Rhinebeck 2014 The Haul

We did something new this year, we finally went camping for Rhinebeck! It was great and I will tell you more later, today it is about the yarn. But first I have to tell you what a mighty fine man I have. As we were waiting to get in to the festival I was fussing over him and worrying about how he was going to keep himself entertained. He looked at me and said "I need you to be selfish today. Don't worry about me." What a mighty fine man, yes he is.

I know I bought way less than in years past. Don't worry I am feeling alright. I did come back with more than half of the money I took down. I am a thrifty girl, ha ha, thrifty girl buying hand painted sock yarn I think not.

I made a bee line to the farthest back barn to check out Dragonfly Fibers. I was told I have a very determined walk. Apparently I was scanning but on a mission.

To the left is Starry Night in Djinni Sock. Look at me who claims to hate yellow and orange getting in touch with my inner color love. On the right we have Zombie Apocalypse in Damsel. D kept calling us yarn zombies so it seemed appropriate to get the yarn. Plus it is beautiful, no really beautiful.

As always I had to get me some Socks That Rock. Bottom is Muddy Autumn lightweight. Top is Tea and Alchemy in medium weight. I was happy to lend some advice to a lady near me that asked which weight would be better for socks. That is me the crazy sock knitting lady.

At Bittersweet Woolery I found Inverted Zombie Queen, I miss read the label and it has been Introverted Zombie Queen in my head since then. That is me an Introverted yarn Zombie Queen. What I can declare myself Queen of my own realm.

Since I love Star Trek I just could not walk away from the Trek colored yarn on the left. I remember watching those uniform colors all the time.  Into the whirled has some very nice colors. I resisted the one called Bazinga, but now I don't know how I did that.

The bag of odds and ends on the right is what I though would be great to practice some spinning. I can try out some things without feeling as if I am wasting good wool. I bet once I am done it will make a very interesting something or other. I really like the idea of being able to play with my spinning for a time. I learned a couple of different ways to ply that I want to check out.

So six pairs of socks, some replacement cubic needles and a bag of spinning fun, not bad for a days play.

Oh My

As you can tell from my lack of posts my life has been a bit hectic. Only it really has not, it just feels that way.

NY Sheep and Wool (Rhinebeck) was last weekend and it was all I could hope for and more. I have some stories to tell but no pictures to show. We went camping and it could not have been more perfect for us. We even managed to get all the camping gear put back away. Whew that is the one thing I don't love about camping.

Anyways Gus and Jack are doing well even though they are adjusting to each other again. Gus stays at the vet's when we travel so they can keep an educated eye on him. We call it a Jack-cation. It is a little bit of time away from Jack.

Jack has fun with an uncle that feeds him his Greenies and all is right with the world. Then he follows D and me around talking to us at the top of his voice for a few hours when we get home.

I have knit some things and bought some yarn, but have not taken any pictures. I have taken a sock yarn spinning class and talked with knitters. Which I heartily enjoyed.

This weekend I made four batches of lasagna, fed some hungry football watching people and gave a tray to my neighbor. She was just as happy as I would be if someone showed up at my door with dinner.

So I have stories to tell and may even have some time this coming week to tell them. Just know that I am one happy knitter still.

Finally

You know how protective I am of my knitting time. I hate the thought that I would make something for someone and they would reject it. Or worse yet absolutely they would love it and that is all I would end up making for years and years to come. Hey why did all of you just think of my sock collection?

One of the conundrums of being a selfish knitter is that I fear rejection of my knit lovelies. I love them and D loves them and that is all that matters.

Well it is not. My mother-in-law (Mil) suffers from poor circulation due to MS. She says her legs and feet get very cold. My father-in-law confirmed this with a snort of agreement, there may have been muttered words like ice blocks, we're going to let that go.

After all the socks and wooly things I've knit I finally gathered my nerve and asked my Mil if she would like to try hand knit socks or leg warmers. The answer was yes, we could try leg warmers.

So I've been puzzling over how to make them. Well, not how, I'm pretty darn sure I know how to make a tube that fits over a leg, but what would make a successful leg warmer?

I've come up with a few questions, and since Mil reads my blog I'm gonna throw them out here for us to ponder before I buy some yarn.

1. Wool is the best fiber ever but will she agree? I'm leaning towards a super wash wool because even I don't care to hand wash things but I have nice hand wash setting on my washer. I've made the decision to take the time to learn how to care for wool, superwash wool takes some of that pressure away, easier to care for with wooly warmth too.
2. What weight of yarn should I use? My socks are typically fingering weight but they have to fit into shoes, leg warmers do not. There are a lot more stitches in a pair of socks than the sleeve of a sweater. So I am leaning towards a light worsted weight, really I can tell myself I'm making sleeves for legs.
3. I should make sure the yarn is relatively soft. These will most likely go right next to her skin. While I have trained myself to love rustic wools, most people need something softer, at least as an introductory item. 
4. What color? I know she likes blue but a nice burnt orange makes me feel warmer. Oh what about red? I know when I'm wearing a bright pair of socks I feel a bit peppier. What about a nice natural brown or cream? The knitter's world is full of color. Please, please don't say black it is too hard to knit in the winter.
5. Oh what about the fit? I don't want them to be too tight or too loose. I'm thinking some ribbing up the back of the leg gives stretch but not bagginess? I cannot handle the thought of fully ribbed warmers. I don't like ribbing enough to do that. Sorry I just don't.

That is what I've been mulling over. Anyone have any other suggestions or thoughts? I think we both know each other well enough to know the first pair may not be perfect but they should be warm.