Yesterday I went to the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair. It was a bit overwhelming to think about ahead of time, but not so bad once I made it there. This is pretty much what I bought. One of the yarns I only put one hank in the photo, but really I purchased two. I think if you click on the photo you can see the yarn in a more close-up way.
There really were so many yarns and other things to look at. I went armed with a list of projects I would like to make and the type and yardage of yarn I would need to make them. I didn't want to just buy yarn with no project in mind, since I already have way too much yarn in my stash.
Some places that I purchased from:
Happy Hands Yarn
Samantha in Stitches
Frontier Fiber Mill
Briar Rose Fibers
jwrayco
Whirlwind Ranch
I have a lot of scarves and a few hats and maybe a pair of mittens planned for this yarn. A lot of it will be for Christmas gifts, but some of it will be for me.
A word of caution for anyone who plans to go to such an event....if you can, just take cash with you. I say this because I had a completely embarrassing event that was really no fault of my own. I decided to use my debit card yesterday for exactly three purchases. Internet friends, I just got paid yesterday and my check is direct deposit, I have plenty of money in my account, I swear to you! Well, most of the booths have those little *chick, chick* machines...the old-school credit card carbon copier things. Anyway, they make the impression of your card and then later they HAND ENTER (sometimes via phone, I think) all of your information. Anyway, one of the places called me this morning and my debit card was denied! I am still mortified! I just gave them the debit card from my husband's account instead and that went through fine! I have no idea at all what happened! I checked my account and one of the other booths went through...and based on what they tell me my account balance vs. the available balance is I can tell that the other booth put through their debit, too....the only thing I can think of is that whatever system the second booth used put some sort of hold on my account! And it was only a $11 purchase...which caused my third purchase to be denied! Like I said, embarrassing! My husband said, "Honey, obviously, if you were some sort of bad character that was trying to pull a fast one, you would not have given them your real phone number...don't worry about it." I can't help it, and I'm sure you know what I mean. I will bring my budget in cash from now on, never fear!
ETA: The debit card mystery has been solved. Apparently, one of the vendors that I used my card to purchase from (NOT listed above, and NOT the one that called me) seemed suspicious to the company that monitors card activity....or maybe they had a complaint in the past...whatever. So, they shut my card down to protect me and allegedly called me with a courtesy call to let me know (they did not...or no message, anyway and I didn't speak to anyone). So finally on Monday, I called them and ended up deciding to close down the old debit card number and get a completely new one, just in case. I doubt there was anything wrong with the not-named vendor, but better safe than sorry. Plus, my old card was worn...it had no signature strip left on the back, so I just went for the new one. Of course, then there was other drama when I walked into my bank and they informed me that if I wanted to take cash out of my checking account I needed to have a check (I don't carry my checkbook with me.... do you?) to get money out...which I wouldn't have minded so much except that they then told me that would give me a temporary check and only charge me a $1 for it! I said, "No, thank you." When the manager said, "We can waive the fee for ONE TIME ONLY, " I said, "No thank you." I won't even mention the part about how when I said, "I don't carry my checkbook with me...." the manager somewhat snottily replied, "Well you're just going to have to start carrying your checkbook." Yeah, no.
If I seem a bit irritated, it's because I still am. I am still irritated to the point that I am considering changing banks which would be a hassle and a half! I bet I won't need that checkbook if I go in to close my account! Interestingly, my friend's husband went into their bank to get cash the other day and they gave him a "courtesy" check...no questions asked or comments made. End rant!
I can't wait to get started on my projects with my new yarn!
4 comments:
I love your new yarns! They look scrumptious. :)
That is so funny about the debit card experience. I had something almost exactly like that happen a couple of days ago because somehow my check (which was automatic deposit)in my Paypal account didn't post immediately like it usually does, and it crossed paths with a debit card purchase at apparently the same moment and denied my purchase at the register. I was like, "Huh? What?!?" And I ran home to figure it out, and the money was there but it just had a hiccup in the system or something. WEIRD! I think you are right about cash- it rules!
oh boy i hate stuff like that!! i guess its good the bank was protecting you , and good to get a new card but yeh, WHO carries a checkbook?? not me!
UGH!
i love the yarn- and this little collage you made is so cute!
very sensible to have had projects in mind!
ps: i love all the rougue snapdragons! so cute! i didnt know they even did that so i am hoping mine will too.
Sally, better that your bank do that than what mine did and let purchases for tickets to ENGLAND go through and wipe out pretty much every penny in the account...that seriously sucks!
It is rather embarrassing to have that happen though - I found out I had no money in my account because I had gone to Aldi to get groceries after Mass one morning and as I was checking out my card was denied...I was mortified - luckily I had cash on me and was able to pay in cash.
Gah! Banks will charge for anything these days! A $1 fee for a counter check? I would've walked over and grabbed a withdrawl slip - do they still have those?
A few years back my husband and I had to go to the mall to purchase items for the entire family for my Father's funeral [not fun shopping] and at one point we stopped for a beer and my card was declined. We knew the money was in there and called the bank. They told us that our card wasn't usually used for $2,000 worth of purchases in one night so they had halted use of our debit card by anyone. Sigh. We dropped $2,000 before they decided to decline $6.00 for two beers? I hate my bank, but what choice do we have?
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