I went to Greencastle and all I got was this. . .

hunk of woolly stuff and a drop spindle. That's not exactly true, but it's better than that whole t-shirt reference.

I have been absent from blogging for a little while, but not because I have been caught under a large, heavy piece of furniture, choking on butter cookies or involved in some sort of highly confidential police sting operation.

In reality, I ventured to Illinois to meet up with Needlefingers and Jenny from the Blog for a little trip to Greencastle, IN to attend the Fiber Festival there. And the party began when I drove up on Thursday night to stay with Pilot and Needlefingers. (Thanks for dinner guys!)

In transit north for the meet-up, I was able to make a stop or two along the way and found myself with yarn well before the festival was even in view. At one break in my drive, I ended up with enough stuff to make a Paton's sweater. Another stop yielded some Trekking in 126 (aka Brach's candy yarn) that I have been stalking for some time, but feared I'd never find. I addition, I picked up a few balls of Regia wool and some Online that caught my eye. (Note that this is all sock yarn, a theme that would continue throughout the weekend, good, bad or ugly.)

Before hitting the Pilot/Needlefingers homestead, we made a stop at Needles' LYS, where I became the proud owner of some blue Pace wool sock yarn and tiny, tiny double pointed needles. (Note the trend.)

On Friday, after joining up with Jenny from the Blog, we headed out bright and early, stopped by the Olive Garden and Starbucks for sustenance and then trekked to the Fiber Festival. Fortunately, the weather cooperated as we made our way from building to building, outdoor vendor to outdoor vendor. We spied all sorts of goodies, and with some restraint, decided to make our rounds before making any large purchasing decisions. . . that was until we spotted the Trading Post, where we dumped out bins of Fleece Artist merino and sea wool, wallowed in it, refusing to leave, even after security was called. (In reality we very politely handled each skein, oohing as we raised them above our heads in homage.) I scored a skein of each (one in red, one in green, destined to be some pretty lacy socks, in keeping with said trend).

We made our way through the booths, touching each and every item in each and every one. And thanks to some careful planning, we met up with fellow knitter and blogger, Knitterbunny and pal, who joined in our searching and scouring. We perused, we petted bunnies and a blind goat, we found lots of good stuff including a too-cute vintage fabric project bag, an even cuter yarn-oriented charm and a good start on my very own Elizabeth Zimmerman book collection, Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in Loden, pretty green alpaca mittens and some Fiesta extrafine superwash merino in Wild Oak.

Having felt the gentle tug of want of a drop spindle, I convinced Jenny from the Blog to join me in searching for an inexpensive version (one that wouldn't be too large a commitment, but would give us an opportunity to test our skill at such a thing.) That lead to a big hunk o' roving.

Our little gaggle of knitters opted for pizza for dinner. We required the use of a luggage dolly to transport all of our haul into the hotel, where we proceeded to spread it all over the bed to admire it.

Then it was time to put that drop spindle and roving to work. Having a master spinner in our midst, we took full advantage. Jenny picked up the technique immediately while I, much like the time I first put on ice skates, took a while to remotely get the hang of it. However, we did make yarn. . . we did create yarn where there was fluff.

We then rested in anticipation of the Sock Madness pattern being dropped the next morning. Our favorite sock knitter and leader, Needlefingers, has been annihilating the competition with her enviable skills. Feeling the need to support our leader in any way possible, Jenny and I joined together to form Team Needlefingers, there to support our candidate at any cost.

The next morning we stalked the Internet, awaiting the pattern. Once we had it in hand (or in PDA to be precise) Needlefingers commenced to knitting and we commenced to packing up. Cold rain and temperatures meant that our last run at the festival would be short and purposeful. I found yarn for my Secret Pal 10 recipient.

Cold and wet, we were ready to head back. After lunch at the OG and a few hours of driving later we were back in the state of Illinois, where I parted from my pack o' knitters and headed home, where my beloved Cynical awaited.

I have wasted away my Sunday with laundry, yarn photography, White Castle eating and open house going. And it's time to start yet another work week. Maybe I should wear my pretty green alpaca mittens, that's sure to cheer me as I approach Friday.

Warm sunlight this afternoon allowed me to photograph the test drop spindle and roving I nabbed at the Fiber Festival.