Fiber Fun

It was a beautiful sunny day yesterday as Suzette and I headed out to Vicksburg for this year's Fiber Fun In The 'Sip.  

There's not much to say about the drive down there, except that it was largely uneventful.  Very little traffic on the roads, but that didn't stop some dude from riding my bumper for about 10 miles solid.  Why?  I don't know.  He had plenty of room to pass. 

It put me in mind of when I went to my nephew's wedding in Missouri back in 2023.  I was driving through the middle of nowhere.  Not another car on the road for miles -- except this one chick who rode my bumper for about 20 miles.  We finally got to a town and parted ways.  The last time I saw her, she was riding someone else's bumper.  "Better him than me," I said as I bid her adieu.  

But as I said, the drive down to V-burg was largely uneventful.  The most note worthy thing about it was the sheer scale of destruction from the ice storm last month.  You could tell they were in the process of cleaning it up, but there were still branches, limbs, and even whole trees down one after another for miles and miles.  

I'd thought briefly about driving down and staying with Cody and Brennan while my power was out, but after seeing what I saw yesterday, it's a good thing I didn't try to make that trip.  By the way, there are still about 500 people in the state who still haven't gotten their power back on.  

I'm getting a bit off topic, though.  I get there and find the place -- which wasn't hard at all.  I found Leann's booth and a table nearby that she'd saved for us.  It wasn't long at all before Amy joined us and the party got started. 

Leann was busy doing business, so she was popping in and out, but we still had plenty of time to visit.  

You know, I don't mean to sound ugly, and I have no idea what it takes to keep a fiber festival going, and I truly, truly hope this one can make it, but it's not looking good.  It's gotten smaller and smaller every year, with fewer vendors and smaller crowds.  I knew Christi couldn't come, but even her friends Other Amy and Emily didn't come this time.  I'd gotten to where I was looking forward to seeing them, too.  And there were faces in the crowd that had become familiar and they weren't there, either.  Most of them.  

Even the swag was so much less than it was in the past.  

This was it.  A sticker, a koozie, and a chapstick.  I wish I knew what it would take to fix things, but I don't.  I'm not meaning to sound critical.  I've always enjoyed going, and it feels like I'm watching it die a slow death, and it breaks my heart.  

Anyway, Amy, Leann, and I talked about having a get together sometime later this year away from yarn shops or the temptation to buy things so that everyone could come -- even those on a yarn diet.  *cough, cough*  Christi...

I'm hoping we can plan it so that Peggy and Kat can come, too.  

In spite of all of that, there was still lots of beautiful yarns there.  I was good.  I only bought one skein. 

Not sure what I'm going to make with it, since I don't knit socks with it any more, but I'll figure out something.  I might even...*gasp*...make something for myself.  Try to contain your shock.  

Amy and I talked about that for a bit.  I love to knit nice things, especially complicated lace patterns, but what am I going to do with them?  I can't wear a lace shawl to the factory, and I'm sure my family is tired of me dumping stuff off onto them.  So, I stick to knitting hats for charity.  

We had a great time, but all too soon it was time to head home.  We laughed, we cried, and many bitter tears were shed at our parting.  In the meantime, here are just a few photos I took of some of the vendors.  I realized after I got home that I didn't even take a picture of Leann's booth.  Bummer.  

I'll do better next time. 

 

Fiber Fun

Last month, when I went to the fiber festival in Oxford, I forgot to bring Suzette.  She has not let me live that down, so I made doubly sure to bring her with me today. 

And where were we going this chilly February morning?  To Vicksburg, to Fiber Fun In The 'Sip!  

We had a bit of a rough start, though.  To begin with, when I was programming the route into my GPS, it wouldn't let me get onto the Natchez Trace at Ridgeland.  Well, at least I couldn't figure out how to get it to do that.  What I had to do was to end the route when I got to Ridgeland, then start a new route, choosing the Trace from Ridgeland to Clinton.  

That way, I could avoid Jackson.  I'll avoid Jackson any way I can.

So, finally I made it to Vicksburg -- and truth be told, I knew how to get there.  I still like using my GPS so I'll know how much longer the trip is going to be.  But anyway, I finally made it there and the first thing I noticed is that she did not have enough tables and chairs set up in the Sit 'n Stitch area.

I saw one empty table, but there were a couple of coats draped over some of the chairs, so I walked around the vendor area a bit.  When I got back to the table, there was still no one there, so I sat down anyway.  Without thinking, I set my project bag in the chair next to me, and the entire chair collapsed, dumping my bag and spilling all of the water from my cup -- which for some reason I'd put into my bag.  

Everything in my bag was soaked, along with the chair and a good bit of the floor.  I got some paper towels from the bathroom and cleaned it up as best I could, then pulled out my hat to begin knitting while waiting to see if any of the gang would show up. 

That's when I discovered that my brand spanking new needle had snapped in half. 

It was at this point, I wanted to throw in the towel and just go home, but I didn't.   The only thing I can figure is that when the bag fell, my cup landed on the needle and broke it.   Luckily, I had packed two projects, so I just pulled the other one out.  

After a few moments, I got up and took another turn about the room, and when I got back, someone else was sitting in the chair I'd recently vacated.  I sat down in the chair next to her and said, "Do you mind if I crash your party?"  She said no, we introduced ourselves-- her name is Elaine --, and were soon joined by her friend Jo and I had some people to talk to until Amy got there.  

We knew Christi wasn't coming, because for some strange reason, she'd rather spend the day at her grandkids' birthday party than with us.  What's up with that?  I mean, really!  

I wasn't sure if Leann was planning on coming, though.  When I saw her in Oxford, she'd said she wanted to, but I guess she wasn't able to make it.  I sure hope she didn't drive all the way down from Memphis only to arrive after we'd left!  

So, after visiting a moment, Amy and I got up and visited the vendor booths, and she bought a couple of things, but I didn't buy anything.  I think it's because I'd just bought a bunch of yarn in Oxford, plus  putting all that yarn into the boxes yesterday made me realize how much I already had.  I just couldn't bring myself to spend any more money.   In the end, I only came home with the shopping bag they hand out at the door, 

and two mini sheep one booth was giving away for free. 

They had a 3-D printer going, and it was pretty nifty to watch.  When we got back to the table, Elaine and Jo were gone, and two more people were sitting at the table, so we joined them.  All too soon, Amy said she had to leave and run some errands, and I left soon after she did.  

Just about the time we left, Other Amy and Christi's friends Jane and Kate -- whom I'd met in Oxford -- arrived, so we said hi and bye and just like that, it was over for another year.   To be honest, I haven't missed a single one since they started doing FFITS back in 2018, but this might be my last time going.  

Every year, there are fewer and fewer vendors, and the classes...well, it seems like there are fewer of them as well.  And I'm not sure going in February will work out for me.  I'd much rather have it in September.  I don't know...I mean, it's not like I have a lot of festivals to compare it with, since Vicksburg and Oxford are the only ones I've ever been to.  I know she works hard at getting it all organized, but it just feels like something is missing. 

In other news, Houston, we have a problem.  Yes, Brennan did just give me a huge pack of stationery for Christmas, but when this came back in stock, I couldn't pass it up. 

I even bought a matching wax stamp. 

So, what's the problem?  What am I going to do with all that stationery?  All the pen pals I used to have have quit writing, except one from Australia.  I need more pen pals!  

And finally, I moved my fire pit back out of the shed, and put my Adirondack chair and table out there by it.  

 Maybe tomorrow, I'll light me a fire, sit out there and write a letter to my Australian pen pal.  

Full Moons And Fiber Fun

I've been saying for years I was going to do it, but I never did....until now.  Yep, last night, I finally went out to the lake to watch the Harvest Moon rise.  It was a beautiful night for it, too.  Cool, low humidity, and not a cloud in the sky.

  

I watched until the mosquitoes found me -- because I'd forgotten my bug spray-- then came home and had the traditional hot chocolate and Harvest Moon cookies.  I went outside a few times to look at it again, but I didn't take any more photos.   

I do know this one thing, though.  My county definitely needs to repaint the stripes on the roads.  

This morning, Suzette and I got up early and set out on another adventure.

And it was definitely and adventure.  Since I've sort of figured out how to use my GPS on my phone, I didn't take my usual route to Vicksburg.  There is definitely an advantage to taking back roads, such as no traffic, and not having to drive through Jackson, because I'll do just about anything to avoid driving through Jackson.  The disadvantage is....no gas stations, which means no bathrooms.  

On a completely unrelated note, while I was driving those back roads, I saw another Mississippi Mound Trail site.  I almost stopped, but didn't.  I said I'd go back someday, but I'm not even sure where it was.  Down near Rolling Fork is all I know. 

Anyway, Suzette and I made it Vicksburg without incident -- or me wetting my pants -- and I got a surprise when I pulled into the parking lot at the convention center because the car I parked beside had Christi's personalized license plate on it!

"Cookie's here!" I shrieked to no one in particular, and quickly made my way inside, and there were hugs and squeals and much laughter.  Then Amy arrived and there were more hugs and squeals and laughter.  Then Leann came and there were even more hugs and squeals and laughter, and a good time was had by all. 

Suzy Q was there in spirit, and thought Christi's watermelon sock yarn was just the cutest thing ever. 

And we talked, and we knit, and we shopped, and all too soon it was time to leave and many bitter tears were shed at our parting.  But first, the obligatory photos. 

Christi, Leann, Me, and Amy:

And one with the blended family:  Christi, Emily, Amy, Leann, Me, and Amy.  

After an uneventful trip home during which I took the interstate back and during which I certainly did not watch the Texas game on my phone while driving, I made it home around 5:00 PM.  

So, I was good this year, and didn't really buy a whole lot of yarn.  I picked up a few more minis for my other sock yarn blanket.

And a couple of more minis, plus one full skein of sock yarn. 

I bought that one just for the name of the colorway:  As The Mist Creeps In.  

I got some more Purl Scout merit badges to add to my collection.

And finally, this skein of sock yarn. 

These were the gifts they included in the bags at the door, except the notebook.  She'd gotten a bunch of those to give to the people who'd taken classes, but had a bunch left over, so she walked around giving them away. 

 I said I'd just add it to my emotional support stack of unused notebooks. 

And that was that for Fiber Fun In The 'Sip 2023.  And that's it for me, for this weekend at least.  

I'm plumb worn out. 

Back In The Swing Of Things

The first day back at work after a long weekend is always...well, a bit tough.  The hardest part is waking up at 4:30 again after being able to sleep until...um...5:30 for 4 days.  OK, OK, it was only an hour, but hey, that one hour makes a heck of a difference.  

I had a great time at Fiber Fun In The 'Sip, hanging with Christi, Amy, Emily, and Amy C.   The original plan was for me to go down to Vicksburg Thursday morning and do my sightseeing, then FFITS Friday and Saturday.  However, once the class list was released, I didn't find any classes I was that interested in taking.  

After coordinating with Amy and Christi and finding out they weren't coming until Saturday anyway, I changed my plans a bit.  I drove down Thursday evening, and did my sightseeing Friday.  I'll tell you more about that in a later post, though.  For now, I'm just going to show you my swag I bought -- which wasn't as much as in other years, but at least I got a few things, the first of which was this cute bag they were handing out to all the participants.  

Now, before I show you all the stuff I bought, here is the knitting project I took to work on.

Yes, it is another Brandye Beanie, this time knit with Knit Picks Brava in Tidal Speckle colorway.  I finished it yesterday, and I'll show you the finished product in a later post.  

I apologize if this seems a bit all over the place.  I've got so much to talk about, and so little time to do it.  I had to go pick Jesse up after work, and they couldn't find him.  Seriously.  I paid the bill and the receptionist called back to the back, "Jesse Gunstream to go home."  I waited several moments, and they hadn't brought him up.  She called back again, "Jesse Gunstream to go home."  Several more moments, and someone came out to the front and whispered, "Jesse Gunstream...what is he?"  

I don't think I was supposed to hear that part, but I did.  I said, "He's a brown dog with a curly tail."  Oh.  She headed back to get him, but by then, someone had found him and brought him up to the front.  No matter.  He's home now, and all is well.

OK, back to FFITS, I bought the set on the left to make a fade hat for a Christmas gift, but when I looked up the pattern the vendor recommended, I don't really like the way it's written.  Thus, I'll have to figure it out on my own. 

The one on the right, I thought I'd add to the blanket, although it might end up being knit into a gift for someone.  Maybe a cowl for my sister or something. Since she lives in Alaska, she'll be able to use something a bit lighter weight in the late spring and early fall months. 

These mini - skeins were only $5 each, so they'll definitely go into the blankets. 

This is the only full sized skein I bought.   

There was so much gorgeous yarn there, but I practiced much restraint.  The number of vendors was down from previous years, but I wonder if that had more to do with the last minute schedule change than anything else.  See, it was supposed to be the last weekend of September, but there was a conflict with the Convention center or something.  Hopefully, next year, it'll be back up to full capacity. 

As soon as I saw this, I knew I had to have it. 

For you knitting muggles out there, it's a needle gauge, to check what size your knitting needles are. 

And my final purchase of the day, my Purl Scouts merit badges:

They have several more merit badges I still need to earn.  Maybe by next year.  (They also have some I have absolutely no interest in, so I ain't going to worry about those.)

So there you have it, my swag from FFITS.  I also made another very large purchase which had nothing to do with yarn or knitting.  I'll tell you about that another time. 

Makes My Day

You know what really makes my day?  When I'm up there in Walmart and someone comes up to me and says, "I just love your blog!"  That's what really makes my day.  Thank you, Mrs. Norma!  It means so much to me!

You know what else makes my day?  Making other people happy.  Now that the recipients of the following have received the following, I can finally blog about it.  Boy was it hard to keep these secrets for two weeks!

I'd always planned on picking up a few things for my nonbiological sister Suzie at Fiber Fun In The Sip.  Her health prevents her from attending fiber festivals and things like that, so putting together a little care package for her was a given from the get go.

I only got her one skein of yarn, because she'd recently mentioned that she was de-stashing.  The colorway is called Jazz Rhapsody, and it was dyed by our friend Leann.

That fuzzy lump in the middle is an alpaca, made from...well, alpaca.  It is sooo soft.  Just below it is handmade goat milk soap made with oil distilled from Kudzu blooms.  It smelled pretty good, too.  I was almost tempted to keep it, but no, it's for Suzie.  The next thing is a little alpaca keyring, and also, a keyring that says "I knit and I know things."  On the far right is a stitch marker shaped like Mississippi.  Finally, I tossed in the keyring and pen they'd given us, plus the show's program booklet, and put it all into the FFITS gift bag and sent it to her.

It made a nice surprise for her when she got home from her latest hospital stay.

Now, Amy's care package, well, that was a different story.  All weekend Christi and I had been trying to get her to come hang out with us, but personal reasons prevented her from doing so.  We sent her selfies saying, "Come join us!"  We took pictures of yarn and sent it to her, all kinds of torture.  We even said we'd body check her to keep her from spending money, but all to no avail.  She just couldn't swing it this time.

So, there we were, just a shopping away, at the booth that had all the stitch markers, when Christi found some LSU ones.  "We can send them to Amy," she said.

"Yeah!"  I agreed, "and I'll go get her some of those purple and gold mini skeins we saw."

OK, I didn't really say that, but if I told you I'd said, "I'll get that yarn," it wouldn't make much sense to those of you who weren't in on the original conversation.

I ran back to the booth we'd just left, grabbed the purple and gold yarn, and put them up onto the counter.  "I'm back!"  I said to the man -- who was visiting with another vendor.  "We're making up a care package for our friend who couldn't come."

I paid for the yarn, and carried on shopping.  I was all the way down at the end of the row, buying my drop spindle when the other vendor who'd been visiting with the man from whom I bought the yarn walked up behind me and slipped something into my bag -- the little tin of threading needles.

"It's for your friend who couldn't come," he said.

How sweet of him to do that!  If you happen to see Two Guys Yarn at a fiber festival or something, be sure to toss some business their way.  I plan on doing just that at the next FFITS.  And I hope Amy can join us then!

Last, but certainly not least, the recipient of these cute little stitch markers hasn't actually gotten them yet, as I only mailed them this morning.

I'm not going to tell you who they are for, though.  That would ruin the surprise, but if you get a package from me on Saturday, it's you!

Surprise!  I hope you enjoy them!

Fiber Fun In The 'Sip Part III

Last night was rough.  Really rough.

I seem to have picked up some sort of sinus crud or some such.  I don't know, but my sinuses and throat are on fire.  As if that weren't bad enough, my throat has been so very dry, all night long, I kept waking myself up coughing.  Needless to say, I didn't get much sleep.

During some of those few moments when I did get to sleep, I dreamed that a dream had come true.  I'd finally been able to go see the Fisherman's Friends -- also known as my white headed shanty men-- sing live and in person.  I had front row seats.  I was so close, I could count the boogers in their noses.

I have no idea why I said that.  I've long since given up trying to find an explanation for such things.

Still, I was there, they were singing, and I was having a grand old time ------and the alarm went off.  Sigh....

As if to add insult to injury, my Stalker was back.  I spent the whole day tired, irritable, coughing, hurting, and gasping for breath.  Yay me.  I said to myself, "I'm never going to volunteer to go home early, but today, if they try to send me, I'm not going to argue, either."  But they didn't.  Try to send me home early, that is.  I worked the whole, interminable 10 hour shift. 

The good news is, I remembered I have another vacation day coming up Thursday, so only one more work day for me.  I've got some errands to run, then I'm going to spend the rest of the day being lazy.  Depending on how I feel, I mean.

By now, you're probably asking yourself, "When is she going to get to the Fiber Fun In The 'Sip part?"  Well, here you go...

The best part of fiber festivals isn't the classes, or the vendors, or the gorgeous yarns, or the entertainment...it's hanging out with friends.  Especially friends I only get to see once a year.   While I was in my Zoom Loom class Thursday, I peeked out of the window and saw Leann and her cousin Denise setting up their booth.

They had lots of events planned this year.  First up was a spinning contest, where the contestants don't even know what they're going to be spinning.

They were given a box, but couldn't open it until the contest started.  It contained some mighty strange stuff, I'm telling ya.  It had some wool fiber, cotton balls, cobwebs, dryer lint, silk fibers, shredded paper, feathers, Spanish moss, and dog hair.  That's all I can remember, but that's enough.

The girl on the left in the maroon shirt and blue skirt won.  She's the one I bought my drop spindle from.

They'd also had a knit-along/crochet-along.  Participants were given about a month to knit or crochet the shawl pattern, then they had a fashion show to show off their finished products.  Here we see one of the contestants modeling her shawl.

That was about it for organized activities, but there was still plenty to do.  I met some new people.  This is Amy and Pam, friends of Christi.

Amy is such a hoot.  She had me laughing so hard I couldn't breathe at one point.  She's wearing the shawl she modeled in the fashion show -- or as she put it, as she walked around like a dork.

This is Emily.

I'd met her last year, and she is a genuinely nice person, and fun to be around.   That's Denise sitting behind her.  She was missing her donkey.  Seriously.  She'd just adopted him from the animal shelter, and was missing him. 

And of course, Christi, who is always a joy.

While we were visiting, I managed to get a whole hat cast on and knit.

They were all very impressed with the Chinese Waitress cast on-- especially with how stretchy it is.

All too soon, our time together was at an end.  We took the ubiquitous group photos:

Emily, Amy, Christi

Christi, Me, Leann

Christi is probably the only person in the world who can convince me to take a selfie.

And we hugged, and we clung to each other, and we promised to get together before next September, and many bitter tears were shed at our parting.

Christi and her friends headed back towards Starkville and Columbus, and I went back to the hotel for another night, then came home on Sunday.  And that was it for Fiber Fun In The 'Sip 2019.  I'm already counting down the days until the next one. 

Oh, and yes, I did take my bug out bag with me.

You may ask why I would need a bag of survival gear, since I was only going to Vicksburg -- a 2 1/2 hour drive.  Well, the Minnow was only supposed to be going on a three hour tour, and you saw what happened to Gilligan and them.

That's why.