I do know better, really

I know better than to think that I can go to a fiber event and not buy anything. I must have gone a bit batty when I thought that I could.

Allow me to explain. Last week, I discovered via one of the LYS’s Twitters that the 4th Annual KnitWear Extravaganza was happening this past Sunday. (There’s no actual website, but that should give you the gist.) I gathered up some of my knitting pals from my knitting group and we hit the ground running. The rule for me was to look, touch, but don’t buy.

Things started off so well. There were knitters and vendors…

Vendors and knitters…

There were fish-head hats.

There were GIANT knitting needles. These suckers are at least US 50s.

There was a help desk, where people could ask a very knowledgeable woman questions related to knitting and fiber-crafting. This was the same desk where the woman in question was giving away old pattern magazines and books FOR FREE.

One of those is an Italian stitch pattern book. I don’t know any Italian, but I’m going to learn.

Vera approves of Italian knitting.

All in all, everything was going very, very well, and then it all came tumbling down. Or the inevitable happened. Whatever.

We got to the Brown Sheep booth, and well… it’s really hard to pass up quality yarn at a really cheap price. Those two skeins of Wildfoote there? I paid three whole dollars for both.

This Lamb’s Pride Worsted took a whopping $6.50 of my hard-earned money. I’ve been wanting yellow yarn to make a yellow scarf. Best $6.50 I ever spent, I tell you.

The gal from Woolen Treasures, the LYS just down the street from the office (believe me… I know) was there, and she had that lovely Mirasol Chirapa for sale, and I decided that I HAD TO HAVE Halloween socks. Too bad I can’t just will into existence the time to make said socks.

And of course I have to support smaller, independent yarnies, so I had to pick up this LoneSome Stone Mountain Feat sock yarn. They’re located in Granby, Colorado, but I bought the yarn from the woman who runs Ewe Count in Cheyenne, Wyoming. I’m thinking two field trips are in order, one to Granby and another to Cheyenne.

This is why setting rules for myself in regards to buying yarn at fiber fairs is just a little ridiculous.

Random news: I did some spinning last night, when I should have been cleaning in preparation for my parents’ visit. You know how that goes. I started spinning up some fiber I recently bought from Gherkin’s Bucket on a lighter, faster drop spindle that I bought a month and a half ago. I don’t mind using a drop spindle, but since I prefer lighter yarns (I don’t use a lot of worsted weight), I’ve got to get thinner plies so I can end up with thinner yarns, which required a lighter spindle. So far so good! We’ll have to see how long I can keep it up.

Also, I’m now on Twitter! I don’t post frequently to my Twitter, but I try to post interesting knitting news or random observations or just links to yarn I want, so if you want to follow me, please do!