Here's the thing I didn't get about Spa last year.
Last year I had been spinning only a few short months before I went to Spa. I heard people talking about how much they looked forward to it because it was in the cold dark days between fiber festival seasons. For me, it was my first spinning event and I was thrilled for the experience.
And then I went to MDSW and NHSW in the Spring, and Rhinebeck in the fall. Then nothing. For months.
Unless you're incredibly lucky and have ready access to a variety of fibers locally, fiber festivals are your best opportunities to see/buy fleeces and fiber in their many forms. Between October and May, you're bumming.
Unless you get to go to Spa. Or a Spa-like event.
There aren't that many vendors, but they have nice stuff; and better than the vendors is the comraderie, and being surrounded by like-minded lovers of the fluff.
I got it this year. Definitely.
As for purchases, I tried to be judicious. I tried to resist yarn and stick to fiber. My one exception:
Judy's beautifully dyed laceweight merino/silk. Just one skein, for something small, because I wanted to have her colors near me.
At Spunky Eclectic, some irresistable merino/silk in The New Black and Thunderstorm:
And from Indigo Moon Farm (soon to close), the last 3 oz of their light blue merino/alpaca/silk roving, which looks very like what Laurie got:
That's not all I walked away with, though.
Cheryl brought my prize for winning her contest, lovely alpaca/silk that I wonder if Scott can tolerate:
Something lacy for him, don't you think? (ha! as if.)
And some sock yarn I won as door prize:
I know, I'm shocked, too. I won two prizes? Within weeks? Two??? And one of them was a random drawing, too. Shocking. As next Saturday is Fabric Place's Spring Knitters Breakfast, I'm thinking either:
- My luck is changing, I'm sure to win something!
- I've used up all my good luck, it's another year of nothing!
Half full? Half empty? Only time will tell.