Yarn, thick yarn, thin yarn

and more yarn was lined  up on shelves, on racks, on trestle tables and tumbling into bags.
I went to a "yarn festival" yesterday afternoon. It was actually a day long event and, had I been a good little cat, I might have been doing some demonstrating at it. I did last year. I gave it a miss this year but I went up to see what was going on.
There were people I knew there - of course. I stopped to speak to two of them first - and catch my breath. (The pedal up the hill had warmed me up but also left me in need of a moment or two to recover.)
One of them was weaving on a simple rigid heddle loom. It was a slow meander through blues and greens. Weaving is not fast but I love to look at weaving patterns.
I prowled on and stopped to speak to a friend who was selling her simple but effective cards and covers for all sorts of items. It had not been a particularly busy day for her but she was cheerful. We chatted about the upcoming RAHS show where we are both stewards.
I looked at some old buttons and some African cloth. I kept my paws firmly off some cashmere yarn. (It was expensive.) I wandered into the next room where people were spinning and a man was using an ancient sock machine. 
And I watched people watching these people. I have seen plenty of spinning in my time.I have even tried a little myself - because I wanted to know more about the process. 
I have previously seen the sock machine in action too. Now it is much more interesting to watch the total fascination and the complete concentration of the very young and the not-so-young as they watch to see how it is done.
I wandered through to where more yarn was being sold. In there I asked a friend if she happened to have a needle in the size I wanted for an elderly friend. No, she didn't. Nobody else had one either. If I had wanted to buy the cable and ends that would have been fine but I don't see her coping with those. I looked at the books on the second hand book stall. No, I didn't buy any books. 
I looked at felting and spinning fibre - and I didn't buy any of that either. Tempted? Of course I was because it is simply good to look at!
I padded quietly on into the last room - and succumbed. I bought one skein of brightly coloured sock wool. It leapt out at me - the perfect combination of colours for someone I know. I need to make her something. It won't take too long and it will replace what I have twice mended for her.
Oh yes, yarn... thick yarn, thin yarn, yarn of every possible colour and shade...useful yarn.
But one skein was enough. I had other yarn that would have done - but the colour was absolutely right. That matters too.