Lael Cowl

The other weekend was Rhinebeck/NY Sheep and Wool. I did not post my haul pictures from that like I usually do, so here is some shots.

It was hard choosing what I wanted when I had limited funds. The only plan I had was to get yarn for a project I was going to be starting. That is the red yarn in the front on the top photo. Everything else (aside from the Rhinebeck stuff I pre-ordered) I picked up what interested me.

I saw a really pretty cowl/scarf knit up in one of the booths in a super soft yarn. I immediately bought the yarn for it and wrote down the pattern name, Lael, free on Ravelry.  I cast on the cowl on Oct 27 and I just bound off this morning. There were two or three days I did not knit at all, so this was something I actually knit up pretty fast! It’s a really easy, and nice, pattern. I’m sure I’ll do it again.

The yarn for this cowl I used is Shalimar Yarns Breathless in Bees Knees colorway. It is so soft and squishy! I just found out my LYS carries this brand so I’ll be looking into getting more of it sometime in the future.

Tomorrow I’m heading to the Fiber Festival of New England. I was going to go today, but my mother is watching my niece who is sick. I’ll post my haul from that tomorrow night. Or sometime soon. Pending distractions, ha!

Rhinebeck Loot!

This year I did not take any pictures of the actual fair, as I was too busy shopping and looking at everything.

Every year my mother and I go to NY Sheep and Wool on a bus from Webs. We have lots of fun and they do raffles on the way! My mother won a shawl kit, though gave it to me since she does not knit. And new this year, everyone on the buses (there were three) got a free mini skein of yarn! Mom’s on the top, mine is the bottom.

My first stop this year was to find the tent with the baskets outside. They always go fast and I wanted to have good selection. I got a big one last year (though not from here) so this time I just wanted a small one. I found one in my favorite colors of orange and teal. I also got this little goat from them to go with my mini flock.

Yarn in a very pretty color from Avalon Springs Farm. I wish I had grabbed the other skein of this. Oh well.

Artwork (forgot the name of the vendor), buttons, and a card because I ate the chocolate from there, lol.

A punch needle embroidery kit.

Yarn and stitch markers

Metallic ribbon yarn from Great Adirondack Yarn. I call this the weird and fun yarn booth because their stuff is always different from everyone else’s. I love it!

Yarn from Lisa Souza

Some tools and new pins from Bitsy Knits.

And of course the mandatory Loop bump. It came with a free sample of her new Lux fiber.

As always, I had a lot of fun. I was sore and exhausted by the end of the day, but at least I didn’t have to drive the 2.5hours back home. My mom and I then stopped at Blue Bonnet in Northampton (a favorite) for dinner before heading home. I went to bed before ten, which is really early for me, and that was that!

I wore the pin loom woven shawl I posted the other day and got many compliments on it. It made me really happy.

I am already looking forward to Rhinebeck next year! Until then, New England Fiber Fest is in a couple weeks!

NY Sheep & Wool – “Rhinebeck”

For the fourth year now, my mother and I have gone to Rhinebeck together with the crew from Webs. They rent three buses and take about 120 of us excited fiber artists to NY for the day on Saturday. On the way there, they give out prizes, like yarn, patterns, and money. I managed to win this year! I got a cute project bag that held six balls of white, super soft, mystery yarn (no labels).  This year I also tried to take more pictures to show how busy it is. I did not get pictures in the busier areas because I didn’t want to block people.  Here are all the pictures I took. My purchases will be at the end.

And here are the goodies that I bought! I still had some money left over, and while I loved everything, I didn’t find too much that said ‘buy me now’. I still have a wishlist of things I plan to get in the future, but this will hold me over. Especially since the Fiber Festival of New England is in a couple weeks! :)

Rhinebeck 2015

Okay, I’m late in posting this here. I’ve been distracted with other things, like finishing a knitting project which I’ll post about next. This was my third year now going to Rhinebeck with my mother. Like before, we went on the group bus from Webs and had a fun time. Neither of us won a prize on the bus this time, but that’s fine. Anyway, on to pictures! The photos there were taken with my phone. The ones of what I bought were taken with my camera. Sorry for the poor quality phone pictures. I was trying to be quick because it was madhouse!

On the bus getting ready to go! Leaving just after 7am *yawns* At least Webs gave us cider and cider donuts!

Some beautiful views on the way down

Crowded like crazy, but everyone was really nice about it.

At least there was more room to move outside.

It is mandatory to take a picture of this tree every year.

Yes, the apple cider donuts are worth this wait! Finally made it to the top in this pic (next in line!). This line almost merged with the falaffle line at the bottom!

Pot bellied piggy!

Give me fooood!

Going over the Hudson River on the way home.

Now on to the things I bought. I had most of a pay check with me and still had $20 at the end. Pretty good!

Fiber Optic Yarns, paintbox – Fire in the Sky

Fiber Optic Yarns, paintbox – Black-Red-Yellow

Loop – Sea Siren

Loop – Cornucopia

Into the Whirled – Rhinebeck limited colorway!

Knitting stitch dictionary, signed by Margaret! She is such a sweet lady to talk to. I bought one of her crochet books last year.

And that is everything. I talked with some really nice women (forgot to ask their names/Rav names), saw lots of beautiful clothing and shawls, and some good food, then went home and passed out. I had a blast and am already looking forward to going again next year.

NY Sheep and Wool a.k.a Rhinebeck

Yesterday I went to the NY Sheep and Wool festival in Rhinebeck, NY. My mother and I went via bus that left from a local yarn store. We left the lot at 7am and arrived around 10am.  There was a sea of cars parked in the lots and I was happy that we did not drive ourselves because trying to find our car after would have been like trying to find a needle in a haystack!

We made sure to pick up the program book that had a map as well as the times for events, workshops and a long list of vendors. There were around 200 vendors there so we saw some of everything.  It was a constant stream of ‘oooh’ and ‘aaahs’ coming from us as well as the other visitors. The vendors were nice and very helpful, as well as some of the visitors if they heard you talking about something.

I saw so many things that I wanted and yet I was trying to be good. I still had a lot of fiber at home waiting to be spun up, so I only got a few items. I also got a Turkish spindle that I’ve been wanting to try. I played with it on the bus before we left to head home. I don’t know how I managed it, but my wallet was not empty when we left!  You can see my haul in the picture, but here is a list of what I got;

1) Turkish spindle (I don’t remember which vendor I got it from. All the cards I picked up went into my bag)

2) 4oz of Merino/Silk roving from Lisa Souza in the Bird of Paradise colorway. This is the first thing I bought. I could have gone crazy in her stall because everything there was beautiful. I did not want to spend all my money in the first building though!

3) Three little felted wool sheep to add to my mini flock

4) Two bags of Cotswold curls to spin with. I’ve always wanted to try and they are very pretty. From Solitude Wool.

5)  One back of mixed rainbow fiber to card with so I can make my own batts/rolags. (I’ll be getting a blending board this week) from loop.

6) One pair of Addi knitting needles

7) The Granny Square Book by Margaret Hubert. This woman was at the table with the books signing them. She signed the copy I bought for me. She also gave me a mini lesson as I am a beginner (just talking, not showing since neither of us had the supplies for it). She is extreamly nice and pleasant. She also said that if I had questions on anything that I could email her and she’d help me out. How many people do you know would do that? So yeah, she’s a sweetheart.

8) I contacted Dave at The Merlin Tree where I got my Roadbug. I wanted to get a jumbo flyer and bobbins because the normal ones are too small (fill up too fast). He said that they were currently discontinued because he is working on a new model which will be out the end of January. He then said that he had one left of the current one and said that he would bring it to Rhinebeck for me. So I purchased that and an extra bobbin from him (because I don’t want to wait until Jan!) and he was, as always, a pleasure to deal with.  If you are looking for a great wheel that is inexpensive, then I highly recommend checking out The Merlin Tree.

I saw beautiful African baskets and the man who was making them. I really wanted to get one but I do not have the room for one at this time. Someone was kind enough to give me a link to the online shop where I could buy one later. I already have a few picked out.

The crowds were insane and some of the booths had long lines waiting to pay for their purchases, so we skipped some of the booths. We also skipped the wine and cheese tasking because the lines there were just as crazy. All in all, I had a fantastic time with my mother at Rhinebeck and I would love to go again next year.

 

Results of Stashbusting

I am finally getting around to posting pictures of the projects I have finished. All of the yarn in this picture:

Is now gone! This is all acrylic yarn. Actually, the only yarn I still have that is in this picture is the blue mohair on the right in the back. Here are a couple things I have made with it. I don’t have pictures of everything I did, but at least I have these:

1) Pillow

2) Doll blanket

3) Yarn doll. This is the first one I’ve ever made.

4) and the biggest, a stashgan using up all of the rest of the yarn. I did not plan it out, I just grabbed yarn as I went. I should have put the white between each color, but I thought I had more of the colors than I did. Either way, all the yarn is gone and I have a blanket.

I currently have another blanket in progress. It’s about halfway done. Pictures to come when I get around to finishing it.

Now I just need to start working on my small stash of cotton yarn. Still not quite sure what I’ll be making with that yarn yet. Next month I am going to the big Sheep and Wool festival in Rhinebeck, NY. It will be my first time going and I am super excited about it. It is also why I started working harder on trying to use up my current stash. I know I’ll be bringing home more fiber to spin and yarn!

I have also been playing with resin again. I found a couple of new molds to work with. I still need to do the finishing touches on them, so no pictures yet.