Bonnie's Passion for Knitting

Rhinebeck was Fantabulous!

I know I'm always a day late and a dollar short.  Regardless, the NY Sheep and Wool Festival was stupendous!  The weather held out....we'd had over a week of rain and lo and behold that morning the sun came out.

Almost immediately I ran into these adorable creatures.  Their owner almost had me convinced I could buy 5 of their brothers and sisters and legally keep them on my 1.1 acre property.  I was all set to pull out my checkbook when Michael said, "Hey what about the bears in your neighborhood!"  Yes I have bear here and so I don't think it's a good idea.  But a girl can dream can't she. Of course there are other complications too.

My next stop was  Spirit Trail  I knew from last year her tent gets so crowded early that you can't get near it.  Plus there is nothing left in a short time.  I acuired some gorgeous sock yarn.  I'd also looked forward to meeting Stepanie Pearl-McPhee  aka The Yarn Harlot who planned on being there to autograph her books.   Unfortunately Stephanie had a death in her family.  I'm so sorry Stephanie!

My next urgent stop was Brooks Farm Yarn.  I wasn't going to buy much from them because I still have some left from last year even after making hats, scarves and three shawls.  But who can resist those colors!  I bought this.  And this and this!     Michael wants a hat and scarf out of the darker blue on the far left and I have some ideas for these other skeins of yarn.

Then we went in search for food.  Some place Michael saw a sign for Fajitas when we came in but we just couldn't find it. So we chose Artichokes with Escarole and Bean Soup, which Italians call Minesta!  (One of the first things I learned to cook from my ex-husband's Italian family).  It was superb but the longest line.  That's OK though because I met some very nice knitters from NJ while in line and we ended up eating with them and talked knitting of course.

From lunch on is a blur!  I wanted to hit every booth and was on a mission. 

This lady delighted the crowd with her music.

At Morehouse Farms  I purchased 3 kits.   The Barbizon Jacket Kit is a beautiful sage green for myself. (I think on their web site it is called Silver Birch) It's just stockinette stitch but the lines are simple and very smart.  The 3 strand yarn is soooo soft and feels great when knitting up.  I just had to swatch even though I can't start on it yet.  I also bought the Lace Camisole kit in Coral.  And I grabbed a lace scarf kit in varigated colors of purple, pink and orange. After looking at the vaiegated yarn samples on their site, it is called Zesty.

I visited a lovely vendor I met last year, Jewel.  She is always a delight.  This year she had a huge collection of yarn she'd spun herself.  Quite beautiful! So I had to buy some green heavy worsted weight from her.  She's a  Master Chef by trade and is quite interesting.  I can't wait to see her again next year.

One thing that amazed me is how many knit bloggers I recognized just from reading their blogs.  I was a little hesitant to talk to many of them since I don't know them.  I was afraid I'd be looked at as a stalker. Is that wierd or what?   Sometimes reading blogs feels like snooping, as so much of it is personal.  But one of the many bloggers I recognized and did speak to was Theresa at Knitting the Blues We were at Carodan Farms booth looking at sock yarn.  I took a chance and said I recognized her.  And she was absoltuely delightful.  She even helped me with some Mountain Colors Mountain Goat I bought for socks in a blue colorway of course!  It was so nice to meet you Theresa!

I can't believe no one told me I spelled Rhinebeck wrong in a previous post!  I know how to spell it and have spelled it correctly before but in a headline I spelled it so wrong!  Shame on me. 

Linda MacMillan at Oak Grove Studios is a very talented lady.  It was nice to see her again.  She has beautiful hand painted yarns and stunning hand made beads and buttons. I bought this yarn from her last year which I love but just haven't gotten around to using yet.  So this year I bought sock yarn from her in the colorway Antique Roses.  It is gold, teal, rose and gray. (I even ordered more yesterday) I already started a pair of socks in it using  a Lisa Lloyd free sock pattern called Pink Ribbons that she designed free for national Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  I had planned on using it in the Soctoberfest Lolly is running....but again I'm late.  She closed the list.  Of course  I'm still making the socks and thinks it's kinds neat that I am making a pair of pink ribbon socks in October for Breast Cancer Awareness.   I'll post a pic as soon as I pull out the camera and the sun is shinning.  When will that be, I wonder!

Thanksgiving weekend there is an Artisans Festival in Putney, VT.  I'd love to go but am scheduled to work.  If any of you get a chance to go, look up Linda MacMillan of Oak Grove Studios.  You'll love her and her creations.

There were more acquisitions and more knitting updates but I have to run into town now so more later. 

Did I ever mention that Knitting is my Passion?  No I didn't think so.

Sherry at Brooks Farms and I were talking and she agrees with me...."She has has the most yarn wins."  Well I'm trying!

Autumn in New York

This is my absolute favorite time of year.  Autumn in NY State is exquisite!  Most days have been crispy clear with gorgeous blue skys.  It makes me think of apples and baking and nesting! It's also the very best time to hike.  One of my favorite places in the world is right at my back door..or almost. It's Mohonk Mountain House and less than an hour away using back roads.  It's also on the same mountain ridge that my house sits on.  They have wonderful hiking trails and rock scrambles.  They also have rock climbing but that's not my thing!

Amy and I went to the annual Warwick Apple Fest last Sunday which I always attend.  There were many vendors, some bands and so much food!  They even sell roses made out of dried apples.  I brought my camera but forgot to take any photos since I was having such a good time.  We had a great day and ate apples till we were ready to burst.  I love crispy slightly tart apples that are only this good in Sept and October.

On the knitting front, I finished my first sock of the Cascading Leaves pair and started the second one.   I also finished knitting my second Flower Basket Shawl also in Brooks Farm Fiber yarn.  I haven't blocked it yet...maybe today.  ( I use my dining room table for blocking and so I have to plan around when I am not going to be using it to eat).  This is an unblocked pic.

Do you realize Christmas is less than three months away?  Oh my!  I'll never get done what I had wanted to accomplish.

Amber went for her biopsy Wed.  They wanted to keep her overnight.  But I argued that I am a nurse and I would be with her and at the vets she'd be alone.  Finally they agreed and I was to pick her up at 9:15 PM.  When I arrived the fire alarms were blaring and as I parked two fire engines, the fire chief car, and two state troopers pulled in.  Needless to say, I was a bit frantic.  They wouldn't let me in the Vet's office nor would they tell me what was going on.  I wanted to just rush in and grab Amber and run.  After an hour I was finally allowed to go in.  My curiosity got the best of me and I asked what the commotion was all about. 

Did you know that baby goats have their horns cauterized to prevent them from growing and curling back into their heads?  Well I didn't know that.  And apparently the Vet didn't know there was a smoke detector directly above where he was doing this procedure since he just moved to a new building.  So all that panic was due to burning of the horns! 

Amber was quite woozy and her face was swollen so she had trouble breathing.   I had to lift all 70.1 pounds of her to get her in the car. (She's lost a pound in three weeks and about 5 pounds since June) Then once home, I carried her in and the first thing the poor thing wanted was water.  But they told me she couldn't eat or drink until the next afternoon.  So using my own instinct I gave her small amts. of shaved ice every couple of hours throughout the night.  Amber tolerated that fine.  And then the next afternoon I made her fresh chicken and broth. The best cure for any illness.  It takes two weeks for the histology/ cytology report to come back.  So now I wait.  And pray.  I just can't imagine my life without her!