Stitches East

I went to Stitches East on Friday after school. I only went for the marketplace, as they really didn't have crochet classes. It was a great marketplace! I went with the intention of buying from small farms or indie dyers. It was chuck full of great stuff. I ran into Kathy Merrick, whom I had met at Creative Fibers when she gave a talk. She raved about a booth called String Theory. I eventually found them and loved their yarn!!!!! I bought 8 skeins. They are the six together and then the purple and red ones. I adore the purple one. It's called Black Tulip and is 50% silk/50% merino. It is so silky! I also visited Dianne from Creative Fibers and bought 4 more skeins from her. She has some lovely colors. So i now have 7 of her yarns, because I bought 3 at Rhinebeck. I have finished my fingerless gloves and will post a pic of those later... I also bought some alpaca from a farm in Virginia. The first skein was a bit pricey, but I loved the champagne color. I also got a free scarf pattern to go with it...Unfortuntely pictures were not allowed, so I took pics of my stash and the brochure book. So October for the next 2 years will be amazing! Since Stitches is here until 2011 and Rhinebeck happens every year. What a great month to fiber shop!

Autumn Colors

So I've been reading Lucy's blog at attic 24 and she has me looking at things a bit differently. I am noticing more color in my world and how things stand out. She has a great eye and I love her photos and commentary. So I thought I'd go take some pictures around town. Although my town is not at picturesque as Lucy's, it can be very pretty in the autumn. Since I live in New England, we get the full range of fall foliage colors. So I took some shots around town a few weeks ago. I also visited Minor's Farm which is a local farm. It is on the highest hill in town and has some really pretty views. Also bought a Dutch Apple pie while I was there, it was fresh from being baked that morning, it was very good.....The colors of autumn are my favorites and the ones I am drawn to the most. I am making a pair of fingerless gloves at the moment from a skein of yarn I picked up from Creatively Dyed's booth at Rhinebeck. I can tell you I am a huge fan of hers now and will most definitely visit her booth at Stitches East tomorrow.

Rhinebeck 09 Purchases and Animals

There were several vendors selling baskets, but I went back to the Fairtrade vendor and bought my basket from them. I had a hard time picking it out! I changed my mind three times. I have no idea where I'm going to put it, but they were just so pretty I decided to get one... I also wanted to buy some needlefelting, I've been wanting to try this since I went to the HHCC meeting and there was a demonstration. I bought a kit from "The Herd of Northern Vermont" to make a sunflower. I later bought another kit from "The Fiber Craft Studio." Can't wait to try this! I bought 3 skeins of yarn from Creatively Dyed. I then was walking around waiting for my ride to finish her purchases and I bought a couple of skeins from one of the farm stands of a handpainted yarn, sorry not sure, but think it might have been "Moonlight Llamas."...I spent quite a while admiring the animals. I love alpacas and llamas, so spent a long time in their barn. There were some interesting species of sheep. I loved the American Black Welsh and Crimson Shamrock.

Rhinebeck 09

This was my second year at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. It was suppose to rain, but didn't, although it was cold. I wore my new hat and curly scarf. The scarf got lots of comments. Here are some pics of the day. A yurt that was put up by a vendor. They did wet felting. It was really cool! There was a nice display of fall flowers that was really colorful. A good crowd, we got there about 10:00 and it wasn't too bad, but by noon, it was very crowded! We stayed until about 5:00 and it was really emptying out by then. I did go to the Ravelery meetup, but really didn't know anyone, since I don't post often there. I did meet Anne from Norway, but did not get her Ravlery name. She took a nice picture of me in my new hat and scarf. I also shopped at Creative's booth, Creatively Dyed. I bought two skeins of Woodbrook in the colorway of "School" Cuz how could I pass that up? I really liked a skein that she made special for the festival, but didn't purchase it. Later I went back and it was still there, so I snapped it up. I will try to get pics later of my goodies, as it is early and not too light out.

Baby E in Sweater

Here is my friend's daughter Ashley and her baby E. He is wearing the hat and sweater I made him. I had made a blanket and fish when he was first born....

I am stashing right now on Ravelry. I have 425 skeins stashed. I am overwhelmed with it, because I have many more to do....Next week is Rhinebeck and then Stitches East. I know I will buy more there, but hopefully I'll remember this feeling and not go overboard!

Although the picture is a little dark, this was a nice surprise. I went into school yesterday and underneath my mailbox was a bag of yarn waiting for me! My friend Danae and her daughter Jessica had bought me some yarn at The Christmas Tree Shops. What a nice surprise! Danae asked my today what I could make with it and I said a Fat Bottom Bag...I know some people have made them using the suede. The purple suede is such a deep rich color....

Now this other picture is of me working on my curly scarf at recess. It is done now. I am bringing a bag with me every day to recess now. Today I was not sitting and crocheting and I had two students come and ask me if they could see my projects....

I am going to be starting an afterschool program, a Crochet Club. I'm only going to run it from December until February and limit it to 10 students. Hopefully I'll have some!

Natalie in hat

My friend gave me permission to post a pic of her daughter Natalie in the Candy Corn hat that I made her...She is pretty adorable...

A's Hat and scarf

So today I finished the scarf I made to go with A's hat. I will be giving them to her on Sunday. I am also going to make her a necklace. I bought a pendant in Buffalo NY that says "Big Sister" on it. I hope she likes these things. It's hard to know whether I should just buy something for kids or make something....My Vermont Teddy Bear is modeling as I have no real models...