belated ... H A L L O W E E N

one of the yarns i got at SAFF was a "halloweenie" color of this sock yarn. this hank was for me. so, as soon as i got home, i cast on for a pair of socks.

as much as i love it ... the yarn .... the colors ..... the pattern.

the short row heel was a complete fail.

so i ripped it all out.

right now, i'm struggling ....... not sure what to knit on. all my crafting time if somewhat unproductive.

i have a mindless project on the needles right now. but, i need to get started on other projects. and, starting to feel the pressure of the holidays. crap. what to make? and for ____  ?!

SAFF part 2

i'm not sure if this was my 1st or 2nd purchase, but i got some brooks farm acero (3 hanks --- because 2 isn't enough and 3 is more than enough). some of my favorite sweater lately have been knitted in finer yarns ... and with a blend of wool/rayon/silk, it should have a nice drape/sheen/softness.


it's kinda impossible to leave SAFF without something from miss babs. although i knitted mom a leftie with a kit she picked out last year, this year she announced (before SAFF) she wanted a hitchhiker in black. WTF?

i at least talked her out of the black, and she chose this pretty yummy 2ply in "berlin" (on left). for myself, i chose a different yarn base (hot shot) to knit myself some socks in miss bab's 2015 SAFF colorway.


now, this is the fun stuff! neon yarns made by wild hare fiber studio!!!

the center skein (colorway 'halloweenie') is mine, the left for mom (in 'neon lights'), and on the right is 'jedi masters' for a friend. i wound up mine this morning  --- me first!

these will all end up being socks .... at least one pair will be knitted toe up to use up as much as possible the 460 yards.


see how much fun?!

i didn't visit the barns with animals, and left my animal encounters up to chance. there was a booth in the main building that had german angora rabbits.


these guys are big! but then again, it's all the angora fur. the rabbit in the top photo was sitting through a trim. the woman said she trims her rabbits about 4 times a year.

outside, we ran across a man with a llama pulling a buggy.


heading home, we caught some more of the autumn colors ...




when we got home, we chilled for a bit and then started dinner. with full bellies, we settled in to catch up on zombies (yes, the walking dead). mom dvr's it and i catch up on visits. for the record, i don't think glenn is dead. they didn't show the zombies actually eating him ... just him screaming with someone's guts getting ripped out. and if you know something i don't know, don't spoil it for me ... i don't have cable so i only get to see episodes after the fact, often more than a month late.

here, there, and back in under 48 hours ... SAFF 2015

this was the weekend that i wait for all year long ... my birthday? no! SAFF weekend !!!

it's a blitz of a weekend ... work late the night before, drive 'home' a few hours, stay up late and head up the mountain the next morning. ♥ love it ♥

why do i love it so much? yarn-fest. and fiber-fest. and just fun. a day (mostly) i can spend with mom without any other distractions or responsibilities.

so, this is how it goes ... (phone convo) ....

me: don't make me late.
mom: i never make you late.
me: we HAVE to leave the house by ____ am (insert ridiculous morning hour here).
mom: i have responsibilities in the morning.
me: YOU'VE KNOWN ABOUT THIS SINCE LAST YEAR !

this is typical.

so the journey begins .......


it's dark! really? did i forget that from last year or did i demand to leave super-early?!

i think i demanded to leave as early as possible, expecting that some obstacle would come up and we'd roll into the venue later than i preferred.


mom really wants me to take pictures (that's my duty for not driving). but, i already drove 3 hours the night before, and she really doesn't want me to drive. although i have a camera in my bag, i take lazy iphone photos.


as the sun starts to rise, i get to see all the colors i missed the night before driving in darkness. it's autumn in the state.


and it's been overcast and rainy ... but stayed cloudy and dry while at SAFF.


and finally, after a greasy bojangles breakfast, we arrive!!! what a plain sign compared to years past ..... but, that is a GOOD thing!

i take a quick map/photo just in case we forget where we parked (entering through gate 7 and the venue spaces are different for us this year).

(we're the blue dot!)

this is where i hit 'fast forward', as i'm tired ..... and am ready to chill !!!

MY  LOOT !

whoops ... ready to go rest now ...... i'll post more later