Rhinebeck... wow!

My trip to Rhinebeck began weeks before the fact, but I'll start this post here on the Wednesday before, when J took me home with her from knitting. I was thrilled, as I got to spend Thursday curling up with furry beasts



And walking other ones



(I walked the two big ones too, but couldn't deal with a camera and the leash at the same time.)



Then, after a very quick drive with Sarah, we were in Poughkeepsie. I was delinquent with my camera the entire time we were at the hotel, but there are other pictures out there. Saturday, we went to the fair!



There was a little hero worship...



And more beasts of the hairy kind...



which were enjoyed in many forms



And of course, there was shopping!

Vignette

Hi all! I am safe and sound, back in Sudan. My car and my stuff have arrived, so its nice organizing and settling in.

I did go to Rhinebeck when I was back, so I will eventually post a real post, even if it is seriously out of date. For now, a little vignette...

As some of you may have noticed, I'm having weird issues with socks these days, and Rhinebeck was no exception. I spent a lot of time on Saturday at the Merlin Tree booth, trying things out. On my third visit, I was working with the Hitchhiker again, and was finding my foot slipping, so I took my sock off and tucked it in my shoe. When I went to put my shoe back on and purchase this lovely instrument, I was amazed to find that my sock was no longer in my shoe! I searched all around the chair I was using, under tables, and in all of my bags, and finally had to admit that it was gone! I went to Rhinebeck, and someone walked off with my sock! And it wasn't even handknit. I'm sure they'll be quite disturbed when they discover it, as it had been on my foot in my shoe all day...

Pit Crew Part II

Part I here



And now, for the rest of the story

I love you, Nancy Drew!

Or maybe its just your fashion sense.

Has anyone else seen the Nancy Drew movie that came out this summer? I watched it on the plane between Khartoum and Amsterdam, and I was more entertained than I thought I'd be. I loved the books as a kid, and thought it would be a nice trip down memory lane. The writing is a little uneven, and I had trouble believing that Nancy was actually old enough to drive, even though she quite clearly does in several scenes, but man, does she have a (generally) good wardrobe! (I'm not a fan of there very shiny trench coat she wears getting on the train with the plaid contrast fabric, or this hat.)





I was unfortunately unable to find screenshots of my absolute favourite outfit from the movie, a red/pink top with an asymmetrical cross closure on the front, so I may have to rent the movie at some point and take pictures of the screen. Then, I'll be working on my sewing skills to create my own great fashion, because my shopping will be pretty limited for the next couple of years. But there is a fabric market...

Deep Thoughts

• Buying things does not make me happier


• I already own more stuff than I need


• Buying stuff doesn't assist the need to be creative


• Less time shopping should allow for more time to create

Wanted: Missing Socks!

I am maybe just not meant for the mail exchange. Or something. I generally don't believe in luck, or fate, or the universe being out to get people, but my experiences with the various iterations of sockapalooza are getting a little odd.

A quick recap: Sockapalooza One - sent socks, but no socks for me. Sockapalooza Two - sent socks and was a sock angel , but still no socks for me. Sockapalooza Three - was a bit tired and decided not to participate. Sockapalooza Four - sent socks and got my first pair! Yay! So that count to now (not that I am terribly concerned), is 4 pairs knit by me and one pair received.

So, when I picked up my mail from my post box the other day upon getting back to Canada, I was shocked to find a package from Norway with a customs sticker that said socks and chocolate on it! I don't know if these were from a sock angel or one of my previous pals, but I was really excited! Until I opened the package. All that was left inside was this beautiful Norwegian postcard



and this letter from Canada Post.



While they claim the package was damaged in transit, I know the truth! Someone out there is walking around with my handknit socks on, and I'd like them back, please!

Home again

Hi all! I'm home, hanging out in Ottawa for a little while, while I try to recover from my first month (and a bit) at post. For those who haven't been following along, I moved to Sudan for work at the end of August. And it has been a busy. I was covering for my boss and a colleague for a long while (and there are only 4 people in our office!), and customs is taking its time letting my stuff into the country, so I've been living out of two suitcases for at least 6 weeks. Then, there was a car accident (my out-of-town colleague had kindly agreed to let me use his car, and a bus ran into me!). I'm fine and walking around, but somewhat shaken, and my back is out of alignment. I tried to find treatment in Sudan, but haven't been successful. All in all, a crazy time. So, when some holidays came up, I decided to combine them with some vacation time to come home, rest and see if I couldn't do something about my back. I was only going to take a week (which was just over 10 days with vacation added on), but then, I realized some dear friends of mine (and others, I just don't know exactly who) were going to Rhinebeck! I decided randomly to come along, which uses up most of the rest of my vacation, but will be so much fun! (I don't have a family not living with me, so I likely won't be able to travel at Christmas anyway...)

So, I've been thinking about buying a wheel. I will be seeing the enabler extraordinaire, so I may ask some advice, and take the chance to try some out. I spin on a spindle at the moment, but generally find it too slow (and my arms too short, but that's another thing). And with my current back issues requiring frequent changes in activity, it might be nice to have around the house.

So, I will be at the knitting meetups at the 3rd Ave Bridgehead on Oct. 10 (called especially by me) and Oct. 17 this month! See you there!

In transit

I'm hanging out at Schipol again, on my way home, and I just thought I'd send out a quick message. See many of you soon!