Dudes. The yarn.

Today I was scheduled for an all-day class about re-creating your favorite top in crochet. It was the only class I signed up for that actually involved making something, although it was still pretty heavy on the design. Anyway, I was looking forward to it, especially after having taken another class from the same instructor last night. Her name is Dora Ohrenstein, and she's the force behind Crochet Insider. She's very cool and friendly, and she told a lot of great stories. Also I've had a project brewing with that purple SWTC Bamboo for months now; I was hoping this class would help me get it together. Unfortunately, Dora was sick today, so our class was canceled.
I remember as a college student being thrilled whenever class was canceled, even if it was a class I liked. Well, not much has changed since then. As much as I was really looking forward to that class, I was thrilled to have a day off just to goof around (like I should have scheduled for myself but didn't). I arranged for a refund of today's class fees and embraced the day.
First of all, it was sunny for the first time since I got here, and I really like this town. I finally feel like I'm on vacation.


Better yet, the market was open for the first time today.


It's basically impossible to capture the total awesomeness of the market in one picture.


These cool ladies are knitting with enormous knitting needles. Some of their crazy huge projects are around them in their booth.
All in all, I made one lap around to get an idea of what was there. It was great to be able to get there right when they opened--everyone else was in class. Then I started picking up the best deals and the most irresistable yarns. I ended up with a really excessive but glorious collection.


I foresee packing difficulty, but how could I pass any of this up? I got the whole collection for less than $100 total. I feel like the queen of shopping. The yarns on the left are all Cherry Tree Hill in one form or another: some is Wool in the Woods yarn handpainted by Cherry Tree Hill, and the rest is Cherry Tree Hill mill ends, all gorgeous, all outrageously good deals from Discontinued Brand Name Yarn. On the right, clockwise from the Cherry Tree Hill, is three balls of Nashua Painted Forest (100% wool), a one-of-a-kind mixed yarn skein from ValKnitz, five balls of Gedifra Trendy Tweed, and a gorgeous skein of rayon, I believe hand-painted, from The Fiber Studio. I can't tell on my teeny screen whether the photo does it justice; maybe some close-ups tomorrow.
They had a lunch vendor in the market area, and there was a fashion show early in the afternoon. Between those things, shopping for yarn, and just observing booth design and traffic, I was there for four blissful hours. After that, I was too laden with yarn to walk to Ben & Jerry's, so I came back to the hotel. Now I may take a nap. (The hot tub is still broken--grr!) This is one of the best days ever.