Rhinebeck 2013

What to say about New York Sheep and wool 2013? Fun!
TW had a grand time checking out all the animals, he kept us going so much that I didn't get many pictures, but believe me, there was a lot going on. I wore my Arachne's Veil shawl, but didn't get any pictures.










I was able to take a break and go check out the Ravelry meet up while TW and Bill went to look at the traveling zoo animals. And then they wandered off to make volcanoes in the sand.







before we met back up to have lunch







TW was particularly interested in watching sheep being groomed and sheared.







and of course got to meet some Llamas!







and here's a gratuitous shot of my favorite sheep, the Jacob:

NY Sheep and Wool 2012

Wow, over a year since my last post.  Things have been a bit crazy around here.  Well, since it has been almost a month since NY Sheep and Wool I guess I'll start there...

The drive down was gorgeous as usual, and uneventful after I once again over prepared. TW was an awesome passenger and sang along with the songs and looked at the sights. We didn't have the spare cash to buy anything fiber-y but we still had a great time wandering through the animal barns and checking out all the sheep, llamas, alpacas and goats.

But the real fun began when we got to the petting zoo. For the last several months TW has been obsessed with Lemurs and has seen tons of videos with Bill on You Tube, so we were all a bit excited to see them. But first there was a full grown turtle and it's size matched bunny friend:

And then the petting goats:

And a really neat kangaroo:

(And a baby alligator, which TW also really liked, but we couldn't get a good photo of.)

And finally, the Lemurs!

(We were quite fond of the one sunning itself.)

After a brief break to play in the leaves and have lunch, TW insisted that me make the rounds through the barns and then we headed home.

All in all we had a great day, and I'm so glad that we live so near by and can spend the day having so much fun with all the animals. TW seemed interested by the few spinners we passed along the way, and I think as he grows he will become more and more interested in the fiber side of things as well, which makes me all sorts of giddy.

NY Sheep and Wool

Warning! Tons of pictures!

We just got back from the NY Sheep and Wool Festival. I didn't buy any yarn this year, but The Llama got to see a ton of his namesakes, and pet tons of sheep and goats.

It was a beautiful ride down (and back) but The Llama missed most of it because he fell asleep both ways.






We arrived just in time for the llama parade. We couldn’t really get close enough to pet any of them, but The Llama enjoyed pointing at them, and there was much squealing and giggling.



After a break for a snack and some time to run around we headed over to the sheep barn. The Llama LOVED petting the sheep, and kept trying to rub his face against them (we have a cat and he has learned from her how to show affection) he was fascinated when they Baa-ed and kept baa-ing back.















Then it was over to the goats. We started to watch an angora goat getting its first shearing, but it was a bit distressed and The Llama started to get upset so we moved on. The Llama enjoyed petting the goats too, but was startled when a few decided to ram at their neighbors. One nice lady let him feed her goats, which was really fun. After that he kept trying to give all the animals bits of hay.







On our way out of the barn we spotted some mini sheep (Shetlands) and we had to stop and pet them too!



After that we wandered around some more, went through the Llama barn (the Llamas weren't very sociable, so no pictures), tasted and bought some cheese, and sat down to eat another snack and have another run around, then it was time to head home. Now we are relaxing after a very fun filled day!

oops

holy crap!

It had been way too long since I last posted.

while i try to put together a coherent post with everything you've missed in the last couple of months, why don't you enjoy these pictures of me and TW at Rhinebeck this year.


(this one was taken by our friend Jess)









his grandma knit the hat
I knit the sweater (baby poonam)
I also sewed the wrap, and the blankie.

Spinning, Rhinebeck, and a very special hat.

The last month or so has been really busy around here, there is only about one more month to go before the baby is due, and I can definitely feel it! We've been in a flurry of baby preparations, doctors visits, ultrasounds, and weekend visits from my parents to buy last minute supplies.

But I've still managed to spin and knit a little, and even to haul myself to Rhinebeck for the NY sheep and wool festival

++++

First the spinning:

You may remember this fiber that I bought at the Southern Adirondack Fiber festival.



Well it's been spinning up nicely into a lovely worsted weight two ply which I plan to make a baby surprise jacket (ravelry link) from for little TW. I wanted it worsted to make a slightly bigger jacket to fit him later on, as he will be born in winter, so by the time a regularly sized jacket would fit him, it would be too warm. But I figure a larger size will fit him slightly longer.



I wasn't quite happy with the amount of plying twist so after this picture was taken I went back and added a little more, and I'm much happier now.

I have two skeins finished now and am working on the last.

++++

Rhinebeck:

Rhinebeck was awesome this year; there were so many places to go and sheep to see.

I even bought my first Abby Bats by Abby Franquemont who is an amazing fiber artist. They are 40% merino, 40% tencel, and 20% BFL, and they are DELICIOUS! I can't wait to start spinning them. I only got about 76 grams, whish isn't much so I think I will spin them up lace weight, and see if I can find some green silk in a matching colour to spin up and ply them with for a shawl.



The rest of the festival was awesome, and so was the afternoon Ravelry meet up even if I was a bit too shy to talk to some of the people I wanted too, unfortunately I completely forgot to take any pictures. Luckily, Bill did take a few, and you can check them out at his flikr stream. (there's even a picture of me with Bob!) please try to ignore how big and squishy I look, pregnancy has not been kind.

Specking of pregnancy, I was SO SORE by the end of the day! I missed so many things that I wanted to see because I was just too tired and sore to keep going. :(

But there is always next year, and we can introduce TW to all the sheep and critters!

++++

And the very special hat:



No I did not knit this hat.

A few weeks ago, we got a package in the mail from Bill's mother, inside was this hat.
No she didn't knit it either.

Bill's Grandmother did.

Many, many years ago, Bill's Grandma Bid knit this hat for one of her nieces who was expecting. Unfortunately the baby never got a chance to wear it (he outgrew it before it was cold enough to wear.) but it was a hand knit, so it was kept. Years go by and Grandma Bid passed away. But when the niece heard that we were expecting she immediately thought of Grandma Bid (I have been told repeatedly that she would love me) and she sent the hat our way.

The hat is so tiny! I hope that it will fit so that TW can wear it at least once. I nearly cried when I read the letter and story.

Rhinebeck, part two: The loot

Well I said that I wanted to fill my bag full of fibery goodness, and I certainly did:


lets start with the fiber:

these two are 4.5 oz each color way of a delicious merino/mohair/alpaca blend from All Strings Considered
I've already finished spinning the blue/green, but more on that tomorrow.



starting from the top left and coing clockwise, we have...
silk hankies, some merino/bamboo from Creatively Dyed Yarns (Dianne is totally awesome btw), merino/tencel from stony mountain fibers, and merino/tussah from cloverleaf farms


are you sensing a theme?
I've begun to feel confident enough in my spinning that I really wanted to try out some luxury type fibers.

Next, the yarn!

Once again, clockwise from top left...
Poseidon, Imbas, and the vintage leaf kit from holiday yarns (formerly VanCalcar Acres) and the Tsock Tsarina, a mini sock blocker keychain from stony mountain fibers, and Strideaway Twist in Indigo Garden from Autumn house farms



of course, a visit to NY sheep and wool would not be complete without a visit to the authors tent
Franklin Habit signed a copy of it itches for me, and I got up the nerve to finally speak to Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and have her sign her newest two books (free range knitter and Things I learned from knitting) for me as well.


now... the piece de resistance!

My two BIG purchases this year were a new Stauch Finest drum carder. And my baby... introducing, the Hitchiker spinning wheel Heart of Gold!!!!


I eventually plan to paint the large wheel, and to give the rest of the woodwork a good coat of oil. But that will have to wait until the weather is a bit nicer and I can work outside again.

Tomorrow, catch up on my finished projects and newest works in progress.

Rhinebeck, part one: critters and people

Well I guess I've had long enough to play with my new toys from Rhinebeck, I guess I should make a post about it now eh?

As usual, Bill and I drove down to Albany the afternoon before; we usually get a motel room in Albany, because by the time we know that we can go to the festival, everything closer is booked up. And anyways, it's a pretty ride.

The next morning, bright and early we got up and went to Bruger's for breakfast, and to get something for lunch later on. (ah, Bruger's, I wish we had one up here, they are pure bagely ambrosia) then went to grab Monica and her fiancée Lee. And we were on our way!

On Saturday we had a great time wandering around checking out the vendors and the critters, I got to meet bunches of cool people from Ravelry, including the Tsock Tsarina and I even got a book signed by Franklin Habit! And Sunday there was more wandering around, more talking to people, and more book signing (this time, by the yarn harlot!)

Now for the pictures:
(click on any picture for a bigger version, I'm using the smaller size to save the load time)

there were Suri Alpacas, with shiny, shiny wool:


lots of Llamas:




you may recognize one of the two guys above as the one who was giving me smoochies in my earlier post well, he was quite a sweetie, and also gave Bill kisses:



there were sheep (duh):
(I think these guys are romneys)


(Suffolk)


(Babydoll)


(and my favorite, Jacob)



and of course, lots and lots of vendors, but by then things were getting crouded, and wes getting busy buying stuff, so I only got one picture of my favorite sign:


if you want even more pictures, check out Bill's photo set from the festival he was way better about the picture taking than I was.

Tomorrow: the haul!
Stay tuned!