Rhinebeck 2006

So I'm back. And re-entry into the "normal" world has been the same as it is after every fiber festival, which is to say sucky. But at least I have my photos (and my fiber) to remember. Here's the good times:

So, the festivities started on Friday night at a Little Black Dress Party. (I'm not kidding.) Sadly, I didn't win any door prizes, but I did have a special Hottini and got the weekend off to a good start! Since Lara didn't bring a change of clothes (pack in a hurry, did we?), she convinced me to keep my Little Black Dress on for the drive to NYC. So I did.

Yay!

Leaving DC around 11:30, we made it up to the Bronx at 4 AM or so. Strangely, the drive went really quickly. Of course, I had to work on the way up... I had finished all of the knitting on the Bed & Breakfast, and some of the seaming, but there was still a side and sleeve seam, and then approximately 8,000 ends to weave in. So I busted out the headlamp, and sewed away:

Now that's hard core!

By the time we pulled in to the Bronx, I was done! I don't have a photo of myself modeling it (hopefully this weekend), but Carrie wanted to try it on, and she seemed to like it:

So soft!

Sadly we had to leave Lara to her family celebrations, but I drove up in the fabulous company of Carrie, Anne Marie and Sarah B. We met up with Frecklegirl Jess and Maya. We had good times shopping, eating, knitting, winding yarn, and everything else. Just look at us in the car:

Funny fun times

I didn't actually take any pictures inside the Festival. You can see them elsewhere on the web... But here's the important part, the haul:

Rhinebeck haul!

If you click on it, there are notes on the flickr version. The only yarn I bought was from the evening reception at Morehouse Merino. It's in the upper left - I think it's meant for a My So-Called Scarf. Everything else is fiber. I only patronized four vendors, and I liked them so much that I went back to two of them on Sunday. The roving braids in the front are all merino or merino blends from Cloverleaf Farms. The "balls" and the green pouf in the back are from Spinners Hill (which I bought from last year, too). There's also some merino, tencel, silk caps, and random wool from Ellen's Half-Pint Farm (super cheap because she will no longer be carrying them). And finally the charcoal gray is an alpaca/tussah silk blend from Meadow Brook Alpacas, who had some of their alpacas there in the barn.

Not included in this picture are the things I bought for others. I was the designated shopper for two lovely ladies. That is quite a bit of pressure (let me tell you!), but hopefully I did OK by both of them.
Everything is gorgeous, and super soft, and I just couldn't wait to start. So I didn't...
(Photos to come after it's gifted to the recipient!)
I think it's super pretty, and soft too! And I just can't stop spinning - I did more tonight! Good thing I bought all of that fiber :).

It was so great to meet so many bloggers, both at the meet-up (which was insane) and at the lobby knit party. Along with spending some quality shopping time with Amy, I got to revisit with Alison, Johanna, Kris, Debbie, Cara, Ann and Michelle... plus chatted (briefly) with Claudia and Stephanie, and met Cari, Melanie, Gray la Gran, and The Purloined Letter (ironic, since we're from the same place) for the first time... along with about a million others. If I met you, please say hello in the coments!

Rhinebeck!

Greetings from Rhinebeck! We spent about half of the day there today, with plans to go back tomorrow. I'll have a lot of good stuff to share with you tomorrow night!!!

Socktoberfest

So I did join Socktoberfest. Or at least the flickr group. Hmm... did I join Socktoberfest? I don't remember. I'll have to do that! (ETA: OK, now I've officially joined Socktoberfest! Whew!)

Anyway, it's October and I'm knitting socks, so I think it counts. And I'm going to answer some questions about my sock knitting, just for fun. (Questions originally posted on Lolly's blog way back in September.)

Anyway, here's my handknit sock history:

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?
My first socks were really big ones - Fuzzyfeet (from the knitty.com pattern). In my opinion, this is the perfect introduction to the sock. You knit a heel flap, you pick up stitches, you decrease for the gusset, you kitchener a toe, but it's all with worsted weight wool on size 10.5 needles. You can actually see all of the stitches, and it's the perfect learning experience. I remember reading the pattern for the heel and thinking "this is never going to work." But blind faith paid off, and it did!
My first "real" socks were started about a month later, but never finished. I eventually unraveled them and used the yarn for a baby sweater.
My first "real" finished sock was one of the blue and white Regia cotton pair here. I finished a few more socks after that before I finally went back and knit its mate (Second Sock Syndrome? Oh no, not me!)

What was your first pair? How have they "held up" over time?
My fuzzyfeet still look great. My first pair of "real" socks was my Sockapalooza 1 socks that headed overseas, so I don't know what they're like now, or even if they're being worn.

What would you have done differently?
Not much! Made more socks, maybe :)

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?
I'm loving the Trekking XXL I'm using for my Pomatomus socks that went on safari. I've used Socks that Rock quite a few times now and really like it. I also like dying my own yarn - mostly Knitpicks - and enjoying the colors as they knit up.
And I have tons more in my stash just waiting for me!

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?
Knit, bay-be. I have done DPNs, 2 circs, and Magic Loop. I probably prefer Magic Loop because it's the most portable (and I can do twice as many socks by using both of my circular needles for different socks!), but I don't have a strong dislike for any of the methods. Whatever needles I have, I'll use!

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)
Short row, short row, short row! And I have a secret method to avoid holes when wrapping and turning... maybe I'll share it :)

How many pairs have you made?
That's a good question. I had to go back through my blog archives to find out... and the answer is... 7. Fuzzyfeet, Sockapalooza, Sockapal-two-za, Jaywalkers, and Blue & White, Ruby Slippers, and Green Stripes.
I have two more currently on the needles... the Pomatomuses and a pink and white stripe pair (from yarn that I dyed).

Next time - progress update on Bed & Breakfast, Rhinebeck preparations (5 days, yippee!!), more spinning, dyeing, and so much fun!

Confessional...

OK, so I haven't been knitting too much lately. Oh, I've been working on my Bed & Breakfast sweater, there's been a hat here and there (don't worry Paula!), and a few rows on the socks, but most of my craft time has been taken up with something else...

Spinning.

See, a year and a half ago, I borrowed (uh-huh) my mother's spinning wheel. It's a Leclerc wheel that looks very similar to an Ashford Tradtional. It's a double drive single treadle wheel (that meant nothing to me until a week ago).

I've been buying fiber since my first Maryland Sheep & Wool, and bought a whole bunch last year at Rhinebeck, and aside from an abortive wet felting experiment, I haven't done very much with it all. Until last week, when I just got it into my head to start. And here's what I've done:

Roving

turning this pink merino/tencel roving, bought at Rhinebeck 2005 from The Sheep Shed at Mountain View Farm into

Yarn!

two-ply yarn! It's overtwisted, thick and thin, and I love it!!! So much so that I couldn't wait and cast on for

Mitt!

this little mitt! Of course, I don't have enough yarn to make two of them, so I'm just going to have to spin some more! Luckily I have this waiting in the wings!

More Roving!

soon to be Yarn!

Guess the WIP!

Well, hello everybody! Thanks for all the nice comments on the Africa photos. I am very proud of them. There are a few more that I know I need to put up in that album (like our visit to the Maasai village), but I figured 100 was enough to get you started :). I might also highlight some of my favorites here on the blog from time to time.

Now, to prove that this is still a knitting blog, we're going to play a little game of "Guess that Work in Progress!" Here are your clues:

- I started thinking about it in January 2004, and then purchased the perfect yarn in a fortuitous auction on E-Bay.
- I had almost finished the back in an update in March 2004. I did finish the back shortly thereafter, and started the sleeves. And then it stalled...
- After pulling it out for the Lent-Along in March, I finished the sleeves in April 2006, and even started on the front. And then stalled again (something about a Picovoli).
- I listed finishing it in my 2006 Knitting Goals.
- It's been in my sidebar under "Works In Progress" forever.

Yes, it's the Bed and Breakfast Pullover from the Winter 2003 Interweave Knits! Congratulations, you savvy detectives!!!!

Front!

Here's the slightly-unsteady-but-flashless-so-you-can-see-the-cables-and-true-color photo. I'm past the sleeve bindoff and closing in on the neckline. Then I'll need to seam and do the collar. I can't even express how glad I am that the sleeves are already done!
Hopefully this will be my Rhinebeck/Stitches East sweater. I knew I didn't have a chance of knitting an entire sweater, but this way I can just finish one that's already mostly done. I get a sweater out of it, plus I can cross a looming WIP off my list. Sweet!

And, if you really wanted to see the Pomatomus sock, here's a close-up:

Pomatomus!

I realize that the Sock on Safari pics didn't do you much good in trying to visualize the knitting, so here you go. I'm getting close to the toe already. Then it's on to Sock #2. I'm really enjoying knitting these - both the pattern and the yarn are combining to make it really fun.

And thanks to Paula for letting me hang out with her all day last weekend at Crafty Bastards! My family has a long history of craft fair vending, and it gave me a blast back to my childhood. I had a great time!

Next time: A crafty confessional, or why I'm not making as much knitting progress as I might.

Africa Pictures!

giraffe!

My first crack at my Africa pictures are up on the web! Mostly animal photos right now. I'm still working on going through them, but this should hold you over for now... Click here for more!

Coming soon: an actual knitting post!