It's The Most Wonderful Time of The Year!

And, unlike the song, I'm not referring to Christmas (as much as I love that holiday).

No, my dears, it's that time of the year when fiber festivals are happening - and I happened upon one. OK, I must admit it wasn't as happenstance as that sounds. It wasn't a case of - Gee, I was in my car, just driving as one does in a car, and after a few hours I realized I was in Illinois and then - WOW, I saw this sign for a fiber fair!

Exchanging the chance to sleep in on a Saturday morning for the opportunity to be overcome and addled by yarn fumes, I headed to Crystal Lake, IL to meet up with Sue B at the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair. We spent a wonderful afternoon shopping, eating food with very little actual nutritional content, knitting, and gabbing. (I know, perfect day, right?)






In addition to vendors, they have exhibits



and also offer classes.

Oh, there was some wonderful fiber there...

Want to see for yourself? Here are some of my favorite vendors there: Knitting Notions, Briar Rose Fibers, and Brooks Farm Yarn.

The community college where the fair is held has an interesting way of keeping students informed. This was in the bathroom stall.



As I was traveling to the fair, I kept seeing what I thought were roadside memorials. (And kept thinking to myself I'd better be extremely cautious because these appeared to be very dangerous highways and intersections - I've never seen so many roadside memorials.)



I didn't realize until driving home what they were -

real estate advertising. Yeah - obviously I hadn't had enough Diet Coke at that point of the morning to get my brain fully working.

What?

You want to know what yarn just happened to fall into my bag and come home with me?

You'll have to check back - I can't put everything into one post.

And That's The Way It Is

And so we say goodbye to America's most trusted man.

Ave atque vale, Walter Cronkite.

Payback's a Bitch

Back on Sunday evening, I wrote about how I realized my parents are officially "old." Well, like the title of this post says...

Today I stopped at a national chain drug store to buy a pair of cheap reading glasses to wear with my contact lenses. I can see things clearly in the distance with my contacts, especially when driving a car, but reading documents, papers, and looking at my computer screen - not so much.

For the past few days, I've been putting the contacts in, taking them out when I get to the office and wearing my glasses to do work, putting my contacts back in before driving the car. The only drawback was that it got a bit cumbersome as I am often in and out of my office and car numerous times per work day. Last night I tried driving with my glasses - bad idea - I couldn't read signs that less than a block away. Someone suggested buying a cheap pair of reading glasses until I can get to my eye doctor at the end of this month. So far, the reading glasses are working - I just can't scan my desk quickly or abruptly turn my head without getting a tad nauseated.

I'm not looking forward to my eye appointment at the end of the month because I know what I have to look forward to...Bifocals!

We all know what's coming next.

I wonder what tomorrow's weather forecast is for Prague.

Quote of the Day

I view Jesus the way I view Elvis. Love the guy but some of the fan clubs freak me out.
- John Fugelsang

Round Up

Food
Shall we start with food rather than fiber?

I threw together some ingredients and came up with this -

which is pesto, pasta, spinach, and pine nuts. Delicious warm or cold and, better yet, ready in 15 minutes.

Recharging
I spent the weekend with my folks.

While it was a relaxing time and fun to be with them, I was struck by the unpleasant realization they are officially "old" because the two most popular channels on their TV are The Weather Channel and Fox "News." Maybe I need to order this T-shirt and start wearing it when visiting them.

Fiber - just not what you were expecting
While there, I took pictures of the cross stitch items I've made for my parents. These were made on 28 - 36 count linen. As always, click to enlarge to see the detail.

This one was relatively simple to stitch, with the exception of the gold thread, which was stiff and had a tendency to break.


This is my favorite - and looks so simple but actually had well over 50 colors of thread in it. The trees alone had about 10 different shades of thread in them.


A close up.


This is my favorite. It took me the three years I was in graduate school to complete. It is one of my father's favorite bible passages.


Proof that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree (ha!)

I've mentioned before that my mother is an extremely talented quilter. She made this one a number of years ago. This is her own design. The size is at least 6 feet by 8 feet and this hangs in their church's narthex.


She has two more designs in her head. I know. Frighteningly talented, isn't she.

Knitting
The baby blanket continues. I believe I've only got three more repeats of the design. (No photos as it's probably as exciting as watching paint dry.) DH and I moved the furniture in the dining room so that I have floor space in order to block a number of projects. Maybe by the end of the week? If not, we've got friends coming for dinner on Sunday, so I'll have to put our table back temporarily for the weekend.

I'm looking forward to this coming weekend as Friday night and all day Saturday will be devoted to knitting and fiber accumulation. OK, it won't all be for me - mostly for my lucky Spoilees from the swaps I'm involved in.

Will I revert to childhood - one for you, one for me...?