Big Tex

My impromptu weekend in Big D turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. I got to spend lots of chill time with the fam, as well as enjoy the crazy, sprawling wonder that is the State Fair of Texas.
I arrived Saturday, and spent most of the day poking into quilting and knit­ting stores with my mom. We both had it in our heads that we wanted to knit some­thing, so we each bought needles and yarn to take home with us. Adam’s mom did a fantastic job of teaching me how a while back, and it only took a small refresher course on the internet for me to teach my mom the basics as well! We spent a lot of time sitting next to each other on the couch, peri­od­i­cally exclaiming things like “Augh! What did I just do? What did I just do?“

On Sunday we headed out early to the State Fair. This strategy nets you a parking space right near the entrance, and a blissful hour to enjoy the fair­grounds before the crowds arrive. We wandered in and out of hog handling contests, heifer compe­ti­tions, and a minia­ture donkey show. There were also the Food & Fiber, Auto, and Creative Arts build­ings to spend time in, and the tradi­tional Belgian Waffle and Corny Dog (not at the same time, mind you) to be consumed. We took a picture of the award-winning Mayhaw jelly (which we also had at break­fast — deli­cious!) and I grabbed lots of pictures of quilts and other various crafts. The fair­ground looked the best I’ve ever seen it, and it was a really wonderful trip.
On Monday my mom and I wandered out to explore a store called Shabby Sheep that a friend had just opened. It was so cute! It was a little fiber and knit­ting store nestled into a tiny cottage in the quirky/trendy Uptown neigh­bor­hood, and the owner was incred­ibly friendly and knowl­edge­able. I bought even *more* yarn (light blue Baby Alpaca — yum) to play with on my flight. Then I had after­noon tea with my grand­mother before hopping back on the plane for home.
I have lots of pictures from the week up here.