My Last Fall Fiber Expo With Linda!

Can you see the tear drops on the page?  It's taken me a while to buck up and write about my last Fall Fiber Expo with Linda.  She's says it's not the last that she'll come back for the Fall Fiber Expo but I'm preparing myself just in case.  Even though it was the last, it was the best.  We had a ball!

This is Humphrey, an 18 year old camel.  He was very social and liked to get his picture taken.  By looking at Humphrey you would never know that. . . 

Camel hair produces one the softest, most luxurious, yummiest yarns you'll ever touch.  If you've never knit with camel, you really must.  Some day when I complete "The Most Luxurious Yarns I've Ever Knit With" post I will compare camel, qivit, cashmere and all of the other exquisite animal fibers.  One of the things I've learned, "Everything feels better with a touch silk in it."

Right next door to Humphrey was my favorite LYS Spun.  It's always great to see Peter and Carol.  I wanted to start the day off right so I bought 2 knitting books I have been searching for.  On to the hunt for beautiful yarn.

I took my Jan Bag along preparing myself for many purchases.  Though I must admit, I went into Fall Fiber Expo 2016 feeling I pretty much had everything I could possibly want as far as fiber is concerned.  But you can guess "The Rest Of The Story."  This is the bag I use as a carry-on when flying because it expands indefinitely.  It seems to be a magic bag that you can fill with more and more.  Every time you unpack it you think, "How did I ever get all of that in there?"  

Linda and I were prepared for a great day of fiber and friendship.  We went on Sunday because Linda had a garage sale to get rid of stuff before the move. (Which is just about a month away!) As we walked around, I asked people how business was.  They all said Saturday was slow.  Well, of course!  It was a Michigan home football game.  Nobody goes into Ann Arbor on home football game day!  The Fall Fiber Expo was in the fair grounds just north of Saline not quite to Ann Arbor.  In addition, some of the 110,000 people who went to the game might have gone to the Fall Fiber Expo.  The dates for the 2017 Fall Fiber Expo have been announced.  Keep your fingers crossed that the Wolverines play out of state.  That way all of the vendors will sell lots and lots. (or I could just come and make up for everybody who's at the game.)

Right after Humphrey came the adorable bunnies.  I am a sucker for a baby bunny.  Then I saw this gorgeous girl.

After taking this picture I said, "Wait! Did you used to have long hair?"  She said "yes" and I found this.

Time marches on!  A cute girl has turned into a beautiful young woman!  This is the bunny I wanted to get for my sister one Christmas but her husband said "no."  Boo! Hiss!  Well, at least I asked first rather than just getting it.  Now on to the yarn!

Is this me, or what?!?!?!?!

I discovered a couple new vendors and visited several old friends.

There was Kellie from Knitting On The Fringe.  Kellie used to have a LYS but a couple of years ago she went to totally online and shows.  She is doing well and I think there is much less stress.

Just as I always found something at Knitting On The Fringe LYS, I always find something at Knitting On The Fringe Fiber Expo.  Kellie does the best job of finding unusual pattern then kitting them with the perfect, exquisite Yarn.  

I purchased my first Freia Ombre yarn from Knitting On The Fringe so I felt I really should buy this adorable kit.  Kellie made a unique change in the pattern using YO which makes this shawl even cuter.

​On to more discoveries!

Next came a a new discovery Knitter's Journey.  The fiber was yummy and the patterns were adorable.  I could not get away from here without a purchase.  Oh, by the way, that's Linda in the blue.

These were two adorable hats.  I want to tackle them sometime but for now, they go into the queue.  Then I saw this. . . 

This is an Interlacement yarn.  It is sparkley and beautiful.  I saw my first Interlacement at the marvelous Mary Hoffman's Yarn Quest in Traverse  City.  I got sad for a minute thinking about Mary, Yarn Quest and all of the fiber I will not be discovering and buying there.  I bought this from Knitter's Journey in honor of Mary.  I feel that I have discovered a new, regular stop at Fall Fiber Expo.  I'll have to go online and see what else I can learn about this great little shop.

Here are the adorable alpacas.  They just look so cute, friendly and inquisitive.  Oh, WOW!  Just look at that amazing sweater behind the alpacas!  I never even saw it when we were there.  I feel like a detective who just discovered a clue in a photo.  

Speaking of alpaca.  This is my amazing purchase from Why Knot Fiber.  It is so yummy.  I thought I knew exactly what I was going to do with it when I bought it, only to find a more appropriate (notice I didn't say better) yarn.  I entered the Why Knot Fiber booth and said, "You probably don't remember me but I was at the Spring Fiber Expo and bought. . "  "You bought the rainbow of Starlit yarn," said the delightful woman behind the cash box.  "We were just talking about you last night hoping you would come in and show us what you made."  Luckily, I'd brought my project to show them.  It will be its own post.  On July 1, I assigned colors to temperature ranges.  Each day until December 31, I will knit two rows of the high temperature and two rows of the low temperature.  It was inspired by my Knit The Sky project.  Why Knot Fiber was amazed.  They want me to send a picture when it is done.  It is pretty neat, if I do say so myself.  

Here is our wool.  Looks like this guy has been rolling in the hay.  Is that why sometimes I get wool skeins which have little pieces of hay/straw in them ??????

Fall Fiber Expo wouldn't be complete without a stop at Twisted Fiber Art.  That's Annie, mother to Meg and grandmother to Hazel.  Since The Stash Studio could easily be called Twisted Fiber Art South, I didn't buy any this time.  That might be because I'd just received a delivery from TFA and had already bought  my heart's desire from them.  Their booth is so fabulous. Every colorway is knit so you can see what it looks like on the needles and every fiber is knitted so you can feel the yumminess.  

Linda and I stopped to say "goodbye" to Humphrey on our way out.  What a great day.  We went out to lunch at Salt one of our favorites and probably another last time event.  As the time gets closer my mood becomes more melancholy.  But for now, this was a fabulous day of lasts.