4.22.2013

KCBWDAY1 The House Cup


On my ramblings through the internet this past weekend, I happened upon Knitting and Crochet Blog Week. I've been meaning to get back into blogging, but what really snagged my attention was the topic of the first day of posting:
Day One (Monday April 22nd): The House Cup. A bit like Harry Potter, but not quite, this year’s Knitting & Crochet Blog Week is split into 4 houses. Don your favourite knitted or crocheted hat and let it guide you to which house you will be in.
We all know that my favorite kind of crocheted hat is the Divine Hat, but for this exercise we have 4 options.

House Option 1:
The House of Bee: Bees are busy and industrious, but can flit from one interesting project to the next as bright and shiny things capture their interest.
At the beginning of April I decided to tackle my WIPs.  Being methodical, I first went to Ravelry to search through my WIPs and Hibernating projects, and I found 90. Now granted some I never actually started and some are done and I just need to seam them up, but OMG. So this month I decided to tackle a bunch of WIPs. So far I have frogged 2 projects, completely finished 2, finished the knitting on a 3rd, made good progress on a 4th, and managed to only cast on 2 new projects. Net 2 less projects.  That's pretty good for me, for 3 weeks.  I still have a lot of work to do though!

House Option 2:
The House of Manatee: Manatees are gentle, calm and cuddly. Relaxed and unflashy they represent the comfort and soft side of knitting and crochet.
I don't think  I'm a Manatee.  I love to add beads to a project, or make it larger to use up every last skein.  I overthink ever aspect of most of my projects.  Relaxed and laid back is soooo not my knitting style, even though I think most of my FO's are "gentle, calm and cuddly." Next!

House Option 3:
The House of Monkey: Intelligent and with a fun loving side, Monkeys like to be challenged with every project presenting them with something new and interesting.
I love challenging projects.  I love doing charted lace patterns and crazy cables and figuring out new techiques.  If I'm working on a simpler pattern, I will almost always modify it to acheive a better FO.  For example: adjusting yarn/needles/gauge, beading as many shawls as possible, creating detailed spreadsheets of stitch-counts and yarn used to determine the maximum numbers of repeats I can add to a project without running out of yarn.  

On the other hand, not every project I do needs to be a challenge.  I do love making the same old hat patterns over and over again.  Although, I now usually limit Divine Hats to crocheting on the subway (when following a pattern is a bad idea) or at the movies (where crocheting in the dark is its own challenge).  So hmm, maybe I am a House of Monkey.

House Option 4:

The House of Peacock: Peacocks take something good and make it brilliant. Buttons, embellishments and a bit of sparkle prove that perfection lies in the details – like a Peacock's Tail.
I do like beading my projects but I don't usually make lots of things with embroidery, or embellishments, or finishing work. And I have a firm no-blocking stance.  House of Peacock, I don't think I'm a good fit for you.

Hmm. House of Bee is clearly the winner for me currently, but I'm trying to combat the overwhelming number of WIPs and the Project ADD that make me such a great fit.  Hopefully by the next KCBW I will be more firmly in House of Monkey and on my way to House of Peacock, and that might be a good goal to work towards and blog about for the next year.  Anways, for now, I pledge allegiance to the House of Bee!


And it looks like I am in good company - according to the poll on the Eskimimi Blog, 57% of knitters and crocheters who voted are also in House of Bee with me.

12.12.2012

battery on low

UGH I was super tired this morning and didn't want to wake up.  When I finally got up and went to brush my teeth, I realized my smoke detector is doing the _super_ annoying, infrequent-yet-high-pitched squeak/shriek that means it needs a new battery. 

a) It was probably squeaking for hours, disturbing my sleep but not enough to wake me up, which is why I feel like I didn't get any sleep :(  Why didn't the damn thing just sound the alarm when it needed a new battery, like a normal smoke detector?
b) I know exactly when I replaced the battery - when I moved in on August 1st.  It's only been 3 and a half months, and normally the battery should be replaced every 6 months, right?  So it's unusual to have to replace it so quickly?

All signs are leaning towards buying a new smoke detector, and a caffeine-fueled day.

2.21.2012

what's up

I should probably post more regularly.

Listening to: Pandora (when I have internet), Kelly Clarkson's Stronger CD and Glee Volume 7 when I don't (on the subway)

Drinking: Stash's decaf pumpkin spice tea. It's not bad! I did not have high expectations and they have been surpassed.

Watching: How I Met Your Mother (on Netflix), A Very Potter Musical (on youtube, finally! thanks NNS), and Dr Who (when I can force myself). My DVR is fighting a losing battle for my attention with Google+ Hangouts.

Knitting: lots and lots of stockinette :( :( :( My OWL sweater is boring the snot out of me, and I'm working on a stockinette chemo cap for Christa's Granddad, in a sportweight yarn because they needed a more lightweight hat. On the plus side, I'm bringing it to Movie Night with Mom tonight so I'll definitely hit the decreases tonight: the end is near!

Reading: lots of fiction books on my Kindle Fire. It is SO much better than my old Sony e-Reader, for mostly 1 reason: wifi. I love not having to plug in to my computer to transfer files. And I can watch Netflix streaming video in bed when I am going to sleep! Win all around.

Plotting:
- mishloach manot (because Purim is SOON)
- gotta knit a cat
- tunisian crochet messenger bag to finish out my OWL
- contemplating moving, and therefore decluttering so that I will have less to move. even if I don't move, decluttering would be a great thing.

and that's the 5 minute update!

12.23.2011

a happy hat story




I gave the middle hat to my boss on Tuesday or Wednesday for an Xmas gift. For 6+ years we've had a joking/teasing relationship about my knitting, which involves me occasionally showing him something I have knitted or crocheted and and him saying, "great job! but you know that you can find hats/socks/whatevers at walmart for much less effort, right?" At one point I taught him how to knit, because I'd been teaching pretty much everyone in our group how to either knit or crochet. After about 10 stitches he lost patience but I thought it was very cool that he'd tried it, especially after all the good-natured mocking.

Then two weeks ago I showed him the Divine Hats I was mailing to Teri and he said they were too nice to trust to the mailroom! Which was a very unexpected reaction, and it earned him an immediate spot on the Knit-worthy list. So instead of the yearly bottle of vodka, this year I gave him vodka + the hat in the photo, which he tried on and seemed to like :)

This morning he sent me the nicest thank-you email!

"Thank you very much for the gift. The bottle was verynice but I want you to know I was really delighted by the hat. I know Ihave made a few comments about knitting, Walmart and the efficiency ofmachinery but the hat made my day. It was so thoughtful of you to knitthat for me and I really do appreciate it."

I was originally going to share this story only to my Knitters circle but then decided to share it to all of my circles. People, if someone ever gives you a handmade gift, this is a perfect example of how to respond. Even better: an action shot of the item in use, but for a work colleague the above is plenty.

10.17.2011

rhinebeck the fourth

/* Hehe I thought yesterday was my 3rd Rhinebeck, but apparently not!*/

This year 2 of my Knitting Group came with me to Rhinebeck - Marj & Gryffinitter. (For the record, I again tossed the no-pickups rules; Marj lives really close by & Gryffinitter gets special treatment.) We had a lively & entertaining ride up, and Gryffinitter navigated me up the Tacomic Parkway, which was very winding, beautiful, and quick. We were there at the opening of the gates - 10am - and we parked by the "Mulberry Gate" near the food court, which I hadn't even known existed! Hanging out with Gryffinitter is almost always an educational experience for me :)

Sticking to our plan, we hit Sanguine Grypon first & tag-teamed the line so it went quickly. Marj got a skein of the Mithril lace yarn and I got 2 skeins of Bugga! & a Skinny Bugga!. (Photo to come later, I forgot to take one)
Two of my LYSO's - Cheryl and Audrey - found us at the booth, and Cheryl bought 3 skeins of nice brown yarn (I think 1 Mithril and 2 Bugga - we have vague plans for a Bugga KAL). It was their first Rhinebeck, and I think their first time meeting Gryffinitter & Marj even.

The night before R'beck I found Needlesnswiffers (aka the Headmistress) on gchat and asked where I should make sure to hit. Among other things, she recommended the booth opposite SG so we went there next. Their fiber was really inexpensive (but really nice, and soft!) so Gryffinitter helped me pick out some fiber to practice spinning and also got some for herself :)

Next we wandered through 5 barns and fondled a *lot* of fiber. After barn #2 (I think) we lost Gryffinitter, but we had already made up where to meet at 12:45 if that happened. Relevant fiber news:
- We found a booth selling bumps (according to Gryffinitter that is what they call the basketballs) of fiber that had 2 colors blended together, and they'd spun & knit up little swatches, so I bought a bump to try after I figure out how to make useable yarn
- At the booth where I bought this last year, I still liked the sample seed stitch scarf so I bought another skeinof Artisania to make a scarf for myself (er until I find someone that needs a scarf for a gift, anyways) and a pretty skein of Del Rio that will probably be mitts.
- Marj & I spotted a beautiful, striking hot pink & orange shawl that reminds me of In The Pink. Marj bought the yarn & pattern, and we'll do a KAL of it when we both finish up some projects
- In that same booth, we met someone who'd made the Modern Garden Cardigan, which I'd been considering queueing. She had Tappan Zee in her queue, so we swapped sweaters:



Marj & I decided to postpone lunch and head straight to the Ravelry meetup. Luckily we ran into Gretchen from the Sunday knitting group, who is friends with a lovely Raveler named Zuzu-something who is known for bringing cupcakes to Ravelry meetups! The 3 of us made a new friend & enjoyed some yummy cupcakes :) We also met a nice woman from Brooklyn who had taken the train up.

Then KnitforBrains, a House Cup Hufflepuff, found me (by my sweater!) and I got to meet her kids and husband. We hadn't chatted on Rav before Saturday night but it felt like I knew her forever (go Housecup!) Lunathecat found us, and then 2 of her Pints & Purls people found her. We spotted Ysolda handing out Ravelry buttons and (clumsily) used acquiring a button for Luna's friend as an excuse to say hello to her.



Then we spotted Stephen West(!) and decided that our House Cup meetup photo ought to include Stephen West. (Why not?)





(Eat your hearts out, Tower Specialist Study ;)

After the meetup, Lunathecat & I went to the Letter Buildings and, under orders from NNS, went to find the MissBabs booth to say hi to Kate1138


She was great! Talked Luna & I into some more yarn (of course); Luna got two miniskeins of sockyarn and I got 2 skeins of Yowza What a Skein (for a Boneyard and a Trillian, which has since become Trillian and Other, but that's a later story). We also met MissBabs Herself, which was cool! She's really nice. We also ran into Nancy from the LYS at that booth, who already knows about the Cup, so she got to meet Luna, who then had to meet her P&P people.

More wandering around the Letter Buildings, this time solo. I saw the Tsock Tsarina's booth - and must remember to ask Rachel tonight what happened to Holiday Yarns. I ended up at The Fold for some Socks that Rock mediumweight mill ends (boring white spirit skeins, for the record). (Must remember to stalk the Royal Flush colorway though, that was gorgeous). Nancy found me again @ The Fold and then we both found Cheryl & Audrey. The had a successful day and found some of my favorite booths (I'd given them a list).

At 2pm I got a call from Sylvia asking if I was going to the Yarn Hoars meetup. I still had a lot of buildings left to browse, but then she reminded me that she had my Happiness (it's a Madtosh colorway that we ordered together from CA) so I headed over there. So many awesome Hoars: I saw Ninetoedwoman, Caliknitta, MyDogPetey, KangaNYC, Jaylaknitrix. I finally met my archnemesis Skeller in person! (See: the battle of Waterlily). I also got to meet Miss Gusa, Ymalcom, Sheree, and a couple of other people (I'm sorry, the yarn fumes pickled my brain). Most of the Hoars had cool tote bags with their Ravnames & Yarn Hoar printed on them, which earned a few comments/questions from passerby. Since we were standing still, I finally pulled out my lunch.

We decided "Skeins before Ho's," so I bid Sylvia & crew a safe trip home and Caliknitta, Sheree, Ymalcom & I hit Sanguine Gryphon again. They struck out but some Q.E.D. came home with me to become either a Botanic hat or a Cairn hat. On my way to meet up with Gryffinitter & Marj again, I ran into 2 Knitty City friends, Kimberly & Joyce, and Kimberly's sister. Kimberly & sister were wearing a prototype of Joyce's new shawl design, which I loved. (My Turquoise skein of Miss Babs' Yowza will be saved for that (when it comes out) instead of Boneyard). It's so awesome to have such talented designer friends, my queue never runs dry!Link
The rest of the day is kinda a blur. I found Marj who was with Rachel and met Rachel's friend Robin. Rachel was wearing her Spectra & it looked great! Then they left to take Robin to the Train, and Marj & I did 1/2 of building A. We got some more yarn from someone who might want some wollmeise - I told her about my destash & gave her my Ravname, lol.

Last but not least, Marj & I met Badamy!


Who is awesome & hilarious. I apologized for my NEWT failure, and as I should have expected Amy encouraged me to finish anyways. Clearly this woman doesn't give up easily; she traveled for like, 3 days in 15 different vehicles just to get to R'beck!

Since we were so close I dragged Amy & Marj to meet Kate, who by then was probably certain I was stalking her. Amy was then lured back to her charter bus by wine & what turned out to be string cheese, lol! I went back to MissBabs for some Botanic-worthy yarn and Marj & I made friends with a guy on a bench outside bldg B, where I showed him the MB yarns & asked if he thought it would work for dude-worthy hats. He did. We also found out that his exboyfriend hadn't died, he dyed, which is a joke that really, really, really never gets old.

At around 4:30 we found Gryffinitter for the last time & headed out. It was a very long, meetup- and fiber-filled day, and it was AWESOME. I still can't believe how many people I ran into or met for the first time yesterday. And so many people complimented me on my Tappan Zee sweater (and the Traveling Woman that I knit Gryffinitter). It was a successful shopping day too; I found what I needed to find - some fiber to learn to spin on - what I wanted to find - Sanguine Gryphon and some unusually-milled yarns - and then some.

I totally can't wait to do it again next year!

7.29.2011

community pottery and potter




oribe inside and black dot


oribe inside


black dot


black inside


black inside


oribe

7.11.2011

6.01.2011

tentative hallows plan

Elder Wand:
  • Choose an Unstoppable Ravelry Pattern
  • Make a project you’ve made before so you know you can make it again.
  • Show other ways that having the Elder Wand empowers you

I might do
Owling (option 1 and 3)
Mara (option 2)

Resurrection Stone
  • Take a second attempt at making an UGH project.
  • Reclaim a project (UGH, unfinished or otherwise) and give the yarn a new life.
  • Give life to a vintage pattern! (Vintage in this case = 1986 or older)
  • Pay respect to a great crafter who has gone on before us.
  • Give a Face to a faceless Ravelry pattern by crafting a pattern that no featured project photo.
I might do
Cadence
Wrenna
an EZ pattern

Invisibility Cloak
  • Make something in House Colors to blend in among the movie goers!

  • Make a shawl or cape of at least 300 yards.

I might do
Ishbel
Any Wollmeise shawlette

5.24.2011

5.12.2011

my first yarn bowl

Ya know, for my first attempt at the wheel in 7-8 years and my first yarn bowl, it's not bad at all. I really like it. It's very thick& heavy, but that's actually a positive feature because I can tug on the yarn a little without worrying that I'm going to knock the bowl to the ground.

I'm knitting on my couch (the project in the photo, actually) and the yarn bowl sits perfectly on the end table to my left. I'm pulling yarn from the outside of my yarn cake and it rotates freely within the bowl, without rolling away all over the floor.

I totally have to make more of these!


3.03.2011

crochet capelet photo shoot

Dani & I went out for pizza last night, & I brought my capelet along to finish the crochet edging & get an objective opinion. I think I like it, but next time I'd wear it with a dress instead of my Captain America t-shirt.


Yarn is Lion Brand Wool Ease in Seaspray, from LB Yarn Studio in Manhattan

3.01.2011

small talk shawl?

I'm not sure if the colorway & pattern are a good match...

2.08.2011

Sock race

12.28.2010

soup quest

12.27.2010

harry potter christmas

Since I had a half day Thursday and Friday off, we decided to have Harry Potter Shabbos dinner on Xmas Eve. Harry Potter Christmas was on. Thanks to this wiki and Gryffinitter, we determined the xmas dinner menu from Sorcerer's Stone to be
  • hundreds of roast turkeys
  • gravy
  • cranberry sauce
  • chipolatas
  • roast and boiled potatos
  • buttered peas
Obviously some substitutions had to be made.
  • roast turkeys became roast chicken, since there weren't enough people to eat a whole turkey
  • gravy we skipped, as there was no turkey
  • cranberry sauce became cranberry crunch, a favorite traditional Shabbos food, because nobody wants to eat cranberry sauce with chicken
  • I don't know where to find kosher chipolatas, so I made Dov's hotdog recipe instead. Same diff, right?
  • I only made 1 kind of potatos - roast. Nobody minded.
  • buttered peas became canned peas because we can't serve dairy at a meat dinner
We skipped the Christmas Pudding, and instead Rochel made Double Fudge Brownies, for the Fudge that Molly Weasley sent the boys, and Ayelet made Lemon Meringue Pie and Pumpkin Pasties, which were delicious. I also made Pumpkin Juice, which was pretty good.


To commemorate the 12 giant xmas trees that Hagrid decorated the Great Hall with, Rochel & I made 12 tiny xmas trees and decorated them with glitter glue. Unfortunately only 1 or 2 fit on the table with all the food, but they were really adorable on my coffee table!

12.15.2010

12.13.2010

chanukah and stuff

Chanukah ended last week (it was December 1-8 this year). Since my aunt that normally makes the family Chanukah party made a Bar Mitzvah on Thanksgiving and a Bat Mitzvah yesterday, I hosted the family Chanukah party this year. I checked with E first, and when I invited people I told them it's a 1-shot deal due to E hosting us all the weeks before & after - the goal is not to get "stuck" hosting Chanukah each year (or piss of E for stealing her holiday).

My immediate family had been over for Mom's birthday this summer, and most of the cousins came to the Cousins Dinner I hosted when I'd first moved it, but for the rest of the family it was the first time seeing my apartment. Out of the 30 people invited, 25 came to the party :) Only 2 of the no-shows are on my sh*t list, but we'll get to that later possibly. Or not.

Anyways, 25 people + 1 br apartment = kind of a tight squeeze, except that as expected (and advertised), people didn't stay for the whole 4 hour party. By the time my last aunt & uncle showed up with their 3 kids, at least 8 people had already left. I had 14 seats, and only for about 30 minutes at the end did we have more people than chairs. It worked out well for circulation. People couldn't cluster because if you got up you lost "your" seat and had to sit in a new spot and talk to new people. Plus, since there was enough seats for the most part, people weren't forced to stay sitting to retain their seat all night.

The food was good, I think. No complaints anyways ;) And I love my family: all but one of my aunts volunteered to bring a dish (pasta, blintz souffle, and quiches). Mom helped a lot, she made Salmon, Guacamole, and a last-minute chocolate cake. I did some quiches, apple-blueberry cobbler, veggie platter and fruit platter... I think I'm forgetting something, but whatever :) I need to remember not to ask E to bring a dish when I know she's going to be super late, that was a total rookie mistake, and I feel bad asking her to cook & then barely using her dish. It was good leftovers though :)

The best day of Chanukah was definitely December 6th, the day after the party. I was SUPER stressed about the party (to the point where I had trouble sleeping), but Monday I was able to relax and enjoy the rest of the holiday.

At Rochel's Chanukah party on Tuesday, everyone said they wanted sweaters for Harry Potter Christmas. (I'm hosting dinner that Friday night & we're doing an HP Xmas theme). I think they're all getting mini house sweaters from the Charmed Knits book instead. I need to size them to either fit a bottle of wine, or buy some scented lotions at Bath & Body Works and fit the sweaters to those. (The photo above is one I knit for a Slytherin Swap on Ravelry).

Last photos: this is what my spoiler sent me in the Slytherin Yule swap on Rav. OMG the doily is beautiful. It works really well with my glass vase, too. I just need to clear off the top of one of my bookcases so it can have a worthy display area.

12.02.2010

oops

I'd like to knit a Jacques Cousteau hat for my mom for Chanukah (due Sunday). The pattern calls for size 4 needles. My size 4 16" circular is currently in use for the ribbing on a Mila Beret. Once I finish the ribbing (any minute now) I need to switch to size 6 16" circular needle for the body of the hat. It's currently in use for an Upside Down Daisy hat for my cousin's baby for Chanukah. I can switch that needle out for my dpns in a couple more inches... but I'm not 100% sure where they are right now. Oops. Maybe I need to finish some WIPs?

10.25.2010

more yarn problems

Saturday night I was working on my Swallowtail shawl for the HPKCHC (House Cup game on Ravelry). It's an "OWL" project, so I plan to use 800+ yards -at least 2 of the 4 skeins I have of a certain fingering weight yarn - to make an extra-large Swallowtail. Anyways, I was working a wrongside row - purling across - not pulling hard on the yarn at all - and the yarn just broke on me:



Note that aside from a slight puffiness on the ends, there is nothing remarkable about this spot in the skein that should cause it to break.
- It wasn't an especially thin spot in the yarn
- I was exerting unsually little pressure on the yarn, since I was just purling across by rote & not doing fiddly lace
- there are no knots or anything in that area of the skein

The yarn just broke in the middle of my purl stitch. I had to tink (is it lrup if you are un-purling?) back a few stitches to make sure the end didn't unravel.

I'm up to repeat 9 of the Budding Lace Repeat of the Swallowtail, and am reluctant to continue this project - it's much too much work to knit an 800+ yard shawl if it's going to fall apart on me at the slightest provocation!

Gryffinitter gave me some good advice via email, and I plan to show the shawl to her and to Rachel at Panera tonight, to see what they advise. Most likely I will be restarting in a plied yarn, as Gryffinitter told me that plied yarns are stronger. However I think the deadline for making changes to OWL projects was 10/15, but maybe they can make an exception for me? Sigh.

My poor shawl:

10.21.2010

special orders

Back at the end of May, my LYS placed an order for me with my favorite Indy Dyer. I remember that it was the end of May, because it was the week after the Israel Day Parade and that was on 5/23. They were ordering yarn anyways, and asked if I would like a certain color. I asked for 5 skeins of a certain colorway, let's call it Colorway, which I'd seen online and in 1 brick-and-mortar shop as a very pretty copper-colored yarn with blue highlights.

My LYSOs are super nice to me, and even though I offered to pay half upfront, which is their policy on special orders, they said I didn't need to. I really love my LYSOs and the LYS.

It's now the end of October, and we have no yarn. My LYS hasn't received their shipment of yarn, and obviously my special order isn't there yet. Here are my problems with this:
- Five months is a very long time to wait for someone to fill an order. Even if I have the timing a little bit wrong, four months is also a very long time to wait. Does anyone know what the "industry standard" is?
- From yarn I've seen at other LYS and ONS, I think that my beautiful Copper-and-Blue Colorway has changed (!!) and is now Chocolate-Brown-and-Blue. I do NOT want chocolate brown yarn, I hate brown and even Copper was a stretch of my color palette. This dyer has changed some of their colorways lately, and I'm worried that Colorway will arrive in this new version that I will hate.
- Another LYS in my area has placed, and received, many orders from this same dyer. They are very clearly not filling orders as they arrive, and that makes me angry.

Checking with my LYS about the order status isn't terribly effective. My LYS has been expecting a shipment of yarn from this Dyer - not necessarily the base that I ordered, mind you, but a shipment - for weeks now, and that's all I know. I don't want to push it and be That Annoying Customer, you know?

To sum up my situation/frustration, I have $100 of yarn that will arrive eventually, in a color that I might hate, and even if they do send me the pretty Copper color I loved tomorrow, the season to wear such colors only lasts until about Thanksgiving, and even I don't knit that fast. So I couldn't wear the cardigan I'd like to make until next Fall. Gah!

I think I might need a new favorite Indy Dyer.

10.17.2010

rhinebeck the third

So, the Rhinebeck recap:

I was supposed to go to Rhinebeck with my friend cre8ivgramom from my Monday night knitting group, but last Tuesday she backed out on me :( I was really bummed, but a friend from the Madelinetosh Lovers group (handdyer fanclub) had arranged for me to give her friend Christina a lift, plus there's really no excuse to miss Rhinebeck, so I was going anyways. Thursday night I spoke to Christina and she asked if I had room in the car for her friend Leslie. Shabbos lunch at Chavi's, I realized that Rochel's a crocheter, and even though she's not crazy into yarn like some people, I thought she might like to go. The enthusiastic "Yes!", even after I explained I'd be picking her up at 6:20 am, was awesome :)

Despite my strict "I am not picking anybody up, you need to come to Rego Park" rule, I left at 6am to pick up Rochel at 6:20 & then Christina & Leslie from Christina's in Astoria at 6:45. It was a beautiful drive through fall foliage and some incredibly picturesque fog


(Don't worry, Rochel took all the photos while I was driving)

We got there at 9:05, because someone (I won't name names here) had told me that Rhinebeck opens at 9am and I didn't double-check :( :( Some booths were open to early shoppers, so I introduced Christina & Leslie to Holiday Yarns and the awesomeness of the Tsock Tsarina sock kits. Of course I name-dropped and told Jen I'm friends with Rachel. Nobody bought anything - I need to finish last year's Oktoberfest kit before I get another - but Leslie & Christina went back later & Leslie got the Golden West sock kit. We then went to building B for The Fold & Socks That Rock, and found out that Rhinebeck opens at 10 on Sundays. I still feel terrible about making everyone leave so early, but otoh we browsed buildings A and B in like 20 minutes, so there was an upside :)

I was the first purchase of the day at Spirit Trail Fiberworks. Thank you SO much Moutons for the recommendation, their yarns are gorgeous! I bought 1 skein of Helen in Waikiki:

Rochel got 2 skeins but I don't remember what base. They were a dark blue and also very beautiful. We then backtracked to pick up some STR. Rochel bought a skein of Lightweight in Mesa for a Beret, and I got some Mediumweight in Paula Mae.

Rochel was a really good sport and let me drag her all the way across the fairgrounds, without any sightseeing along the way, so we could hit Sanguine Gryphon next. I kinda fell in love with Painted Desert on Traveler, until two awesome knitters in front of us in line told us where to find the Bugga. I bought 2 skeins in a color called Red Spotted Purple Butterfly:

Their colorways had the most excellent names.

After SG it was almost 11am, so Rochel & I went to Building C to find some Yarn Hoars. KangaNYC had texted me that she was running late, but I was also expecting to meet Fairfield2002 & family. We didn't find them :( but we did have morning snack :) and then continued hunting yarn :) :)

We accidentally scheduled our day in the best way possible, because after the Big Three - Spirit Trail, STR, and Sanguine Gryphon - all other yarn had a lot to live up to. We made it to every building and only got a tiny bit more yarn. We bought a skein each of this weird-but-beautiful mohair yarn, because the booth displayed a beautifully simple, seed-stitch sample scarf (tonguetwister! :) that we just had to try.

I'm halfway through mine :)

I also bought a skein of "Random Grey Mohair" to recreate this:

I think it will go perfectly with a sleeveless mauve dress I sometimes wear to weddings, and needed to find a shrug for. Oh, and I also bought a beautiful print of a pen-and-ink drawing of a moose in the snow. It reminded me of skiing in Montreal :)

At around 1:30, KangaNYC texted me that she was at Rhinebeck, and we met her & her friend Teri (I think - I'm terrible with names!!) at Jennie the Potter's booth. I owe a HUGE thank-you to Andrea for explaining the Yarn Hoars & Madelinetosh stalkers to Rochel with me - Rochel probably still thinks I'm crazy, but now knows I am not alone in my insanity and that some people are much worse....

We followed Kanga back to Building B for some STR. I think Teri got something. Then Rochel & I went next door to Brooks Farm, where I talked her into a skein of yarn by promising to knit her some fingerless mitts. What hardship - I get to enable her, and play with the pretty yarn, and contribute to her continued crocheting. It was basically a triple win for me! I bought a pattern at Brooks (Counterspell Shawl). We hit Maple Creek Farm but weren't into the colors they had left.

For the first time (in three tries), I actually made it to every building and barn. We saw lots of adorable sheep and goat.
This sheep was getting a haircut prior to entering the show ring. Adorable!


Did this sheep use a hairdryer or what?


CUTEST SHEEP EVER:


Camouflage sheep blended into his environment:


Last stop of the day:


Continuing the tradition started last year with T & S, Rochel & I stopped at Pita Hot on the way home for post-Rhinebeck Shwarma :)

10.12.2010

ready

I think I'm ready to buy some new shoes:

I just hope these don't fall apart before I get home tonight....