What I did buy at the Yarn Festival.

Yup, you need to be channelling Morwenna Banks to read that title.

Now as I have confessed in the past I have a lot of wool so the concept of needing more of it doesn't really have a writ to run in this house, but there again I was going to the Yarn Festival which as mentioned yesterday is really just a huge yarn market. I'd said to the other half ages ago, There really is no way I'll go to this thing and not buy wool, is there? and he said 'No of course not. So set a budget and decide that you won't feel guilty'. [I moan, because he does man stuff like leaving open doors and interrupting me when I'm in the middle of something, and puts empty packets and bottles back in the fridge, but he's wonderful  really] 

This sounded like good advice, so I set a budget. I also made a list of stuff to buy, most of which was needles because I needed some new circulars, or rather I needed more circulars for some knitting I had planned for over the next couple of months and I've also decided to replace all my old plastic Aero and Pony needles with much nicer Knot-Pro wooden ones - gradually, because wooden Knit-Pro needles are not cheap, but worth it. There were a couple of other tool type things on there, and some yarn. Yarn that I had plans for and which I hoped would keep me safe  from the temptations of random skeins of sock yarn. In fact my friend was primed with the instruction to remind me, lest I show signs of succumbing, that I do not need any more sock yarn. Which I have to say she managed beautifully, and it's not her fault that some stall holder undermined the whole warning concept by pointing out that her yarn was not 'sock yarn' but 'sock weight yarn'.

 

I'm pleased to report that I came away very much under budget, hugely helped by the fact that there was no-one selling Knit-Pro straight needles, or any of the circulars I wanted, or 5-ply Gansey yarn, or F & B Ring-O markers in the size I wanted for myself and my sister, or the Drops Karisma I needed to make the Christmas socks for the OH again only  this time in a size that would fit.

 

So what I came away with were these

 

 

This was on the list and it's boring looking I know and I bought two skeins of it. They are both for socks; one pair for me using a two colour pattern I have used before for the OH and which I plan to combine with some left overs in a rather nice raspberry colour, and the other for a standard pair of socks for the OH using up some mini-skeins I was gifted to put in a contrast toe and heel.  

 

 

This was on the list too. It's from John Arbon Textiles and I hope it knits up nicely because I had to stand in a long queue to pay for it as they only had one card machine and it kept losing its signal. This is not meant as a criticism of John Arbon  particularly. The Orkney Archaeology Society has had cause to look at getting a card machine in the past and the amount the banks charge for them is absurdly high. I really felt for the people staffing the stand as they tried to cope with an ever lengthening queue and what appeared to be an ever weakening signal. They also offered me a free shade card for their 4 ply and DK as compensation for the wait which they didn't have to do and that did actually arrive the other day so that was nice. Anyway I bought a sweater's worth of this because my go-to DK sweater is starting to fray at the cuffs. I made it not long after we came to Orkney and we've been here coming up for 12 years so it doesn't owe me anything, but I'd be pleased if it could grant me the time to knit its replacement.

 

This one was sort of on the list. It's from a company called The Fibre Company and what was actually on the list was to look at their new yarn called Luma which I found and in the event didn't like very much. But then I saw this, which is called The Road to China Light. Many years ago I wanted to knit a hat in this yarn but you could only get it in America. A friend there kindly  sent me a skein but it then transpired that you needed two skeins for the hat and I didn't have the heart to ask her to go to all the trouble of getting me another skein. So imagine my delight when I saw the company were still doing the yarn and still in the same colours. This is blue tourmaline and now I can finally knit that hat. If I can find the pattern.

 

 

This was only on the list in the sense that had I known there would be any there I would have put it on  .... which is a roundabout way of saying it's a mixture of camel hair and silk which I've wanted to try kitting with for a very long time. A local craft co-op sells very lovely jumpers which include camel hair and silk yarn and they're so soft you wouldn't believe. I'm not even going to say this yarn is  not cheap, I'm just going to come right out and say it's expensive, but probably worth it. I have no idea if I will ever find a pattern worthy of it, but it doesn't matter because when I am miserable or stressed I can always just get it out and stroke it to make me feel better.

 

No this wasn't on the list, and yes it's sock (weight) yarn and no I didn't need it, but I couldn't bear to think of anyone else buying it and taking it home. So I saved it by buying it and bringing it home with me!

 

Enough with the yarn. Tomorrow a flying trip to Leeds. Not literally. Described. Here. On the blog.