3rd Annual Fall Knitting Weekend

It’s hard to believe this is our third knitting retreat into the woods.  What started as a casual suggestion a few years back has turned into a yearly pilgrimage from the city.

We scheduled our trip East to coincide with the Bedford Fall Foliage Festival and a stay at the Bed and Breakfast at Whitetail Wetlands.  The B&B has only 3 bedrooms, yet we were able to sleep 6 comfortably in just two of them.  The largest room had a large outdoor balcony overlooking the goat pen.

When we arrived Friday we settled in to some knitting while Lisa made her signature homemade pizza.  Inside, the seating area (including couch, coffee table, rocking chairs, and baby grand piano) became knitting central.

On Saturday, after a lovely breakfast, we headed to the Bedford Festival.  Most roads in the commercial district of Bedford were blocked off for the festival and tens of thousands of people packed the streets.  I was very excited to return to our cars to get up close to The Coffee Pot.

This two-story relic began as a lunch cafe serving up burgers and cokes.  The landmark was eventually saved by a preservation group and moved to the county fairgrounds where it now stands.  The inside is now one, small, empty room, but it would have been great to see it as a working eatery.  We continued with the roadside attractions by heading to Gravity Hill.  When we reached the appropriate section of the road we put our cars in neutral and they began to roll backwards up the hill!  We put a soda can on the road and it too rolled uphill.  And we were all very impressed!

On Sunday morning we had a special treat as Jerry saddled up the horses and took us for a ride through the property. 

The grounds were so beautiful and inspiring that many of us took little jaunts with our cameras to break up long stretches of knitting.  I’ll leave you with some pictures of my walks and rides throughout Whitetail Wetlands.

WWKIP

Today is World Wide Knit in Public day!  This is our second year at the tent in Schenley Plaza, and this year’s attendance was great!  The folks at Three River’s Crochet brought door prizes of yarn and knit or crochet books, and nearly everyone walked away with something.  Knitters are really great folk!

Just wanted to share these pics with you, I’ll continue the SF trip in the next post.  Happy Knitting!

David Sedaris

What better way to spend April Fool’s day than to see a live performance by humorist David Sedaris.  The show was at the Benedum in downtown’s “Cultural District”.  The  Benedum seats 2800 people and from our seats in the first tier Sedaris was just a small, brightly lit figure in the blackened theater.  Hard to make out much more than hand gestures.  This was a much larger venue than when I first saw Sedaris at the Osher Marin JCC Center back in 2001.  That crowd was a few hundred small and the show was much more up close and personal.

It was a great night to be in downtown.  The evening was nice and warm and the district was abuzz with theater goers.  The David Sedaris crowd was probably the hippest, edgiest crowd to fill the Benedum.  The show, of course, was hilarious. To the point of tears at times.  Unfortunately, it fizzled out at the end when he opened up for questions from the audience, leaving us feeling a bit indifferent as we walked out of the theater.  It would have been nice to have ended with one more story in that unmistakable voice.  I’ll have to dig out my books and my Live at Carnegie Hall CD for some more of his storytelling.

Blog Neglect

I haven’t had much to blog about lately.  I am working on a few things, but there’s not much to blog about them.  I’ve undertaken a rather insane knitting project that’s keeping me busy.  I have a bunch of ideas in my head of things I’d like to design and a bunch of patterns I’d love to cast on.  (I limit my WIPs or I wouldn’t finish anything.)  I finally blocked the Hemlock Ring blanket (I forgot I have a carpeted, cat-free zone on the third floor!)  I’m still not crazy about it and may end up donating it to the Yarn Ball auction this year.  I’m also trying to finalize the Knitted Kitty PDF.  There have been a few more requests for the pattern.  And I’m trying to get some things done around the house.  It’s overwhelming to have to decide on the changes to be made.  I wish I wasn’t in this alone.  So for now, I’ll leave you with a kitty picture.  Although the weather is dancing back and forth from the 30’s to the 60’s, it is still very cold in the house.  I opened the window on the second floor to let the cats out onto the back roof.  Shrimpy found the ledge to be just perfect for a little nap.

Forget the groundhog…

The first crocuses bloomed on Sunday.  While the crocus is not among my favorite flowers, it is a welcome splash of color after a long, drab winter and a better signifier that winter is over than some overstuffed rat.

Spindle Cat Studio

Ok, yarnies, are you ready for the ultimate yarn??  I came across this Etsy listing and it blew me away.  This is handspun yarn from the shop owner’s Wedding Dress!

As a quilter (in a previous life) I have always loved the idea of making a memory quilt of someone who’s passed.  I never even considered turning clothing into yarn.  And a WEDDING DRESS!!  That is the ultimate.  Perhaps we’ll see a lot more upcycling of those hideous bridesmaid dresses in the near future.

When you check out this listing in Spindle Cat Studio’s Etsy shop, browse her other items.  She has lots of goodies for knitters.  I love her Handmade Copper Ring Stitch Markers and her Dual Duty stitch markers for use with big and small needle sizes.  There are many beaded stitch markers to choose from, all beautiful and really affordable.  Consider supporting a fellow artisan for your knitting accessories.

There are also a couple pins and magnets to show off your love of fiber. 

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My favorite listing is the set of four cat magnets!

My List of 99 Things

Not much to blog about these days since I’m holing up in the house, snarling at the cold and dark outside. This List of 99 Things has been floating around the internet, so I thought I’d take my turn here.

• Things I’ve done in bold
• Things I haven’t done but would like to do in italics
• Things I haven’t done and never, ever want to do in plain text.

1. Started your own blog (obviously).
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band — or musical (if singing counts).
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower (though I’ve seen a meteor drizzle).
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/Disneyworld.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitchhiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden a Gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (Though I have stood under it and have the rocks to prove it!).
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theater.
55. Been in a movie (Unless being in the audience of “The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh” counts).
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business (does Etsy count?).
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma (I can’t since I spent some time in England).
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.

New Juice Combo

Since the knitting weekend, when Lisa brought her juicer to the cabin, I have been addicted to fresh juice.  I quickly found a great deal on a juicer through Craigs List and have been trying to start each day with a fresh glass.  My new favorite combo is parsley/grape/apple/carrot.

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And it looks something like this:

NOW I’m proud to be an American