Winding Yarn

This is how I usually wind my yarn into balls, sitting on my bed, using my knees. I really want to purchase this http://www.strauchfiber.com/sw_floor.htm I saw them at Rhinebeck and should have bought one then. I'm hopefully going to order one from a company here in CT. It will take less time, hopefully, and obviously be more comfortable.

Well my second home on the internet has imploded and I'm mourning it's loss. Not sure how I am feeling at the moment, but am hoping that things work out...

Surprises in the Mail

It's always fun to come home and find a big envelope stuck in your mailbox. It is the season of surprises. At Crochetville, I have signed up for the Holiday ROAK. It is a lot of fun every year. I am not going to send as much as I usually do, just cuz I am also doing some swapping at Ravelry. Also this summer I sent a lot of things out and I only received a post card. It was nice of the person to send me a postcard, but still was kind of a bummer. I have discovered a forum on Ravelry that I am addicted to, it is a swap forum. Most of the swap threads I just read and drool at the sight of the yarn. I've only jumped in twice. I did the international swap and got a great package from Norway. I have also been doing the "Surprise Me" swap. I got my first package yesterday from Wyoming. It was a great package and is the picture with the pretty green Dreams in Color yarn...my first. Can't wait to try it!!! Today I did receive a Holiday ROAK from an elf in Mass, the other picture. I happen to know the elf and think it was sweet of her to send some wonderful things. I mostly asked for things for school and the Crochet Club that I started. It is on Tuesdays and I have about 25 girls in it....I also love the pens she sent and of course the Lindt - my favorite!

Alpaca Farm Farm Days

On Sunday I met with Leah and her daughter Natalie to head to Hunter Hill Alpacas for Farm Days. It was a bit chilly, but the alpacas were beautiful. I bought some yarn to send in a swap. Natalie was adorable and I loved spending time with Leah outside of school. She and Keira are both pregnant, so Kit and I will be partnerless for a period of time at the end of this year/beginning of next. They are due one day apart! I loved seeing the alpacas again and this time on a dry day!

Alpaca Farm

A couple of Saturdays ago, I went to a local Alpaca farm. It started to pour as I drove there. The alpacas were wet, but still cute and very curious. Today I am heading back up there for a Farm Days open house. I am waiting to hear from a friend, if she is going to join me. I have had 4 days off and have not left the house in 3. I've just been cleaning a bit, crocheting a bit and reading a bit. I am reading 3 books at the moment...Stephen King's new one "Under the Dome" a sheep mystery called "Three Bags Full" and a memoir called "Trafficking in Sheep" Thought I'd put up the pics of the drenched alpacas to share...

Some more hats

I did my first swap at Ravelry. It was an international swap and I sent to Elinbh in Norway and she sent a nice package to me. Today I used the multi colored yarn she sent me and made myself a slouchy beret hat. It'll go well with my new purple winter coat. I also received some nice yarn for my birthday from my friend Wendy in Australia. That is the green set. I absolutely love the colors in this yarn. Although it's mostly green there are flecks of a bunch of colors....

LYS' in Connecticut

One of my goals is to visit all the Local Yarn Shops in Connecticut. I have been to about 12 now. This past month, I visited 2 new ones and revisited 2 others...
The first one in the pictures (if I have it right) is The Yarn Garden in Meriden, CT (www.yarngardenct.com) It was in a small building and pretty packed. The owner was a bit distracted the day I was there, as her daughter had just given birth to her first grandchild. But she was very friendly and very helpful. I was looking for some yarn to send to Norway for my Ravelry swap. I picked up some local (New England - Maine) yarn. I also picked up some possum yarn. It was a nice and friendly store, although a bit cramped.
I also this past month discovered Creative Fibers in Windsor, CT (www.creativefibersonline.com) and have been there 3 times this month. The first time was to check it out. The second time because I went back for an author visit and then found out I was a week early, so I went back the following week. It's a large store with very pleasant staff. I was very surprised that they called me by name on my third visit! There were some very friendly patrons there as well, especially on my third visit. I ran into a few again at Stitches. I took a picture inside this store. I will definitely return to this store, however it is a bit of a haul for me...This past week I revisited Bayberry Knitting (www.bayberryknitting.com) in Plainville, CT. I was still looking for things for my swap. I ran into Karen Drouin, a designer and teacher at the store. I met her last year at CGOA in Manchester and she is a member of HHCC. I stopped back there this weekend, because my niece had picked out some yarn from there and I needed another skein. Luckily they had one left. This store is run by a husband and wife and they are very friendly. It was quite packed when I stopped back on Saturday! Lastly, I went to my local yarn shop New England Yarn and Spindle (www.newenglandyarn.com) This is a small shop, but very friendly. I go up there every couple of Sundays for a group UFO session. Mary, who owns the shop, also runs the Knit Wit group at the library that I attend every couple of weeks. I am enjoying checking out all the local yarn shops. I do shop at the "Big Box" stores too, but I think there is a place for all kinds of yarn. Although lately I have been really coveting the indie dyers that I have been exposed to on Ravelry.

Stitches East

I went to Stitches East on Friday after school. I only went for the marketplace, as they really didn't have crochet classes. It was a great marketplace! I went with the intention of buying from small farms or indie dyers. It was chuck full of great stuff. I ran into Kathy Merrick, whom I had met at Creative Fibers when she gave a talk. She raved about a booth called String Theory. I eventually found them and loved their yarn!!!!! I bought 8 skeins. They are the six together and then the purple and red ones. I adore the purple one. It's called Black Tulip and is 50% silk/50% merino. It is so silky! I also visited Dianne from Creative Fibers and bought 4 more skeins from her. She has some lovely colors. So i now have 7 of her yarns, because I bought 3 at Rhinebeck. I have finished my fingerless gloves and will post a pic of those later... I also bought some alpaca from a farm in Virginia. The first skein was a bit pricey, but I loved the champagne color. I also got a free scarf pattern to go with it...Unfortuntely pictures were not allowed, so I took pics of my stash and the brochure book. So October for the next 2 years will be amazing! Since Stitches is here until 2011 and Rhinebeck happens every year. What a great month to fiber shop!

Autumn Colors

So I've been reading Lucy's blog at attic 24 and she has me looking at things a bit differently. I am noticing more color in my world and how things stand out. She has a great eye and I love her photos and commentary. So I thought I'd go take some pictures around town. Although my town is not at picturesque as Lucy's, it can be very pretty in the autumn. Since I live in New England, we get the full range of fall foliage colors. So I took some shots around town a few weeks ago. I also visited Minor's Farm which is a local farm. It is on the highest hill in town and has some really pretty views. Also bought a Dutch Apple pie while I was there, it was fresh from being baked that morning, it was very good.....The colors of autumn are my favorites and the ones I am drawn to the most. I am making a pair of fingerless gloves at the moment from a skein of yarn I picked up from Creatively Dyed's booth at Rhinebeck. I can tell you I am a huge fan of hers now and will most definitely visit her booth at Stitches East tomorrow.

Rhinebeck 09 Purchases and Animals

There were several vendors selling baskets, but I went back to the Fairtrade vendor and bought my basket from them. I had a hard time picking it out! I changed my mind three times. I have no idea where I'm going to put it, but they were just so pretty I decided to get one... I also wanted to buy some needlefelting, I've been wanting to try this since I went to the HHCC meeting and there was a demonstration. I bought a kit from "The Herd of Northern Vermont" to make a sunflower. I later bought another kit from "The Fiber Craft Studio." Can't wait to try this! I bought 3 skeins of yarn from Creatively Dyed. I then was walking around waiting for my ride to finish her purchases and I bought a couple of skeins from one of the farm stands of a handpainted yarn, sorry not sure, but think it might have been "Moonlight Llamas."...I spent quite a while admiring the animals. I love alpacas and llamas, so spent a long time in their barn. There were some interesting species of sheep. I loved the American Black Welsh and Crimson Shamrock.

Rhinebeck 09

This was my second year at the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, NY. It was suppose to rain, but didn't, although it was cold. I wore my new hat and curly scarf. The scarf got lots of comments. Here are some pics of the day. A yurt that was put up by a vendor. They did wet felting. It was really cool! There was a nice display of fall flowers that was really colorful. A good crowd, we got there about 10:00 and it wasn't too bad, but by noon, it was very crowded! We stayed until about 5:00 and it was really emptying out by then. I did go to the Ravelery meetup, but really didn't know anyone, since I don't post often there. I did meet Anne from Norway, but did not get her Ravlery name. She took a nice picture of me in my new hat and scarf. I also shopped at Creative's booth, Creatively Dyed. I bought two skeins of Woodbrook in the colorway of "School" Cuz how could I pass that up? I really liked a skein that she made special for the festival, but didn't purchase it. Later I went back and it was still there, so I snapped it up. I will try to get pics later of my goodies, as it is early and not too light out.

Baby E in Sweater

Here is my friend's daughter Ashley and her baby E. He is wearing the hat and sweater I made him. I had made a blanket and fish when he was first born....

I am stashing right now on Ravelry. I have 425 skeins stashed. I am overwhelmed with it, because I have many more to do....Next week is Rhinebeck and then Stitches East. I know I will buy more there, but hopefully I'll remember this feeling and not go overboard!

Although the picture is a little dark, this was a nice surprise. I went into school yesterday and underneath my mailbox was a bag of yarn waiting for me! My friend Danae and her daughter Jessica had bought me some yarn at The Christmas Tree Shops. What a nice surprise! Danae asked my today what I could make with it and I said a Fat Bottom Bag...I know some people have made them using the suede. The purple suede is such a deep rich color....

Now this other picture is of me working on my curly scarf at recess. It is done now. I am bringing a bag with me every day to recess now. Today I was not sitting and crocheting and I had two students come and ask me if they could see my projects....

I am going to be starting an afterschool program, a Crochet Club. I'm only going to run it from December until February and limit it to 10 students. Hopefully I'll have some!

Natalie in hat

My friend gave me permission to post a pic of her daughter Natalie in the Candy Corn hat that I made her...She is pretty adorable...

A's Hat and scarf

So today I finished the scarf I made to go with A's hat. I will be giving them to her on Sunday. I am also going to make her a necklace. I bought a pendant in Buffalo NY that says "Big Sister" on it. I hope she likes these things. It's hard to know whether I should just buy something for kids or make something....My Vermont Teddy Bear is modeling as I have no real models...

Still trying...

Hmmm - let's try it again

http://vallieskids.blogspot.com

Still trying

http://tiny.cc/IaKm5

I hope this is shortened...anyway I added the blog to my sidebar, it is Vallieskids.

It's been a hat week for me....

The first hat I made technically last weekend. My brother's family went to Colorado, while there my SIL and niece visited a shop and spotted yarn. My SIL told my niece to pick me out a ball. So they brought me home a ball of Berrocco Geode. SIL told niece to pick me out something I would like and she done good! These are so my colors. I love how it striped! It was not enough to finish the hat, so I supplanted the band with 2 skeins of Drops Alpaca. The crown of the hat is a FPDC pattern and the band a simple HDC. I absolutely adore this hat and can't wait to wear it. I am making a ruffle scarf with the rest of the Drops to go with it and my olive colored coat.

The other two hats are gifts. The candy corn one is for a friend's baby girl and is I Love This Yarn in Candy Corn Ombre. It's just a simple hat pattern that I started during recess on Friday.

The other is a gift for another friend's daughter's birthday. I am making a scarf to go with it. It is a pattern from http://tiny.cc/IaKm5 called Meagan Wants You. I love this hat and am making a grownup version for myself. The yarn is Red heart Aztec in Heather and was in my stash.

I really need to figure out how to do tiny urls....Maybe I did it?