(Y'all, I will have to update with pictures later, because Ze Flickr is not working at my office for some odd reason. And yes, I'm updating from the office.)

I got up at the unGodly hour of 4:30 on Friday morning, packed everything into the car, and set out for the airport on what was my very first Flying By Myself experience. I got through security, got through the wait, and boarded the plane with no problems. And that is where the traveling stopped being easy and got CUH-RAZY. The plane was delayed by an hour and a half because of the weather in Atlanta; they didn't let us in on this little tidbit until we were already on said plane, so we had to sit there on the ground until we got the all clear. Still, not TOO bad, and we took off. When we landed, and I emerged into the Atlanta airport, I started to think that maybe I'm not cut out for traveling by myself; I had no frakin' clue where the hell I was, which direction to go, or even what I was trying to do, to be honest. The wonderful Carrie was trying her best to direct me, but I'm a doofus. Eventually, I found a tram that zoomed me to baggage claim, which led me to doors that went outside, and I was able to explain where I was so that Carrie and Ms. Melanie could pick me up and we could head out.

Except it's never that easy.

And by that, I mean an 18 wheeler overturned on the highway and we were stuck in traffic for two hours. But I had my knitting!

So, in the end, what was supposed to be a trip that put us in Asheville by 4 at the latest actually had us checking in to our hotel at 8 pm. Thank God there was an Outback in the parking lot, because we all needed a drink STAT.  Even though the waiter sneered at my dinner choice (a steak sandwhich, which was good so SUCK IT SERVER DAN), we still managed to end the day with some fun.

The actual fest was a blast – SAFF isn't huge, but there was more than enough to do in one day, and there were so many independent yarn dyers and vendors that it was absolutely worth all of the hassle. I didn't go crazy with the yarn purchases, but I did manage to score some pretties. I met Lynnea in real life and patted The Baby Belly in person. But by the end of the day, we were exhausted and we decided to check out of the hotel early and head back to Carrie's house instead of spending another night there. So after spending some time in Athens, I got up on Sunday and made the trip back home. I walked in the door and was immediately dog piled by the kids; Sarah refused to let me go all evening, which was charming and cute and I took full advantage of it since she's not what you'd call a Super Cuddler. I gave them the presents I'd picked up for them – Bryan got a new airplane like the one Mommy was on, and Sarah got a new stuffed animal from Atlanta – and we all settled in, happy to be back together.

Carrie is trying to convince me to fly in for MS&W next year.  As long as it does not involve crazy Atlanta traffic, I might be convinced.

PHOTOS! From the top, that is Sanguine Griffon Little Traveler in Nepal, Plain & Fancy Sheep & Wool Co. Sport in Blue Variagated, and Miss Babs Yummy Superwash Sock Yarn & Baby Yarn in Ironweed. I made two other purchases that aren't listed here – one is for my Christmas swap partner, so that will just have to be a surprise, and the other is a skein of 100% silk lace weight that the fantastic Melanie is custom dyeing for me. Because she likes me so. Y'all, I can't tell you how stoked I am about the laceweight, and about the dye job she's going to do for me. It will be awesomeness personified.

And here we all are, at SAFF, the CESOB crew REPRESENTING. From the top left: Melanie, myself, then Carrie on the bottom left and Lynnea.

It's funny – I love the colors and the patterns of fabric and yarn, but once I get something that I've just fallen in love with in my hands, I'm almost paralyzed with indecision. What pattern would make the best use of it? I don't want to misuse a perfectly good bolt of fabric or skein of yarn; this is how I end up stashing things away for years and, in some cases, forgetting I've got them. Thank God for Ravelry and the pattern queue over there, because that has kept my knitting going at a fantastic pace. However, for quilting, I have no such luck. I end up browsing for patterns that are worthy of the fabric. It doesn't help that I'm extremely picky about patterns, either. 

However, when I run across things like this Bento Box quilt, suddenly I see possibility in my mind.  I haven't really liked any of the other Bento Box quilts that I've seen, but that one caught my eye. I mean, wow! Just pair a solid colored fabric with some of the insane fabrics that I've picked up over the years, and presto! Instantly cute quilt! And from there I browse that site and see other cute things, which link to other sites and other cute things…I could spend hours just browsing and looking at how other people create such intricate designs and patterns. I have a healthy amount of respect for anyone that can design their own pattern – I struggle enough when I've got the pattern right there in front of me. 

The quilt top from the last entry now has a backing sewn together and ready for quilting; I've got two tests to study for, though, so it might have to wait patiently until I get the opportunity to sit down and do some serious work on it. In the mean time, I'm already dreaming of what is coming next.

That's the completed quilt top – it actually went together much easier than it looked like it would, and it looks pretty good, if I do say so myself. However, I learned these things about myself while sewing it:

• I love my rotary cutter. Seriously. I'm not sure that I'll ever use scissors on anything ever again – ANYTHING. I was considering cutting my chicken with it the other night at dinner.
• What I thought was a quarter-inch seam? Not a quarter inch seam. Each of my blocks was supposed to be 12 x 12, but they ended up 3/4 of an inch shorter on almost all sides. After squaring them, they ended up 11 x 11.
• Patterns that coordinate don't always look fabulous when placed together in a block – solids or a vaguely patterned fabric would have done much better than the weirdness in some of the blocks. 

Overall, though, I'm pleased with the result, and for a first cutting and peicing exercise, I think I did damn well. Tomorrow, I'm going to pick out the backing fabric and get the quilting pins put in so I can give maching quilting a shot.