Yarrrrrrn, ho!

Rhinebeck was almost a complete success this year. It was a fabulous day, and I got nearly everything on my list.

I did not get to go to the Yarn Harlot's book signing because we got to the Rhinecliff Bridge (literally four miles from the Duchess County Fairgrounds, where the event is held) and it was bumper to bumper to bumper the rest of the way. It took us an hour and a half to go FOUR MILES.

Rhinebeck is not equipped for the sudden arrival of ten thousand knitters.

I did see the Yarn Harlot though. It was one of those walking by "Ohmigod that's HER!" moments. To which my mother replied, "Which one? I'll go tackle her for you."

I discouraged this.
It would have been a wasted tackle as I had no book for her to sign.
...Aaand, I might have been banned from Rhinebeck next year and that would be tragic indeed.

I did not get to take a nip with Steven, about which I was disappointed, nor show him the vest that he motivated me to finish.

And I did not bring home a broom as I swore to the boy that I would. This is because the people who were there making Shaker brooms last year were not there this year. Also a slight disappointment as the head of our shitty plastic broom falls off every time I sweep.

However.

I got to show off my Rhinebeck ensemble:

I got an abundance of glorious yarn to keep me occupied (and sane) this winter. Here's a small sample:

I got to watch Border Collies playing frisbee.

And I got to pet a PUPPY!

Oh. And I came home with a big bag each of Kettle Corn and Maple Cotton Candy.

Epic. Win.

Tomorrow, Tomorrow!

Well, this is it. Rhinebeck is tomorrow, and I'm so excited! It's like Christmas, except better, because the things I'm going buy will hopefully last me all winter, so it won't seem as fleeting as Christmas.

Time to examine the list of things that I've done this week. It's small.

Frog bib for Gabriella? Check.

Frog hat for Gabriella? (Her mom really loves frogs.) Check.

Pattern/shopping list for Rhinebeck? Done.
I won't show you a picture of that- I'll show you finished objects eventually.

Hat of the month? Not quite. Working on it now, and it's possible that I could finish it before I leave today. We'll see. I have hope. So I'm going to end this now and get back to work on that. Socks and yellow crayon didn't happen. Oh, well. I knew it was an ambitious list.

PS- I did finish the book club book. Short review next week sometime.
See you all after the Festival!

The Rhinebeck Cometh

One week from tomorrow until the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival at Rhinebeck! I can't wait!

Unfortunately, I didn't get nearly as much done as I would have liked, but there is still a week left.

I finished my vest.
I finished that small skein scarf.
I made myself a pair of owl mitts from scraps to match my vest.

I balled up 600 yards of alpaca that I bought last year, and have a pattern picked out for it.
I made some progress on Rosa's crayon blanket.

I did not finish the alpaca lace shawl, but I'm getting there.
I did not start a pair of socks, but I'd like to.

This week my goals are:

1) Finish the yellow crayon to have 3 of 6 crayons done.
2) Make the frog bib and frog hat for Amanda's baby to use up some yarn
3) Do at least one, maybe both of the hat of the month hats to use up some yarn
4) Make as much progress on the alpaca lace shawl as I can
5) Start the socks
6) Finalize my list of projects I'd like to buy yarn for at Rhinebeck. My goal this year is to not buy yarn for which I don't have a project in mind. But we'll see. I have been known to pick things by color and texture alone.

Oh, and one final goal: I need to finish the book club book, since that is the same day as Rhinebeck.  Off I go to cast on a frog bib. Pictures to follow, of course.

Rhinebeck Vest Finished!

It's done! It's done!

I'm so stoked that this came out wearable. This is my first successful three dimensional object- I started a sweater years ago, and haven't finished it because I royally screwed it up, but this one was a success. Yay!

I can't wait to wear it to Rhinebeck.

This picture makes me look freakishly tall. I love it :)

On Nothing

I'm having a really hard time getting motivated to do anything.

I wasn't feeling well yesterday, and while I'm not in pain anymore, I still feel slightly off. Add that to the fact that work was a complete and utter joke today, and I'm feeling distracted and noncommittal, and like I'd rather drink vodka/cranberries and putter around with this puzzle I've been working on for the rest of the day, than do things that I should be doing, like working on Rosa's crayon blanket, narrowing down my grad school list, and writing/revising.

I also have fencing lessons later tonight, and I'm not sure that I'm feeling up to that either.  I might go to the Thursday adult class instead.

I won't waste more of your time with my rambling about nothing. I'll just leave you with a fun quote that I think I might tape up somewhere where I'm forced to look at it as I revise.

"The road to hell is paved with adverbs."
-Stephen King

Rhinebeck Vest

Just a quick post to say...Look!

It's starting to look like a vest. That's a head hole in the middle, and I have since done the row that makes the armholes and joins the front to the back. The rest of it is worked in rounds, which I believe I'll start before I go to work.

I love Doris Chan's patterns....they make sense! I'm so stoked to (hopefully) meet her at Rhinebeck. Thanks to Steven over at Bitches Get Stitches (fabulous blog, go read it) for motivating me to work on this with pictures of his handspun for his Rhinebeck outfit. I hope I get to meet him, too!

Off to do a round or two, then work, and later...fencing lessons! Excitement!

Room

You've probably heard of Emma Donoghue's Room at some point in the last year. It made a huge splash, was an international bestseller and one of the top ten books of the year on almost everybody's list. I finally got around to reading it.

Room is the story of Jack, a five year old boy, and Ma, who live in a twelve by twelve room. For Jack, it's the only thing he's ever known and is thus, the whole world. To him, Outer Space is beyond Room. But for Ma, who's only been there seven years, it's a prison.

For those of you already turned off by the idea of a story about something so horrible, there are several reasons that you should try it anyway.

-It's told from Jack's point of view, so his lack of understanding softens the situation.

-She's created a really unique character and voice with Jack- he's still little, and doesn't understand a lot of what goes on around him because Ma has spared him an explanation, but he's also incredibly bright and articulate for his age, because Ma has the time to teach him everything she knows.

-SPOILER ALERT- but I don't think it will ruin the book for you, especially if you have reservations about reading it:


They get out. Only the first half of the book is spent in Room.

Finally, overall, it's just really interesting. Gripping, actually.
Because it's the only thing he knows, it's just as hard for Jack to leave Room as it is for Ma to stay. It creates a thick tension, and lots of interesting situations as they try to adapt to a society filled with other people, when for so long, Jack's whole life, it's just been the two of them.

I flew through it, and had a really hard time finding a good spot to put it down at night.

I highly recommend it, if you're looking for something thought provoking, unique, and very well written.