SEAWEED SHAWL is done

Yes, Yes, it is finished and I love it.

Great yarn and great pattern

Citron is finished

This shawl has been a labor of love. I love the yarn by Wolle's Yarn Creations but I just keep tangling it if I put it in my project bag. The yarn is a made of 5 string no ply cotton. What I found( at the end of course) is that when I reskein it tighter, I have less problems.

I have another skein waiting be used so before I start it, I will reskein it.

Should be finished with the KAL shawl called Ocean Serenity that I am calling Seaweed, this week. It is using the same yarn but a different color. It is so pretty.

Part 2-Rhinebeck 2010

I don't want you to get the wrong impression and think that I did not enjoy myself at Rhinebeck, I surely did. My daughter, TeAntae, and I arrived about 15 minutes before it opened at 10am on Sunday and left about 15 minutes before it closed at 5pm.

The fair grounds is fantastic. There are plenty of places to eat and sit, and the most important thing is ladies bathrooms that has more than 3 stalls. They even had ladies in the bathroom that kept the place clean and showed you to the empty stalls. Nice touch and very efficient.

This fairgrounds was made to serve numerous kinds of events. The Howard County Fairgrounds in Maryland seems to have been set up for livestock so it is not as nice. Now if I could just put the Maryland show in the Rhinebeck fairgrounds, we would have a yarn show made in heaven.

My problem with the show is that there was very little yarn. Lots of natural fiber but little yarn. I overheard a vendor say that the hardcore knitters came on Saturday. That made me laugh because in Maryland the hardcore knitters come Saturday and Sunday. You can not make me believe that all the yarn was sold out on Saturday and there was nothing but fiber left for Sunday. There was yarn, just not the amount I was used to. I think the size of the show is the same as the show in Maryland.

Waiting in line for pot pies. I am sorry to say that it was not worth it. The pies were dry and tasteless. I had such high hopes for these because everyone was raving about them and I was hungry. I ended up throwing most of it away. It is pretty bad when you wish you had Swanson's pot pie instead.

The Sheep to Shawl Contestants were working hard when we walked through the building. I had planned to go back to check out who won but the day got away from me.

Just like Maryland's Sheep and Wool show, Rhinebeck has a display of hand knitted and woven garments displayed with their ribbons. The items seemed more edgy and contemporary than what I see at the Maryland Show. Really liked most of the pieces.

Met these two ladies and had to stop them to admire what they had made. The shawl above is the Shipwreck shawl which is circular and beaded. She said it took her 3 months. If it had been me, it would have taken me a year. It was lovely. The lady below had felted and made her jacket and purse. I was quite impressed. She gave me her card and told me that she did give classes. I just might take her up on it. I saw a couple of other ladies in felted jackets throughout the day. I want one!!!!!!

All these people are meeting the authors in the book signing area. I thought that this was a great sat up. Authors with their books were on each side of the aisle and the cash register was in the front.

My daughter posing for me on thisbeautiful fall day in Rhinebeck, NY beautiful fall day in Rhinebeck, NY.

This pumpkin carver was fantastic. Never in a million years could I produce anything like these.

I guess you are wondering what I purchased, well I did buy a skein of yarn from Fiber Optics to make the Pagona Shawl by Stephen West. Her colors are brilliant and that is what I like. The blue is very jewel toned.

I also purchased patterns to make The Scoop and The Cinch by Nora Bellows of Noni designs as well as the 2011 Calendar of Patterns by Helen Hamann. Helen told me that she will be at the 2011 Maryland Sheep and Wool. I really love her cutting edge patterns and get her newsletter. However, I am sad to say that I have never made any of her designs. I just admire from afar. I think she will do well at the show and hope to have at least one of her designs made in time to show her that I am not just all talk. It seems that she will be putting out a call for an assistant to help her and she will pay in yarn.

New Totes and My Chef Daughter

This is going to be a two parter. I had a fun filled weekend and have lots to share.
My daughter and I went to Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival on Sunday but before we went, I had a chance to visit my daughter at the french country restaurant she works at, Tersiguel's. It is nice to go to a french restaurant were the founders are actually from France.I was acting like the proud mother while I watched her move around the kitchen with such ease. I have to admit that her mother can not cook. Well...I can make a meal for you but you won't compare it to your mother's.

Cooking just never interested me. I only wanted to stay in the kitchen long enough to get things cooked and I am happy with my microwave, NuWave Oven and crockpot. For me, that is the only appliances you need.

When we got back from Rhinebeck, I worked on totes to carry our Kindle's in. My daughter only carries a small purse and I have to stop carrying the purse I like because we found out this weekend that there is a magnetic strip in it that keeps wiping out my hotel keys. You can find the pattern in the September/October 2010 Designs in Machine Embroidery, the words are a free download on their site. They came out so great that I decided to make knitting totes as well. Can you say, "Christmas Gifts for knitting friends"!!!!!!!!

Roger's Wedding Day

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