Happy Halloween!

We had a sunny afternoon for Halloween this year. The Collins family came up for a visit and a little trick or treating. Peter Pan came for a visit too!

Peter Pan is not a very cooperative camera subject.
Tinkerbell designed and made the costumes for Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and herself.

Princess Tigerlily and Mr. Smee took Captain Hook, Tinkerbell, and Peter Pan for brunch at Normanside Country Club.

After brunch we all went to the Halloween party where Moose, I mean Peter Pan, decorated his own cookies.

Then we all walked through the "Haunted House". Those are "eyeballs" floating in the punchbowl.

The nice witch gave us some good candy.

There was a pumpkin carving contest and these two were our favorites.

Peter Pan sat totally absorbed by the magician and his tricks.

And Peter Pan won the costume contest!

Now we're all resting up for round two when we go trick or treating in our neighborhood. Hope you have a ghoulishly good time!

Knitting and the Farmers' Market

Sheila started her Pelerine shoulder warmer this week with Barbara's expert guidance. Since Sheila finished her scarf last week she has decided it was time to learn some new knitting techniques, so she is mastering the yarnover increases in this new project.

Kathleen finished two projects since last week. The first one is one of my favorites since it is a quick knit but looks complicated. It is from the Leisure Arts brochure "Knit Lace and Leaves for Baby".
This second set is from the same pattern book. The patterns offer two style hats and matching blankets to coordinate with the sweaters.
Barbara finished her Pelerine with a professional looking crocheted edge. All it needs is an I-cord tie at the neck.

Last Saturday I visited my daughter to help out at the Landsdowne Farmers' Market. Twice a season the farmers' market gives up and coming artisans a chance to set up shop and show off their talents. We set up the table at 8AM when the temperatures were still a little nippy. Luckily, Amanda had the beautiful prayer shawl that my knitting friends knitted for her after we lost Eliana Marie.

http://chickswithsticksofglenmontny.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

We waited for customers to show up...

and finally they started pouring in.

Amanda did well for a first time adventure. She was able to show off her talents for portrait photography as well as her designing, sewing and knitting skills.

To get a more detailed look at some of her items you can check out her Etsy shop at:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/fashiondeeva

She will have many more items posted in the near future. Moose is taking priority at the moment, as he should! Can't wait for Halloween!

A Treat for a Dreary Day

It was so rainy and gloomy here in the Northeast this morning, I thought I would start today's entry with a glimpse of some pretty blossoms. My dendrobium orchid is in full bloom in my family room.

The colors are so vivid is almost seems to glow from the center out. But now on to some knitting...
Maureen finished the pink and white baby sweater. The edges are all finished with a delicate picot stitch. It looks so cute!
Kathleen got a new knitting pattern book and has already finished one of the sweaters from it. She's making a matching bonnet to go with it this week.

Barb is hard at work on her Pelerine. Getting close to finishing! And Sheila is putting the last few bind off stitches on her scarf.

There! All done! And it looks great!

If you are anywhere near Landsdowne, Pennsylvania this Saturday, Oct. 23 make some time between 9AM and 1PM to stop by the Farmer's Market next door to the PNC Bank. My daughter will be selling her original designs of hand knitted items and some sweet little sewn ballerina tutus that she makes. While you're there you can stop for some homemade hot soup and cider. It promises to be a fun day!

New York State Sheep and Wool Festival 2010 in Rhinebeck, New York

Yesterday I took Amanda for her first visit to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.

It is held the second weekend of October every year in Rhinebeck, New York, along the Hudson River.
We arrived bright and early, as did hundreds of other fiber fanatics. It was only about a 20 minute wait standing in line.
And that meant that there weren't crazy crowds at the exhibits either.
The weather was beautiful and Mother Nature was really showing off.
The fall colors were plentiful and beautiful.
The air was crisp and windy which helped to send wonderful aromas through the air. We knew our meal plan would include some of those delicious scents we could smell so early in the day.
But first we had to dive right into the fiber!
As usual, the colors were exciting.
And patriotic, to say the least.
And if I were so inclined, I could find any color fiber to spin. I just prefer to get right to the knitting though.
There were many pattern books for selection...
and I think Amanda was a bit overwhelmed by the yarn offerings.
I looked all over for one of my favorite booths, the little elf villages! They are so cute!

The person who made these is a real artist!

We ran into Stephanie who was working the Sliver Moon booth. I stole a quick hug as did Amanda.

And Karin got a hug too. She was working beside Stephanie.

Around the corner we ran into Elaine. She was taking a break waiting for her friends to meet her at "The Tree". You'd know that was funny if you could see how many trees there are at this location. It turns out Diane was standing there the whole time and none of us saw her! LOL! I guess we were looking at the wrong tree!

Back inside we checked out the spinning wheels, of which they had a great variety. This character would make spinning inviting...

As would these spinning wheels sporting sheep, goats and dogs.

The drop spindles were beautiful and decorative.

And so pretty!

I had to stop to watch the weavers make magic out of string. This weaver was making an evening bag with the prettiest sparkle yarn.

And even the men got in on the demonstrations.

And any age can learn.

This woman was using a one of a kind spinning wheel. She said this hand painted horse wheel was the only one of its kind in the world.

Here a first timer tries her hand at spinning with the help of a more experienced expert.
We had to stop and see the bunnies. This little guy thought he could make a quick escape but he didn't get far.
These Australian puppies make great sheep herding dogs. They were so cute and active. And they were for sale. Sorry Andrew! I'm allergic. Besides, they weren't Bulldogs.
I didn't want to miss the animals who give us all this wonderful fiber so we stopped by to pay our respects. This alpaca was very vocal, making the cutest little sounds as though he was trying to say something to me.

These two fellows couldn't care any less that I wanted their picture.

But Llama Boy was ready for his portrait.

As was this cuddly guy. He even smiled for the camera!

I had to make sure to thank them for their contributions to my knitting addiction.

Amanda and I met with other "Ravelers" on "The Hill". That's sort of the same as "The Tree". Apparently, everyone but us knew the location of the hill. Then as we were walking around we noticed this large crowd and as we made our way over we could see everyone wearing "Ravelry" buttons. We found the hill!

The day was getting late and we had eaten our delicious lunches and the obligatory fried dough so it was time to call it a day and head back home.

It was time to bite the bullet and brave the parking lot and the curse of the exit line.

To put it in perspective for you, Amanda started this hat when we got in the car. Two hours later when we reached the exit (yes! I said two hours later!) she had almost finished the hat. All it needed was the ribbing band.

Moose was willing to model it long enough for a photo.

Well, we had planned to spend the day at the festival and we did have a wonderful time. To be honest with you, we stood for such a long time that a three hour ride home (that includes the two spent in the parking lot) seemed like a reward well earned.