Stash Enhancement at TKGA Show!

Yes folks, I did end up spending more than I had planned on at the TKGA Knit & Crochet Show on Saturday, but still had huge restraint! I could have done sooooooooo much more damage... ooh, SO much more! There was a stunning jacket kit that I absolutely adored, but alas the $200 price tag wasn't in my budget. Nor was the $62 skein of some unusual fiber (it wasn't yak but it was something in that unusual category). So I tried to not set my credit card ablaze be good and only purchase things that were out of the ordinary and not something I could readily pick up at my LYS. Here's what I came home with...

See all the unusual fibers there? HA HA - just kidding. That was the goody bag from Coats & Clark that the first 500 pre-registered attendees received. Its not bad and does include a nice skein of Moda Dea washable wool in what I think is a new shade! Now for the real stash...

I purchased 3 kits... one to make super soft (and from what I'm told, amazingly warm) silk mittens, one for a drawstring bag (knitted with beads - also from AffectionKnit but I couldn't find it on their site to link) and finally, an elegant scarf (also with beads). I tried to show you the gorgeous hand dyed yarns that came with these kits in this pic, but it does not do them justice. Also pictured are some Norwegian pewter buttons, a set of size 7 Fiddlesticks (oh my gosh - these needles are amazing... rosewood with coconut at the top and mother of pearl finish on the ends ... not only do they look great, they are fabulous to knit with as I cast on a dishcloth last night just to test them out!), some absolutely amazing (yet extremely affordable!) yarns from Habu and 2 books - One Skein Wonders and The Secret Language of Knitters. Yes, I do already own the One Skein book - and some of you may even know that it is one of my favorite books - but the editor, Judith Durant happened to be at one of the booths signing her book and well... well, if your are one of the people I get to spoil in my current swaps, you just might be getting my previous copy! HA HA. And guess what? In chatting with the lovely Judith, we found out that the second installment, 101 Designer One Skein Wonders is coming out this fall (and I've already pre-ordered my copy thru Amazon)!!! WOO HOO! Use the stash!!! Here are some more photos from the show...

Close up of the goods.... The gorgeous hand dyed from the AffectionKnit kits on the left, the buttons, needles & scarf kit on the right.




Signed books for the collection...



Mary Beth Temple ... we just sort of happened upon her signing her just-released book and what a hoot she is! If she happens to be near you signing, go check her out (and remind her she shouldn't sit in coffee when wearing a white skirt...)! She blogs too! I started reading the first few pages of the book and so far, 4 paws 2 thumbs up! Think of Mary along the lines of a Yarn Harlot type of comedy... knitting comedy if you will. I can't wait to read on in the book ... and and get this, she's a dog Mommy too!!! :-) I can't believe the number of fellow knitting (and crocheting) dog Mommies I'm meeting thru blogging lately - its amazing (and I'm not referring to "dog owners" - but true dog MOMS - and those of us who are know there is a big difference)!




Here I am with the lovely Judith (thankfully I found this nifty healing brush tool in Photoshop today that helped to remove some of the awful, awful bags under my eyes... boy were these pictures a horrible wake up call today... anyone got some good beauty cream tips/advice??)...

It was a wonderful day spent with friends and family! Sue came up from CT to go to the show with me (while Matt and his Dad worked on the dog's fence... woo hoo! They got a really great start on it too!)... again, loving that healing brush tool!

Sue is really into beautiful lace shawls and boy were there lots of gorgeous ones to drool over!

We bumped in to lots of other friends throughout the day, including Heather who was my enabler at the Habu booth. I really wasn't thinking of buying anything there until she came by and started raving about it... then I had to have a closer look and ended up with this...

The photo of the booth really doesn't do those amazing garmets justice, but hopefully it gives you an idea. The yarns... yummy, yummy yarns... I got 1 tiny (no joke its about the size of maybe half of the palm of my hand) skein of 100% cashmere (the green) and 2 skeins of the silk/mohair blend. These will mostly likely be for feather and fan scarves. The burgundy color cones to the left at 100% merino wool which will probably turn in to some lace shawl or wrap ... and the lilac color is the silk and stainless steel blend (also destined for a lacey shawl of sorts)! Yes folks, silk and stainless steel - how very cool and unique? Matt was even impressed!

We met this lovely sea lady while walking around...

Yes, a felted mermaid that is life size - very cool! Joanne said she was at The Knit-In at Loon Mountain, but I have to admit... I missed her there!

These were some of the garmets on display near the entrance...

It was an absolutely wonderful day (even if I did have some sore feet aftewards)... and I got to come home to a half-finished fence for the doggies. WOO HOO! I can't wait until its finally finished and ready for use, but we're much closer now. Matt's Dad even offered to come back up after their vacation next month to help some more (thank you Dad & Sue!!!). Maybe that means Sue and I will have to do a little yarn crawl that day... hee hee.

In doggy news, we picked up our newest houseguest, Bella, on Friday evening. What an absolute love bug and energetic pup! If you know dogs, you know that terriers are known for their energy... multiply that by oh, about 100 and you get Miss Bella! Yes folks, she's either in GO-GO-GO mode or she's crashed out completely... there's no in between with this little cutie pie. She immediately fit herself right in to our pack as soon as she came in and has been romping and wrestling with the big dogs non-stop. When she's not wrestling, she's chomping on a bone or playing with a squeaky or some other toy. She loves the marrow bones we have around, as well as the Orbee toys ... and the squeakies and the balls and the Bobos and the ropes... see a trend here? Yes, this lovebug just loves anything and everything ... and shows you nothing but love and affection in return! It looks like she already has an adopter ... and get this... its yet another Nicole who only lives about 10-15 minutes away! I'm going to be stopping by Nicole & Ryan's place tomorrow to do a home visit and then we'll proceed from there if they are interested in adopting. (I swear there is something ironic about me adopting out to fellow Nicole's - Dustee's mom is also a Nicole and only lives about 10 minutes way too!). So here's my dose of cuteness for you from the first few days of Bella in our lives...

She's always smiling...

Two peas in a pod... or Daddy's lap anyway!

She loved Bobo so much she chewed his ear right off ... oops!

Hanging with her foster brothers & sister...

Of course I have plenty more pics, but I'll save some for later... plus this post is getting kind of long... are ya still with me? Huh people??? Still out there???