The Aftermath

Before I start on my purchases, I must relay a truly disgusting story. As soon as we entered the arena, we headed for the restrooms. It does not matter that we had already stopped twice before during the drive. It's morning. We are women. We drank coffee.

I head to the only open stall where there is a huge lake of water? on the floor. I shut the door, turned around, and Michelle (being a crab and always seeking water) falls to the floor when my fanny pack comes undone and then proceeds to land on Michelle to really soak it in. This is every horror story my mother warned me about.

It's not a total loss. I am in a bathroom, after all. I have soap and water and Catherine was prepared with Purell to slather on Michelle. Here she is taking a bath when we got home.......and just hanging around for the rest of the day.
This was the first of the two things I went to SAFF to purchase. It's VIP Fiber's Control Card. It's a yarn gauge PLUS if you want to spin a certain weight of yarn and know how many plies you want, it will tell you how thick to spin. I know this is all I need to now spin perfectly.

:-)

Perhaps this angelina will set off the fall coloured wool I dyed five or six years ago and entice me to spin it.... finally.
This is Politically Incorrect - One Night Stand Fiber Batts in the colourway "Winston". I see they sell on Etsy.
This is the only wool I purchased to spin. Even though it's only 4.1 oz., I know I can spin this fine enough and ply with a thread for lace weight. I can see this as a shawl or stole...maybe with some beads.

This is the one other item I went to SAFF for - the yarn bowl by Knit Witch.

I love the colour and the balls will be under control.
This was my final and unexpected purchase at the show, but I had to have them since I can not stop making and buying bags and totes. (see bottom) These are the straps for the multi-pocketed bag and wonderfully coloured leather leaves for embellishment on another bag as yet to be determined.

This bag was after the show at Earthfare in Knoxville. $25! Way cheaper than anyplace else I've seen. This will fit behind my seat and carry all those things I need but can't fit in my purse! Baby is protecting it.

I told you I can not resist a good tote.

SAFF

It's the first day of the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair and we are headed for Asheville, NC! We met at 5:30 and got to ride in Martha's Infinity. It's actually her husband's, but by association...hers for the trip. Marvelous car with all sorts of bells and whistles.Three hours later (four because we crossed a time zone), we are dropping off fleeces at Zeilinger's.
I've sent wool to Zeilinger's since I started spinning in Virginia ten years ago. They were located at the end of the vendor barn.
While the girls were busy, I got a sneak peak down the barn. This is side one.
This is side two. Every year there are more and more vendors.
Inside the arena. There are about four times the number of vendors from the first show I went to in 2002.
Martha, Peggy, and Catherine shopping at Delly's Delight Farm.
What a great cape!
Catherine is the only one tall enough to pull it off.
It's time for lunch!
Michelle met a dragon fly at The Sanguine Gryphon. They quickly became best buds.
At Politically Incorrect - Michelle had a fiber moment.
I appeased her by buying one (1) 4.1 ounce batt of scrumptious merino with a touch of glitz. Then she threw herself on the addi clicks but I held firm. We do not need another set of needles!
But we did find this bag we both liked and have to make. I bought black handles to make it with and the pattern is on the way. Now we must decide on the colours we want. They must match Michelle and not show dirt as we travel.
This was my last stop of the show. After a "short" drive to Knoxville, a good dinner at the Bonefish Grill, shopping at Earthfare for some good butter and Greek yogurt....we were on our way home. I day trip is so much better on the budget, especially when you already have everything you really need.

Tomorrow - an in depth discussion of purchases. :-)

Rangeley

We are back in the car...headed for Rangeley.We stop at a pond where I find something interesting to shoot. I wonder if it's edible.
This is a pond. Yes, a pond. There is something in Maine about it having to be at least 85 feet deep to be a lake. This "pond" is only 65 feet deep.


We get to Rangeley and it's time for lunch! I had the best blue-cheeseburger and french fries with gravy! Everything was good.
Not only is there a lot of hunting and fishing going on, but Rangeley is a big ski resort town. The ski season is bigger than their other seasons.

There's the border patrol. They found us. It's time to head back.
Click on this picture to make it bigger. It's Rangeley Lake. It sort of reminds me of Crater Lake. There are actually houses on that island.

So Tad spent a total of nine hours in a car with us. He's definitely a keeper.

Smalls Falls

Just this little sign on the side of the road told of this state park. Little did we know what awaited us.





Tad took the camera a went to the top of the falls. These are the pics he captured.

Going North

It seems odd to go north while we are already in Maine, but we went west and north - mid way up the state. Enjoy the pretty pictures.



We just got to the camp and are overlooking Porter Lake.
This is a view of the camp from the back. I spent so much time last year looking at the camp from the front while hooking the chair pad that I felt as if I had intimate knowledge of every bush and tree in the front. I had never seen the back side of the camp.
Bruce walking up the path from the camp. Porter Lake is behind him.
I took this at a high rate of speed. I'm lucky I caught this much. It says, "High Rate of Moose Crashes next 30 miles". I still did not see a moose.