2013 Goals

We are continuing to have a wonderful time in WNY. I took a much longer walk last night and snacked on an icicle. I haven't done that in about 20 years! We're all pretty chill here today. The little kids are outside playing in the snow and the rest of us are leisurely going about our business (I'm trying to find the skein of alpaca I brought with me to cast on for a black Capitan hat). I had breakfast with my BFF (sans triplets. My DH is sick and I didn't want to risk passing the yucky germs onto the babies) and we grabbed lunch at Mighty Taco (SO GOOD! SO CHEAP! SO GOOD!)

Tonight, we'll play games and watch movies and wait until midnight so we can open the door and let the New Year in!

I have to say that 2012 was a great year for us! My favorite moment of the whole year is the picnic that my husband and I had on the family room floor in our new house an hour after the closing. Our family is in excellent health, we have a home large enough for all of us and then some, the kids are adjusting well to our new neighborhood, and we feel incredibly blessed.

My goals for this year were to read more and to knit more. I've done both of those things (my Nook has helped me to do both of them together!) My knitting goals for this year are a bit more concrete, so with a deep breath, here are my 2013 Knitting goals:

• Learn to knit in the Portuguese style
• I bought Andrea Wong's DVD and a knitting pin at Rhinebeck. I've seen others knit ridiculously fast with this method, so I think it's a good thing to learn.
• Knit 4 pairs of socks
•  I'd really like to make the goal 6, but I'm trying to be super conservative in my goals, so I can actually meet them! I have enough sock yarn in the stash to meet this goal and I really love handknit socks in the winter!
• Knit through my Rhinebeck stash before the festival in October (thus supporting the thesis that my stash acquisitions were entirely reasonable) (not that I'm going to get to go again this year, but I totally want to!)
• Participate in the Knitgirllls "Expand Your Horizons" Spinning Challenge
• This will be slightly easier for me given one of my Christmas presents, but we'll talk about that later this week.
• Knit 3 sweaters for myself (which pretty much accounts for the Rhinebeck stash)
• I would really like one of the sweaters to be the Starry Night Sweater from Knitpicks. I started it a long time ago, and it would be nice to finish it.
• Finish the Birthday Pi Shawl
• Another UFO that needs some time and attention. I might make one night a week a lace night.

 Do you have any knitting goals for 2013?

I wish you all a very blessed and happy new year!

Images of Christmas

I hope you had a wonderful and blessed Christmas! Our family had a wonderful time on Christmas Eve and Christmas. I received some very knitterly gifts, but I'll share them another time.

We left the 26th for my parents' house, but spent that night in a motel. The snow made the roads too difficult to drive! Thankfully, we arrived safely in time for brunch on the 27th and celebrated Christmas again with my family.

I'm very much enjoying being home. We've gone sledding every morning and I've taken walks every night. The kids are playing nicely with their toys and LOVING the snow.

Here are some pictures of our Christmas vacation:

A family of Snowmen wrapped candy bars

My Dad's Tree - at least a thousand ornaments and who knows how many lights

The street at night - my favorite time to take a walk

A pretty decorated pine

I hope that you're having a wonderful time this week as well!

Happy Holidays!

A Christmas Blessing....

May you feel the love that is Christmas
May peace reign in your heart and your home
May you experience real Christmas joy through Christ
May you remember that the baby grew up and gave the ultimate gift

If you'd like to know more about this gift, please click here.

Bardic Circle (Spoiler)

A few weeks ago I discovered Creature Comfort Craftworks' Bardic Circle Club. This is an every other month, pay as you go club for either yarn or fiber based upon some Shakespearean play. Since I've been wanting to try a club and the cost was very reasonable AND it was a good excuse to force myself to do some real quality reading, I signed up for the inaugural month. This month's colorway is called "Secrets Kept" and based on A Winter's Tale.

Today, my package arrived!

I can't tell you how excited I was to unwrap an early present!!!!

This is the yarn:

I think the colors are coming out pretty accurately, although the yarn may be ever so slightly more purple than this picture shows. These are totally MY colors!!! I chose the sock yarn base, so it's 460 yards of 75/25% merino/nylon yumminess. I'm not sure what I'll make with it yet. I think I'll rely on the play for some inspiration.

Besides that, I had a lovely day today relaxing at home with the kids, making dog biscuits for the black lab down the street, playing Just Dance on the Wii, and making some ornaments. I expect another chill day tomorrow. Just a little bit of wrapping to do, and I'm ready for Christmas!

Scenes from Around the House

In no particular order....

Stained glass cookies

 Chocolate crinkles (my favorite!)

The house lit up at night

 Cake pop bouquet

My Christmas Socks!

Christmas is Coming....

I'm on Christmas preparation overload. I think I'm totally fine in getting everything done, if I don't have to actually wrap anything. Add in the wrapping and I really have to start worrying about fitting in all of my Christmas movies (and where are all my cheesy Lifetime movies? Eve's Christmas, If You Believe, Comfort and Joy????? I LOVE these movies!!!)

I finally took a craptastic photo of one of my finished Christmas presents. Here is my MIL's Mulnomah Shawl:

I was nervous about its size when it came off the needles, but it blocked out to a little more than 50" across. It fits quite nicely over my shoulders and my MIL is much smaller than me, so I think it will be perfect!

I also finished a Norwegian Star hat for DH, but still have to block it and take some photos. I also finished a cardigan for Baby Girl's Bitty Baby last night, but again, it has to be blocked. That just leaves my Christmas stocking and Christmas socks to go (DH also needs a stocking, but he's not that jazzed about giving up his current one to get with the knit theme, so I've taken away the stress of knitting it this year). I'm turning the heel on my stocking now and I've completed one of my socks (my first afterthought heel sock!). I could easily add some fingerless gloves and dishcloths to my list, but I'm trying to resist!

Hopefully, I'll find the time to take some more pictures this coming week! I'm sure we'll be very busy. Besides all the normal getting ready for Christmas stuff, we're hosting an Eggnog and Cookie Open House on Friday. We thought it would be a great way to get to know some of our new neighbors a little better! Most of the cookies are baked, but there's a lot of cleaning to do! And I can't seem to remember what website I pulled my eggnog recipe from and of course, I've never written it down! Any suggestions?

Happy knitting!

Pre-Christmas Blahs

I've had every intention this week of getting some FO pictures and reporting on my Christmas knitting progress.

I have taken no pictures.

I have made 2 kinds of cookies (peanut clusters and krumkage, traditional Norwegian Christmas cookies). I have set up and decorated not one, but two Christmas trees (because when 6 of your new neighbors tell you how much they loved the tree the previous owner of your house put in the front 2nd floor window, you take the hint). I have hung lights outside the house, but on the front and back (really side) porch. I have almost all of my gift shopping done and am not really stressed about the three gifts I need to buy. I've bought wrapping paper and tape and as of right now, I know where my scissors are.

I have zero Christmas Spirit.

Zilch.

I LOVE Christmas. I love the carols and decorations. I love picking out presents for people I love (and even for some people I don't love). I love baking and crafting. This is our first Christmas in our HOUSE. Not an apartment, but our house! We can set up any decorations we like and no one can yell at us! Our tree is not in the dining room! We even have a mantle from which to hang our stockings!

Why can't I get excited?

I'm blaming it on the weather.

Despite my lack of enthusiasm, I have made knitterly progress.

I finished the Multnomah Shawl. I really thought it was going to be too small, but it blocked out beautifully. I've also knit a hat for my husband (although it still needs a pompom. I think) and I've knit all but the heel of my Christmas after-thought heel socks. I've also started the first of two Christmas stockings and a sweater for Bitty Baby. As far as knitting goes, I'm in pretty good shape. I'll do my best to take a picture or two of the FOs.

Maybe that will help my Christmas Spirit show up.

Post-Thanksgiving Update

I had meant to update the blog before Thanksgiving, but as usual, our household craziness didn't leave much time for that!

I hope you had a truly wonderful Thanksgiving. We had a great one! First of all, we are SO thankful to be in our new house and to be settling in nicely (if not so much neatly). Our ride to WNY was SUPER easy this year - we left around 1:30 and made the trip in 9 and 1/2 hours, which is a Thanksgiving week record! (We're often around 11 or 12 hours). We had a restful Thanksgiving Day, with a very short family Turkey Bowl on the front lawn (maybe next year). I got to go Black Friday Shopping with my BFF - I wasn't sure if she would be able to go this year, but the triplets are still in the hospital and I think her husband decided she needed something to look forward to and to help her not go stir crazy. I'm finished with about 80% of my Christmas shopping, which means more time for crafting and baking fun before the holiday!

I was also able to visit the triplets in the hospital - they are BEAUTIFUL! And tiny! Really, we had a great weekend. Now, if only I could get my decorating mojo going and get my Christmas tree up!

Before Thanksgiving, I was accomplishing quite a bit. Here's pictures that I took a week ago:

First, I made myself a Christmas project bag! I didn't have a pattern, but winged it based upon another bag that I own. I LOVE IT! I might make one for every season!

I finished one Monkey sock. I'm bummed that I didn't finish the pair for Thanksgiving. They are such the perfect fall colorway! (Not that I know what that colorway is....), but there's always next year. The yarn is Plymouth Sockin' Sox and I bought it at least a year ago.

I'm holding off on the second Monkey sock for now, in order to start my Christmas socks.

I

 I know, it's Red Heart. I know a lot of people have opinions about Red Heart yarn, but I found this on clearance at Joann's for 97 cents a skein. It's hard to argue with $2 socks, and I LOVE the way it's knitting up. The colors are really pretty. I have about 4 inches of the first sock done. They are my current traveling project. (And yes, they're traveling in my new project bag!)

I also finished the fourth/third Tummy Warmer vest to replace the one that Baby Girl cut up, but I don't think I took any pictures of it finished before I passed it on to BFF. I also knit up three little Christmas Tree Hats for the babies to wear for Christmas (who should all be home in time to celebrate! Yea!)

I love these hats. I had made a larger one for Baby Girl's first Christmas. These tiny ones knit up super fast!

I also finished the Multnomah shawl, but have yet to block it. I've decided it's way too small for my MIL. So, I'll find something else for her for Christmas and knit her an actual shawl for her birthday, which is January 9th. I'll keep the Multnomah for myself.

The Katrine Cardigan has gotten some love this week. I HOPE to have it finished by Friday, so I can totally dedicate December to Christmas knitting. I'm hoping to do a hat for DH (already cast on), two Christmas stockings, and a Bitty Baby Sweater, plus finish my socks. A few pairs of fingerless mitts wouldn't be too bad, but that might be pushing it a bit. Actually, if the hat and stockings were the only things that got done, I'd be okay with that. No, the socks have to be done for sure! And I wouldn't mind knitting up the red and white yarn I bought at Rhinebeck for a festive hat. Oh, if only there were more hours in a day!)

Maybe if I knit a little less I'd have more decorating time. I really have to get on the tree thing! The extra week this year between Thanksgiving and Christmas has me all thrown off. I really like to have our tree up a little early, since we're not home to enjoy it the week between Christmas and New Year's.

I hope your holiday preparations are going well!

Hurricane Knitting

I started this post well over a week ago, but never got around to taking pictures. So, I'm just going to edit it a little here or there. Sorry if it's confusing to anyone.

I got a little carried away with the knitting this weekend. (Which is really two weekends ago now)

Thursday I needed something easy to take with me so I grabbed some sock yarn and needles. I knit a cuff and then checked out sock patterns in my queue when I got home. I decided to knit a pair of Monkeys. They've been hanging out in my queue since I first knit socks, so I think it's time.

Friday afternoon, we met up with friends from Medford (where we lived before we moved) and trick-or-treated in Medford Square. We LOVE this tradition! We see so many of our friends (both the kids and the grown-ups!) and it's so much fun to see all of the costumes. Our favorite this year was a lego man - made totally out of cardboard boxes. After trick-or-treating we went to my in-laws house for dinner. They loved seeing the kids in their costumes! But while there, my MIL was wearing a shawl I knit for her quite a few years ago. I knit it out of awful acrylic yarn and bound off early because I got tired of knitting garter stitch. Despite it's shortcomings, my MIL throws it on around the house all the time. I've decided it's time for a new shawl. I used the fingering weight BFL I bought at the Holidome to cast on for a Multnomah Shawl for her. It's very easy - garter stitch followed by Feather and Fan. It will make a great traveling project. So, hopefully that gets done by Christmas.

I'm about to start the feather and fan section now

I finally finished the swatch I brought to Rhinebeck with me. And I didn't get gauge. I washed the swatch, it grew, and I'm a lot closer to gauge. So, I cast on for the Katrine Cardigan. I knit mostly on that during the actual storm, with a few breaks to work on the shawl.

(Sorry for the craptastic photo.) Um, yeah, I've knit on this quite a bit. I started the first sleeve last night. I'd like it to be a bit longer, but I'm afraid of running out of yarn. So, I'm going to do the sleeves and then determine if I can add any length.)
And then today I discovered that Baby Girl had found my third, now completed, tummy warmer and a pair of scissors. It wasn't pretty and I can't even really talk about it any more than that without getting really upset. Here's a picture. It still hurts to look at it. Sorry the pictures is sideways, but you get the drift.

 I hit up a LYS for another skein of Cascade 220 Sport (BTW, did you know that Cascade 220 now has a fingering weight yarn? It's more than 220 yards/skein) and cast on for another tummy warmer, so all three triplets can have one. This will probably be the last time I knit 3 of anything besides hats. I'm bored with this pattern now.

(As you can see, I've had a hard time being motivated to work on this. I did finish the #3 hat though, and mailed that off to BFF)

Finally, since my elbow kind of hurts from all this knitting (is knitter's elbow a thing?) I spent a bit of time spinning the Romney roving I bought at Rhinebeck on my Golding Spindle.

When the spindle is full, I've been winding the yarn onto these antique weaving spindles I bought for $1 each. I think I'm going to try a 3-ply yarn when the singles are done. I've also been hanging out with the Turkish spindle a few minutes each day.
 
I would love to be this productive every weekend. It won't happen though - I'm behind on the laundry, picking up, and general upkeep of the house. I really have to learn how to knit and vacuum at the same time.

What's on your needles these days?

Jenkins

Look what showed up in my mailbox today:

Jenkins Lark

Isn't she pretty?

I had tried a Jenkins spindle at Rhinebeck, but felt as though I could wait and would order one online in the future. And then I came home and found out they're not the most readily available thing online (that whole handmade thing, you know.) Last Thursday I had a pretty rough day and happened upon a shop update. A little bit of retail therapy can be good, so I ordered.

The package came quickly and it was packed with such care! The spindle came with some fiber already attached and a nice little cotton project bag.

I made the whole family watch it spin before they could eat dinner.

I've been doing a fair amount of spinning and knitting. I had started a post about all the hurricane knitting I did (there was quite a bit of casting on that day), but haven't gotten around to pictures. There might be finished objects by the time I get to them! Or, my house might actually get clean. It's never ending - the battle between the cleaning and the crafts!

Which one wins in your house?

Rhinebeck Trip: Final Thoughts

I really only have positive things to say about this trip! Thoughts:

• I really loved the opportunity to see in person some of the vendors that I read a lot about online. I won't hesitate to order online from Miss Babs, Cephalapod Yarns (and by extension, Verdant Gryphon), The Loop, Fiber Optic, or Into the Whirled. 
• I loved getting to see and try some tools out in person. I loved being in the Golding and Bosworth booths! I also now know that a turkish spindle will be going on my Christmas list!
• Lots of handknits, EVERYWHERE = AWESOME!
• I loved seeing some of the luxury yarn and fibers. I almost bought some camel and buffalo to spin, but held off for the moment. I also had to walk away from the qiviut/silk blend before I got carried away.
• I also loved seeing all the of the display knits, particularly in the booth that focused on cobweb yarn. Their lace was unbelievable!
• I was kind of surprised that not one person approached me about being on their Rhinebeck Bingo card (which was really too bad because I had chocolate to give away to them!) I think I was pretty identifiable. However, I only approached 2 people, but crossed off 7 or 8 people that I recognized on my card because I was too shy to approach them. I wish I could have met more people through the game.
• The Holiday Inn was a lot of fun. It's really expensive. If I were planning again, I'd really have to weigh out the pros/cons of that combination.
• I think my preparation in terms of lists and queues really paid off. However, I think my determination to stick to the list may have caused me to miss some of the vendors or not pay attention to things that might have been really interesting.
• I'm a little bummed that I missed the lleapin' llamas and the sheep to shawl competition. I'm not sure how to balance out all of the shopping there is to do versus all of the interesting things to see. My guess is, the more one attends these kind of events, the easier it becomes to balance everything.
• I'm glad that I participated in the Skein and Garment Competition and the drop spinning competition. I wish I had had the energy to stay for the chopstick knitting contest too. I'm definitely going to keep the "Participate in everything I can" attitude for any future events.
• This is definitely not an every year event for me, but only because of the cost (and most of that cost is gas and hotel) and the logistical difficulties of getting away this time of year. If gas and lodging was negligible, I think I would make a lot of effort to go for Saturday and Sunday and try to fit a workshop in. The workshops are a huge draw for me - there were more than a few I would have liked to take!

And finally, here's a close-up of my Golding spindle:

And a closer look at my ribbon wearing hat:

And the Gauge Wizard my mom bought me, that I forgot to add to the pictures of my haul:

(The clear part is a magnifier, making it so much easier to count your stitches!)


And now, I will spend the next months knitting and spinning, remembering the great fun I had in the Hudson Valley!

Rhinebeck Trip: Sunday

Sunday was a much slower day than the frenzy of Saturday. My mom and I slept a little later, took our time getting ready, and even hit the Olympic Diner for breakfast (and yes, if you're counting, that's diner #3 for the weekend). I had the chocolate chip pancakes - yummy! I will say, that given the touristy nature of the area, the diners were all super reasonably priced. I think, not including the CIA, I spent about $50 on food for the weekend, including lunches at the festival. Not too bad!

We arrived at the gates at about 9:45 and there was already a line. Fortunately, it moved really quickly once the gates opened up. Here we are waiting in line:

The plan for today was to check out the few vendors I really wanted to see but had missed the day before - Into the Whirled, The Loop, and Spirit Trail Fiberworks - and for my mom to buy some yarn. She didn't buy anything on Saturday! We were also hoping to track down the African baskets we saw people carrying around on Saturday. At some point in the morning, my mom and I briefly separated and then I couldn't find her at our designated spot. I kept thinking that I was going to be in SO MUCH TROUBLE because I LOST MY MOM!!!! Fortunately, I found her again, so it was all okay.

I did buy some fiber from Into the Whirled, but held off on the batts from The Loop (I wanted a  bullseye loop). I have some fiber in my stash and thought I would practice on that before going for the complicated stuff. A little before 11 we noticed the Artichoke booth and the not-very long line, so we got some Artichoke French to try.

Tasty, but I think I would prefer it as a spread on bread. The vendors are from Rochester and one of the servers had on a Sabres hat, and that might make me like them a little bit more.

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon wandering around. We both bought a skein of 50/50 wool/silk from Spirit Trail to make a scarf that was on display (Elm something by Anne Hanson). This was my only purchase that didn't directly relate to my queue-driven shopping list.

Speaking of Anne Hanson, I saw her twice - once on Saturday in the Briar Rose booth and once on Sunday wandering around. I also saw Clara Parkes at the Spirit Trail Fiber Booth, but that was all for knitterlebrity sitings. ETA: Actually, that's not true. I saw Glenna C. in line at Miss Babs. I wish I had seen Stephen West, since I used his Windschief pattern for my prize-winning hat. And NO ONE I talked to spotted the Yarn Harlot, which seems kind of crazy.

My mom has been having issues with sweaters, so we both had a Swirl consultation done at the Carolina Homespun Booth. It was really interesting to see how the different sweaters looked on us. Mom bought the book, so a swirl sweater may be in our futures!

I tried to take some more pictures, so here's a few views of the fairgrounds:

Miss Babs' booth

Into the Whirled

I also bought 2 skeins of Cascade Eco+ to make a sweater, a lucet and book for my mom for Christmas, some red and white sport weight yarn for a stranded hat/mitten set and some lavender hand lotion. We spent some time in the Bosworth booth, where I chatted with both Mr. and Mrs. Bosworth. They live not very far from me, so we chatted a little bit about the area. Upon confirming that Mrs. Bosworth knits, I asked her where she shopped for her yarn and then felt like a complete idiot when she responded "I knit with my handspun." Um, of course she does! She was very gracious when I apologized for asking such a stupid question. I know I'll feel very lucky when I unwrap the midi spindle my mom bought me for Christmas!

My mom left a little bit after 1. Her cousin from Norway was visiting her sister who lives about 2 hours from Rhinebeck, so my mom was going to meet up with them. My competition items couldn't be picked up until 4, so I wandered around a bit more by myself. I spent a little time with the animals, but was too tired to really appreciate them. I consoled myself with the thought that I tend to visit the animals quite a bit when I go the NH Sheep and Wool festival in May. Here are few shots of the cuties though:

Since my mom didn't use her coupon to Bijou Basin I did go back to make the same purchase I made the day before. Now I have 2 skeins of each type of yarn which will give me some more options when I pick out a pattern. I also picked up some fudge to bring home to the kids.

Here's the view as I was leaving the fairgrounds:

As much fun as I had, I really couldn't wait to get on the road to go home. Fortunately, I had no traffic issues whatsoever and the drive felt like it went by fairly quickly.  My husband very obligingly sat through my show and tell, and ooh'd and ah'd appropriately.

Here's a picture of my haul from Sunday:

The day after I was pretty darn exhausted, but it was well worth it! I had a great time!

Rhinebeck Trip: Saturday

Saturday morning, my mom and I were up VERY early. We were dressed and out the door before 8 a.m. (We definitely saved a lot of time and money by bringing bagels and cream cheese with us for breakfast.)

Billboard shot, because everyone else will have one.

We pulled into the parking lot at about quarter after 8 and were parked right in between the Main and 4H Gates, against the fence that enclosed the sheep dog trials. We were able to enter the fairgrounds right away with our workshop e-tickets. This gave us a bit of time to acquaint ourselves with the buildings and, most importantly, find the Cephalopod Yarns booth.

Although other vendors were setting up at the time (and in fact, I even managed to buy a batt from the Ulster County Fiber Guild), the Cephalopod people were no where to be found. They did finally show up a few minutes before 9 and I picked out some yarn to knit myself a sweater. Unfortunately, they only had 4 skeins. 4 skeins might have been enough, but I thought some insurance would be good. The vendor assured me they had more, but they were in the van. No problem! I could buy the 4 skeins now and they would hold the 5th skein for me to get after lunch. Except, they didn't have their cash box. The vendor graciously agreed to hold all the yarn for me, but as I walked along I started to second guess the price. I knew what it would cost to knit the sweater from the called-for yarn (Madelintosh) and this would cost almost double that. I decided not to do it. So, I'm kind of glad that I'm not suffering from buyer's remorse. It was great to see their yarn in person and I won't hesitate now to order from them online. I am probably the only person who would find themselves first in line at one of the most sought-after vendors and wind up buying nothing.

My mom and I spent a little bit of time walking through the barns. At Wild Apple Farms I found some pretty tweedy red worsted weight yarn on clearance for $3.50 a skein. I bought 10, more than enough to knit myself a Lynden sweater. I also bought an acorn support spindle. It's too cute!

After the barns my mom decided to take a break in the car to rest her feet, so I hightailed it to the buildings. I went right to Miss Babs' to check out the Color Affection kits. Sadly, she didn't have the colorway I wanted in the base that I wanted, but I did pick up 3 Yowza! skeins to knit up a Dark and Stormy. I will order the CA kit I want when it becomes available. Again, I'm glad to see her stuff in person and won't hesitate to order it online. I know a lot of people complained about the line, but I only waited about 20 minutes and that was the only real line I waited in all day.

I also hit the Golding booth and got myself a REALLY pretty little spindle. Next up was Bijou Basin. With the coupon from the workshops and the discount I received from my Scratch-a-Yak card at the register, I got 2 skeins of yarn - one is 100% yak down and the other a 50/50 wool/yak blend. I paid less than $30 altogether, so I feel like I got a really good deal!

After that I joined my mom back at the car where we sat and watched the sheepdog trials for a bit. I was much calmer by then, because I had hit all of my "must-haves" booths and was very pleased with my purchases. We grabbed some lunch (lamb ravioli for me and a lamb burger for her; both very yummy! ) and wandered around looking at whatever. The Fold was done being swamped by this point and I picked up one skein of Socks that Rock in the Saving Grace colorway. This is another thing I was excited to see in person. I also bought the "Knitting all the Time" CD.

We really enjoyed seeing all the beautiful handknits walking around. I had entered in the drop-spindling contest, so we headed over to Barn E next. There, I was VERY pleasantly surprised to find out that my entry in the featured breed, small item competition had won 3rd place! I had no expectation whatsoever of winning a ribbon, so I was really excited!

The attendant let us pose for a picture

I did not place in the drop spindling contest, but I feel like I did okay. By then, both mom and I were really tired. We opted not to stick around for the chopstick knitting contest but headed back to the hotel for a rest instead.

Of course, first, I had to admire and cuddle with all my new goodies:

Here's a shot of the haul up to this point:

I'll have to get a close up of the spindles another time to show you. Also, I think I forgot mention in the previous post that I was able to purchase Andrea Wong's Portuguese knitting DVD and 2 knitting pins on Friday at the workshops. I was really pleased with all of my purchases. Every single one of them fit my shopping list. Honestly, I would have been perfectly content even if I didn't go back to the show on Sunday.

After a nap and a shower, we headed back to Rhinebeck for the Cooperative Press party. Um, that was a big fat waste of gas. The party was in super hot, super small art gallery and there was nowhere to sit. We stayed for all of 5 minutes, which was long enough for me to meet Knitsinpublic Theresa in person.

She is super sweet in person and I was sad that I couldn't stay a little longer to talk with her, but did I mention, it was really hot, really crowded, and there was nowhere to sit down? We did admire her friend's (Gingy on Rav) gorgeous shawl, knit with her own handspun:

So gorgeous!

If you haven't yet, check out Theresa's podcast. I love to see what she's knitting and long to have her stash problems.

We left (ran out of) the party and hit Pete's Famous Diner for dinner. I had a really great triple-decker turkey club. YUM! We were back at the Holidome by 9 and enjoyed another lovely evening with our new friends, until the management turned out the lights.

I was asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow.

Rhinebeck Trip: Friday

Friday I took Abby Franquemont's "All Spindles, All Day" class. Sadly, again, I have no pictures. I learned a lot and was quite impressed with Abby's teaching skills, let alone her spinning expertise. I will say that the class description promised some skill building exercises that never really took place, and I am a little disappointed in that.

I was one of the first however many people to sign up for a workshop, so I got this really great tote bag with some nice goodies:

A skein of Vanna's Sequins, a fingerless glove pattern and a tape measure

 There was also another tape measure from Webs, and some coupons, including a free skein of yarn with purchase from Bijou Basin.

I was also able to buy some Sheep and Wool Festival project bags (the smaller one is for my spindling projects and the larger one is a gift.)

After class, mom and I headed to the Everready Diner in Hyde Park for dinner (we're actually just calling this the weekend of the diner. We ate at three of them).

I had a milkshake, bacon cheeseburger and fries. YUM!!!!!

After dinner we went back to the hotel and hung out in the Holidome where we met the most lovely people! We spent the evening with the most lovely ladies: Spinknitty and [insert Rav name here] (um, can't remember her Rav name. Any help from my other Holidome ladies?), llamalady, crochetlaady, yet to be on Ravelry Jacquie, and author and designer Margaret Hubert. Margaret is the cutest and she was kind enough to give us a trunk show and a mini-version of her workshop!

Margaret modeling one of her designs

Jacquie had a trunk full of Briggs and Little yarn and was kind enough to give me a skein to make a pair of thrummed mittens. I also bought a skein of sock yarn from Cosmic Fibers Yarn. She's had to close her etsy shop due to personal circumstances and was selling her remaining stock. 

Why yes, now that you mention it, there is a purple theme going on

We were up far later than I had wanted to be, but we were having so much fun it was hard to leave and go to bed! And believe me, we were up bright and early on Saturday to go shopping!