Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival

On Saturday, my mom, my daughter, and I went to the Hoosier Hills Fiber Festival. I have been almost every year for over a decade now (including one time when I went just a couple of days after having a C-section, and the memorable time last year when I forgot about it and ended up there 30 minutes before close on the last day). 

Rarely have I ever gone in with such a strong plan of what I would like to purchase. I went through patterns in my Ravelry queue, wrote down weights and yardages, and even got that piece of paper into the car with me (which does not always happen). I wanted to make sure that I was set up for success to follow my rule to only buy yarn for specific projects. Too often, I buy something because it's pretty, only to discover later that I can't find the right project for it or I didn't buy enough to make the pattern I like. This has historically been a big problem for me, and a whole lot of yarn has been decluttered from my house because of it. 

So, with my laser focus, we headed out. 

Now I won't lie - a huge part of the reason I love to go to Hoosier Hills is because I know some of the vendors and organizers. :-)  It's a lovely bonus to get to buy yarn and catch up with friends at the same time. Despite definitely being biased, I really felt the vendors this year were fantastic! I bought a lot, but could have easily bought more. 

The first item checked off my list was yarn for a dinosaur hat for my daughter (the blue and purple skeins at the bottom). She is currently torn between this one and this one, both by Inger Berg. It doesn't matter which one she chooses, because we have yarn that will work for either. In fact, if I end up with leftovers, she may end up with both of them! I am a little worried there might not be enough contrast between these two colors, but she is insistent this will work just fine and that these are the only two colors she wants. She was so pumped to find the urth yarn (purple) because it is actually dyed using blueberries. She has pretended for years that she is from the past and makes her own clothes that she dyes with different kinds of berries, so it was sort of a must that we purchase this one. I have to say, though, that I pulled it out to wind it and it looks like a hot mess. I am not looking forward to untangling it.

I also wanted some replacement double points for my bamboo size 1 and size 1.5 needles. I have warped the size 1s with my intense grip (ha!), and snapped the end off of one of the 1.5 needles. So these were definitely necessary. I still have a lot of gnomes to make that will need these! 

And that's it - that's all I bought that was on my list. I also had 3 (kid) sweater quantities on my list that didn’t get purchased. Whomp whomp. 

Never fear though, because there are plans for the other things in that picture. 

The first item on my list to make is a plain vanilla garter stitch scarf for my daughter. She fell absolutely head over heels for this Pan Fran Knit CO yarn in Rainbowland. And who can blame her? It has sparkles, it has rainbows, and it has the most gorgeous shade of aqua in between. Though plain garter stitch is boring as all get out to knit, this gorgeous yarn makes up for it. It feels fabulous and I love to stop and admire the colors! I've been making some steady progress on this one. 

At the same yarn truck, I fell in love with that pink/blue sock combo on the right from Stitch Stuff Yarn. I saw it from across the parking lot and I swear it was love at first sight. It called to me. But it was not on my list. I did not even have a project I could make up on the spot that would require it. And then I decided I didn't care. EEK! I am so bad at breaking my own rules. But no regrets. If I had to guess, it will probably become a hat for me with a contrasting brim and pom pom. I can knit socks, and have made a lot of them, but don't enjoy wearing them because I don't like feeling the bumps on the bottom of my feet. Weird, but true. So... probably a hat, but maybe fingerless mitts if I get crazy. 

Later, we happened upon those mini skeins on the left by Created 4 U by Laura. I mentioned mini skeins are perfect for gnomes, and the next thing I know, my daughter is sticking these two in my hand. I'm looking forward to seeing what my gnome ends up like - I may go rogue and do my own pattern. I do have some ideas, and I'm excited about them! Then we turned around and saw the kits for the Boneyard Sweethearts Hat. Halloween is my daughter's favorite holiday, and I have been looking for the perfect Halloween hat pattern for her for some time. She saw this one and adored the version that included the little ghosties. They kindly let us switch out to some different colors (hence the purple and yellow), and I can't wait to see how this turns out. I wish I had bought more mini skeins to make myself one! 

We also ended up with a beautiful blue sparkly yarn from my dear friend Heather of BaH Yarns (the one with the rainbow sheep tag). They mostly do the most amazing self-striping yarn, but my daughter was smitten with this color. No solid plans on this one yet either, but I'm sure it will be used! She already has hats I have made her from Who's Shirt and Who's Socks that she absolutely loves to wear, 

My daughter told me this should give me knitting projects for a whole year, and I think she's right. I'm sure my knitting for fun time will be limited while I pursue writing my own patterns and growing my business. But I love all of these items so much and can't wait to work with all this gorgeous yarn!

So there we are. I broke some of my own rules, but think it will all still get good use. There are times when I buy more than you would expect a minimalist to, but I also appreciate the opportunity to buy from small businesses face-to-face at a local place, especially when I know it will be put to good use. And this weekend, I was destined to fall in love across a parking lot after all.