Three, Two, ONE!

Three days and counting until the fiber event of the year! Sarah and I are leaving bright and early tomorrow morning on our road trip down to Baltimore. We both have family to visit, so the extra day will let us catch up with relatives before the fiber obsession kicks in.

My list for the festival this year is pretty short. Basically, I'm really wanting to just kick start my knitting engine again. After the tight deadline on the sample socks (which have been received by the designer to rave reviews!), it seems like all the desire is gone. I think I needed some time to re-fuel, but now I'm anxious to get back into it. The festival, and being surrounded by all my Maryland knit buddies should be a sure cure for the no-knitting blues. I do have a small list of things I'd like to look for.

Orange sock yarn for one. Me, lover of orange, and I don't have one pair of orange socks! I have knit one pair, but those reside with my cousin in Baltimore. I'd also love to find a nice, light, almost dusty blue sock yarn. This one I'm going to be picky about. I have the color in my head, and I will know when I see it. Spirit Trail Fiberworks is also on my list. I want to hit them earlier this year as last year when I got to the booth, there was only a few skeins of sock yarn left. Lucky for me, they had a beautiful skein of yarn that I ended up using for my Single Sock Swap pal. The yarn was really nice to knit with, and I'd like to get some more. Gypsy Girl Yarns is another vendor I'd like to re-visit. Unfortunately, they were housed with the Socks That Rock last year and it was a battle trying to get in to see it. I may just wait for the end of the day when the STR is gone, then go shop there. I used her yarns to make the heart crook socks, and they have worn wonderfully and are still nice and bright. Her colors are amazing!

The only other thing I may be hunting for is some sweater yarn. Not for me, but for hubby. Recently the Interweave Knits Summer 2008 preview was posted, and the Brick Pullover in this issue really appealed to me.

I sent the link along to hubby to see what he thought. His response? "How long before I can have it?". I'd say he liked it too. The gauge is a bit teeny (24 sts/4"), but we will see if the festival has any good offerings for yarn for this project. I'll need a bunch - around 2300 yds - so it has to be not the priciest stuff on earth. I have plenty of sweater yarn for me thanks to WEBS and my little trip there a few months back.

Mainly, I want to go to visit friends and family and re-discover my knitting. The weather right now isn't looking too promising - it's going to be hard to find anyone with hoods and umbrellas! I have hope though. The fiber gods wouldn't let it rain all weekend! I was thinking about wearing my wrap sweater, but with temps in the 70's, I think it will be a bit warm. Odds are, I'll be wearing my Cheese, Please! t-shirt so I will at least stand out a little and people can spot me. (and, give me cheese of course, if they so desire!) I also have a bright yellow jacket with a HUGE white paw print on the back. That will be my drizzle weather cover up. Please, if you see me, say hi!!!

Safe travels to everyone heading down to Maryland, and I'll have a big round up on Monday!