Rhinebeck 08

I'm sure there's a zillion blog posts titled that, or some variation of that, today. Joe & I had planned on going to the festival on the Harley, but after doing a last minute weather check, voted against it. What a good call that was because it was COLD on Saturday! We were chilly just walking around the fairgrounds! It would have been a beautiful ride on the bike, but it was just as beautiful from my heated seat. ;) Case in point:

Is that not gorgeous? The yarn was just as awesome, but I stuck to an old favorite, Socks that Rock:
That one is the new Lenore colorway. It's really a deep purpley black, but it's impossible to photograph inside & get those good purple bits. The next one is Puck's Mischief. Love the name; love the colors; there was no way I wasn't getting this one:

I saw this little sock monkey hanging around the yarn and got the pattern to make him:

Joe turned out to be especially handy at the Fold. There was a longer line to pay than to peek at the time I hit the booth, so he got in line to pay while I peeked.
Then I got some Addi sock needles & some ebony sock needles (only $16! what a deal!) and a shawl pin in the barns:

I have no clue where I got the needles, but the shawl pin is from Moving Mud. It's holding my Clapotis on my shoulders as I type. It was such a great day, and the chilly weather finally gave me a chance to wear my Hermione sweater among 'my people'. And, since I have no where else to wear it this fall, I was happy to get it out of the house for a while.

Baby Shower Time Already?

I had a nice pace going for Aimee's shower gifts. I worked on them a few at a time over the last few months, and had most of them done by last week. I finished her little monkey:

More pics here, here, and here.
Then I made the mistake of peeking around on Ravelry at baby sacks. I saw this adorable one from Boho Baby Knits and HAD to make it. I only had 4 days left, so I had to hustle. Of course, time got away from me & I was still weaving in ends on the plane ride down to DC, but I got it done:

I love the insides:

Her MIL is a knitter and sewer too & we had a little friendly competition going on over who would make the most things. I conceded when she whipped out this quilt:

The fabric is mostly monkey themed & it is really nice. She also made everything knitting related out of her own handspun, hand dyed yarn, so I was toast. I think I did pretty good anyway! The nursing aprons went over really well for sure.

Nom Fest!

I absolutely love this time of year. There is a fair or festival every weekend straight through to Halloween up here in charming New England. The kickoff for us is the Big E. It's basically a state fair, but all of the New England states participate, so it is HUGE. Joe and I love to go & look at all the crazy gadgets, wonder mops, window washer tool kits, and this year's biggest gimmick, the Sham Wow:

We didn't get one, in case you're wondering. I was hoping to meet the guy with the wonky eye that's in the commercial, but he wasn't around. Oh, well. Then we headed to what we call "Nom Row." We pigged OUT on corn dogs, london broil sandwich, sausage sandwich, boneless chicken wings, apple fritters, and my favorite thing there, the millenium chips:

We had turkey leg and fried pickle envy, but were too stuffed to get any. Hopefully the Apple Harvest Festival will have some this weekend. As we were just licking the powdered sugar off our fingers from the apple fritters, we heard a guy on a loud speaker saying, "Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for TIFFANY!!"

OMG, I freaked out. I LOVED her when I was in middle school and would always stick up for her in a Debbie Gibson/Tiffany argument among my friends. Us redheads have to stick together, you know. I only made Joe stay for a couple songs, but we could hear her from the street while we were stuck in traffic on the way home. So awesome.

In Which I Blatantly Copy Karen

I saw some yummy looking home made salsa on Karen's blog the other day & figured I'd give it a try. The company I work for leases some of our undeveloped land to farmers each year and we employees have been tomato "poaching" all summer. (We don't really steal them, we ask the farmers nicely if we can have some and they always say yes.) So Friday I went out for the last chance tomatoes of the season & found a whole section of romas that I swear hadn't been there before. Maybe they just weren't ripe yet. Anyway! I turned this:

Into this:

And this:

I did extensive research on the subject of canning tomatoes on the internet & boy, it is serious business. You have to follow strict guidelines & safety precautions or you could get very sick or even DIE from eating bad canning. I was nervous to try it, but I sucked it up & went for it. Turns out, it is really easy and the 'precautions' are basically to add lemon juice to each jar of tomatoes. So for the tomatoes I just did tomatoes, a little water, one tablespoon of lemon juice and a half teaspoon of salt and boiled the jars for 40 minutes. For the salsa, I followed the same recipe Karen did, but I made a couple mods. Now, making mods of canning recipes is strictly forbidden unless you follow a few simple rules (see page 3 of this pdf), which I did. I used 1.5 cups of jalapenos and 1 cup of green pepper to make it a little hotter, omitted the sugar, and added 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to each jar. I also added 1/2 cup of cilantro near the end of the cooking. I wasn't sure what kind of vinegar to use since it doesn't specify, so I used white. Next time I'll use cider vinegar though because I like the flavor of it better in general. It was a lot of work, but when you hear those jar lids seal one by one, there is no greater feeling of satisfaction.

In other Karen-like news, I too saw a turtle on my daily walk (she saw hers on her run, but I don't go that speed). I have to say my turtle sighting was a little scarier than hers because this thing is A. huge, B. covered in pond scum, and C. I think it's a snapping turtle. I thought it was a dinosaur or something at first. It scared the CRAP out of me because I see it every night swimming in the pond at the park, but it suddenly decided to cross the street to get to the creek right when I was walking that way. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but this thing is almost the size of a car tire!

OK, I'm done ripping off Karen's blog fodder. I'll try to be original next time! ;)

Monkey Parts

I'm not sure if I mentioned that Aimee's nursery theme is monkeys. Ever since I saw her registry, I have been obsessed with all things monkey. I saw the crocheted one on Pam's website, and knew it must be made. The website that the pattern is on has all kinds of copywright warnings, and I'm not sure if I am even allowed to link to it, so here is the Ravelry link.
My progress:

So, most of the easy part is done. Now comes the stuffing. Ugh.

New Toy!

I know I have said before that I won the mother-in-law lottery, but I have to say it again. Look what she gave me this weekend!!

It's a Husqvarna Viking embroidery machine that does pretty much everything except for the dishes. There's absolutely nothing wrong with it, she just wanted the new fancy pants model that's out now, so she went for the upgrade. I am not all that into embroidery, but the thing sews a straight line of stitches, which is way more than my old machine does. ;) I'm going to play with it a little more, but I'm pretty sure my old machine is getting donated to the girl at work that desperately wants a machine but can't afford one. I of course got right to work making more baby gifts for Aimee. This time I made a baby sling from this pattern:

If you look in the next picture, you can sort-of see my model is a giant tub of pretzels:

Joe had a light bulb moment here & decided he wants me to make him a baby sling FOR his giant tub of pretzels. In camo fabric. Help me.

More Baby Stuff

OK, nobody panic. I realize this is post #2 in as many days. Joe is out of town. I'm bored, OK? I finished two more pressies for Aimee last night. These are nursing covers or nursing aprons, whatever you want to call them.
In a Michael Miller print:

And an Amy Butler print (love this one):

They have boning in the top hem of them so you can see the baby when you're nursing, but no one else can. Here's that view; you can just see Scarlet's black bra here:

ETA: The pattern for these can be found here and they are a knockoff of these, if you just want to buy a finished one.
I thought about having the monkey demonstrate how they're used, but that might have been a little weird. Speaking of a little weird, this is how I found Rocco when I got out of the shower this morning:

He's a special boy, for sure.

Baby (gift) Making

I had planned to make my friend Aimee some baby stuff this weekend, but I didn't get anywhere near done what I wanted to. Joe has some unidentified elbow pain that he is trying to self heal (God forbid we see a doctor; they might say to stop weight lifting). Anyway, he's trying the Advil and heating pad method for now, and he was commenting that it would be nice if I could make a cover for the heating pad since ours went missing. I had the burp cloth fabric all washed and everything, so I cut Joe a couple rectangles along with the burp cloths & made him a little cover:

I had to hand sew the heat resistant snaps in place, so I better be getting a prize or something for this. ;)
And, I even had the energy to whip up the burp cloths:

I have a couple other things that I made that should be true FO's by the end of the night that I can show tomorrow. Joe is in Charlotte for District Manager assessment interviews, so when he comes back, we might be moving to San Diego! We'll know more soon, so I'll keep you posted!

Secret Projects

I never post about secret projects until I can show them because I HATE when people say, "I have a secret project I'm working on, but I can't show you for 3 months." Why do people do that to me? Don't they know I hate suspense? I'm the person that refused to read any Harry Potter books until the last one was published long enough to be readily available at the library. I was not willing to wait even a week to find out what happens next, forget about years.

Anyway, back to the secret knitting. After many years of practicing (wink, wink), Paula from my SnB is having a baby! Yay!! A few of us got together last night to shower her with all kinds of yummy handmade goodies. Here's my contribution to the loot:

It's a Jasper's Pucksack, aka Baby Kicking Bag. I, of course, didn't know about the "aka" part until last night when Paula opened Audrey's gift and it was the same exact pattern. Heh, heh. I'm a little slow.
Obligatory monkey shots:


At least I was original with one thing--I was the only one who made her Nine Inch Nails onesies!

The yarn on the baby sack is Happy Feet by Plymouth (I love the crazy zig zags it made!), and the onesies are just Gerber Organics with a homemade iron-on made from a Googled image. I'm sure there's some copywright violation involved somehow, but I didn't earn any money from them, just big smiles from Paula. :)

On another note, I got Custom Knits in the mail the other day, and am having the hardest time picking out what to make first. I like all of the patterns, and LOVE most of them. Any suggestions?

FO: Twilight Mitts

Check it out! I'm a gold medalist in Colorwork Cross-country!

My Ravelympics project was the Winter Twilight Mitts from Knitting Daily. I had some yummy purple Koigu in the stash for the purple parts, but had to track down some good solid black sock yarn for the "trees" parts. I found some Jawoll at Creative Fibers on my lunch hour one day and decided to give it a try. I'm officially a fan. It has this little spool of matching reinforcement thread inside the skein for heels & toes. Too cool! I didn't need it for this project, but it's good to know for the future. Oh, right, you want to see the FO:

The pose is a copy of the Twilight book cover, in case you don't get the reference.
The front view:

You can kind of see that one is slightly longer than the other. I didn't knit any extra rows, just kind of knit a little more loosely on the second mitt, so now I have one that's slightly bigger than the other. I don't mind. I'll use that one on my right hand so I have more dexterity on that side.

By the way, I have a cute story for you guys. A few months ago, the weather was changing, which made my sinuses go crazy. I was out fabric shopping, and I stopped to get some Sudafed so my brain wouldn't implode. I just threw the Sudafed in a bag with my fabric purchases and didn't think about it again -- until last week. I woke up with a pounding headache and could not get out of bed to get myself anything to help it. I asked Joe to get up & get it for me & had to try to explain where I thought the Sudafed might be. After the 7th (!!) bag, he finally found it, but it was too late; my fabric stash was totally exposed. I have a feeling some sort of motorcycle parts purchase is in my future now so he can get even with me. ;)

Playing Catch Up

Hi there! I was going to wait to make a new post when I had a new FO to show, but since there are none, I figured I'd post what I've been up to in the meantime. I entered the Ravelympics on Team Twilight with the Twilight Mitts from Knitting Daily. Here's how much I have so far:

I have also been working on the ever-exciting stockinette in the round Salina, when I can stand it:

That's about it in knitting news. My sewing mojo has taken a hiatus for some reason, so nothing at all to show there.

In other news, Joe & I went to Virginia last weekend for my mom's 60th birthday *surprise* party. She was surprised to see everyone she knew, as she thought she was just going to a casual cookout at a friend's house. HOWEVER, when she saw Joe and me, she SCREEEEEAAAAAAAMMMED bloody murder! She screamed for like 15 seconds solid. This gave her a migrane & she had to go lay down. So, no more surprise visits from Joe & Jenny. Next time, we'll warn her. Here we are when it was still funny:

For her gift, I made her a little hat that she saw at MD S&W that she had a fit over:
We stayed a couple days more in VA and then came home for Joe's birthday on Thursday. I got him Kid Rock/Lynyrd Skynyrd concert tickets, so he was a happy boy! Then on Friday we went to Cape Cod & Martha's Vineyard for the weekend. We had the motorcycle trip from HELL on Friday getting there (thanks a LOT, weatherman! "isolated" thunderstorms? for 4 hours straight? HA!) But once we were there, we had a really nice time. I loved the little gingerbread house village on MV:

So cute! And, we both LOVED Nancy's clam shack in Oak Bluffs:

I took this picture so we could remember where to go next time we're there. So, I am sufficiently tired and sore from riding the Harley for 3 days straight and just might take a nap under my desk if no one is looking. ;)
Other than the Kid Rock concert, I have no plans for the next 3 weekends, so I should have some sewing time coming up. I'm dying to finish my purple swimsuit top, as I have it all cut out & ready, but have had zero time to do anything with it. Stay tuned!

FO: Lacy Little Top

So, how cute is this?

I LOVE this top & am so grateful that Robin got sick of knitting it! I was thinking about knitting this one for a long time, and am so glad I did. Plus, I didn't have to do the lace part, so bonus!
The details:
Pattern: Lacy Little Top
Yarn: Elann Canapone
Needles: KP Harmony 4's
Size: 32
Mods: I despise I-cord, so I did my crochet chain method for the tie. (chain the length of the desired cord + 10%. Then slip stitch into the 'butt' of each chain)
Thoughts: I was sooooo nervous the hemp wouldn't block out at first, but it was all for naught. I pulled and tugged and pinned it into submission & It fits great!

80s Meme

Before we get to the fun part, Lacy Little Top is blocking! Can't wait to try it on!


OK, I saw the coolest meme ever on Robin's blog Friday, and I had to steal it & join the fun. It's a show your 80's hair photos and answer some 80's questions meme. Awesome!! Warning: High Hair Ahead!!


Peg your Z.Cavarricis, clutch that industrial size can of Aqua Net, and raise that lighter to the tune of a power ballad. Gnarley! We are going 80s today, people! Show us your 80s hair!

Here are the rules:
1.Expand on the questions as much as you can. It makes it more fun for the rest of us.
2.Show us your hair, whether it be preppy or skyscraper bangs. Post some photos and make it fun. We promise not to laugh, we have them too!
3. If you get the meme from a blog, leave a comment on that person's blog so they can see your responses.
4. Post links to any videos from www.youtube.com to your blog that help you and your readers to relive the 80s.
5. Party like it's 1999.

We are so stoked to see your responses.
Post your 80s hair here!

OK, here's the pictures:
This one is of me & my dad & oldest brother. The point of showing it is the outfit. Bon Jour shirt from Lerner NY and Jordache jeans. I wore this outfit at least once a week for 3 years straight:


This one is of my surprise 16th birthday party. I never had a steady boyfriend until 12th grade, so this is just the 'flavor of the month' as my friends called him. Check out those pants! And, I was dating a guy with a mustache at 16? WTF?


This is my sophomore year prom date (he was a Junior; we just went as friends). What is WITH the hair?


The next two are my senior pictures. You could take one or two poses with your friends, and one with those awesome velvet drapes and pearls. I can't find the one with my friends, but here's the one my high school sweetie took with me:

He was my longest HS relationship. We dated my senior year, and the following year which was his senior year. Then he went off to college and that was that. We're the same age, but I was an early kindergartener at 4 and he went when he was 5.
Now for the drapes pose:

So serious!
Then, I committed the biggest big hair sin ever... Glamour Shots!! I have no clue what got on my picture here & I clearly need to dust my scanner glass:

After this picture was taken, I grew out the bangs and stopped getting the semi-annual perms. I've been straight ever since. Thank GOD!!

Here are the questions:

1. Preppy or Rocker
Rocker all the way. I have NEVER owned penny loafers and don't ever plan to.

2. Z Cavarricis or Guess Jeans and Espirit or Benetton?
Wha????? We wore Jordache acid washed jeans with the zips at the bottom or we didn't bother going to school.

2. Favorite Pop song of the 80s
Probably 'Livin on a Prayer' by Bon Jovi

3. Most Annoying Pop song of the 80s
'Mickey' by Toni Basil. Annoying but damn, it's catchy!

4. Hair Metal or Heavy Metal- Who was your favorite performer and favorite song?
Hair metal. Did you SEE those pictures??? I liked Jon Bon Jovi & Kip Winger the most.

5. What posters were on your bedroom wall or college dorm room?
I had every single surface of my room plastered with hair metal band posters and pictures. I had a Bon Jovi wall, a Poison wall, an Aerosmith Wall, a misc. wall, and Kip Winger on the ceiling above my bed. Sick, right?

6. What concerts do you remember most from the 80s?
My first was Stryper with my very religious brother, but I went to a Poison/Cinderella concert a few weeks later. I still go see those guys whenever they come through my city. They rock!!

7. Favorite 80s movies
Dirty Dancing. I was one of those people that saw it like 19 times in the theater.

8. Favorite 80s movie quotes
Oh, jeez. There are too many great ones.

9. Top 3 most memorable pop culture moments of the 80s for you.
Hands Across America
Challenger explosion
Berlin Wall

10. Favorite 80s cartoon
He-Man, Smurfs, and Strawberry Shortcake

11. Favorite 80s commercials
I have to go with the classic "Where's the beef?" Wendy's commercial

12. Boy George or Wham?
Wham, definitely.

13. Favorite one-hit wonder
Not sure this counts since they didn't have THAT big of a hit, but I'll say Steelheart with 'Never Let You Go.' Youtube says it's copywright 1990, but I was still in the 80's until 1993 at least.

14. INXS or Depeche Mode
INXS. Michael Hutchence was sooooo hot.

15. Poison or Warrant
Poison. No, Warrant. No, Poison. OK, both.

16. Did you ever meet a rocker or 80's pop icon? Where were you?
I met Alice Cooper when I was working in a movie theater when I was in college. He didn't have any makeup on, so I had to blink a few times for it to register who he was. I said, "Are you....?" and he said, "Yes." I said, "$5.50, please."

17. Snap bracelets or Jelly bracelets?
Jellies. Hundreds of them.

18. Fess up. Who had the garden weasel bangs? Did you ever measure your wall o' Aqua Net love?
We all did. The bigger the better.

19. Favorite 80s sitcom
Growing Pains. Kirk Cameron had a spot on the miscellaneous wall.

20. Is Jon Bon Jovi still hot or what?
OMG, YES!!!

21. "Double Dare" or "You Can't Do That on Television"
Double Dare. Good stuff.

22. Who was your favorite Brat Packer?
Molly Ringwald. I could totally relate to her in so many ways.

23. Jellies or Reebok Pumps
Neither, really. I did have a pair of electric purple Reebok high tops, though. Does that count?

24. Favorite pizza parlor arcade game
Miss Pac Man. But I never was that good. Kiss pinball was pretty cool too.

25. Deep South "Good 'ol Boys" or "L.A. underground vigilantes wanted for a crime they didn't commit"
Dukes all the way, baby! I never missed a single episode.

Yay! Presents!

The other day Robin, of Yarn Crawl fame, asked me if I would like a sweater she was half-done knitting because she couldn't take the hemp yarn anymore. I completely understand her frustration with the stuff; it can really be rough to work with. But I LOVE the sweater she was working on and I also don't mind the hemp so much, so I was happy to release her from her UFO prison. Here's what she sent me; she totally did the hard part for me:

And a little BONUS hemp!

Love the green! I have no idea which of their tops I am going to make with it.... There are so many patterns to pick from & I can't decide! But anyway, back to Lacy Little Top, I haven't been able to keep my hands off it since it arrived, and am just about done:

It looks like it should fit a 12 year old, but I know that hemp will block to whatever I tell it to block to, so I'm not too worried. Thanks again, Robin! Can you tell I like it? ;)

p.s. Have you guys read Twilight? I'm reading it now & WOW. It's billed as teen lit, but like Harry Potter, adults get just as sucked in. Can't wait for the movie this Christmas!