Nothing To See Here

Really.  I have nothing to show, but I just really felt like posting.  I can *tell* you about things I'm working on, but I have no photos of my own to show.  I do have something from a pattern, so maybe that counts? 

If you don't think it does, I guess you should wait until another time ...

You may be wondering whatever became of my Pabaig sweater.  Well, I'm near the end of it, but becuase I made it longer than the one in the pattern, I ran out of yarn.  So I ordered two more balls in order to complete it, and they have not arrived yet (maybe today, if I'm lucky?).  So at the moment, that's on time out.  Once I can get the yarn, it shouldn't take much time to finish - I'm currently at the neck funnel, and then there's just the sleeves to go.

I showed you the socks I finished for my great-nephew Oden, and on Sunday evening, I finished the first sock for his sister Penn.  Last night I started sock #2, so they are nearly done as well.  Then I want to make a pair of socks/house slippers for my great nephew Zach (Oden and Penn's cousin), but those will be in blue and red, which his mother says are colors he wears a lot.  Then the holiday knitting for family out of town will be complete.  :-)  And even better, all the yarn is from stash!

In my post from yesterday, I mentioned only buying yarn three times this year, but I forgot that I bought another skein of yarn over the summer for a pair of Christmas socks for The Tim.  I don't exactly remember why I was browsing the Desert Vista Dyeworks site (I think a podcaster was talking about it), but I came across this yarn, and after thinking about it for two days, decided it was worth breaking my yarn diet to order a skein to make socks for The Tim.  The colorway - Oh, Clark! - is a reference to the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation movie, and that movie is one of the favorites in our entire family.  (One year when the nieces were teens, and having friends over on Christmas Eve, The Tim wore an outfit inspired by Uncle Ed in the movie.)  Anyway, in theory, I would love to get these knit for his birthday in November, but there's a better chance they will be a Christmas gift.  He has also mentioned that he would like a pair of house slippers/socks as well, so something may be "saved" for next year ...

Do you remember my Crazytown Cowl?  When I was finishing that, I mentioned that I would have a fair amount of yarn left, and The Tim mentioned that he would think it would make a nice hat for him.  So I'm getting ready to cast on this pattern and alternate the yarns randomly as I go.  The photo below is one of the pattern shots o Ravelry.

I'm not sure the twisty part on the crown will show up in the yarns I have, but I think it will be a nice hat nonetheless, and I know I can get it knit by his birthday in November.  I tried casting on yesterday, but my brain was in overdrive, and focus was a problem, so after two tries, I decided that it would be better to wait.  

The good thing is, since he does not know I'm planning to do any of these, he won't be expecting anything specific - so whatever gets done will be fine!  :-)

Other than that, I have no exciting news to share.  As I said, I just wanted to post because I was in the mood to "talk" to someone.  Let me know what you are knitting, or what you are planning to knit, I'm curious!  I hope the rest of your day is all good stuff.  

And A Good Time Was Had By Me

It's Monday.  Again.  Seems like it shows up after every weekend, what's that about???  ;-)

I hope you had a good weekend.  Mine started off with exhaustion - Members' Night was especially taxing this year, since the person who filled out our forms did not think to ask for chairs.  So we were not just inundated with people, but had to stand the entire time.  By the time I left, my back was killing me and my voice was nearly gone.  I woke up on Saturday with the beginning of a cold, which was annoying, but it was *my* weekend and I wasn't gonna not enjoy it.

My Going to Rhinebeck By Staying Home weekend did in fact get to start with apple cider donuts.  I walked over to the farmer's market, and managed to get the last package of four!  (I got up later than I usually do - see above - so I'm lucky that any were left ...).  The Tim and I had our apple cider donuts and some tea, and then we headed to a Michael's nearby to look for frames.  I have been wanting to get a frame for my honeybee cross-stitch, and we both wanted to find a good frame for my witchy cross-stitch I made for my niece.  I had looked at a couple of A.C. Moore stores, but the ones near us primarily sell supplies related to painting and drawing, as they are near art schools.  Fortunately, we found the perfect frames and they were even on sale, buy one, get on free.  It was nice since they were not inexpensive.  Once things are framed I'll post photos.

The rest of Saturday, I stayed put, knitting, napping, and watching some podcasts.  We also watched some things we'd recorded.  It was a stunning day, but sadly I didn't get in any walks because I was still feeling kind of icky, and The Tim took Hamlet for a couple of walks. But it was still a good day!

Yesterday it rained steadily all day, so although Hamlet and I went for a couple of walks, they were not terribly enjoyable.  I did still go over to Loop for their Fall Festival, which was lovely!  It was fairly small scale, but I talked to Laura (one of the owners), and she said it had been busy on Saturday also, and there was a good chance they would make it an annual event.  That would be great!

I even treated myself to a few items! I've been proud of myself this year, because other than buying a skein of sock yarn to make the socks for Brian (the person getting the kidney transplant), and two more balls of yarn to finish my Pabaig (hopefully they are making their way here as I type), I have knit completely from stash this year.  So I told myself that I could treat myself to one skein if I saw one I really wanted that was no more than $20.00.  As you can see, I did buy yarn.   This is a skein of Liverpool Yarns, a company owned by a woman who used to work at Loop, and yarn I've been hoping to try since they started up.  I bought a skein of their Bulky yarn, in the colorway Bramble.  At the moment, I think I will use it to make the Bulky Trellis hat, but since I won't be touching it until after the holiday knitting is finished, that could change.  They provided the project bag with the purchase, which is a nice touch.  Then I bought a ceramic notions dish with a bunny on it, and two ceramic pawprint buttons, just because I liked them.  So I spent a total of $25.00, which I didn't *need* to spend, but I did anyway as a treat.

We ended up with Barley-Feta casserole for dinner in the crockpot, and The Tim had made brownies on Friday night, so we each had one for dessert.

So even though I got hit with the start of a cold, and was more tired than usual, and it rained on Sunday, I enjoyed my Rhinebeck weekend!  I think I'll try it again next year - maybe we can even have a virtual Rhinebeck weekend together, who knows?

Here's hoping your weekend was enjoyable as well, and that this week will be kind to all of us.

Small. Quick. Cheery. Gift. FO = A Winner!

So, it IS Friday, but a long one for me.  Nonetheless, when I leave here tonight, I won't have to return until next week, and that's keeping me going.  Plus, I'm looking forward to my Going to Rhinebeck By Staying Home weekend.

But today you get my latest finished project.  This was a fast one, and very easy, but enjoyable nonetheless, and it ticks off one of the things on my gift list for Christmas.

Project:  Oden's Christmas Socks

Pattern:  Rye, by Tin Can Knits, Toddler size

Needles:  US 3 and US 5

Yarn:  Plymouth Yarn Encore Worsted, colorway 1386 (Christmas Red), and 1004 (Peppermint)

Modifications:  Only making the cuffs and toes in a different color than the rest of the sock.

Notes:  This was a fun and quick knit for my great-nephew Oden - a small project, thicker yarn than sock yarn, happy and cheery colors, and a gift.  They may be a bit big for him, but better bigger than too small.  I have no illusions that these will be his favorite gift, but I do think they will keep his feet warm.  

I started and finished these in the period of eight days, and it only took me that long because for five of those days, I didn't get a chance to knit at all!  Seriously, you could finish both socks in a day if you just spent the time knitting.  This is also a really nice pattern, well-written and easily understandable, with lots of good illustrations where needed.  On top of which, it's free, so why aren't you using it to make many pairs of socks???  I know that once my gift knitting is complete, I'm making a pair for myself.  :-)

I hope everyone has a good weekend - see you next week!

Going to Rhinebeck By Staying Home

As a lot of you (most of you?) probably know, this weekend is the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York, and I know so many people who are going.  And of course, on Instagram, blogs, and podcasts, people are not just talking about it, but knitting "Rhinebeck sweaters," planning what to buy, etc.  I enjoy the vicarious aspects of this, and to be honest, even though I know it's a huge festival and can be crowded out of this world, I would like to go myself just once.  For the experience and because it's such a lovely time of year to be traveling to that part of the universe.

Anyway, once again this year, I will be at home while everyone else travels, enjoying their various social media posts, hearing what friends did/bought/saw, etc. and feeling a teeny bit left out.  BUT guess what?  I'm going to Rhinebeck anyway, though I am not leaving the state of Pennsylvania.

I have been giving this some thought for about a month, and here is my plan.  By the way, the other day, I said to The Tim, "This weekend is Rhinebeck, and we are going to do it ourselves!" and he quite excitedly said, "Oh wow!  We're actually going???"  Yes, dear, we can just drop everything and go with no planning, and we won't have any trouble finding a place to stay or anything.  I mean - really? 

Anyway.

Being that it is Three on Thursday, I'm sharing three of the things I'm planning for My Rhinebeck Weekend.

1.  Apparently, a big specialty at Rhinebeck is Apple Cider Donuts.  I plan to get up on Saturday morning and head over to the farmer's market, where they have both freshly made apple cider donuts, as well as apple cider.  If for some reason, they are out, I have some apple cider tea to enjoy.

2.  On one of the days I'm walking over to Loop, because they are having a Fall Festival for those who aren't traveling up to New York.  I think it will be fun, and I like the idea of seeing yarns that are new to me.  I don't know if I will buy anything, but I do know one of the women behind Liverpool Yarns, and it's always nice to get to see her.  Who knows who else I might run into?  And you'll never find me turning down a Philly pretzel!

3.  Fall walk and crock pot dinner on Sunday.  If you are walking around Rhinebeck all day, you likely want a nice, hearty dinner where you can relax and enjoy thinking over your weekend and all the people you saw, animals you petted, yarn you fondled.  Hamlet and I will take one particular walking route on Sunday where we can enjoy fall, Halloween decorations, and just being outside.  That morning, I'll put stuff into the crock pot so that our dinner will be cooking while we are out walking, and the house will smell good all day.  I haven't decided yet what to fix, but I have a couple of distinct possibilities in mind.

Of course, I'll also be knitting - why have a Rhinebeck weekend without some actual knitting?  I have some gifts on the needles, and since I will likely be recovering from Members' Night at work after tomorrow night, sitting and knitting will be extra enjoyable and relaxing.

So that's the plan.  Depending on how things go, it may become an annual event for me.  And who knows, maybe next year, we can all plan a Staying Home Rhinebeck weekend, virtually or in real life!  Something to think about, right?

*****

Thanks to all of the people who sent kind comments about yesterday's post.  I am fine, and was all day - it just kept seeming surreal.  As I told several people, it's probably a good thing that I was stunned, because if I had been paying more attention, I think my natural impulse would have been to slap the woman back, and that wouldn't have ended well for me in any fashion.  It was all the more weird because Wawa can be crowded, but it is truly a benign place 99.9999999% of the time.  Go figure.

Moral of the story: Maybe I should stick to tea.  ;-)

The One Where a Stranger Slaps Me

Oy.

I had a difficult night - I slept, but had weird/horrific/strange dreams that kept waking me up, sometimes for a while until my heart and emotions settled down.  This morning when the alarm started, I got up and knew that it was gonna be a day that needed help.  Even my morning cup of tea didn't quite cut it.  So I knew it was time to be drastic, and stop to get a cup of coffee.  I don't drink much coffee, other than the occasional latte, but it was a morning that called for serious measures.

There's a Wawa on my way to work, and they are having a $1.00 cup of coffee, any size deal going on.  I figured, OK that works.  I went to the island where the cups, lids, creamers, etc. were to get started.  Suddenly a woman loudly said, "Excuse me young lady, you stepped on my handbag."  She said it to me.  I looked where she was pointing on the floor (who puts their handbag on the floor at the Wawa coffee counter???!!!), and ... there was no handbag.  At all.  So I said, "I don't even see a handbag," and she pointed, repeated what she said, and then said, "Do you plan to apologize to me, you white b*tch?" and I said, "I apologize that I don't even see a handbag in the first place."  And I said it nicely, I really did.

That was when she slapped me.  And then threw an empty creamer carton at me.  The security guard come over and told her she would need to leave, and she said he was racist (he was black for the record), and that I was a racist.  As he was escorting her out, one of the other employees walked by.  She stopped the guard, tapped the employee on the arm, and said in a manner where I expected sugar cubes to fall out of her mouth, "Excuse me, do you have any more French vanilla creamer?"

Long story short, I didn't even get charged the dollar for my coffee.  But even writing this, I realize I'm still stunned.  I have pretty decent radar that helps me avoid the crazy people most of the time.  This woman was dressed as if she was on her way to an office, certainly better put together than I was this a.m.  So I don't know what her story is/was.  But let's just say it has not been my best morning.

*****

In any event, I was planning to join Kat and others in Unraveled Wednesday today, so here goes.

There was fortunately no unravelling this week (other than a close call emotionally, see above).  I managed to finish both my cross-stitch project, and the Christmas socks I was knitting for my great-nephew Oden.  Tonight I am hoping to get started on the pair I'm making for his sister.  I am enjoying these knits, not just because they are quick, but also because the colors are so cheery, that it's hard to think of it as anything but a happy project.

Reading-wise, The Tim has been reading this book aloud (I'm not sure why he is on a reading aloud kick, but I'm enjoying it), and I recently finished another book I was reading.  Today at lunchtime, I plan to start this book:

I've heard good things about it, and have wanted to read it but never got around to it before, so hopefully I can get a good start.  

Then, a book I've been wanting to read for a while just became available to me at the library:

A couple of years ago, I came across the documentary version of this on PBS one evening when I was switching channels, and it was really interesting.  It's been difficult to find the book, but I finally saw that one of the other branches had it, and put in a hold request.  So this will be my book to read at home, and I can't wait!

Here's hoping the rest of the day is calmer than the start was - have a good one!