K is for... Knit Nation (of course!)

Yep, Knit Nation was on Saturday *grins* I hadn't been last year (having never picked up knitting needles or even considered such a thing) so I was pretty excited to go this time. I did try to take lots of pictures, but I got there first thing and it was pretty busy, so most of them came out like this:

I'm not very socially outgoing with people I don't know, so I wasn't very good at asking for photos, even though I'm sure no one would have minded. But I did get a few (blurry) shots as I was walking around.

A somewhat depleted selection of Wollmeise on the Loop stand. I met the lady responsible for Wollmeise outside just before the marketplace opened, she was lovely and was very flattered when I said I was looking forward to getting my hands on some of her yarn *smiles*

The Habu stand. I'd heard of Habu before and been intrigued, they make yarns combined with all sorts of strange things, including paper and steel... I loved the way the yarns were packaged, on cones or these little parcel-like bundles, and it was cool to see what it was like once knit. Not my cup of tea, but really interesting nonetheless.

A hanging display at the Juno Fibre Arts stand. The lady there was so nice, and very admiring of my Clapotis *grins* Incidentally, that wrap is really very warm - I was melting in the marketplace!

So, that brings us to the end of my usable pictures of the show... I know, I'm rubbish! But, I have got nice pictures of what I bought, which hopefully makes up for it *laughs*

I took a set amount of money and planned to only spend that. Amazingly, I did. I spent exactly what was in my purse and no more. Very proud ;) I also told myself that I did not need to buy skein after skein of sock yarn. As you saw from my post on Thursday, I already have plenty that I am excited about using, and I tend to get a little stressed if I have too much waiting for me! I wanted to have a look at some yarns that I have been coveting for ages, to see if they are as nice in the flesh as I was hoping, so I have a long list of things that I do want to buy once I have used some of what I already have.

So, I bought 1 skein of sock yarn that's intended for a shawl and not socks... Wollmeise ;)

I had to buy some, just to see what all the fuss is about. I was slightly wincing at the £20 price tag (hence why it definitely won't become socks!) but actually the skein is 150g rather than 100g, so it's better value than I first thought.

My second purchase of the day was a Blocking Kit from Brownberry Yarns. Perhaps buying it so early in the day was a mistake, I was lugging the tube around for the entire time, but never mind! I've wanted one for a while and it was a good price, so I'm happy.

After going to the Loop stand for the Wollmeise first, and passing the blocking kits and having to immediately get one, I decided to have a wander and look at lots of things before deciding what to buy.

I got this adorable "emergency yarn" keyring from Old Maiden Aunt. And fell in love with their beautiful colourways. It took a lot of willpower not to spend all my money on their sock yarn *laughs*

At The Bothered Owl, I purchased these cool stitch markers...

The Great British Yarns stand had lots of Knit Picks, which I'd seen were on their website. I've heard a lot of good things about Knit Picks, especially for such a reasonably priced brand, so I had a lot of fun squishing all the skeins *grins* Sharon, the lovely lady on the stall let me play with their sample book to see all the swatches, and I came away with this lace weight alpaca. I love the colour, and it is so, so soft. I resisted the sock yarn, but have made a mental note to get some in future. I'm a sucker for really soft yarns ;) I also picked up a skein of undyed sock yarn (I know, I know, but I promised the boyfriend he could have a go at kool aid dyeing!)

I popped upstairs to the salon to have a look at all of Ysolda's samples and had to buy Whimsical Little Knits 2 and get it signed. I didn't take Little Red with me for signing, as I really didn't want to have to lug it around all day!

At the Nimu Yarns stand I bought this beautiful shawl pin. I love it, it's so very me *grins*

This brought me to within £20 of my self-imposed spending limit when I spotted a bargain bin back at the Brownberry Yarns stand. As soon as I put my hand in, I was overwhelmed with soft squishiness. So I bought 6 skeins of this beautiful baby llama yarn. I love alpaca, so I figure llama makes perfect sense ;)

The skeins are quite short, so I shall have to plan what to make carefully. I love the colour. In fact, I was very drawn to a lot of the grey yarns I saw (especially on the Old Maiden Aunt stand). I steered well clear of everything orange, no matter how much it called to me!

So, that was Knit Nation for me. I had a really good time, and could have spent many, many times the amount of money I had set myself. Looking forward to next year already *laughs*