Etsy Shop

Ok. It's official. I got my Esty shop up and running. Better late then never. Right now I only have the 5 finished Boxy Bags for sale. I am furiously working on completing the tree skirts and the remaining bags. I'm hoping to get them up by the end of this weekend.

I have also been doing some knitting. I finished another Turn A Square hat and have started another. I am about 5 rows from completing Mary Jane. I will have enough yarn. So yay!! Will have pics soon.

MIA

Been lost in the land of sewing!

Love Affair

I am so very sad to say that my love affair with one Jamie Fraser came to an end! For those of you who don't know who Jamie is, he is the main male character in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series books. Sigh.

I finished the final installment, A Breath of Snow and Ashes, on Monday evening. What an awesome series. I'm just saddened that there is no more Jamie to fantasize, I mean read, about anymore. Can't discuss the particulars of the book because my sis hasn't finished reading them yet and I don't want to spoil anything for her. But I do want to give a huge thanks to my sis for turning me on to these books. I never imagined I would devour 1,400 page books the way I have these.

I guess it's a good thing I have this to keep me occupied right now....

This is where Mary Jane stood as of last night. I stopped working on the body and decided to knock out the sleeves and collar because I'm afraid of running out of yarn. I tried it on last night and right now the length of the body is good if I have to alter the pattern. Guess we'll see how things turn out with it.

Turn A Square

One!



Or Two!



Okay Maybe Three!



Aren't they all so pretty?



For those of you who may have already knitted this wonderful little hat by Brooklyn Tweed you know he designed it to basically use up leftover yarn. I knitted all three hats from 1 skein of Noro Silk Garden and 1 skein of Cascasde 220 Superwash. I was honestly expecting to only get 2 hats but decided to try and sqeak out a third, because really, what would I have done with the bit that was left. As you can see in the third hat I did run out of the Noro yarn right at the end. I only needed enough for 4 more rows but it wasn't to be. I finished the last few rows in black. Does it look bad? All in all, I love how the coloring worked out in all the hats.

Pattern: Turn A Square by Brooklyn Tweed
Yarn: Cascade 220 Superwash (815); Noro Silk Garden (289)
Needles: 16" circs Sizes 6 & 7; DPNs size 7
Hat 1: Started & Finished November 26th
Hat 2: Started November 26th; Finished November 27th
Hat 3: Started November 27th; Finished November 28th

Sew Much?

No. Not at all. What happened to my grand weekend sewing plans? It all went out the door into the cold air on Saturday. First, this is what I accomplished on Friday...


I managed to get all my fabric cut out for the Boxy Bags. It took a few hours but I was thrilled they were all cut out and ready to be sewed up on Saturday.

So what happened to the sewing? Well long story short. I rent the basement apartment of my landlord's home. On Thursday he brought a technician in to look at the boiler that apparently went kaput. Now remember since this is a house and the boiler is in a little room in the basement in my living space. The gentlemen looked, stated that my landlord needed to go pay for the new boiler Friday morning and it would be delivered in the afternoon.

Friday evening is now upon us and the landlord now comes by with two technicians. It is now stated that they would come by on Saturday morning and install the new boiler. Since this is my home, I nicely asked what time they would be coming by and was jokingly told "Oh 6am." They quickly said that it would probably be around 10am or so. I was much happier with this time since all week long I get up at 4:30am for work.

Around 8:30am Saturday morning I am walking down the street heading back home from my run at the gym. I immediately spotted that the technicians were there is do the work. So I went in, changed and tried to think of what I was gonna do because having 5 men in my tiny living space making a mess was not something I really wanted to be around. So I took myself to the 10:10am showing of Twilight. Must say that I loved the movie very much and am thrilled that they are talking about filming the next one. By the time the movie ended I had been gone for about 3 hours. When I arrived back home they were still there. I stepped inside and saw that I could do absolutely nothing but sit on my couch and watch tv. It was even too cold to knit because they were going in and out of my apartment to cut pipe and stuff.

Let me just end it here. Does it really take 17 hours to install a new boiler? The answer is yes, it does. The new boiler was humming nicely at 1:30am when all left and I could finally collapse into bed. Guess the story wasn't too short.

So my mojo was totally lost and I spent Sunday sleeping in until 9:30am. Stayed in my PJ's and knitted on my latest sweater. Last week I noticed the new Twist Collective was out and I immediately found a few patterns I wanted to knit. I bought the Mary Jane by Zephyr Style pattern and casted-on for it last Monday night.

Isn't it pretty? Here is the front.....

...and here is the back....

Does the yarn look a little familiar to you? It should because it's the same yarn I used on my Puff-Sleeved Cardi. Remember I had purchased this yarn earlier in the year for a different project. So I used 9 for the cardi and I have 9 left to knit this sweater. I actually think I'll have 2 skeins left. At least I am using this stuff up!

Weekend Plans

Can you guess what I am going to be doing this weekend? Yup. That's a big ol' pile of fabric. Freshly laundered and waiting to be pressed with the iron. On top of the pile is all the fabric I have waiting to be made into boxy bags. The middle fabric is waiting to be cut into nice squares so I have them for 3 tree skirts. Finally, the rather large (12 yds) of muslin will be cut up for the backing of the 4 tree skirts. If all goes well, I will hopefully have some stuff up on etsy soon.

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone for their well wishes offered to me in my new educational endeavour! I was a bit overwhelmed this week and wasn't able to answer everyone individually. I'm excited to see what may come of all of this. I will keep ya'll posted. Until then, I again offer a great big thank you and hugs to all!!

A First Step

Warning: This Is A Totally Non-Knitting Post

Today I took the first step in hopefully educating myself into a more secure job, or at least one that can not be easily outsourced to India.

I have mentioned before that my company has gone through some downsizing at the site I work at. At the end of September the number was downsized by 5. At the end of October it was downsized by 13 more. Now we are quickly approaching the end of November and talks of another round of downsizing have begun.

Currently we offer assistance to bankers on 3 floors inside one building (it was 4 floors up until a couple of weeks ago when we closed one floor down). We have been told that by December 1st we will able occupying 1 floor. With this moving of bodies into 1 center, it is inevitable more people will no longer call our site home.

While I would like to think that my 10 years of service with my company would guarantee me a position, one never knows anymore. I've been running the numbers through my head of how many people we have on first shift and know that those who hold my job title on the shift will be downsized. The question is who.

So what did I do today? I enrolled myself into a course through an online school that will hopefully lead me to obtaining a Paralegal Certificate. For a few months now I have been contemplating this. Yes I graduated in May 2007 with a BA in Graphic Communication, but unfortunately the competition for graphic jobs is too great for me when I am going up against the 20 somethings with absolutely fantastic portfolios. So I asked myself what else interests me. The answer was the law.

There was lots and lots (months and months) of research into finding the right online school for myself. I needed to find one that was good (accredited), had a payment plan and would work with my time frame. So today, I bit the bullet and signed up for 1 course at a reduced rate to see if it was truly the right fit for me. If it is, I will then sign up for the certificate program and, because I could take 2 courses at a time, will hopefully have completed the certificate in 7 months.

You should have seen me hovering over the submit button today wondering if I was making the right choice (and because I was handing out a chunk of money for testing things out). I was definitely feeling more at ease when one of the counselors from the school called me within 2 hours of signing up for the course. She was a delight to speak with and answered all of my questions. Now let's just see how the course goes. It's an intensive 4 week course that starts December 8th.

Cowling Along

What's this? Another Cowl? Yeah. I couldn't help myself. Saturday night I was cruising through Ravelry checking out what other's had knitted with Malabrigo Silky Merino yarn. Lots and lots of knitters had used it to make Clapotis. Since I only had one skein of this stuff I needed to find a bit smaller project. I didn't dare click through the 70 some odd pages of projects to find what I was looking. Talk about sensory overload. So let me introduce you to my newest Cowl...

Pattern: Darkside Cowl (Rav link to free pattern)
Yarn: Malabrigo Silky Merino; Colorway - Viena
Needles: Size 8 16" circs
Started & Finished: November 15th
Modifications: I unintentionally started the pattern immediately after casting on instead of doing 1 purl round. So I am missing this round on both ends of the cowl.

...and because for some reason ya'll like to see modeled photos...

Yes Yvonne, that is another one of my strappy tanks I wore when modeling this cooler weather garment. Again I'm color coordinated!

This morning when I went to dash out the door for work I originally had an old black scarf around my neck. My bleary eyes caught a glimpse of this cowl and I immediately wripped off the black thing and pulled this bunch of dreaminess over my head. This yarn is sooooo yummy and makes for a super soft cowl.

I was so happy to have finally knitted with another yarn purchase from Rhinebeck. I only used maybe half of the yarn. I tried to find another use for the little amount I had left. It didn't work out too well. I believe I am just going to have to knit another cowl with the other half.

It's A Set

Ya'll remember the Halloween yarn cowl? Of course you do considering it was the second to last post I have done and still shows up on my main page. Silly me. Anyway, I finally finished up the other 2 balls of the Rowan Chunky Print yarn to make a nice little winter wearing set.

Taaaadaaaaa! There is now a cowl, hat and mittens.

I know it's alot to focus your eyes on in the picture. So lets take a peeksie at each new item.

First up is The Republic Hat. While the knitting is finished, I need to go get a nice big button to close the band up. What's kind cool about this pattern is that you knit the band back and forth and then when you start the main part of the hat, you begin in the round. Thus needing a stylish button to close up the band. The only modification I made to the pattern was to knit the band in seed stitch instead of garter stitch. I like it alot better.

Pattern: The Republic Hat (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Rowan Chunky Print; Colorway Shriek

Needles: Clover circs size 10.5

Started: November 7th

Finished: November 7th (Yes a ONE day knit)

This is the first pair of mittens I have ever done. Sure back in 2002 I knitted some fingerless arm warmers, but not mittens. Considering that my yarn was Super Bulky instead of Bulky, they are a tad big around the wrist and a little roomy around the fingers, but they fit perfectly in length. I could always wear a pair of gloves under these for extra warmth during the frigid winter months. I knitted these babies as per the pattern. No modifications at all.

Pattern: Plaid Mittens

Yarn: Rowan Chunky Print; Colorway - Shriek

Needles: DPNs size 10.5

Started: November 8th

Finished: November 15th

Awards Time

This week Janet honored me with the "I Love Your Blog" award! I had seen this award going around a few blogs, but I never would have thought someone would give it to me. Thank you so much Janet! I felt a little special this week.

So now I have the honor of bestowing this award on others...

1) Mary Beth (mbcreates) - You're my #1 sister and someone I look up to all the time. I love that we have our craftiness in common and that you created a blog that I can keep up with your fabulous endeavours.

2) Kim (yarnyoldkim) - I absolutely love reading your blog. I never know what will be posted. Whatever it is, I usually end up with a smile and a laugh over something. I'm wondering how many cowls will end up in your knitted collection?

3) Becky (beckyknitstoo) - Your blog is one that I know will always leave a smile on my face after reading it. You crac-ka-la-ka-me-up!

4) Yvonne (knit'nat) - After meeting you at Rhinebeck I feel like I've known you forever. I had been a reader of your blog before then and have enjoyed the variety of posts you've written. The craftiness is just one thing we have in common.

5) Marsha (first things first) - My secret pal. I love your blog because you keep it real. Not only is there crafty content, but also content where you aren't afraid to voice your opinion.

Here are the guidelines for accepting this award:
1) The winner can put the logo on their website/blog.
2) Add a link to the person who gave you this award.
3) Nominate at least 5 other websites/blogs.
4) Provide links of the nominated websites/blogs.
5) Leave a message at each website owner that you've nominated.

Halloween *Throw-Up* Cowl

Exhibit A: Rowan Chunky Print Yarn



Exhibit B: Chickadee Cowl Pattern

Exhibit C: Halloween *Throw-Up* Cowl

Ok. Let me explain. Last Wednesday, I was suffering from "Just finished knitting a sweater and hat" withdrawal and really wanted to start something else. I was not ready to start knitting with my Brooks Farm sweater yarn yet and already had a new pair of socks on the needles.

I found myself perusing my stash yarn collection and came across the 3 balls of Rowan Chunky Print yarn that have been in there for about 5 years. Yeah. I know. When I bought this yarn all those years ago, I got it 50% off and had the intention of knitting a Rowan scarf. As one can see, that never happened.

A few days earlier I found a hat and cowl pattern that I liked. What was even more perfect was that these patterns called for a bulky yarn. So here you go. I found the perfect patterns for this yarn and I would end up using 2 of the 3 balls. The light bulb went off in my head and I thought maybe the 3rd ball could end up being fingerless mitts or something. I would have one of those matchy matchy sets.

While knitting on the cowl on Halloween morn, I really wasn't *digging* the yarn at all. At this point I dubbed my Chickadee Cowl as the Halloween *Throw-Up* Cowl. In my eyes, the colors were looking like Halloween Candy Throw-Up. I know. Lovely thought. I, however, was determined to finish the knit and was already planning on placing a *Needs A Good Home* post on my blog. I knew someone out there would love this cowl and maybe would want the 2 balls of matchy yarn to make their own hat and mitts.

So today while at work, I finished the cowl. Once I got it off the needles it looked different to my eyes somehow. I can't quite explain it, but I was asking myself if I could actually be *liking* this thing now??? Even despite just a few hours earlier I was still thinking of it as the candy thing???

I came to my final decision on it once I saw myself wearing it...

Do you think I like it on myself? I do.

Pattern: Chickadee Cowl

Yarn: Rowan Chunky Print, Colorway - Shriek (1 ball)

Needles: Size 10.5 24" circs

Started: October 29th

Finished: November 5th

Inauguration

I'm not talking politics. I'm talking about racing. This past weekend I hopped on a plane and landed myself in Indianapolis, Indiana to participate in an inaugural race!

I've talked in the past about my training for running the the NYC Marathon this year. What I haven't talked about is the fact that I had to drop out of it about a month ago. I suffered an injury towards the end of September that forced me to take some time off from running. What that did was to really not give me enough time to get my long runs up to the distance that they needed to be in time for running the marathon this past Sunday. I was bummed to have to postpone my second marathon to 2009.

So what does a runner do instead? I knew I could handle the distance of a half marathon so I signed up for the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon. This was their very first Marathon and Half Marathon on this course. While I didn't get to run the 26.2 mile distance I had wanted, I was very happy that I got to race the 13.1 mile distance the same weekend as the NYC Marathon. It helped me not be so bummed.

I ran the race with my speedster running friend and totally enjoyed it! It was a wonderful flat course, with about 2 hills total, through downtown Indianapolis. The weather was perfect and it was so cool when the Elite First Place Male Winner of the Marathon ran past me at 2 hours 10 minutes and I was just hitting mile 11.5 while he was only a couple miles shy of finishing his 26.2. Talk about inspiration to move my rear!

I was completely thrilled with my finish time of 2 hours 30 minutes flat. That was my goal. I had been sick ever since I returned from Rhinebeck so my longest training run during the past two weeks had been 3 miles and I was concerned how I would do on race day. I surprised myself for sure.

We received really nice technical running shirts and very cool medals. I'm looking forward to setting a PR on the course next year!

FO: Puff-Sleeved Cardigan

Another sweater done! My finish goal date for my Puff-Sleeved Feminine Cardigan was tomorrow, October 31st. I wasn't sure if I was going to have it done in time for my trip to Indiana this weekend. Alas, it is! A good friend told me a couple of weeks ago when I first blogged the beginnings of this sweater that I could definitely have it done in two weeks. I know I can knit fast, but at the time I just wasn't sure. The actual knitting was done Monday and the buttons were just added.

Pattern: Puff-Sleeve Feminine Cardigan, Fitted Knits
Yarn: Knit Picks Merino Style; Colorway - Pine (8.25 skeins)
Needles: Knit Picks Options Size 5
Started: October 10th
Finished: October 27th (With Buttons - Oct. 30th)

I am so thrilled to have another successful sweater! It really is relieving when it fits the way it's suppose to fit. I love the yarn color and I can understand why this yarn was chosen in the book to make this sweater. The Merino Style knits up to be a fabulous fabric and makes the sweater feel like there is substance to it. I think I could definitely wear this through the winter with a nice shirt underneath.

I had a hard time picking out buttons for it. I originally wanted to use a clear button but couldn't find any in the 2 stores I visited. I ended up with a creamy pearl button. It doesn't yell, "BUTTONS!" down the front of my chest which is always nice.

I made no modifications to the pattern. I did however come across a mistake in the Lace Chart for the Peplum. On Row 17 the K3tog should be a K2tog. This is the only way to get the pattern to work correctly. I don't know what others have done when they encountered this, but there isn't any errata for the chart and I know someone who heard back from the designer stating there wasn't an error.

All in all I just can't wait to wear my sweater tomorrow!

Porom Love

Told you Porom would be an FO very soon! I have to say that I really love this hat. The pattern is simple to knit but yet looks complex. There is just enough *slouch* for my personal taste. The yarn was wonderful to work with and makes a beautiful fabric. Here's my self portaits. Better than the ol' couch showing it off, eh?

Pattern: Porom by Brooklyn Tweed
Yarn: Shelridge Farm Soft Touch DKW (Used approximately under 200 yds out of 250)
Needles: Size 6 & 8 16" Circs; Size 8 dpn's
Started: October 21st
Finished: October 28th (only 3 days of knitting)

Got another good one for ya next time!

Knitting With Rhinebeck Goodies

The question of the day is - How many days went by before I couldn't resist knitting with Rhinebeck yarn? Answer: One whole day after I returned home. To my credit I did finish the Leaves of Grass socks before starting with the new yarn.

I am knitting Porom by Brooklyn Tweed with the Shelridge Farm Soft Touch DKW yarn. Mr. Flood recommended a 3-ply DK yarn for the pattern. I bought a 4-ply DK yarn. I understand why a lighter weight DK yarn is used. It helps with the drape of the slouch in the hat. A heavier yarn would not result in a good slouch or any slouch at all.

So isn't this blue gorgeous? I'm only wishing that I had bought enough to make a scarf and mitts. LOL That's ok. I don't need to be all matchy matchy.

I've actually made more progress than this picture shows. I worked on it more today and probably have about 5% more to do. Will be an FO very soon. Watch out for it!

Anklet Socks?

My latest FO socks are called "Leaves of Grass Anklet Socks". Of course I don't do anklet socks unless they are my running socks. So I have renamed them "Leaves of Grass Socks". I got the pattern off a free website, but there isn't a picture of them there. I first found them in Ravelry when I was searching the hundreds of socks pattern for SOS08.

You can't see the pattern well in these pictures. I tried to get a good photo, but had little success. If you go to my Ravlery page there is a pic of when I first started them and the pattern can be seen really well.

Since I was converting the pattern to a full length cuff sock I took the liberty of having to be a little creative. The original pattern has you knitting a 5" rib cuff (which just sounds wrong for them being anklet socks) and the pattern is only on the front of the sock. I knitted a 1.5" 2x2 cuff and had the pattern on both the front and back of the sock. To make this look nice, instead of purling the first and last 5 stitches on the front and back, I knit 3 and purled 2 on both ends. I didn't change the rest of the pattern. I am really happy with the end result.

Pattern: Leaves of Grass Socks
Yarn: Koigu KPPPM (P53937) (2)
Needles: Knit Picks Fixed Size 1.5
Started: September 16th
Finished: October 20th

Rhinebeck Memories - Part III

What can I say now that I have totally decompressed from my Rhinebeck adventure? It was an incredibly awesome experience. I have never seen so much yarny goodness in one place and so many people with the same passion as myself. It was tons of fun with lots of good laughs with old friends and new. I am looking forward to next year for sure, especially when I have my sis there to enjoy it with me. Until then, here are my final pictures from the weekend.

The beautiful fall colors that landed in my yarn purchases.

The craziness of The Fold (STR yarn) after I stood in line for my little purchase.

While waiting for Shameka to make her STR purchase she told me where to find Brooks Farm Fiber.

In this picture if you look at the yarn on the top left hand of the display, there is my yarn purchase. On day two this display was no longer there.

Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm yarn display in one of the barns. This picture was on Day Two because too many people were standing in front of it on Day One. This was jammed packed full the day before.

And of course this is the yarn that wanted to come home with me so bad. I must have stood there for half an hour holding it while discussing with Misa, Shameka, Michelle and Sophia whether it should be purchased. I decided to leave it behind, but I am still in love with those gorgeous colors. I can always order it down the road if I find the right pattern to go with it. There is enough yarn to make a whole sweater and then some. Btw, the colorway of this yarn is "Fall Leaves". Go figure.

Then there were all the animals. Unfortunately this is the only picture I took of them. This Llama caught my eye. The owner convinced me to let Mr Llama to give me a kiss on the cheek. (Shameka has the picture of the kiss on her blog.) I only agreed after he told me it would just be warm air on my skin. I could have stood there all day petting Mr. Llama. He is sooooooo soft.

Oh all the spinning wheels...

...the February Lady sweaters...

...and the Sleeping Beauty at the Sheep Cheese Demonstration. She informed us that she was counting "Stitches", but in reality she was counting "Sheep".

The Ravelry party was a huge success. So many people turned up at the Elks Lodge. So many in fact that the police showed up and lots of people had to move their cars off the side of the street. Fortunately, Shameka and I managed to pull here litte car into the tiny gravel lot when we arrived.

The first 400 hundred Raveler's got little goody bags. Very cool and I am not quite sure what I will do with the lavendar yarn that was in my bag.

The Bob cupcakes...

The knitters...

The craptastic photo of the Yarn Harlot sitting behind me...

Finally all the raffle numbers sitting before me and none were winners...

Rhinebeck Peeps- Part II

Today I am home sick. Ugh. I think it's from the Rhinebeck cold weater, lack of sleep, too much dry heat, non-nutritional food consumption (chocolate creme brulee, maple peanut brittle, maple cotton candy, dip/cheese sampling, hot pretzel...mmmm and all very yummy), etc. etc. So needless to say, my brain is not really functioning for a creative and witty written post (not sure if it ever is), but I wanted to share what few photos I have of my fellow knitting friends (some old and some new).

Shameka and I chilling on a bench waiting to head over to the Ravelry meet-up.

My new friend Yvonne and myself waiting for the Sheep Cheese Demonstration to commence.

Kim hanging out on the other side of me.

New friends Michelle, Sophia (blogless) and Misa!

Finally there was a request for a picture of me modeling my Rhinebeck sweater. Angie, even though I dislike this picture of myself, this is for you!

I will have one more post to wrap up my Rhinebeck adventure!

Rhinebeck Exhaustion - Part I

WARNING - Heavy Picture Post

I am no longer a Rhinebeck Virgin after this past weekend! I now understand why everyone goes crazy over fiber festivals. What can I say? How about, "Wow!". I came back totally exhausted, happy to be in my own bed and with goodies that I think is a respectable size considering this was my first adventure. I went with a list of certain things that I wanted. I got those and then a few little extras. I remained within my cash budget and went home with $31 in my pocket.

So here is my haul. It all fits so nicely in these few bags.

Now here is my haul all spread out on the table. Not bad, right? I believe being out amongst all the fall colors I tended to fall in love with them in my fiber choices. Of course there is one exception with the blue yarn.

1) Brooks Farm - Mas Acero (3 skeins - 400yds ea.); SW Wool Silk Viscose. This will become either Sahara or Simple Knitted Bodice.

2) Blue Moon Fiber Arts - STR Lightweight; Colorway-Gingerbread Dudette. The Fold was the first stop that we made. Oh My Gosh! It was crazy!!!! I had to stand in line just to get close enough to see the colors and make my choices while hands were grabbing all around me. Then I had to stand in another long line to pay. I was very self controlled with the amount I purchased here.

3) Persimmon Tree Farm - "Pot Luck" Yarn (250yds); Colorway J5; Mohair/Wool. This yarn was one of those little extra purchases. I saw the colors. Fell in love. Thought I would make a scarf, cowl or hat. Not sure yet.

4) Malabrigo Silky Merino - Colorway Viena (478) 150 yds. Another extra purchase and couldn't pass up for $10! This will become a cowl.

5) Shelridge Farm - Soft Touch DKW; Colorway - Navy; 250 yds. This is the only yarn in the non-fall category. Trust me though, the original color in my hand was a fall color but I made myself put it back. This yarn will become Brooklyn Tweeds Porom.

6) Golding RingSpindles - I purchased one of their "Learn to Spin Kits". This is something I definitely wanted to purchase at Rhinebeck. I spent the first day looking at all the spindle choices. My last purchase on day 2 was this one. The book included in this kit really spells everything out for a beginner. I am excited to give it a try.

Here's a closeup of the spindle. Isn't it gorgeous? They had so many on display and each one was beautiful.

7) Food Purchases - I bought a bag of Maple Cotton Candy (de-li-cious), Maple Sugar to make this creamcheese dip that we couldn't get enough when sampling and a bag of Maple Peanut Brittle (I don't care for nuts but this was a little taste of heaven to me). I also bought some Mint Cholocate Fudge.

8) Smell good purchases - I picked up two body sprays from Merriweathers and 4 different soaps from GotSoap.com.

9) Finally reading material. On day two Misa showed me this magazine and the sample of the cover scarf that was on display. She wanted my opinion if I thought this was a scary lace knit. I assured her that this was not scary and that as a first lace project she would be fine. I however could not walk away from the booth without purchasing the magazine so maybe one day I could make my own. Of course I had my enabler next to me saying, "It's only $6."

So that's my haul from Rhinebeck. My next post will contain all the pics from those I met and the sights I saw including the Ravelry party!