Blithering Knitiot

Stash pics for Roxie

Happy Sunday.  I finally got around to taking some pics of the Rhinebeck and Skaneateles "Obscene Sale" yarn for Roxie.  So, here we go:

From Rhinebeck, a lovely Wool/Mohair blend:

Some Alpaca/Silk blend from Mel and Dave:

There were a couple of other purchases from Rhinebeck, but they are little gifty things that will hopefully get in the mail tomorrow.  If I can indeed get it in gear to get them packaged up to send today....  LOL!

And from the yarn sale in from Elegant Needles in Skaneateles last week:

The Jo Sharp that was $10/bag:

And:

And:

A little Sisik from Dalegarn (which is a more vibrant mustard/ochre color):

And remember the Pennsylvania Endless Mountains Fiber Festival from a few weeks back?  Well this is what I scored from them:

Some 100% Alpaca from Times Remembered - 8 ounces of fibery goodness:

And some sport weight Wool/Mohair:

So, there you have it - some acquired fiber from various places.  I have a couple of projects in mind for some of this yarn, and some of it has yet to tell me what it's supposed to be.  You knitters know how that goes, right Roxie?  *wink, wink, nudge, nudge*  I hope you all had a great weekend.

Good Morning!

Hi!  Now that everyone is rested and recovered from fiber overload in Rhinebeck, I just thought I'd let you know that my friend Sprite is still working on boxes for Kandahar, and if you would like to help in some way (as in helping with the cost of shipping boxes to the boys) visit Sprite and give her a hand if you can!

And as for the fiber from last weekend and the big sale I went to on Monday, I'll try to get some pics posted this weekend.  Cause I KNOW you wanna see it....

And, just because, a goat photo from Rhinebeck - because I don't think we've seen nearly enough goat pics from all the blogs that have posted about Rhinebeck:

Have a great Friday!

Rhinebeck

The weather was absolutely incredible, tons of yarn, fiber, sheep and other assorted animals, and thousands of really wonderful people we call "knitters".

The drive Saturday morning was absolutely lovely:

Ravelry members/bloggers were all over the place (wicked crazy, you know?):

A very talented man and his horses:

And a special shot just for Dave:

While chatting with Lars (and watching Lars take many pics of yummy "Man Scenery"), there was a Stephanie sighting:

And for a moment on Satuday afternoon the sky looked a little scary:

A view from behind the Sky Top Motel:

I did come home with a few goodies for myself and a couple of friends that I need to get in the mail in the next couple of days, but the thing I enjoyed the most about the weekend was the people I had the chance to see again, or meet for the first time - Mel and David, Stitchy, Marilyn, Carol, Lars, Devorah, and some local knitters from the Syracuse area that I've come to admire for their talents and senses of humor - Carla (who went to the same high school as I, but she was in 7th grade when I was a senior), Diana and MaryBeth.  I'm sure we'll be getting together for some knitting and libations in the future.   I think a good time was had by all.  Yeah, it really IS all about the people.   

And as if buying a few fiber goods in Rhinebeck wasn't enough, I heard through the Ravelry grapevine today that the yarn store in Skaneateles, NY (Elegant Needles) was having a 20% to 50% off yarn sale starting today, so I just HAD to get my little patoot over there to get some manos del uruguay and Jo Sharp (actually, the Jo Sharp was in bags of 10 balls at, get this, $10 a bag.  I now have 3 of them in my posession...).  The reason for the sale is that the building is having a little construction going on, and the owner has to clear out the inventory that's in her basement.  She's a very persuasive salesman....  And I have a big smile on my face looking at the big bag of yarn next to my chair...

I hope you all had a great start to your week.  I'm feeling a little fatigued, myself....  :-)

Yep...

I'm almost ready to go...

Be sure to look for me...

And yeah, that's my new (old) sewing machine I won on ebay (I'm not really sure on her age, and if any of you know of a web site that I could track the serial number to find out - if there is such a thing - I'd appreciate it).  Thanks for all your advice and comments on your favorite machines.  This machine is a simple zig-zag machine, very solid and very heavy.  And yeah, it's kinda purple.  My friends at school think I should name her "Rosie the Robot" after the maid on The Jetson's.  Hehehe...  I'm having her cleaned and serviced next week, and then we'll see what I projects I can come up with.

Have a great weekend!

Saturday Sky

It's a cool, crisp autumn day here.  Finally Fall!

I finished the Rhinebeck Scarf.  The week has been cloudy and rainy, so since today we have some sun I got a couple of pics of the finished scarf:

The colors are a little washed out in these pics.  The colors are closer to this:

I will be wearing this scarf at Rhinebeck next weekend, so look for it if you are playing Blogger Bingo!  Have a great weekend!

Saturday Sky

It's been FOREVER since I've done a sky pic!  It's been a very odd day with bright blue skies, then alternating with cloudy grey skies.  This is the kind of sky I prefer:

I got an e-mail last week after posting pics from the Pa. Fiber Festival from Grace Hatton , thanking me for showing a pic of her husband Fred's hand turned spinning hooks:

These hooks are absolutely gorgeous!  The link above is his Etsy shop.  Click to make the pic bigger.

That's all I've got for today.  The urge to knit again is starting to hit me again, and I'd like to have maybe a scarf done to wear to Rhinebeck.  Maybe sometime this weekend I'll pull put the scarf I started with Nashua Wooly Tweed Stripes....  Have a great weekend!

Pa. Fiber Festival

Saturday was spent in Northeast Pa. at a small fiber festival that has only been around for 4 years.  The Pennsylvania Endless Mountains Fiber Festival was held at the Harford Fairgrounds.  There were about 50 vendors, sheep dog trials and other various fiber related events.  The entire vendor section took up almost a whole pavillion at the fairgrounds.  What was really nice about this festival was that you could actually walk around and see things because it wasn't innundated with thousands of people (and if you were at Rhinebeck last year, you know exactly what I'm talking about).  The vendors were very friendly and their wares were really nice. 

This is looking from one end of the vendor pavillion to the other:

Something I had never seen or read about before is a spinning tool called the Rakestraw Spinner:

It's just a dowel with a little "paddle" that spins the fiber:

Very cool!  There were also some lovely hats, knitted and felted:

And my favorite hat:

There was lots of roving, bunnies, a couple of llamas, and this little fellow:

And more:

In all, it was a very nice festival!  I did score some lovely alpaca sport weight yarn from "Times Remembered", and some Wool/Mohair blend from "Roclans Yarn, Roving and Raw Fleece" (neither place has a web site, but you can get some info here).  Lovely stuff.  Pics of my little haul to come later this week.

I hope you had a great weekend!  Now it's back to the weekly grind...

Former...

Good Morning.  The school year has started, and my schedule is, well, odd, to say the least.  I'm not going to bitch about it cause it's not gonna change a thing, and really, that's not what this blog is all about.

I got in touch with a former student recently, and this morning I got an e-mail from him.  He is probably the most musically gifted kid I've ever had, or will have the chance to work with.  His name is Matt, and you can find his myspace page here, with a couple of clips of his music.  He has a band he performs with, and I think (hope) he'll actually makes it big someday - he's a gem.  He composes and sings, and is an amazing pianist, and I'm just so very proud of him.  I'm not sure what credit I can take other than I gave him what I could, and gave him opportunities to perform.  He moved to Boston after high school, and studied at the Berklee School of Music.  And he's still performing, which is pretty awesome.

So back to my original thought, in reflecting on what I have done here and what I could do instead and what I need to be looking for for myself, I get this from Matt:

I didn't know you still existed!  Seriously. I'm fucking thrilled to hear from you.  (I'm grown up, I can say that now right?)

I just got a job as Music Director for some big budget, piece of shit musical that's opening next month.  Rehearsals are eating my life!! It's the first job I've ever had that makes me want to die - I'd rather eat a bowl of vomit than show up each morning. To make matters worse, I've still seen no pay check ...

I just miss when musicals meant everything.

It's the last line that really smacked me in the head.  I guess we don't always think about the lasting effects of what we say or do or give, huh? 

(Oh, and the "I'd rather eat a bowl of vomit..." phrase?  I guess I really do say that with some frequency...  ;-)  I guess I've always had a "colorful" vocabulary...  There are other phrases I use with the kids, and I know that I use them too often when they can finish them for me or in unison with me.  LOL!)

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  I'm off to a little fiber festival in Pa. today, not too far from my Mom's place.  It's only their 4th year, so I'm not sure that it will be that big, but that's ok.  I think it'll be fun.  I'll take the camera and get some pics.  See ya.

No Place Like home

So, the Pumkin Festival is over, company has gone home, and life is a little quieter then it was last weekend.  Pumpkins were carved, MANY laughs were had, people were seen and introduced, good food was consumed at local restaurants, lots of coffee and chocolate was enjoyed, and a good time was had by all. 

It's always interesting to see one's home or environment through someone else's eyes.  It makes things look new again.  The history or local industry or businesses somehow seem more important or valued.  So yeah, even though I live about 40 miles from a budding metropolis in any direction, what IS here is of quality, in it's own way.  Low crime, small town friendliness, safety, and peace of mind.  Sure, it's not as exciting as Chicago or New York or Boston, but it is home.  And it's ok.  Cause it's not really the geographical place, but the people and experiences that make it home.  (Cue music and back drop of Kansas...  LOL!)

Ok, I'm actually going to swatch with the yarn I got at Rhinebeck.  Yep, you heard that right, I'm going to do a little knitting.  When was the last time you saw knitting on this knitting blog?  Oy...

Have a great night!

Sunday at 2:00pm

Yep.  Sunday at 2:00pm.  That's when it happened.  Yarn overload.  I saw enough.  Had my fill.  Cried uncle.  I had to go.  I was all fibered-out, and couldn't take any more.  And I couldn't make another decision.  And that was ok.  Roving, spinning wheels, knitting needles, yarn, sheep, goats....  Yep.  Sunday at 2:00pm.  Oh, and people.  Lots of people.  And in hindsight, I think that was the best part.  Meeting bloggers, being recognised as a blogger, playing bingo.  Learning from people about spinning, knitting, weaving.  Lots of cool experiences. 

What I think was the most impressive part was when I met well known bloggers, and they'd say something like "I was hoping to meet you", or "I couldn't wait to meet you" or "I was hoping I'd run in to you".  It just took me a little by surprise when these people who I consider "knitting blog royalty" were genuinely interested in seeing me in person.  It was quite the rush.  I was invited to stay at a hotel with bloggers next year.  I was sought out by a blogger to talk about the teaching profession, since he is making a career change into the world of education.  I got to pal around with a terrific male knitter from menwhoknit.com (and for only knitting about a year, he made the most beautiful cabled gloves from alpaca.  I was just SO impressed!), and it was great to have someone to hang with.  I ran into an old friend who is the most incredible pianist, who also raises goats for cashmere.  She was very surprised to see me there.  It was nice to get caught up.

So yeah, I met several bloggers.  Those I was very familiar with through their blogs and e-mails, and new names and faces that I have yet to become more familiar with.  All very wonderful people.  Knitters...

It was awesome to be included, accepted, and considered part of this world of fiber enthusiasts.  In a way, it felt like coming home.  So yeah, there was LOTS of fiber and yarn, but I'm thinking that an event like this is more about the people...

And yes, there were several things that came home with me.  Yarn for the woman who watched my Lizzie while I was gone.  And some birthday presents for two very dear people in the blogger world.  They could not attend this year, and I thought of them often while I was wandering the fairgrounds.  As wonderful as my experiences were this past weekend, having them there would have been the icing on the cake. 

I'm sure they'll share some pics when their "loot" arrives.

And a little something for myself:

I think I'll call them "Rhinebeck Mittens"...