Fun at the fair!

Yesterday my daughter Alison and I took a field trip to the Lake Country Harvest Art Fair in Hartland, WI. It was an absolutely beautiful day to attend the fair! We started out with the intention of visiting the booths in order, but when I saw Booth #18, I had to scoot on over to meet Marilee Rockley (a.k.a. Yarnplayer)! It was like meeting up with a friend I hadn't seen in years! Alison took our picture, which I hope to see on Marilee's blog (we forgot to take one with Alison's camera). It was so exciting for me to meet Marilee and see her pieces in person. "Oxidation" is fabulous! Marilee's latest piece, "Choker with Rock" is stunning! I controlled myself, though. I bought a necklace for Alison, which I forgot to photograph. The green necklace is for Andrea... her favorite color! The golden necklace is for Joanne, my fashionista. The bookmark is for Carol, who doesn't wear much jewelry but is a voracious reader of history books. Of course I had to buy some thread for myself! I previously purchased both of these colors in size 20, but decided I just had to have them in size 80! Marilee also had some beautiful woven pieces. She shared the booth with a friend who does inkle weaving and basket weaving... I just had to have one of her bookmarks!

There were mainy talented people with booths at this art fair. Alison and I found some fabulous "swittens"... mittens made out of recycled, felted wool sweaters by the ladies of the Oconomowoc Chapter of Friendship Bridge. I had never seen or heard of mittens made this way. I was really surprised when I did some research on the Internet last night and found that people have been making them for several years. In fact the site for the Dear America series of children's books had information about this type of mitten being made for soldiers during the Civil War! I think I suffer from tunnel vision when it comes to any kind of fiber art. Obviously there is much history to explore with any aspect of needlework! I don't care for cooking much, although I really enjoy good food! So, I purchased their cookbook as well... I love to READ cookbooks! : )

Tiny Bubbles had wonderful soaps, lotions, and lip balm. My lips were very dry, so I just had to buy some lip balm. I loved the soap dish, and it was very reasonably priced. Of course I had to have a bar of soap for the dish!

Another vendor had eye pillows and wheat & heat comfort packs. The eye pillow is filled with a blend of flax, lavender, and chamomile. They're wonderfully soothing when I have a migraine or sinus headache! The wheat & heat comfort pack will be great for when my shoulders hurt from too much knitting/crocheting/tatting/sewing/computing! I really liked these pillows because the covers are removable for washing... my old, well-loved, well-used pillows need new covers. Now I know what to do! Of course, I should have been able to figure out that new covers would spruce them up without buying new ones, but...

We finished off the day with ice cream, and an all-too-short visit with the grandchildren. I needed a day of mental relaxation, and this one fit the bill! I even stayed within my spending budget for the day! I hope all my tatting friends out there had a wonderful, relaxing weekend as well!

P.S. - I just checked Marilee's blog... there we are!