I am terrible at updating this blog, which is collateral damage from a very busy life at the moment… and a pair of kids who, I’m pretty sure, are conspiring against any minute amount of restful sleep I might get. Anyway, in the space between now and the previous post, we’ve had birthdays (all 4 of us), finished new projects, photographed old ones (above), and made trips- previous and future plans.
Let’s start with Rhinebeck, which was fantastic again this year. We had a great time at NY Sheep and Wool. The weather was unseasonably warm, which was kind of a bummer for seeing cool handknits, but great for wanting to be outside. It wasn’t the gloriously crisp fall I’m always hoping for, but meh. It was still great. And cooler than Houston is, anyway.
We started our trip in Hoboken, where we visited Andrew’s sister and brother-in-law. It’s great to see them and sometimes venture into the city (yes, The City) and poke around. We headed up the river to Rhinebeck for a few days, and I got to spend more time in the village this year, which is something I always hope to do and end up cutting short because of festival plans and seeing everyone. I didn’t buy much this year, honestly. No big haul. I did get a sweater quantity of Neighborhood Fibers Studio Worsted to make a sweater for Andrew. Just plain grey.
After the festival, we headed back down toward NYC with a midday stop at Storm King Art Center, which was phenomenal and absolutely worth the trip. We had a great time hiking around and looking at everything. The art is great, but it’s really the setting that does it for me.
If you’re looking for something to do after the show, I highly recommend it.
We spent our final day in NYC before flying home. Despite the non-seasonal weather, it was a great trip and we will be going again next year for sure. I love using the festival as an excuse to see family, autumn leaves, and discover all sorts of stuff in the Hudson River Valley. I really love it up there.
Next month will be another exercise in fiber tourism: we’re headed to Bath, England for the Curious Handmade retreat. I’m excited to spend some time learning from some of the best people in the business- especially Joji Locatelli, who has designed nearly every sweater I’ve ever knitted. Andrew and I went to London and Bath on a trip a few years ago, so I am looking forward to revisiting the city, learning more about it, and having a few days where I’m mostly just me and also a mom… It’s pretty easy to be eclipsed by parenthood, and this is the first time I’ll be spending any time away from the kids. I’m excited and anxious about it. After the retreat, we are heading to London for a week, which I am very excited about.
I’m taking two classes at the retreat- a sweater design class by Joji and a steeking class by Renee Callahan. The steeking class has some homework: three colorwork swatches. I’ve finished one so far:
I’m looking forward to learning to steek, so I made a little sweater that will be my first victim when the retreat is over. The underarms need to be grafted, but it fits Joey really well. The pattern is Gilipeysa by Hélène Magnússon. The yarns are various colorways of Anzula Cloud, which is the same stuff I used for Meridien. It’s still just as enjoyable to knit with, for what it’s worth. Definitely a top 5 yarn for me. Icelandic yoke sweaters have been really popular lately, so why not try one out? I find it particularly interesting that I’ve been knitting for about 15 years now, but I’ve never gotten much into colorwork until recently.
I’ve also finished a shawl that was sent off to my friend Laura in Ireland. It’s Water by Sylvia McFadden, and I loved knitting it. I used Carodan Farms’ Chincoteague colors line for this. I grew up in Virginia with stories of the horses at Chincoteague, so it was particularly meaningful to me to knit something that had a water-inspired design element.
I should really do a full-length FO post about Water, but I don’t have much to say, really. The picot bindoff was cool, but took forever. The water elements were really neat, but looked horrible until I blocked the whole thing. I would absolutely choose this yarn again for the project. It’s soft, silky, but has great definition and shows off the design elements really well.
I’m looking forward to the trip and hoping to have some fun things to share with you!