Vacation, All I Ever Wanted

So I went to Rhinebeck and I didn't take ANY pictures! It was a helluva weekend - caught up with old friends, met up with new, had a great time. While the weather was reporting poor weather for the day, we lucked out with chilly temperatures and no rain. I saw some stunning handknits, I was inspired by many many patterns, and I had a wonderful time at the Ravelry party (thank you Rav!)

I returned a bit rejuvenated to get some projects off of the needles - first on the list, these Sottopassaggio socks from twistcollective:



I started these about 2 months ago, but as I do most of my sock knitting in the car and the pattern is 7 pages, this was tough! They are knit out of HelloYarn Sock in "Candied Peel", and are delightfully soft and bright. The pattern is easy to follow, though it favors the left sock, and leaves some parts of the right sock to figure out on your own. But it was easy, fun, and kept my interest - I may be making these again.

Right before I left for Rhinebeck I finished up some spinning:



This is 4 ounces of Romney wool from HelloYarn in the "Sweet Potato Vine" colorway, spun into 325 yards of singles. It has a great sheen to it. I split the whole thing in half length-wise and spun it up into these nice long stripes. I don't know what to make of it yet! Maybe some nice mitts, as it is beginning to get cold :)

Projects Up The Wazoo.

Hmph. Well, I've managed to somehow miss posting for a month and a half! Yikes. I'll admit to having been busy and mildly sick through a portion of that, but really? A month and a half? Where to begin?



(Original Erie Canal Lock #52, on the side of the New York Thruway, Milepost 308E, Port Byron, NY.)

I drove out to Iowa to do some repairs on D's mom's place. We got a TON of stuff done, saw a lot of Interstate, caught up with some friends. We installed a new kitchen floor! I completely redid a room! I ate SO MUCH MEAT. While cleaning some things out, we found this awesome bag of pieces of a Wedding Ring Quilt:



...because what I REALLY need in my life are more of other people's unfinished projects ;) The fabrics and colors of these pieces are stunning and I can't stop looking at them.



Also found: This amazing bundle of Boy Scout badges! I haven't a clue as to what I am going to do with these yet, but they sure are rad. It thrills me to no end that many are still on their cards.

For the drive back, we detoured through Canada - a chance to meet up with jodi and weetsie. It was lovely to finally meet these ladies, and of course I'm an idiot and didn't take any pictures. I did have plenty of time to knit in the car, though, and managed to finish up this Ulmus Shawl:



This is some lovely Teeswater in the "Racecourse" colorway from David/SCF, with some Cherry Tree Hill Possum Laceweight. It's delightfully soft, and has a wonderful drape.

Back for a week, and in my unpacking procrastination, I knit this cute Forest Canopy Shawl:



Spunky Eclectic Club "Selfish" colorway, spun by me into felted singles.

Then off to NYC for few days, where I picked up a cold. I've been fighting it a bit ever since. Which gave me ample time to get work done on this vest:



Hello Yarn Fat Sock in "Pinstripe", "Merlot", and "Sky". This knit up delightfully fast, on US5s, and I steeked it. I'm thrilled with how it came out and I expect it to get a lot of wear this winter.

Rhinebeck this weekend, and making some more books!