Rhinebeck, of course!

OK, I’ll say it…Rhinebeck was absolutely and totally….magical. I don’t even know if I can find words to describe just how much fun this whole thing was. The drive to the festival was lovely, my companions, Yankee Lagniappe, CostumeChick, Knelley Knits and Wife, Mom, Knitter were such a riot, and the best traveling companions ever, the late October day was oddly summer-like, and the smorgasbord of yarn, fiber, animals, food, and friendly people was unbelievable.

Of course, it’s me, so I didn’t take a camera and have no photos to show of the day :(. But I did buy things! First, the yarn:







My first ever Socks That Rock, and I’m so excited to use it! I was very happy to see that The Fold still had STR on Sunday morning, and I had to grab some. The colorway is called Amethyst. Meaning, purple. Meaning, not the blue that seems to be all over this skein. Purple. Trust me.

Next up:


A 50/50 wool and bamboo blend…it's pretty, it’s bamboo, and best of all, it's machine washable and dryable! How can you beat that???? And again, it's also much more purple than my old camera, or my abilities in that department (which we all know are poor) seem able to convey.

And last, but certainly not least, a little surprise I got at the end of the trip when my friends gifted me with this in return for my chauffeur services:

It’s Aussie Sock yarn, a brand that I’d been eyeing earlier in the day, but that I ultimately found I hadn’t enough money for. No problem now! This wild colorway, named Spanish Fiesta, is way cool. Thanks, guys!!

And look at this :) :

I bought Mason-Dixon Knitting, and Ann Shayne and Kay Gardiner were there to sign it!!! And Kay gave me some tips on finishing for the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket that I talk about incessantly and someday will start! Ooops, that's right, I meant to post pics of the yarn...next post!

Did you see their cute-as-all-get-out stamp heads????

What *nice* people!

And that was not the only celebrity sighting...we met Jess and Casey of Ravelry on a couple of occasions that day, and, while doing some last minute shopping as the festival closed, we ran into the Yarn Harlot too! Woo hoo! A very heady day in terms of celebrity viewing, and meeting!

It was, put simply, amazing. I still can’t quite put the whole experience into words, though I’ve taken up a page trying :). But I will say one more thing: I can’t thank my friends enough for joining me, they made it so much fun!

The Latest

I've actually done lots of knitting lately but I've been too hypnotized by Ravelry to do any blogging...but I just loaded the pics, forcing my commitment to actually blog today. So, first things first....


I know that you've seen these socks before, in all states of completion, but they came out so pretty in this pic (surprisingly, considering my minimal photographic skills) that I just had to show them off again. Here they are, finally, done :).

Next, these took far longer than I thought they would, mostly because of gauge/needle changes that needed to be made:

Tiny, tiny mittens, fitting a six to nine month old. I used the Baby Nordic Mitts pattern, and I highly recommend it, even though I didn't get the chance to do the colorwork because I was requested to make them in navy blue (in Wendy Peter Pan Double Knit for easy care). They actually came out looking much different from the pattern pic, likely because I ended up using 0's and a DK yarn (instead of 1's and the fingering weight called for in the pattern). The DK yarn and tiny needles resulted in a thick, warm mitten with nice snug cuffs. I love them.

I can't stand baby booties. But I was asked to make them, so here they are:

These are Two Needle Cable Baby Booties. So darn cute that they've kind of changed my mind about baby booties! I really love how they turned out. The only alteration I made to the pattern was to rib in needles two sizes smaller than the body to make a more snug-fitting cuff. Actually, four were requested:



And now it's on to two Kids' Earflap Hats to complete the set, using the same Wendy Peter Pan Double Knit in navy blue.

I have in my hot little hands enough Silky Wool to make the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting - but alas, no time to do it yet. And I keep forgetting to take pics of it. I'm waiting for some Rowan 4 ply Cotton for another Isabella, and when I get that, I'll take pics of everything. I started a sock for my daughter out of that rockin' Marks and Kattens blue and white cotton that I got from Sami at SnB (see my entry Sock Blocking for a pic). It's knitting up on 1's, so it will be slow going, even for a little one's socks. But it's pretty. I'll post a pic soon...maybe even less than a month from now :).

A little Melissa

I have knitting to blog, and I'll put it up very soon. Blame Ravelry (where I am lkmcland)...I've been sucked into the vortex for about a month now. Anyway, for now, Melissa...just because I still like her so much. And Rosie, painting/crafting. I think she started this with her kids, and finished it here:

Sock Blocking

Look at what I made!


Well, I actually *did* make the socks, and I'm really happy with them, but this is what I was referring to:




I made sock blockers! I made them from wire hangers, using the directions given in Debbie Stoller's Stitch 'N Bitch Nation (p. 139). They aren't perfect, and after I took the pic I ended up having to clip a part of each sock to the hanger to secure it, but still I think they are quite clever!


Next up, socks for my daughter made out of this rockin' yarn given to me by a fellow SnB'er (thanks, Sami!). I can't wait to start knitting...maybe tonight!

Here's a closer pic of the swatch I made. These socks are going to be so cute!

Also in line is yet another Isabella, this time with short sleeves and in a muted green, I think, at the request of my partner. I'm also seriously considering knitting the Moderne Log Cabin Blanket from Mason Dixon Knitting (pp. 77-79), in the actual costly Silky Wool that the pattern calls for. I just might do it, although both I and my budget are hearing that Swish Superwash from Knitpicks calling us, *very* loudly.

OK Go

Today, just pure, unadulterated fun. This is ancient in internet years, but it's so neat that I never get tired of watching it. Then again, I get a kick out of watching ant farms and weather fronts, so maybe it's just me. Anyway, check this out....

Knitting, for a change

Yes, I thought I might add some knitting related news to my knitting blog. Not much, though...sciatica won the battle most of last week, but I am doing much better now and have started back on...

...my socks. Up to (down to, I guess) the heel flap on the second one. I'm happy with them, no worries, they seem to be chugging along just fine...but take a look at the pic above, and the one below:

Same socks, same camera, same room, same time of day...but shot from a different angle they almost look like two different colorways. Weird. For the record, I like the second view better, so I guess I'll always have to look at them from that angle, no?

Now, this, this is something:

My very first roving purchase ever! Well, not counting the boring gray roving that came with my spindle. These colors are outrageous! I took my kids to a local yarn sale, picked out the blue, and while the clerk was weighing it I thought a pound of blue might be a bit much, so asked for half a pound and told the kids to pick the second color. And they picked the green! Fun colors, fun together too.

So, this means I actually will *have* to pick up that spindle again soon (because I am not one to waste money) and try to get good enough at spinning so that I don't actually trash this roving when I touch it.

Speaking of green, a certain son of mine has been asking me to post a pic of a finished project of his. It is, of course.....

a frog! What else?? A rather dapper one at that. He's so proud of this, his first ever latch hook project. Me too! I do wonder if knitting is in his future...

Yellow

Not much in the way of knitting progress to report...I've been visited by one of the worst episodes of sciatica I've ever had, and sitting and knitting seems only to aggravate it. I'll have more to talk about as this recedes in the next week or so. In the meantime, I'll leave you with this video of Greg Page, the Yellow Wiggle who was forced to leave the group after suffering from Orthostatic Intolerance (his heart works less well when he stands) for some time. Greg has always been my favorite, and this song seemed to fit him and this video so well. The video's creator had intended it as a "get well" video, but after Greg left, it turned into a "goodbye" tribute. I would venture to guess that this comes across as a really dorky thing to those who don't know or don't care about the Wiggles, but having spent literally years with my kids being a fan of them, well, it's really sad to me.