Knit and Plenty

Stitch or Treat

I'm sure, by now, you've all knitted up your pumpkin hats or felted a pumpkin patch. I barely got to the store to buy the yucky bag of Bit O Honeys. I buy those because they are just about the only candy that I won't eat. (Neither will any of the kids who come to the door.) Sorry to say but I'm not a big Halloween fan. Mind you, I don't turn off all the lights in the house (hi, pop!) and I really do like seeing the little ones - but it's not a biggy for me.It is, however, a great excuse to sit by the door and KNIT - and isn't that what really matters??

Now, Here are my Top Ten Ways To Know You are Too Old to Trick or Treat10. You get winded from kno

10. You pass any house that requires climbing steps to the door.
9. You plan to hire somebody to chew the candy for you.
8. You are only looking for high fiber treats.
7. Instead of collecting for UNICEF, you're collecting for your IRA
6. People say, "Great Cruella Deville mask!" and you're not wearing one.
5. When the door opens you yell, "Trick or..." and can't remember the rest.
4. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.
3. People can't guess that you're the Lipitor Fairy.
2. You're the only Dora the Explorer in the neighborhood with a
walker.
1. You avoid going to houses where your ex-husbands live.

Happy Halloween!

It's a Wind Sock.

Every year in New England, just when the leaves reach their absolute peak of perfection, you can bet that a wind storm will come along and blow Autumn away. That's what's in store for us this weekend. They're predicting 40 to 60 mile per hour winds. But I'm o.k. with that, because, this week, I finished my first sock  - and I am in need of a full-out two-day lock down to hunker down and get the second sock made. So far I have loved everything about the whole sock thing. But "the other sock", well, that's just feels a bit like "the second sleeve" - So at this point, I just really want to get it done. However, I really do like sock knitting so maybe the winds of change are blowing my way. I know how great it's going to feel when I slip these babies on my feet. Let's just hope the lights don't go out. Have a great weekend. See ya Monday.

Rhinebeck Wrap

Today I'll wrap up my tales of Rhinebeck (cuz it's probably really boring my faithful blog-reading family members) with the final display of this beautiful bulky from Brooks Farms. Their stuff is just amazing. With names like Harmony and Four Play, you can get lost in their fiber for daze. Four play is 50/50 wool and silk at 270 yards for $16.00 and the colors are to dye for, as we all say.

Rhinebeck mission accomplished. I managed to spend less than $250. (Mostly because I am going to Stitches in two weeks and the train and the hotel are twice that!)

On the way home, we had a spectacular sunset, and an amazing vista along the Hudson River. A picture perfect end to a memorable day.

Beyond the Wool

There was a ton of yarn at Rhinebeck, so it's not surprising that something like the booth of Fanatica Fibers would stand out in a crowd. I just loved their displays and the kits they offered which provide everything you need to felt up a wonderful scupture or wall hanging.

   

Aren't they wonderful? I think they would make a fantastic gift. Peoples is so creative, aint dey? 

We rocked.

We arrived at the gates of Rhinebeck before they opened - and we were probably one of the first 100 to get in. Betsy had a plan: to make a bee line for the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth to swoop up some Socks That Rock yarn. Being new to the world of sockdom, I had no idea what I was in for! Not five minutes after opening, I think all the other 100 people had the same plan - because the booth was already packed by the time we got there - and the line to pay was about 20 people long. I quickly battled for two skeins: one called watermelon tourmeline and the other "Highway 30" and took my place in line. Rumor has it that by noon the line was almost an hour long and all the Socks That Rock was sold out.

I guess its a pretty cool yarn, especially if you can Fair Isle with it. Could that be somewhere in my future??

Scary.

Satiated Yarn Appetite

What a beautiful day it was in Rhinebeck, New York, where thousands of us fiber fanatics descended on Saturday to partake in all manner of sheep and wool. I'll share with you as we go through the week my goodies, and some of my favorite vendors. I am quite proud of myself that I was rather discerning, and kept to most of my pre-festival vows. In all, I bought three skein of sock yarn, two skeins for one scarf and one skein that I don't know what I'll do with. And I was able to satisfy my yarn hunger. (Let's not forget I am going to Stitches in two weeks.)

Here I am with my Close Knit Friends after our brief artichoke break.

I have to say that I was a little surprised by one thing that I must have missed seeing last year.

On one side of the fairgrounds are all these wonderful animals: sheep, llamas, alpacas, angora rabbits and lamb.

And on the other side, is a line, five deep, of people waiting :

What are they waiting for?

LAMB CHOPS!

Sorry, but it struck me a little odd. I always thought that part of the beauty of this whole animal/yarn continuum is that the sheep/lamb/rabbits don't have to die for the cause.

And while I am not a vegetarian, I don't eat lamb because I really do love sheep.

That said, it was a marvelous day! All around the fair were fellow bloggers playing Stitchy McYarnPants' blogger bingo. I didn't seem to be a square on anybody's card - but I'm happily donating a GKT Kit to the winner!

Hope you'll stick around this week to hear about the rest of the trip.

Rhinebeck or bust.

My Close Knit Friends and I are all riding up together to Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival on Saturday. The vehicle is all gassed up and ready to go.

Now, I have made myself a few vows.

I will not bring home a dog, or any other farm animals.

I will not by a loom or any other spinning accessories.

I will not buy anything that's itchy, no matter how beautiful the colors are.

I will not convince a friend to buy yarn just so she spends more than me.

I will not decide to make a king size afghan.

I will not buy batting no matter how good a deal it is.

I will not eat more than one order of artichokes. Ok, two.

I will not buy a knitting bag, except if I really, really see something special.

I will not buy one skein of anything - or pay more than $20 per skein for anything.

and lastly,

I will not promise to keep any of these vows.

Oh, I - am - in - big - trouble.

Good Knit. Steek tight.

Someone asked me yesterday, "When do you sleep?" and I thought, "I wonder if knitters get asked this question more than others?"  Obviously, non-knitters have a hard time figuring out how we can possible find the time for it. Personally, on average, I knit about two hours a day (in the cooler weather) and mostly its between 10 p.m. and midnight while watching TV. Some times, if I am lucky, I have to wait somewhere (doctor's office, DMV) during the day and I sneek in 15 minutes here or there. But when I read other people's blogs (which brings us back to the question of 'when do you sleep?" I am amazed at how much knitting other people get done. Much more than me. And I want to say to them "When do you sleep?"

Frankly, I believe sleep is overated, and it's only when I am in the middle of doing it, or coming to the end of it, that I want to do more of it. (Ummm - kinda like sex.)

We've already established in an earlier survey that we definitely would rather knit than have sex - but this time I am wondering, how much time do you knit, and how much time do you sleep? Do you find yourself quietly clacking away after the world has gone to bed?

Proposition 19 - Make 4.75 Stitches/Inch Illegal

I am seriously gauge-challenged. I have tried to start this really nice Sarah Dallas sweater 3 times and I just can't get it right. The pattern gauge is 19 stitches which really is a gauge that should be abolished! 19 stitches SUCKS because that means it's 4.75 stitches per inch - and since I can never measure stitches to begin with, trying to count 3/4 of a stitch is really impossible. What's more, the pattern says to cast on 179 stitches, and then in the course of the next 10 rows, there's a funky  (rather complicated) ruffle which twists and tucks and eventually ends up with the number of stitches (89) to get the width of the back of the sweater correct. God help me. I did a gauge with size 6 needles - and it looked good. Not 4. Not 4.5. Not 5. Ok, so I cast on and I did the whole ten rows, and ended up with a sweater that would have been 34 inches wide. So, what do i do, I drop to size 5's and do a gauge. Great. Not 4. Not 4.5. Not 5. Ok, here I go to do the first ten  '179 stitch' rows AGAIN. This time its about 26 inches wide. What the F???

Now, I'm completely lost. And what's more, I've lost all interest in the G-damn project!!

Luckily, I have my trusty Koigu sock project to turn to. Now I can see why everybody loves a sock. You can never go to far wrong with a sock. Tomorrow night I get to learn how to make a heel flap. Gosh, I sound like I'm retarded.

McStretchy

By now you've probably heard the news that Dr. Burke

and McDreamy got in a real fight on the set of Grey's Anatomy.

Boys, boys, boys, I told you not to fight over me. 

Well,you know I'll be tuning in tonight while I continue to knit up my first sock. (Cheap segue to show you my sock progress) Not bad. I really like how stretchy the ribbing feels. I should be done with these by...Kwanzah.

Oh, and by the way, while I love Grey's, I can't bear this whole dating thing between Meredith and the two guys. What man worth his spit would put up with it? Guaranteed, the guy you'd want is the guy who refused to play.