Bleary eyed

In what has now become an annual tradition, I have knit myself bleary eyed through my week's vacation.

Every year, I take the first week of Sept. off, planning to relax and enjoy some time off with my hubby, and the past few years, have ended up knitting until I am bleary eyed ... wondering what brings on this annual insanity? It's not some natural instinct that drives me to knit feverishly into the wee hours of the morning, it isn't an impending birthday deadline, it isn't even for 'kicks". Nope - it is because I am, quite simply, a dumb-ass.

Every year for at least 7 years, my Mom, sister and I go to the Seaside Craft Sale in Beach Meadows, and set up a booth - Mom does pickles and sweet breads, my sister is a painter and wood worker, and I contribute jams and knitting. It isn't like this craft sale is a surprise to me - we've been doing it for over 7 years, and know the date nearly a year ahead of time, yet each year, about 2 weeks before hand I suddenly realize that I have NOTHING knit or made for it, and go into craft overdrive.

Usually, my mania is felted purses, but I think they may have run their course. This year - I focused my attention on hats. During my week of vacation, I knit 8 hats in 5 days ... it may be a personal best ;)

I made 2 purple Shrek hats,
a turquoise Shrek hat
, 2 stocking hats with biga$$ pom poms (i missed getting a picture of those ... they haven't sold yet, so I will get a picture tomorrow),
3 Santa hats

and an ear flap hat
-- then I started to get hand/wrist/arm cramps and weird knitting dreams, so I stopped.

That's when the sewing started.

Earlier in the summer, I had whipped up a few tooth fairy pillows for nieces and nephews, with 5 extra to take to the craft sale The evening before the craft sale, I realized I still hadn't sewn eyes on them, not sewed them closed to keep the stuffing in ... and that 5 wasn't really enough to look like "anything". So I sat down at 8 p.m., the night before the craft show, and made 11 more, got eyes sewn on all but 5 and the bottoms closed up on all of them -- it's a good thing, because they were a popular item! 7 went home with kids with wiggley jiggley loose tooths, or aspirations to one day have a missing tooth and need of a tooth fairy... so I will sew the eyes on the remaining 5, and maybe whip up 3 or 7 more.
They were pretty cute, if I do say so myself.

When my wrists were creaking on vacation, I thought that sewing might help, and sewed a few (15) tea wallets (1 was a gift, 1 was a prototype for me to use) in funky materials and dove into my button stash for the closures.


I was also in the jam pot, jamming for a good part of my vacation ...61 jars of jam, 3 flavors :)

The first day of the 2-day sale was today ...
We did pretty good, and had lots of fun working the table as a family, and seeing all of our "regulars". Can't wait to go back tomorrow!