De-gnoming the garden (and other places)

Well, I can only hope any gnomes in our garden escaped via the Saturday Seven bags this week. My son's school is having a "kids stuff" rummage sale next week and I've been collection and sorting old story tapes, books, comics, cds, etc. just for them. Two bags so far - yeah!

Although I did have to block the door of my bedroom this morning when Youngest Child was peering in through the cracks and trying to come in, claiming that "The Triceratops you have in there is my favorite toy."

 This was a triceratops hand puppet which had been under his bed for more than a year and it was too small for his hand but, apparently, I will be denied giving it away. At least until he isn't watching . . .

Collection #1 of Saturday Seven items:

The less dusty side of my weekend involved Alpacas!

The Upper Midwest Alpacas (UMA) had their 2nd annual Fall Fiber Festival yesterday from 9 -4 p.m. and GFMelissa and I ran over to Hopkins, MN for about two hours. Showing her Good Friend Stripes, GF fronted me some money - I forgot my checkbook - to buy some absolutely lovely yarn from All for Love of Yarn, a local yarn hand dyer with an Etsy store. 

I bought this absolutely gorgeous Sumptuosity yarn (70% baby alpaca, 20% silk and 10% cashmere) in the wine color way.

And one skein of  Soleful Fingering Weight yarn (40% alpaca, 40% superwash merino wool and 20% nylon) in a light green/2 of a kind colorway. 

I may shoot an email over to the dyer to see if she still has another skein of the Sumptuosity as the shawl I was thinking of using it for (Citron from Knitty)  needs two skeins.

The rest of the show was absolutely chock-ful of lovely fiber as well. At the Winterwind Farm booth, I bought some hand dyed yearling mohair goat locks in a spinach-y kind of green 

Mmm, tasty!

but everything in the booth was very tempting.

I would recommend a trip to the Alpaca show next year!

In my everyday knitting, I've been toddling along of the Hedgerow Socks. After a disastrous attempt at knitting at the movies on Friday (the movie "Red" was very funny but too dark to knit at!), I've ripped back a row and am now about mid-foot.

But when I went to take a photograph, I found a lost trick-or-treater.*

"Mama?"

But I gave the socks a shake and sent her on her way home.

*With a nod to This Boy Knits.