Sorry I missed y’all last weekend.
I was back in Illinois visiting family and attending my 20 year high school reunion.
It was fun, and exhausting, and I’m awfully glad to be taking the rest of the week off to catchup with things around here.
Would you believe, it just so happened that here was a really great fiber event going on the very same weekend of my visit? Right near where I was staying??
Indeed. The Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Festival, in Crystal Lake, IL.
So of course I stopped by.
There were inside vendors-
And outside vendors-
Fabulous humongous skeins of yarn-
Hitchhiker travel wheels (which I got to try out!)
Wonderful hooked items-
And I did bring home a couple of souvenirs-
Some glowing blonde mohair:
And Milk Protein Fiber! Because it was just so unusual (and beautiful):
And, I did manage to get a bit of travel knitting done!
Stashbuster Hat:
I really like how the Mountain Colors “Mountain Goat” yarn works with both the light and dark handspun. I forget the name of the colorway, as it’s been sitting for a while…they may not make that exact thing anymore.
And Sock:
Standard sock formula, with a little extra ribbing in the gusset, on tiny needles. Good for long plane rides. (and yes, it’s store-bought yarn. Didn’t plan far enough ahead on this one)
Ps. Boo Kitty came home last night. So far, so good!
Looks like a great festival. How was the Hitchhiker wheel to spin on?
The Hitchhiker was neat, but it takes a little getting used to. The treadle motion is a little different from “regular” wheels. It’s got more of a heel-toe thing going on.
Also, the flyer kind of “floats”on a hinged piece of wood (because of the way the friction drive works) so you get a little bit of back and forth motion, especially in the double treadle model. But it’s a really cool little machine. And I really like how everything mounts right on the base for travel. Another wheel with a similar drive concept is Doug Dodd’s Pocket Wheel. Have you ever seen one of those? http://gnoam.com/pocketwheels.html
I have seen pictures and reviews of the Pocket Wheel but he is not taking new orders. The Hitchhiker is so cute and portable but I was not sure what the foot motion would be like… If it is fatiguing. Thanks!