Still Sick
Sorry guys. In addition to the actual bug I picked up, an infection has settled into my lungs, so I’m sleeping more often than not, and I’m hardly coherent enough to sit up when I’m awake. Hopefully next week I’ll be back and in better condition. In the meantime, email me if it’s urgent and I’ll try to respond within 24 hours (but no promises).
NYS&W 2009
AKA I Went to Rhinebeck and All I Got Was H1N1.
No kidding. Well no, I got other stuff too, but after all of my protestations that I didn’t need a flu shot, I’m not really around other people that often, etc., I suppose I was due for a little comeuppance in the form of a good (un)healthy dose of flu. And not even the kind I could’ve gotten vaccinated for, even. Oh well.
As usual, there were friends aplenty:
And although I almost came home with a wheel…
by the time I went back on Sunday to give it some serious consideration, it was gone. Probably for the best; my mum (hi mum!) really would’ve killed me. In the end my haul was pretty tiny, mostly consisting of really awesome fibers that I haven’t tried yet, plus a new tsock kit, which I’ll have to knit up before next year to keep the tradition going.
Unfortunately my camera also took a dive and ended up with a cracked screen, which is why I don’t have quite as many pictures of the weekend as I’d like. I can still take pictures, but I don’t know what they look like until I load them onto the computer. Things may look a little… surreal around here until I replace it.
All in all, it was a fun (if rather adventure-filled) show! Can’t wait to do it again next year.
Packing
Two sleeps left and I’m starting to get antsy and nervous over the logistics of this thing. Did you hear it might snow? I’m packing mittens and a leather coat. But it also might pour rain, so there’ll be a rain poncho and umbrella as well. Either way I’m predicting spending most of my time huddled up inside booth 26D, so if you’re looking for me, there’s the best place to check.
I’ve got two coffee cans full of cookies packed, with more to make tomorrow—
(Obviously the broken ones are not fit for public consumption, and must be eaten by me. Shame, really.)
And the aforementioned spindles and test fiber are ready for travel in their nice, safe, waterproof container.
I was hoping to have my sweaters all finished and packed (both Honeybee and Viv are making the trip), but Viv’s clasps are still not here, so I’m working on rigging a temporary closure.
Hopefully by the time you all see it in person it won’t have loops of scrap yarn through the front. With any luck it won’t be inside out, either, but no guarantees on that one.
So close, and yet…
I’ve been feeling a bit under the weather for the past couple of days, but I’m determined to make it through this week and enjoy myself this weekend, no matter what it takes. Almost everything that absolutely must be done for Rhinebeck is completed. Now all that’s left is packing, sewing on Viv’s clasps (which still haven’t arrived), and a few small pet projects that I’d like to get done but aren’t vital. So if I need to, I can sleep for the next few days to try and shake this bug.
The pomatomi continue onward…
I’d actually love to be knitting these faster, but if I get them done before I leave (or—heaven forfend—while I’m there) I’ll be without a mindless knitting project, so I’m trying to stretch them a little longer.
I also spun up the second ply of that merino/silk that I’d like to finish this week, on the same bobbin as the first ply because I was too lazy to wind off. I just spun a bit of contrasting color scrap fiber in between the two and kept going. Of course, now I have to wind off both plies to have room for the third one, but still.
I also had to move the wheel downstairs, where I could put it behind a closed door, because of this little problem:
Oh, cats.
Panic
Eight days left and I’ve entered that point where mentally, I know I’m ahead of (or, at the very least, on) schedule, but emotionally, I’m in panic mode. What if I forget (insert important object here)? What if it’s cold? What if it rains? What if I’m not bringing enough spindles?
What if I’m bringing too many spindles? (I know, I know. There’s no such thing as too many. But what if?)
Obviously the only way to de-stress is to…
start a new knitting project.
Countdown
Ten days left ’til I leave for Rhinebeck and I couldn’t be more excited or panicked. The shop is shut down so I can start labeling and packing spindles, because I am not waiting for the night before to do it like I did last year. Viv has been washed and blocked and fits perfectly—
so once the clasps get here I can sew ’em on fast and that will be done too.
I was also hoping to get in one last skein of handspun before potentially handing over my bobbin to have copies made,
but this is only the first ply so that may or may not happen.
Still on the to-do list: finish up the last handful of spindles, label and pack them as noted above, figure out what knitting and spinning projects to take with me, and clean this place up a bit so I don’t come home to a disaster area.
(That last one might end up being too much to handle. We’ll see.)
Creation
On the seventh day, Jesh finished a sweater.
It’s currently blocking and I’m still considering what to do about a closure, but it certainly went faster than anticipated. So… now what do I do for the next two weeks? (Just kidding. I still have a million things left to do before Rhinebeck and two weeks is still nowhere near enough time.)
Now I need to go ice my wrists and cuddle some poor, neglected kittens.
Speed
It has come to my attention that I may be knitting VIvian a bit… too fast. I know, it seems like a crazy concept to me, too. But since I am very near the joining row to start the yoke, and have gotten to this point in a mere five days, and have a whole two weeks left to complete the sweater…
Well, gosh. Maybe I should slow down. Where’s the fun if I’m not scrambling to finish at the last minute?
Jeshknits 