I'm prepping for the Nadelwelt fair - checking all the things that need to be checked, charging all the batteries, topping up the stock stuff that needs to be topped up.

Also, of course, packing the overnight things - which always include the Three Magic Wellness Things: the travel yoga mat, my current knitting project, and something to read (which usually means the e-book reader). It also always includes, of course, the washbag... which this time around put me in front of a slight problem.

As this is also what goes with me on cycling and paddling holidays, and has to fit into rather small bags for that, my washbag is supposed to stay as small as possible. Unfortunately, over the years, it has grown a bit, due to my wanting to take some additional stuff. Such as a pair of glasses for when the lenses are out. Or more skincare products. Age, here, is definitely leaving some traces!

So in the quest of keeping it small and manageable, most of the things are packed into small containers. Which means my soapbox is an old small box for peppermint candies, and it will only fit a very slim piece of soap. Which, in turn, means I occasionally transfer a piece that has shrunk enough into my travel washbag, and replace the shrunken piece with a new big one.

This time, the small piece came from the soapbox that I take with me to the bouldering gym... but the new piece of soap, bought from a soapmaking manufacture, was so large that it didn't fit that box either. A quick internet search later, and now I know how to divide a piece of soap.

The easiest way to do this without the soap splintering is to heat it up in the oven, at about 100° C for at least half an hour; this softens the piece. Then you can either cut it by pressing through it with a very sharp knife, or try using a piece of thin, strong string, or - probably the best method - cut it with a thin wire. I used the wire from a cake cutting device that hangs out in our kitchen, and it worked very well indeed.

So now my soap round-robin is done (and I have three more pieces that will fit the box, too) - on to the rest of the packing!

There's a German saying which goes "Wenn einer eine Reise tut, so kann er was verzählen" (if someone goes on a journey, he has stories to tell). Well, that's definitely true for the trip I had to Oberstdorf...

On about halfway to the fair, I made a stop to re-fuel the car and have a potty break... but when I wanted to drive away from the fuel pump, my trusty (not-so-)little car refused to do it. The engine started almost normally, but died again at once... so I finally got to use the breakdown cover that we got back when we got the car.

Which was when I stuck the little card into my wallet. Which was not yesterday - and accordingly, the number was not working anymore. So a little bit of internet searching and phoning later (thank goodness for having a smartphone), I was able to tell a friendly young man what had happened, where I had planned to go, and a little bit later, I got told that a pickup would be coming to get me and my car to the next associated car workshop, where I'd get a rental car to continue my trip.

And that is exactly what happened. So I got to handle all my stock and fair booth stuff once more, after loading it into the car early in the morning, now cramming it into the rental car (which was quite a bit smaller than mine). After that was finally done, off I went - to arrive in Oberstdorf a few minutes before the hall was due for closing. Margit had in the meantime set up her own part of our booth, and prepared as much as possible for me - figured out where to place the workshop table and benches, where we would place my tables, and gotten my paperwork and parking permit sorted out.

Then we spent about twenty extra-exhausting minutes running to the car and transporting my stuff inside as fast as possible, so we'd have it in there to finish setup in the morning. We just managed to get it done before the hall closed... and I got to enjoy speed-booth-setup in the next morning.

It all got done in time, if only just, and I remained a little confused as to what of my things was where throughout the fair, as I had had to re-pack (and consequently re-order) things when changing cars. Nothing crucial had been left behind, though.

Needless to say, I was extra tired in the evenings... what a good thing that I could fall into bed nice and early. Apart from the car calamity, though, we had a really good time - nice weather, nice customers, and nice colleagues. I actually managed to catch up with two of them - Renate from Wollstube Wollin (who stood opposite us, and who is to blame for my going home with more yarn to knit), and the lovely Solveig from Alice im Wunderladen, who spent her break with Margit and me.

Meanwhile, I am back home, the car has been repaired and is also back home, and all that remains is - as usual - to re-fill things that have become low in stock and to do the fair homework... and then the next fair will be the Nadelwelt in Karlsruhe. I'm looking forward to that, and hopefully to a smooth trip there and back!

Well, for me it starts today - I am on my way to Oberstdorf for the Allgäuer Nadelstiche.




There will be yarns, and nalbinding workshops at our booth, and there will be mountains in the background and coffee and good times with Margit.

[caption id="attachment_4389" align="alignnone" width="640"] Last year's view of the mountains... I guess they will still be there this year.

The car is loaded, my trusty thermos mug is filled with delicious coffee, and tomorrow and Sunday, I'll be at the fair - drop by and say hello, and have a look at the delightful brand-new things I am bringing along with me!

I'm back home, and as usually after a fair, today was spent puttering around cleaning, re-ordering and putting things away. With most of the stock loaded into the car, after-fair-time is the perfect time to give the storage areas the once-over, or to use the temporary extra space to get some sorting of other things done - and this is what happened today. Together with some drinking of coffee, of course, and some time taken off to relax.
Now there's the rest of things to be brought in from the car, getting the re-orders finished, and then it is the return to peace, quiet, and the stack of other things - such as prep for the next Textile Forum!

The fair was wonderful, by the way, with absolutely splendid weather and lots and lots of nice people who stopped by for a chat. There were lots and lots of spinners around, many of whom did demonstrations, so the "Fummelkasten" with my fibre samples could enjoy a good number of questing hands.

This was my place in Haus Ewersbach, by the way:



Plenty of space for all my things, lots of light (including lighting for my storage area behind the curtains) and, also important for someone on her own behind the sales tables - a toilet very close by!

I'm back home from the fair, and now there's a nice stretch of time without fairs, for a change - time to take care of all the other things that need doing.

As always, it was great fun to share a booth with Margit. Also as always, it was both totally lovely and totally exhausting. Too much coffee was consumed. Chocolate was consumed, too, of course - there always is during fairs. It's quick energy for those times when there is too little time to eat something proper, and it's a wonderful excuse to have choc. Not that there really should be any excuse needed to have chocolate...

Also as always, there was a lot of stuff to unload, and to set up, and then, later, to stuff back into tha car and bring home again. So basically, this:



turned into this:



and then, finally, this:



And now I have the usual long list of post-fair affairs, and stuff to sort away (that hasn't all happened yet), and then it's back to normal. If there is a normal. I'll let you know once I found out...

It's fair time again - I am packing up my stuff and leaving for the Nadelwelt. This is one of the most exciting fairs for me each year, in the huge buildings of the Karlsruhe fair halls, right in the middle of everything.

[caption id="attachment_3096" align="alignnone" width="1142"] Margit and me at our Nadelwelt stall last year.


If you are into quilting, sewing, knitting or other textile-y stuff (modern, predominantly, of course) and can get into the Karlsruhe area, it definitely is worth a visit. There is a huge lot to see (and buy, if you want to spend some money). If you come, make sure to drop by and say hello!

So while I'm away, fairing, returning and then recuperating, there will be a little blogging break - I'll be back here and posting things on Wednesday next week.

I had a beyond wonderful time at the last fair - a lot of people stopped by to say hello that I see way, way too rarely; I had lovely food (Margit treated me to Königsburger Klopse for one dinner) and lots of nice coffee and there was sunshine and warmth and general enjoyment. The fair featured a nice, large, well-lighted space with tables to sit and eat and drink and knit in one part, and most of the stalls in the second part, with a little foyer inbetween.

As usual, I didn't get out much from behind my table, but it was enough time to go on a button-hunting safari for the Most Patient Husband of Them All, who has almost finished knitting his cardi and needed buttons for that. So out I went, armed with a yarn sample (for colour coordination) and my phone and a size indicator and sent him photos of buttons I supposed might please him. I can definitely tell you that proxy-button-shopping is an exciting thing! (It was also successful, to my great delight.)

[caption id="attachment_3753" align="alignnone" width="1632"] As usual, I'm standing side by side with Margit from Alte Künste...


There was even a little knitting done in the evening - my five-toe socks are slowly creeping towards being done. And I definitely need to knit faster. Or spend more time knitting. Or, preferably, both... because, you see, there might have been a tiny little mishap at the fair.

You know that good resolution that we knitters tend to have? About not buying any more yarn before the last project is finished, or the stash has been diminished a little? Well. While I was flanked on one side by Margit's stall, I had Holles Wollfärberei on my other side. And when I returned from a quick run to fetch some coffee, I sort of got confused for a few minutes and turned left a few metres too late, and by the time I had sorted out my directions, I might have accidentally dropped some money at that stall, and some yarn might, in turn, have accidentally dropped into my bag.



I blame fair-addled brains. And her choice of blues.

So. That does look, to me, like a little cardi and a pair of socks, some assembly required. See why I need to knit faster?

(She has an Etsy shop. Just in case you wonder how to get that stuff.)