Spring Fiber Festival 2006 - Part 2

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I promised in my previous post on the subject that I'd share about my "loot" from the event, so here goes:

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Clockwise from lower left:

(1) Souvenier brochure from the event

(2) Soulful Knitting, by Barbara Hurd -- signed by the author:

(A lovely lady - I sat near her during the fashion show and we chatted the entire time. She was also wearing a beautiful Möbius that she had designed and knit. The pattern can be found in her book).

Note: Barbara Hurd's Soulful Knitting is not to be confused with Pat Turner's Joy of Soulful Knitting. I know that author, too, although she has recently changed her name.

(3) The Knitting Answer Book, by Margaret Radcliffe -- signed by author:

Margaret was signing books at the Lawre's Lane booth, so I got a few pictures of her in drop-spindle action and chatting up friends:

Margaret and Jane

(4) Denise Interchangeable Knitting Needle Set. I have loved the idea of these needles for awhile now, but had a bad experience with plastic needles previously, so wasn't sure I'd like actually knitting with Denise needles. I'd read Amy's rave about them on Knitty; had read Clara's report on Knitter's Review; had read other knit-bloggers wax poetic about them; had read what folks on both the Knitty Board and KR Forum had to say, had seen other people knit with them, and the feedback was mostly positive. I still wasn't sure, and told myself I wouldn't buy them unless I had a chance to actually knit with them. I had my chance at the Stony Mountain Fibers booth, which had a demostration set open with some knitting in progress on a pair of the needles, so I helped myself to the knitting and knit a row or two. I was immediately sold. They are incredibly slick - much slicker than the plastic needles I'd tried in the past, which was my main concern. And I like the idea that I'm supporting a Virginia-based company that makes an excellent product. What also sold me was running into fellow knit-blogger Tanya, (whom I did not recognize until I saw her mentioned on Jane's account of the day), who stopped me to say that she loved her Denise needles and that I was making a great purchase. And icing on the cake - an older woman (mid/late-70's, I think), also stopped me to say that she'd been using hers for thirty years and loved them still. Word of mouth is powerful advertising!

(5) Lovely little stitch markers (my very first set of decorative ones), also from Stony Mountain Fibers. (Hey Jenny - they're turquoise!)

Here's a close-up:

(6) A cute stuffed carrot with a secret compartment holding four bunnies. This was a gift from Jane. Thanks, Jane -- the gardener in me LOVES it! Also from Jane, (but not pictured above) -- a stuffed Easter egg which I gave to my niece for her birthday last Sunday:

Inside the egg live a stuffed bunny, chicky, and lamby - so cute!

(7) Fiesta's "La Boheme" yarn (mohair, nylon, rayon boucle), in Iris (color #11174, dye lot # 12085), to use to knit a Möbius from Barbara Hurd's pattern.

Here's a close-up of the yarn:

And pictures of Barbara's knitted pattern:

The red version was on display at the Orchardside Yarn Shop booth where Barbara was signing books.

* Not pictured above, but also purchased at the Orchardside booth is a needle felting Easter egg kit which I also gave to my niece for her birthday. Here she is with it at her party:

I'm hoping she'll let her old Aunt "help" with the project one of these days.

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And with that, I will end this lengthy post. Have a great week, everyone. I'm traveling again for work this afternoon, so may be quiet for a few days. Here's hoping my train travels go smoothly.

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