more Rhinebeck goodness

Here are a couple more snapshots. Not the greatest pictures. I am hoping the subjects can forgive me.

Jillian Moreno, of knittyspin and Big Girl Knits fame.


The not-so-great picture of two great ladies, Mason-Dixon bloggers and authors of 2 books, Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne. Like I said, I goofed on the picture, so here it is for you to see and judge:


Here's our Kay of Sliver Moon Farm on the right with a customer, Sara, both sporting the most often spotted sweater at Rhinebeck 2008: the February Lady Sweater. I know I saw at least 20 of them.

Every year, there is a project that appears in multiples. Can we say Clapotis? Central Park Hoodie? Tilted Duster? Tangled Yoke?

I wonder what next year's Rhinebeck sweater of the year will be.

Rhinebeck 2008

I am sitting here trying to recuperate from my annual Rhinebeck hangover. Do I wait another day so I can be coherent? No. Must post and tell you, at least with pictures.

It was fabulous.

Saturday in the wee hours of the morning, I drove down with my yarn and found this in the parking lot:


Later when the sun was up all the way, it lit up the trees.
We had the best weather ever, chilly but sunny.

On Saturday, Famous Meli came by to see me with her mom, Cara of January One, and dad.

They made my day right then and there.

Next, we have my friends Diane and Eric, Ravelry's Other Parents. Diane won a huge number of ribbons this year!!! (Diane, do you still have a blog? Can we see what you made?)

This is our booth. Before all the happy knitters came and snatched up all the wool.

You can see some of my yarn parked in the last four cubicles on the left.

Here's Laurie the Phantom Dyer as she describes herself, with our friend and customer, Gail.

Last year I managed to take no people shots, something which I remedied this year!

On Sunday, I got to wander a bit with my friend Sharon and took in the festival in all its facets.

You can sit and decorate a pumpkin, or text your friends. Whatever moves you.



I happened upon a llama and alpaca parade,





and I always make sure I visit the sheep to thank them for all the beautiful wool they grow.

Here comes the parade of famous people.

This is Jennie the Potter, whose blog I've been reading. I was very excited to see her there! She had the most windswept, exposed to the elements booth, but she is from Minnesota and probably used to weather...we traded yarn and pottery and I do hope very much she will make the trek again next year.

The Yarn Harlot in her element: talking to a baby.

I met the author of Shear Spirit, a book which I admire. Joan Tapper is wearing the Montana Tunic, a garment which has fascinated me and which I will have to knit in the near future. I mean, when do you ever meet a sweater that you can go hiking in, or wear going shopping New York City?

I also met the Mason Dixon ladies but I goofed with the picture. They are LOVELY. And funny. But you already know that, if you've ever read the blog or bought one of their books.

These ladies are not Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner, but they are Very Important looking and I think they were judges.

And of course you know who this is.

Jess from Ravelry, and her mom.

That's it. Now I have to go lie down a bit before I go to work.

A wool hangover is no joke.

Ready, set, go!

Before you start looking at the following pictures and ohh and ahh about the yarn, I need to tell you that I am not worthy because I have proven again what a moron I can be.

I did not finish the sweater for afghans for Afghans in time. I did try my darndest, but then work and the dyeing took over completely, and the sweater is still here.

I want to remind you that I got yarn free from them specifically for the purpose.
I am a bad, no good knitter, because I am causing suffering for a child in Afghanistan this winter. Or at least I did not get my act together in order to help alleviate the suffering.
Of course I will keep knitting for them right after the fest, and still send out the sweater, but I don't think it's going to make it for this shipment. Trust me, this is causing me bad dreams.


During the day, I have been working on this when I could:


This pile is going to Rhinebeck with me tomorrow, and will be parked in the SLIVER MOON FARM booth, where Kay and Laurie are so graciously letting me sell my yarn alongside theirs, in exchange for me helping them out.

Still dyeing this morning, hoping this will dry by tonight.

Any more than this, and I need to apply for my own booth. I have almost all merino worsted and sport here, kettledyed, and also some individually hand painted skeins.

Anyway, I hope you will stop by and see me, even though I am the world's lousiest charity knitter.

a few points

ONE. I'm OK again. Took a few days. Thank you for thinking of me!

TWO: I scored a seat in a class with Norah Gaughan on November 1st, at Colorful Stitches in Lenox, Mass.

THREE: There is going to be another Contemplative Knitting Retreat at the end of January, where I'll be teaching. Details to follow in a couple of weeks.

FOUR: I messed up the armhole/sleeve on the kid's sweater. Tonight, after work, I will rip and re-do.

FIVE: Next weekend is the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. I will be helping out in the SLIVER MOON booth, and they in turn will let me sell some handdyed yarn again. So guess what? I have been trying to get yarn dyed every free minute.

SIX: Crafty Girl is getting her braces installed on Tuesday. We stocked up on tylenol and soft food.

SEVEN: Gotta run!

sometimes a Monday

Sometimes a Monday feels like such a letdown.
Especially if you've had a good weekend with your college freshman home, and you had a couple of nice homemade dinners and went to see a movie and worked in the yard in the bright sunshine, and then on Monday you had to put him on the train after he walks his sister to school, and it's raining and you have a cold and your gut is all wrenched up because of some food you ate that does not agree with you. (Stupid gluten.)

But. Then there are people who are MUCH MUCH WORSE off than you and you consider them and you sit down and make a really warm sweater:


And even that cat gets in on it.



Project for the latest a4A campaign. A thick sweater for a child. I need to have it done in three days. I even got the yarn for free, if you are on the mailing list they told you in August that they have some yarn from a generous donor (not saying who at the time), all I needed to do is send them a check for 1st class postage.

It ended up being this gorgeous handdyed yarn from Blue Sky Alpacas, a 50/50 blend of wool and alpaca. Enough for a whole sweater.

I am sure I can fit this in between naps and rice crackers.

let's play a game

It's Friday. Tall Son is coming home for an extended weekend, I want to show you some fall flowers from my yard, and I have been tagged by my friend Leah over at Our Yellow House.
I promise you, once you check out her blog, you will want to go back there again and again. You'll wish that you could just go to her yellow house and play with her beautiful children, partake in the delicious food, and be inspired by Leah's projects.


The game works like this:

1) Link to the person who tagged you

2) Mention the rules

3) Tell six quirky yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself

4) Tag six other bloggers by linking to them

5) Go to each person’s blog and leave a comment that lets them know they’ve been tagged


OK, so here goes. Six quirky boring facts about me.

One. Quirks? Me? I don't have quirks. I am a perfectly normal woman with NO quirks.

Two. I like to collect business cards. Museums, galleries, yarn shops, book stores, doctor's offices, next door neighbors. If you have a business card with your pertinent information on it like phone number and email, I would like your card.

Three. I read knitting patterns like other people read poetry or novels. I read poetry and novels, too, but I also love to read knitting patterns. Watch me sit there late at night pulling one more knitting book off the shelf and just go over one more sweater or cardigan pattern.

Four. I am a night owl.

Five. I like Indian food, Chinese food, Thai food, and my own home cooking. As long as it's gluten free and cow's milk dairy free. And vegetarian. Oh and I LOVE to feed other people. Love to cook for a crowd. Not sure if that's a quirk or a passion.

Six. Thanksgiving is my mostest most favorite holiday. Other than always getting together with dear friends, see number five.

I am tagging the following (and this is going to be very hard, choosing just 6 people):

Kristine

Melanie

Leslie

Vivian

Jody

magnusmog

OK and I just HAVE to tag Bonnie in Amherst. She put a German poem on her blog, and if that isn't serendipity, I don't know what is.

Have a good weekend!

group portrait without lady

It's time to tally up what I made in September, during my Tenthousand Yard Challenge. I wanted to see how close I could come to knitting up that much yarn...I didn't make it, but I am pleased with the pile of projects that came out of it!

My final projects were:

A sweater that does in fact fit me, after all. I LOVE it. Used one skein of Decadent Fibers' "Cotton Candy" (no cotton in it, but there you have it. It's mohair, wool, and a nylon binder. Soooft.) stranded with one skein of Opal 6 ply sock yarn! Size 15 needles, top down, my pattern.


Three felted bags made out of Cascade 220. In my mind the best felting yarn ever.

A felted...what? Bucket? Basket? Bag? From a discontinued yarn I had from back in the day, Jaeger Luxury Tweed. The alpaca content made it fuzz up.

And here, then, the whole pile.

1 scarf

1 rectangular shawl

1 triangle shawl

13 felted bowls

5 felted bags

1 hat

7 afghan squares

1 baby sweater (still needs button band)

6 hexagons towards the Ode to Norah Hexagon Coat

1 sweater

and, not pictured, the beginnings of a sweater for a friend.

7819.43 yards.

The lady that will be missing from family portraits from now on is my paternal grandmother, who passed away on Monday, September 29th, at the age of 90. Her death was "expected", and we were all prepared as well as one can be, but still. It sideswiped me anyway. She was the last "grand", and of course I had lots of childhood memories flooding back.