Despite feeling rather sick this morning, I managed to drag myself over to the show. Amazing how effective the pain-killing side-effects of stash enhancement is.

My bargain purchase. I went looking for the Busy Bee shop last time I was in Bendigo and when I found the shop it was empty, having recently closed. But they were at the Expo selling off stock cheaply. I bought these:

Bargain Yarn: 8ply for socks for my Dad and ex-neighbour, and the pack of four is royal blue Perendale by Naturally, a New Zealand yarn I haven’t tried before that apparently felts well.

Treat Yarn: Handspun and dyed silk and wool in blues and purples and handspun and dyed mulberry silk in blues and greens with a thread of silver. The former is a present, the latter a treat for me. Both are deliciously soft.

An extra set of 2mm dpns for when I’m knitting two socks at once, adorably big wooden buttons, black shiny thread (only $1!) and my favourite purchase of the day, Colour: Making and Using Dyes and Pigments which is more a history book than a how-to and will be even more useful to me as an artist and a painting teacher than as a dyer.

I bumped into Peeve and Lynne and Kylie and Darrow and people that they knew and people who remembered me from the Fed Square KIP day last year. I probably mentioned that I’m going to the Australian Country Spinners shop next week a few too many times. I felt quite light-headed and couldn’t seem to stop myself.

I’m sure I wouldn’t have bought so much if I wasn’t feeling frustrated with the Jaywalkers socks. After having knit 2/3 of an ankle I discovered I couldn’t get the sock onto my feet. I’d tried it on after the heel was finished and it was fine. It’s the ankle/leg part that doesn’t stretch enough. Finding out I’d have to frog a whole lot of zig-zag again… I came very close to stuffing the darn socks in a bag and burying them somewhere. And with the way my back yard is at the moment, I have a whole lot of holes and pits and trenches to choose from.

To save my sanity I’m going to cast on some plain soothingly simple socks from the lovely yarns I’ve bought lately. The trouble is, I can’t decide which to start. The stripey yarn Lynne dyed? The Lisa Souza mohagany colourway? The Sunshine Yarns neopolitan? The Mega Boots Stretch from my Secret Pal?