An Arts & Handicrafter's Fair and 10 Knitterly Things About Me.

First the Fair stuff.
So much stuff there, so little money to spend. Sigh. I got some really good stuff though.

There's a little bag for Girly. She loved it. She stuck it up on her shoulder and strolled around like she was the Queen Bee. So cute. The lady who was running the booth said that her Granddaughter had made it and she would be so proud that someone had bought it. There's also a little black rock painted like a ladybug that she stuck in her bag to carry around. The bear in the birch bark canoe is her Christmas ornament this year and the slippers are for her and the young mister for the winter months. The soaps are the big score though. They were a great price and I managed to get enough to put in with the dishcloths for the ladies in the Women's Shelter for Christmas gifts. I'm hoping there will be a few leftover for me to have a couple too. There is chocolate, lavendar and licorice/poppy seed scented soaps. So nice and she makes them from the beeswax out of her hives.

A close up of the soaps and the bear in the birch bark canoe.

This though, this was the best thing of the day. There was a lady who had a booth set up with beads strewn all over the table. She was letting people pick out the bead they liked best and making rings to fit right then and there. Girly was in her glee. After the lady was finished and helped her put it on her finger, she walked around with her hand up admiring her new ring. She was over the moon and didn't stop talking about it for the rest of the day. It's the first ring she's had that fits her and she "LUFF my ring!".

The great thing about hand crafter's fairs are how happy people are to see children loving their stuff. They watch them closely of course, but not like people at stores do. There are more smiles and they talk to the kids like they are happy to see them. Such a nice thing for a child to experience even if they are too young to appreciate the difference in treatment.

10 Knitterly Things about Me

This is supposed to be a list of things you don't know about me so this took awhile to come up with since I blab nearly everything I do on this blog.

1. The last weekend of September (this weekend) marks the first time I ever picked up knitting needles. I learned to crochet at 15 and managed to make my Grandmother a dusty rose and grey scarf before giving it up. Twenty years later, here I am knitting and loving it. The first project I knit was a pillow for Girly. I'll post a picture of it another time. It's not horrible, but it's not great either.

Happy Knitta-versary to me!

2. I took up knitting because I needed something to do other than chores, take care of children or watch t.v. I was having trouble shaking off the baby blues and was beginning to worry that I would fall back into depression. I've been through that before and I did not want to go back. So I called up Mary Maxim and put in an order. Knitting saved me from that dark hole and it, you and other knit bloggers continue to inspire me to fight the good fight and continue on the path to feeling like myself again.

3. I have never actually completed a project with any of my hand dyed yarns. I do them for my LYS (like the last batch) or as gifts or prizes. I have one that I have cast on with for a few sock projects that didn't make the cut. One of these days when things slow down a little, I'm going to cast on and finish a sock with it! I will eventually have drawers full of socks for myself, the Mr. and Girly. Someday.

4. I have yet to finish anything for myself. The brown and blue bag is for me. I still have to felt it.

5. I have given away every set of knitting needles I have ever made. I plan to make more and keep a set one of these times.

6. I am terrified of making a mess of my roving and have yet to do anything other than admire the spindle my SP8 pal made for me. Terrified!

7. I have so many ideas for patterns in my head that it is getting harder and harder to figure out what to cast on for.

8. I still have trouble following other people's patterns and find myself unknitting or frogging about 1/3 of what I knit to fix a mistake in the pattern. Although I am getting better at looking to the next stitch and recognizing when I have gone wrong before I get too far.

9. I am planning something really awesome for when I get over the sweats about learning to spin. I am so excited and freaked out all at once. It will make you drop your jaws and No, I can't tell you what it is yet. You'll find out someday.

10. I am planning out a calendar of knit projects. I already have ideas for three photos and most of the patterns. I just have to cast on, knit them and write out the patterns. I think it will be great and a bit funny too. I need to get a better camera before I start snapping pictures though. So between the lack of good camera and inability to cast on and git'erdun it may take a year or so to make it up for sale.

Consider yourself tagged for the meme! Go see Grumperina's post for the original rules.