Fiber Art Fair

There is a first annual Midwest fiber and folk art fair in Crystal Lake, IL this weekend. There was a day and a half lace knitting class that I was tempted to take. But I did not have time off work to spare. I shall have to go tomorrow though and check out the vendors and see if there is something I can' t live without. I really shouldn't go because I don't need any more fiber. I have enough to last me the rest of my life. But I must support this venture because after all, we need more fiber fairs, right? Then next weekend is the felting symposium in Madison and my favorite fiber/felting diva Leslie Samson will be there. I am hoping to get a way for a day and hang with her. I might have to bring my new significant other to meet her if he will be OK with going to a felting symposium. He's a really good sport but I'm not sure how he'll feel about it. I will have to ask him tomorrow.

I have been carding up more lamb fiber with angora to spin and have a pretty good collection now. But I'm worried about starting spinning because I want it to be active singles when I ply it and when it sits around, it tends to set the twist in a bit. I really tried to spin it well and even respun the first bobbin before plying it. Still, it seems to be kind of thready. We'll see how it behaves when I do some swatching. I might just use the square Orenburg pattern because I own it and can start it NOW. I am feeling impatient to get going.

I love the bridal shawl though. I shall have to order a few patterns when I get a bit of extra cash. They are not cheap, but are so beautiful. I also want to get the Victorian Lace Today book. Everyone else is having fun with it and I loved the preview I saw of it in the magazine. Maybe tomorrow?

I also got clever and decided to decorate my own shirts to save some money. So I bought 3 t-shirts for $10 each and then went to the fabric store. Clever me. I spent $47 on lace, sequins and 3 patterns. But if I hadn't gotten the patterns, it might have been cheaper. Still, the whole adventure was expensive after all. But I have patterns to make more shirts. I need new clothing because of losing so much weight. It's a great problem to have. LOL