Happy Halloween

I know it is a little early, but I wanted to wish everyone a Happy Halloween.

I love the fun of Halloween, when I was little it was my favorite holiday next to Christmas of course. It even ranked higher than my birthday.

When my children were younger I loved to make them costumes and decorate my whole house. They are older now, but I still decorate. It makes me so happy to see all the fun Halloween items looking at me.

I also want to wish my oldest son a very Happy Birthday. Yes, his birthday is on Halloween. It explains a lot about his personality. He is extremely funny and very scary sometimes. Happy Birthday David, and good luck in your High School District Swim Meet. (He needs it after being so ill this year and missing three weeks of swimming).

Unfinished Business

Here is a picture of my drop stitch scarf/shawl I made from the wonderful raspberry silk I purchased at Rhinebeck last year. It was beautiful to work with and a breeze to make. It is so soft against your skin. I wore it as a scarf at Rhinebeck last weekend, it blended in with my Noro coat just a little too much, but it kept me warm. It looks nice with my scary Halloween spider don't you think?

Another drop stitch pattern in silk I bought a couple of years ago from a yarn store that was going out of business. It is a sad day when a yarn store has to close, but I got this beautiful silk yarn with little sequins in it for 70% off. This is my car project. Always in my car, ready to make a row or two in car line, heavy traffic, or unexpected meetings I have to attend. I took it to my sons mandatory PTA meeting last week and finished it there. Not bad use of my time!

I bought this beauty at a little town I went to in New York, with Claudia and Don. She is lovely. I love Halloween, I decorate my whole house. My oldest son has a birthday on Halloween so that makes it even more special. This year he turns 16!!!!! That is very scary.

Rhinebeck Treats!

My obsession with all things Rhinebeck continues. I know I didn't post for a whole month because I was too busy with Son #1 having Swine Flu, Pneumonia, complications of Pneumonia and pulmonary effusion. All that time I was busy knitting and working, just not posting. Anyway..... Rhinebeck was cold and beautiful. The colors of Autumn were everywhere. U take a picture of the tree below every year. It is always dressed up in its finest for the festival. The crowds were manageable, probably because we arrived before it actually started.

Below is the barkcloth bag I purchased for myself. As far as I am concerned you can never have enough bags to put your knitting in. I love the colors and the size. It is smaller than Claudia's, but perfect for a scarf or socks. I like to keep a small project bag in my car for when I am waiting to pick up my kids. This will be perfect.

I bought this beautiful silk. I bought a beautiful raspberry color last year and I made a delicate drop stitch shawl/scarf, which I had on this year for another layer of warmth. I loved working with it so much, and I though it was very reasonable so I bought undyed cream and this silver/gray.

I also bought a beautiful yummy chocolate brown bulky wool, variegated blue to make another bag, and a kit to make a knitted sheep scarf. How can you pass that up for $10?

Last but not least was a little license plate cover that say,"I'd rather be knitting". I believe a more true statement has never been said!

Rhinebeck with Claudia Part II

Claudia is a wonderful sister. I love her so much and I am so fortunate to have her in my life. So I decided to make her a knitted bag to take to Rhinebeck so she to would have something, "cool " to wear. When I made my Noro car coat she did make a comment that she didn't have anything knitted to wear. Every year that we visit Rhinebeck we both marvel at the amazing hand knits that people have on. Sometimes whole families have on wonderful sweaters, hats scarves, blankets and socks. I was determined that we would be amongst the, "cool" this year.

This bag pattern is from Noro yarns. It is an old stand by that a friend was making. I remember seeing it in a yarn store years ago and thinking it looked so difficult. Actually it is one of the easiest patterns you can make. Simply knowing the knit stitch, how to increase and decrease and your in. A wonderful project for beginners.

I purchased this hand dyed wool yarn on our very first trip to Rhinebeck. I bought 4 hanks which ended up being about 800 yards of yarn. I never quite knew what to do with it until I saw the bag pattern. Claudia loves purple so it seemed like the perfect fit.

I knit the bag, added a lining, added a button, and finished it all in one week. I think it ended up really nice. Claudia really seemed to like it.

It goes perfect with her swing coat. Doesn't she look perfect?

Rhinebeck with Claudia Part I

My sister Claudia of Mockingbirdhillcottage@blogspot.com and I made our annual trip to Rhinebeck for the The New York Sheep and Wool Festival. This is our third year in a row. As I live in Florida where it is still fairly warm the trip is a wonderful break for me. First, I get to visit with the most wonderful sister in the world Claudia, my fabulous brother-in-law Don and Scout and Riley. I also get to experience fall. This year I actually got to experience more like early winter temperatures. When I got off the plane it was raining, by the time we made it to Claudia's it was snowing. It was cold out the whole trip.

Besides all the amazing hand dyed yarns available at the festival both Claudia's and my favorite part about the festival is the animals. We are both crazy animal lovers. The sheep are all so different. This baby really loved Claudia as did the Alpaca below. I think they can tell when they find an animal lover. They like to smooch us as much as we like to smooch them. Can you tell that Claudia is in heaven?

Even though the festival is stocked with beautiful sheep, alpacas and llamas my favorite animals are Claudia and Don's babies Riley and Scout. I think they know I am their Aunt. They are very affectionate with me. Riley has matured so much. He isn't skittish at all around me anymore. He is very trusting, he even let me scratch his ears!

Scout has always been a bit obsessed with me. She is almost always at my side. She gazes dreamily into my eyes. She is very dramatic, hmmm... wonder where she gets that from? I miss them both already.

I was spoiled rotten with wonderful dinners, lovely conversation, time to knit, and rest. I got to get wonderful sister hugs that have filled up my tank and should last me a bit. I have been very overwhelmed with my children being so ill and trying to help them catch up. I have been very worried about them, working, and trying to keep it all together. This trip was an oasis in the craziness of my life. More soon.