The Flashing of the Stash

I know I'm late doing this -- two days late to be precise. I had taken these photos last Sunday, but hadn't had time to edit and upload them.

I got bored with dragging all of my stash out of the hutch, spreading it out on the coach, and taking photos. They look the same year after year because - hey, I'm a slow knitter and have had stuff in my stash since I started knitting in 2004.

Between that boredom and the hubbub that started over my Dickenson Pullover, I decided to do something a little different for FYS2010. That incident actually empowered me, and gave me more confidence in my body. Yes, it is the body of a 41-year-old woman, and it's not the Hollywood/fashion perfect body, but it's my body and I love it, my husband loves it, the cats love it, and anyone who doesn't love it can just look away.

Here I am, flashing my stash:









I have a collection of mint-condition (in many cases, new deadstock) vintage nighties from the 50s and 60s. I thought this to be a good time to show one off:



I also get to show off Mike's fantabulous legs too:



And, finally, a flash of the pussy:



Have a great weekend! We're off on a hike today to firm up these legs a bit more!

Sheep! Wool! Yarn! Sun!

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the CT Sheep and Wool, and boy, was it a glorious day! It was that rare April weekend where it's in the EIGHTIES and sunny. It was just lovely.

There were, of course, freaked out sheep:



Annoyed llamas:



Bunnies that were oblivious to their own cuteness:



and, something that doesn't seem to be at every sheep and wool festival, ox cart rides:



ZMrK highly approves of these oxen.

I bought 8 oz. of spinning fiber for about $20:



I think it was from Hampden Hill Alpacas, but I'm too lazy to go check the label.

I also got some sock yarn:



I know the colorway is "Hunt for Red October", but have forgotten the vendor's name. I could walk ten steps to the yarn hutch and check it out, but the hutch is a little. . . less. . . orderly than it was two months ago when I organized it, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

I also bought four bars of soap from Sleepy Moon Soaps, who don't seem to have a working website at the moment, which is a shame. I got four bars of her soap last year and fell in LOVE with them. The bars are $6/each or four for $20, and they are HUMONGOUS. The scents are to die for as well. Last year's soaps lasted me 8-9 months, seriously! Apparently they are sold at some Whole Foods stores in New England, which is nice, as I may try to pick some more up for gifts.

We were with my friend Jean and her sister Susan, and we dropped Susan off at her house and met her dogs. ZMrK hit it off with Maggie:



Bailey is a little more shy, but just as beautiful.



We went on a nice long walk on a nature trail with Jean. I decided that, instead of recapping those on my blog, ZMrK and I would do a joint effort blog so I created one here. That way, I can keep my knitting and personal rants here, and post the pretty nature pictures there. Of course, we haven't done anything with that yet. :)

To cap off my weekend, I started our vegetable and herb garden:



Or should I say, tomato and basil garden, because that's all we have. We went with Roma tomatoes this year, and decided to get Thai basil along with sweet basil. I also have some Hungarian hot peppers sprouting indoors, but they won't be ready to go outside for a while. We made some kickass hot sauce with last year's Hungarian hots! I hope to get more this year.

I always was thrilled to be able to show off my knitting in the sunlight:



This is coming along; I knit a few more inches on it since I took that picture. I also finished the pair of 2x2 ribbed socks that I've been working on since March. I haven't taken a picture, yet, but I'm wearing them right now.

Ellie's been doing really well as an only cat. She gets excited when she sees another cat outside, and she's almost always looking out a window:



I do think her personality has "blossomed" toward us. Ken was her life and love before, now, it's us. She's getting her own routine going, and we're beginning to figure out which meow means what, depending on the situation. Have I ever mentioned that she's very vocal? She has hello meows, she has feed me meows, put me down meows, play with me meows, etc. She also has 5 a.m. meows, which aren't always appreciated. She's been cuddling on my chest when I read in bed at night, which is adorable. Don't get me wrong -- she had a personality before, and was quite lovable. She's just showcasing it more, or we're paying more attention. Either way, we're happy.

Next up should be the NH Sheep and Wool Festival. Let's hope for good weather!

Rhinebeck Posting: Better Late than Never!

So, I'm finally posting about Rhinebeck. I don't have many memories from it sharp in my mind, so I'll just let the photos speak.

Fiber on display:





This is probably my favorite fiber display photo. I think this vendor knew just what he or she was doing by putting these colors here:





(I always look at the marled yarn and never buy it! Why not? Next year, I'll make it a point to.)















I love how this one looks like a flower:






Enough of the fiber -- there were cute animals!



I love this llama -- her name's Madame Bianca and she was for sale!


She gives kisses too:


Speaking of kisses, some brazen hussy sheep tried to steal my husband:



There were other, less slutty animals:



I only kept this picture because the little kid wiping out in the background cracks me up:




These babydoll sheep were even cuter than they are in photos:



There were cute non-fibery (or, if it floats your boat, I suppose you could spin their fur) animals too:





Then there were the cold-blooded critters who must have been frickin' FREEZING! I know I was!



At least the guy with the gators and snakes was indoors.



I like the skeptical kid on the far right in the gray sweatshirt. He had that face the whole time.



I know the haunted tunnel is cheesy, and I think we're the only adults who go through it, but I like it because I always get some good photos out of it:






Finally, there were the people:



I was late for the Ravelry meetup on the hill, so I didn't get into the photo. Notice the devil signs in the back -- those are some LSG-ers.

Speaking of LSG:



The Twatweasel is the official LSG mascot!

Jesh let me take her picture:



It must have been an attempt at a self-portrait, because that is clearly my schnozz in the lower left hand corner. Clearly.

We were pretty late for the Ravelry party, too, due to traffic and going out to dinner beforehand. We were there for about 90 minutes of raffle, complete with people shushing us if we talked. I wish we had been there earlier, but, truthfully, I'm not comfortable mingling at big parties. I'm much better in smaller groups, or one-on-one. I'm not the sort of person to go up to someone and introduce myself, although I wish I could be.


I'll leave you with a idyllic "Autumn-in-the-Northeast" photo. You can see all 150+ photos from Rhinebeck here: