Two Festivals in Two Days!

22nd October, 2010

I was invited by my friend Glen to accompany her on a bus trip to CreativFestival.  This event is held twice a year at the Metro Toronto Convention Center.

It was obviously the place to be on Friday.  I've never seen so many frenzied crafters under one roof in my life!  The place was totally packed.  Buggies, trollies and people everywhere.  The heat was stifling, and the shuffle was at snail's pace.  Heaven forbid if you stopped - I didn't see any road kill, but I'm sure there was some [LOL].  But none of that prevented the the cash from freely flying out of my hands and into another's!

My interest in the festival was mostly knitting related.  I didn't have a shopping list, but I had a short wish list - knitting books, an addi circular needle and perhaps a lovely new bag.

The heavens smiled down on me, and granted my three wishes.  I found some great books at a great price - 40% off!  I found a suitable addi turbo needle, and then.....there it was!  The most beautiful bag I've ever seen! 

Exterior pockets?  Check.
Interior pockets?  Check.
Zippered interior divider and detachable shoulder strap?  Check.  Check.
Strong magnetic closures and metal feet on the bottom?  Check.  Check.

Soooo beautiful!  I had to have it.  I'm now the proud owner of a RED Namaste Laguna Bag.  Soft as a baby's bottom,  PVC-free, animal-friendly faux leather, adjustable strap length of 30" to 53", and a whopping 17 1/2" W x 16" H x 7 1/2" D.

My Laguna

23rd October, 2010
 
Another early morning start, and this time off to Woodstock to the annual Fleece Festival held at the Woodstock Fair Grounds.
 
Although it began a little slowly, it really got busy from about 11am onwards.  So many fabulous vendors.  Yarn and fiber galore!  Alpaca, angora, mohair, merino, cashmere...oh boy!  I was looking for and found some alpaca roving and yarn to knit Thrummed Mittens.  Thrummed mittens (or fleece-lined mittens) originated from Newfoundland and Labrador.  Twisted bits of unspun, carded fleece are knitted into the mitten to create a cozy lining.  With wear and use, the fleece inside felts into an insulating layer.
 
I also wanted another couple of fairisle mitten kits.  These kits contain a 50/50 yarn blend of mohair and wool.  Super soft and warm.  These will be Christmas gifts.
 
And finally I saw some lovely yarn in darkest brown and heathered brown that would be perfect for a fairisle hat.  The yarn is 60% Black Welsh Mountain Sheep and 40% Cotswold/Dorset cross.  It's a wonderful 3-ply yarn in natural colours.

AND NOW I'M POOPED!

Little Red Mitten

Family Day - what better day to go on a knitting road trip?

And that's how my lovely day began at 11:30am. Laura and her daughter Ally came to pick me up for a raod trip to the grand opening of Little Red Mitten.

Little Red Mitten is a lovely new yarn store on Talbot Street in St. Thomas (across the street from Jumbo the elephant). Joan and Matt, our lovely hosts, have set up a beautiful little store filled with wonderful knit and crochet goodies!

There are several rooms filled with: yarn, books and patterns, needles & accessories and wool washes.

Amongst the needles are such names as: Addi Turbo, Clover, Takumi and Bryspun. I bought a lovely Addi Turbo Lace Circular, 24" x 2.5mm. The nice thing about this circular is that the cable is pink! Helps enormously when I'm knitting two socks at a time and need to differentiate between the two circs.

There is a great selection of books and patterns in the front room. I had trouble deciding on just one, but in the end came home with The Sweater Workshop, by Jacqueline Fee.

Yarn - and lots of it - filled all the rooms. Brand names such as Diamond Yarn, Noro, Brown Sheep, Zitron Trekking, Fiddlesticks and Briggs & Little. There was more, but I don't remember them all now. Lots of crochet thread too.

I also bought this awesome circular needle storage system. It's called The Circular Solution, and is already half filled! No spot for 2.75mm or 2.00mm circs though....

Here's what mine looks like:

Following our petting at the zoo, we went for lunch at East Side Marios on Fanshawe Park Road.

What a lovely outting. Thanks Laura!