after the show!

I think most people have different ways of thinking about time: the 4 seasons, before and after christmas, before and after their birthdays or certain important events - for me it has been before and after "Dublin" for the last 10 or 11 years. with good reason - we've been going to Dublin once a year to visit the knitting & stitching show in Dublin at the end of october or beginning of november ever since I came to ireland. this is probably very different for people, who live in areas where they can visit shops and fairs all the time - I know it was different for me when I was still living in germany! but over here in the west of ireland shops and fairs or shows for textiles of any kind are few and far between, so it's a pretty major event for me!

so, after our failure to find a taxi for thursday - we tried again for saturday! would you believe it? same story, no driver free.... what annoys me is that they don't tell you the truth! the train passes the house of one of the drivers, who told us he would have no time because he had to be elsewhere.... wonder how he got there, because his taxi was standing right there in the driveway:(( well, anyway - we did go! it was freezing cold in the morning but on the bright side - we had a lovely sunrise, surrounded by the quiet countryside and dozing cows in the fields that were white with frost!

and the show was much nicer than during the last few years! less stalls with stuff nobody needs - and more goodies for crafters on offer! more materials and several different lovely exhibitions. I went across it once just to check out what's on offer (sometimes before the show I dream that I can actually buy whatever I fancy without thinking of money:)) and where to spend my money best. then off to meet some people I know from the Irish Guild - and then back to the stalls to get what I like best! this time there were several things for spinners (well, actually, most of it was on stalls about felting:)), so I got a few small bags to keep me busy.

the brown fibre is BFL - Bluefaced Leicester, so soft! the grey looking ball is BFL too, called "Humbug", but it's not grey, it's a blend of natural white and brown. behind this, on the right side, the shiny looking white is Corriedale - and the large roll in the back is the highlight, a blend of 80/20 fine merino and possum. couldn't resist it, even though it was rather pricey... I will use it for myself this time, I see before my inner eye a long tabard-like vest, open on the lower sides or maybe open in the middle, with frog or chinese knot closures... and knitted from side to side. I don't know where that came from - but I've been meaning to make something like that for quite some time!

I bought some other stuff of course, but not as many books this time. only one, about "crazy wool", garments and bags etc. made from yarns that are mounted and sewn onto dissolvable bases of different kinds. I bought the latest "yarnforward" - not available as single issues over here. I had heard that it supposedly caters for the more experienced knitters and it contained some nice patterns, particularly one nice fair-isle together with a detailed article about "cutting steeks". I must say that it is a big improvement on the other british knitting magazines - though from seeing this single issue I'd still prefer the interweave knits mag.

the rest are canvas, scrim, aida and evenweave - I forgot to put the angelina fibres I bought into the photo and didn't put in the small stuff either - some beads, wire, a guild calender etc... unfortunately the "stranded cotton company" wasn't on the show after all (or at least I didn't find it, the map showed it but when I went to that stall, there was someone else there), but then I can order embroidery threads easily enough. the stall with injabulo buttons wasn't there either this time, even though one yarn supplier offered a few of them - but not those I wanted.

all in all I think it was worth going - even though we had to walk back from the station in the dark (I don't like driving the bike at night as I am blinded by every car coming towards me and get so panicky that I'd probably have broken a leg or something just through fright:(() and everyone was glad to have it over for another year:)) now I am looking forward to working with my new stash additions..... oh yes, I forgot - I wanted to make a neck warmer, but somehow I didn't like the pattern worked in the round - so I undid at home what I had knitted on the train - so much for "choosing the right knitting":)) and of course "after the show" - is also before the show again:))