Sunday, September 26, 2004

Let the Good Times Roll

There are times when life is good, and there are times when life is a feast.

Yesterday, was a feast.

After great discussion, my husband and I decided to venture out and surprise the kids by taking them to The Big E.  This is the same event we had planned on going to on Wednesday but couldn't due to my son and I being so sick.  So when we woke the kids, we told them to dress quickly -- that we were taking them out to breakfast.

We never go out to breakfast, so the kids naturally got quite excited about this prospect and were game.  Of course they had no clue that our idea of "out to breakfast" was the drive-thru of Dunkin Donuts.  (lol)

A Dunkin Donuts and an hour and a half later, we arrived at The Big E -- the kids were naturally on to us once they noticed all the signs for the event posted everywhere.  Traffic was bad, but considering we were 4 of the 153,912 people that attended, we got there in record time.

Once we inside the gate, we went to the New England State Building where we said hello to Doris and Marci -- they're the one's responsible for this building's events.  They were happy to see us, and inquired about how my son and I were feeling.  "Better," I said, "but still taking things slow."  (We had the stroller just in case, an item we haven't used in a good year & a half.)

Marci told me how the "Happy Hookers" (my group's nick name derived from the name "The Happily Hooked on Crocheting Club") solicited a man, a woodcutter, into making crochet hooks for them.  She told me where he was located, and after taking some pictures of my groups items on display we were off to locate him.

We found him in the area known as the Craft Common.  His name is Rich -- and he's a charmer.  His wife is a dear, too.  He was happy we found him, and he showed me the hooks he had designed for one of our members.  The hooks are now in my possession ... lol ... for delivery, of course, but that still buys me time to drool over them!   Just check out the image of his hooks! 

As we walked around the fair some more, there were many crochet sightings ... from ladies wearing garments trimmed in crochet, to entire "blouses," and babies  lightly covered in crochet blankets, or shielded from the sun with.  But there were also many vendors selling "fashion scarves" and ponchos!  ...Many more sightings than last year, that's for sure!

One of the best crochet sightings was found in what is known as the "Grande" building.  The Grande building offered free arts & crafts for children, of which my kids just loved doing -- and as they did so, I wandered around a bit.  They had many crocheted items for sale, from afghans to hats, mittens, potholders & such.  And they also had items on display.  Apparently, they had their own ribbon contest, and two of the ribbon holders were MEN!  (is it a coincidence that I've been writing of men & fiber lately?)  Check out the images of their beautiful work!

Finally, in noneother than the Connecticut State building, I found a vendor called "Spinning A Dream" selling hand spun, hand dyed yarn.  I came home with one done in an array of purples called "Persian."  I plan to one day felt a little purse for my daughter.

The Fair ends on October 3rd.  So if you go, keep your eyes peeled and see what crochet sightings your eyes will feast upon!

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