Bounty

Rhinebeck was spectacular.
And here is the bounty.
I did not go crazy, but I did pick out a few favorites to bring home. The design of the spindle is Turkish and I dd have a chance to play with it at Mike's dad's house, and in the car on the way home until it got too dark to see, and this morning. The balance is perfect and you disassemble it after you have spun the wool and wound it over and under the flanges, making a small center pull poof that eliminates the need to wind it into a ball from the shaft, as one does from a 'regular' spindle.
Yes Cyndi, those lollipop looking things from the previous post are spindles, used to spin fiber. Before wheels and then industrial type spining machines, all cloth woven or knitted came from fiber spun on one of these doodads. Or something similar.
Watching the border collies was fascinating. It is amazing how they know how to herd the sheep. How do they know that?

Ny Sheep and Wool Fest

A few pictures from the festival for wool floozies..

pigtailsandsnails give away

Howdy
Elizabeth is having a contest to give away this delightful sunflower quilt. Will you enter the contest? I have....who can resist sunflowers?
I am going to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival this weekend! Many sheep will lose their fleeces in the days to come. It will be nice to be there in the autumn chill, maybe buy a couple of hitherto indespensible yarny objects? Objet du Wool?
In the mean time, on the quilty front, there are diamonds being laid out in stripes and squares and snowflakes being dreamed.

Doll House pictures, Bennington Museum

Doll House pictures, Bennington Museum

Inklingoable

I fell in love with this block from Cathi's(Smudge's) blog a few weeks ago and kept a picture of it on my desktop, thinking maybe I would try one some day.
The thing is, with Inklingo is that if you are doing one, you may as well do two or a whole bunch more. So I contacted Cathi and we are planning to print a few blocks from fabric from our stashes and swap them. And after that, probably a few more. And so it goes.
If you haven't heard of Inklingo, it is a program that lets you print directly onto fabric-with stitching lines...way cool. Go to the website and watch a video! Visit Cathi's blog also to see what she is up to using Inklingo. Your curiosity will be piqued. And there is a free sample-what more could you ask? Oh, and yes -you will meet Monkey.***I should mention that I an doing this on my macbook!!

greenport-brooklyn cup start

Some pictures from our day in Greenport. Apparently the Brooklyn Cup is a race that has been suspended for a couple of decades and this year began again. The race course goes around Block I Island and back to Long Island -over night. I learned that a knot is fifteen percent faster than 'miles per hour".

Bennington Museum

We visited the lovely Bennington Museum yesterday and I got to see "the quilt" in real life, as it were. and there were others. The room was quite dim and the result was dim photos, but I include them here in their edited form-just because.
The Grandma Moses exhibit was also there and I did not photograph it, as requested by the museum. But it was worth the four and a half hour drive and the museum itself was filled with lovely antiquities and ephemera from days gone by.
Twas a beautiful autumn day with gusts of wind making leaves fly and intermittent rain showers. Something for everyone. The top picture is from Williamstown, Massachusetts, on the way south. We drove home by the light of the milky way, exclaiming at the abundance of stars.

Socktober!

I joined a Soctberfest on Ravelry! And it is perfect timing. I have the yarn . I have the needles and I am almost finished with the doll. I am working on her head. the body is done! Pictures will come later. If you are on Ravelry you can click on this blog title to join up.
Maybe I need to do a sock movie-something sock noire? Is that how you spell noire?
Gratuitous hand crank picture.....

Breakfast at the Kitty Knight

shoe movie

Put on the left shoe first
it is less painful than the right.
Then, try to keep the finger-bony protrusion-
from getting mashed between the heel and the shoe as
it slides into the snug heel cup.
Snug is better:
better to absorb the impact of each step as it follows.
Both shoes are laced now.
Stand and balance,
assess & measure the degree of discomfort and
make the judgement. It is tolerable.
Tolerable.

too much spare time?

ride home

ready

We will be driving out east today but I have done one thread and I am ready to do another upon our return.
I am shipping Carolina Crossroads to Val to un-sew! and then have it quilted by Kathy. It is in a box-just needs to go to the post office...
I will be adding arms to my doll who now has a possible new owner-a friend's daughter who shall remain secret until I have finished the aforementioned doll. I am always inspired to finish something when I think of giving it away. I rarely sell my stuff, but I get motivated by the thought of giving it to someone who will get pleasure from it.
And while I am on the subject of giving-I did make a small donation to the democratic candidate....
edit to add: I machine quilted the quilt and it was a disaster. Un sewing means to take out all of that mess so it can be done by some one who knows what they are doing.
The doll has two legs and ten toes..and maybe tomorrow-arms...

standstill

Life is at a standstill. We are acutely aware that we do not have any control over the next inevitable thing to happen.We move through the day, through our lives, as tho we are in a strange medium, hitherto unbeknownst to us. We feel the atmosphere with our skin, our senses, but were are only vaguely aware of it. It is not the outside that has changed but our perception of it.
Events that are catastrophic in our lives have happened but we are not yet sure of how they will change us. We know it is useless to resist and yet we feel we should do something. As though our actions would make a difference in the outcome.We wait in the eerie silence that envelops us as we recede into our interiors to assess. the interior where external noise is unheard and unremarkable.
In this fugue state of the suspension of the ordinary, we listen. We are not aware that we have receded but the realization that we have withdrawn is made clear by the jarring sensation of the everyday as it intrudes into our inner realm.

Breakfast on the channel

We took bagels and juice to a park bench on this perfect morning.

Sheep with sweaters?

doll jones

I am scratching the doll making itch in a new way and knitting a doll. This is a change from my other dolls. I am using double pointed knitting needles for the first time and so far I am liking the results. It should be cute when it is done and I am sure I will have no problem finding a home for it (her?). The pattern, from Oat Couture, also has knitted clothes but i am not sure how much more I am going to make for this doll. I bought it from Angelika's Yarn store and there are others......to tempt the latent doll maker in you.

Give aways

Giving stuff away and swapping are a great way to make friends! I swap birthday siggies DJ siggies fabric ATCs postcards noodles.
Jen from Crafty Giveaways is hosting a give away on her blog of the same name.
I have made four (8) six inch blocks to share with my new swap buddy in NH. I am looking forward to our easy going exchange.
I spent all day making a keynote -practicing. Maybe I should get of the couch now?

I am a nigela What Flower Are You?

alas!

Nothing to report. I am woefully unmotivated and undisciplined in my stitching and writing and painting. Full time work will do that to a body.
I have started a new one to one Dear Jane Block swap with Phylils in New Hampshire and I am looking forward to that! I have done one block. The idea is, we each make one block twice, and send the other the double. It is a very good way to make progress and friends. I have twenty something already from a block swap with Tilde and I am looking forward to resuming my Dear Jane stitching.
I am woefully behind on my birthday siggies. Need to catch up on those tomorrow morning. I have all of the envelopes labeled and waiting to be filled. It won't take that long to be up to speed.
And I am desperately trying to hold of beginning any new knitting projects but they are screaming like sirens at me. I have to finish Mike;s hat and a shrug I began two freakin years ago. Must finish must finish... If I finish those first I will not feel too guilyy about starting a new project and I will have two Christmas gifts done.
and now of to work
another day another nickel