rhinebeck

Last Saturday was the New York Sheep and Wool Festival

held in Rhinebeck, NY.

This was my fifth year at the show and I spent more time shopping

than taking photos but here are a few highlights.

waiting in line

carolee from the conversational threads bus trip

amazing sweater and socks

very sweet girl we ran into a couple of times

felted wren houses

beautiful

the cashmere goats of my dreams

My dear friend Jenn and I met up at 6am for the three hour bus ride North,

lunches packed and suitcase in tow, organized by or favorite LYS

Conversational Threads.

This time we planned our attack before arriving and hit all the events 

and yarn booths we most wanted to visit.

I bought yarn for two sweaters, a capelet and some gloves as well as

a coveted knitting basket, nostepinne, books and a beginner's rug hooking kit.

Jenn also purchased all of the roving from a sheep named Rosie.

So in a sense she brought a sheep home!

It was one of the best days of my year; a week's vacation rolled into a day.

Now to wind, swatch, knit and save up for next year.

*smile*

Thanks again Jenn.

xo, j

catskills

This time last week I was waking up

at my favorite campsite in the Catskill Mountains of New York.

The previous night's walk around Little Pond.

Another Henslowe Shawl in the works,

this one is made with naturally dyed merino from the region.

A cold night with touches of frost the next morning.

Morning coffee

I sat on a small suspension bridge and knitted for a while.

The night was full of visitors as the moon was just a day from being full.

Two types of owls called, mice jumped and tried to burrow under my tent,

a fox answered the coyotes howl/bark at the moon and a raccoon tried desperately

to crawl into my tent with me!  The bears stayed away.

xo, j

tuesday

another yarn sale...

Cascade 220 Heathers in Walnut Heather

Woodstock Knits Tinted Tweed in Violet

Quince and Co. Lark in Fjord

The view from the empty farm stand.

Yarn buddy Jenn texted me Sunday morning that our favorite LYS,

Conversational Threads, was having a sale of 30% off all clearance yarn!

Soon after the shop opened we met up at the back table 

to rummage through the goodies and both walked away

with enough yarn for two sweater projects each.

sigh…so much yarn, so little time…

happy knitting!

xo, j

Raggaknits

On Sunday I took a class at my LYS, Conversational Threads,

with Icelandic knitter Ragga from Raggaknits.

My dear yarn buddy Jenn and I had both started our days out

stressed and rushed only to leave the session very relaxed and very happy.

If you ever get a chance to meet Ragga, run don't walk!

She is smart, funny and such a genuinely nice woman

with a wild imagination…a fearless Viking knitter!

Although the last photo is blurry it's my favorite.

She taught me a lot about knitting but even more about just letting go.

Time to renew my passport and start saving up my pennies,

her next Icelandic knitting tour is in 2015 and we're going!

Thanks so much to Cindy for scheduling the classes at her amazing yarn shop,

to Jenn for taking the afternoon off to attend the class with me

and to Ragga for her spirit and smile.

xo, j

quince&co and seeds

A mild weekend has helped to melt down some of the snow

and definitely lifted many spirits.

My color swatch cards arrived from Quince&co on Friday.

I've always wanted to try their yarn but needed to see the colors

before a decision could be made.

I secretly wish that I could work for a company like this!

Repotted my elder ficus and olive trees

and am trying to start some chamomile seeds.

I probably don't have enough light and they prefer to grow

 outside but I would so like to grow my own tea.

reading, reading, reading

xo, j

the spinnery

I'm back from a long week of meetings in Chicago.

It was exhausting and I'm glad to be home.

To combat the bit of cabin fever I felt creeping in I went for a ride along

 the Delaware River to one of my favorite places, Frenchtown, NJ.

I dropped by a shop called The Spinnery that specializes

in spinning, weaving and dyeing supplies.

Despite the cold it was good to get out and walk around

 and I made it home just as the snow started up again.

Thank you to those who left encouraging comments on my previous post.

xo, j

before work

Foggy, foggy morning...the slow patter 

of rain drops on the already soaked leaves.

With my coffee a couple of knitting books; 

The Yarn Whisperer, a gift from my Mom, 

and the pretty yarn a gift from my sister-in-law 

brought back from Ireland.

Clementines for breakfast.

Another adventure ahead this weekend…!

first frost

ice on the windshield

All week I've been waking up early to go into work.

This morning I was greeted by the first frost of the year.

It took some digging through my car trunk to find the scraper!

Nestled in the oak and dogwood leaves is my latest knitting project 

along with some pumpkin seeds I roasted last night.

The fingerless gloves are knit with a qiviut/merino blend.

(My treat from last year's trip to Rhinebeck)

They're very light and yet cozy warm, perfect for the cold weather,

and I love the mushroomy color.

The seeds were roasted with olive oil, salt, cayenne pepper and a pinch of sugar.

A spicy sweet snack, they taste almost like popcorn.

Thanks to all who left such nice comments on my Rhinebeck posts.

It's lovely to be able to share it with all of you.

xo, j

Rhinebeck-Part One-The Yarn

hudson river

my plunder

Another year at Rhinebeck is behind me now.

My dear friend, who was exhausted from a road trip the previous day,

made a valiant effort and joined me for the six hour shopping event.

The first vendor we visited had the beautiful naturally

 dyed yarns shown in the first three photos.

We saw those amazing heather colors and were sold.

Each year the festival seems more crowed than the last.

Many attendees wear their favorite knitting project from the previous year

and the men are prone to wearing kilts (sorry no photos of them!)

This year we bought yarn with specific projects in mind 

 resisting the temptation of buying a skein of this and a skein of that.

I bought wool, cashmere and a treasured ball of pure Alaskan Qiviut!

(The deeper plum ball hidden under my new nostepinne in the photo above)

We also picked up a few books, tools and a bag of herbal moth repellant.

Next year I will definitely remember to bring my lunch

as I spent forty-five minutes in line for a cold hot dog!

Thanks, again, to my dearest Hafvalla for a wonderful day.
And thanks to Cindy from Conversational Threads for organizing the bus trip.

Tomorrow, the sheep!

xo, j

wednesday morning

It has finally turned cooler and the sun is much later to rise.

Puttering around before going into work.

The lace scarf I'm working is a lovely pattern of leaves

knit in a dusty shade of plum merino wool.

Dearest V once told me she thinks of leaves when she thinks of me.

I can't think of any sweeter than to be associated with leaves.

xo, j

walking and weaving

Well, my week of cleaning closets has gone out the window.

Instead I dusted off my 36" rigid heddle loom and started weaving again.

Two days later I have a completed black scarf and another half way done.

This morning I took a short break from the loom and 

went for a walk on the meadow trail at Jacobsburg State Park.

The colors are really starting to change and I was surprised to see all the pink.

It's very warm here with loads of bright sun, unusual for October.

I stuffed all my recent projects in a backpack and took them on my walk.

They photograph so much better outside.

Thankfully, no one saw me tying a scarf around the walnut tree!

The park was full of migrating songbirds and the random thump of falling walnuts.

Such a pretty day...

Now a bowl of soup and a bit more weaving before bed.

xo, j