not bad, huh? :-)
I was very tempted by some beautiful wood worked looms, but now is just not the time.
And I managed to FINISH SOMETHING :-D
These are my Watermelon Socks. I started them on my trip to Morocco, and just never got them finished. There wasn't much left, and I was done before we were out of Indiana. They are matchy/matchy until you get to the toe. No idea why that keeps happening :-D This yarn is from Fresh Isle Fibers, in Canada. My friend, Laurie from The Knitting Garden was knitting on a pair of these a few years ago at the first Loopy Ewe Spring Fling, and I just loved them! Unfortunately, getting the yarn is not easy. You have to stalk the woman's website. Still, one day, I managed to get a skein, and now I have watermelon socks. And make no mistake - these are for me. :-D
The day started out rainy, but by the time we got up to Allegan, the weather had cleared, and although it was a little humid, there was no need for hats or umbrellas, and it was cooler than it has been in years past. Still, inside the industrial halls (where the vendors are) it's warm and party fans are the order of the day - both Linda and I have them, and I can't tell you how many people asked me about mine.
Here's a group of us! Jamie, Monique, Mimi, another guild member whose name I neglected to get (sorry!) and Linda. This was just after hot dogs and fries - and the concomitant discussion of what goes on a dog (If you're from Chicago - dogs have pretty much anything you want, EXCEPT ketchup. No ketchup. No. Just not done.) Poor Mimi, we gave her a pretty hard time ;-) - and just before the last look at all the vendors.
The only negative thing I can say about this year's festival was that the tables and seating that used to be in the pavilion (above in the photo) were missing - same thing with the other pavilion where the Guild made us an awesome lunch. I hope they get that figured out for next year.
And now, it's on to my day, which is looking to include the gym, and then the garage . . . film at 11 ;-D
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