It's About Time!

The pattern book from Michigan was sitting in the mailbox when I got home Thursday. Friday when I went for a doctor's appointment I started a Father Christmas stocking while sitting in the waitng room. I finished both Father Christmas stockings knit over the weekend and now I'm ready to embelish them. And, my penguin-design stocking is almost finished. Of course, I'm having a hard time moving my left elbow today, but that's just a side-effect of the trade. Hopefully, I can finish the penguin tonight and start the embelishing tomorrow evening. I'll be glad to get them in the mail. Then I can start knitting christmas gifts!!

The Slow Road

I'm still waiting for my pattern book to get here from a catalog store in Michigan. I ordered it on Nov. 18th and, aw, come on, it should be here by now! So-o-o, I called the company this morning and they said the package was shipped out via USMail on Nov. 19th. The nice lady suggested that if it doesn't appear today or tomorrow, to call them back on Monday. Gee!!!!

Getting Ready for ????

I've been trying to do about a zillion things at once lately. I finally got all the deck furniture put away and the flower beds around the deck covered for the winter. And I did it before it snowed!

As usual I said I wasn't going to take orders for Christmas this year and ended up with 2 (both for christmas stockings--a total of 4 stockings!) When I looked for the chart to do the stockings I found half of it in the plastic sleeve labeled 'christmas stockings'. I have no idea where the other half is. I even cleaned out my yarn closet (and I mean CLEANED OUT) without it appearing. Oh, well. I got out some graph paper and charted my own designs (a snowman and penguins). I thought they were pretty cute, but my customers wanted Father Christmas. So the Sunday before Thanksgiving (11-19) I ordered a booklet that featured Father Christmas stockings that I found in a catalog. I'm still waiting for it to arrive. I now think I could have driven to Michigan to the catalog store, stayed overnight somewhere along the way, purchased the book and driven home, again staying overnight someplace. I'd be exhausted and broke from buying gas for the car, but I'd have the damn book.

I decided to make a fair isle jumper and cropped vest for the this year's holiday fashion show in Cooperstown . The jumper is high-waisted wtih a simple solid green halter-type top and the bottom is cream with a fair isle pattern worked in green. The vest is cream with the pattern and edges in green. I used silver buttons that mimiced the pattern for both the vest and the shoulder straps of the jumper. It looks good (if I say so myself) and I thought the model (she's 2) can't ruin it waiting to go on. I'm pleased with myself for getting it done with plenty of time to spare--a first for me coz I'm usually sewing on buttons during the ride to Cooperstown that morning! So I'm ready for the fashion show and now the fashion show has been cancelled. Oh, well, I put the outfit in the shop last weekend and it's getting good comments but no one has discovered a real need to buy it. There's still 27 days til Christmas so it may sell.

I think I may be organized enough this year to do some knitting for holiday gift-giving this year. I say that every year, but maybe this year I will actually do some!

Another Season Ends

We closed camp for the season Sept. 8th. It was easy this year because I finally wised up and hired a plumber to turn off the water. (I figured it'll be cheaper that hiring him to fix the pipes when I screw up turning off the water myself.) We stuffed blankets and pillows in giant ziplock bags and spread clothes dryer sheets around. I put out a couple of small packages of d-con on top of and behind the refridgerator. I had a running battle with something on top of the refridgerator all season and I finally had had enough. (Every weekend there had been what my mother calls 'calling cards' on top of the refrid. I' d wash it with clorox wipes and we'd be good for the weekend but then the next Friday, they'd be back.) I wasn't feeling good so we didn't stall around, just did what had to be done and hit the road. We were on our way home by 11am. About 45 minutes later I noticed the windshield wipers were acting funny, slowing down, and nothing happened when I pushed on the gas. We coasted down the mountain and finally stopped about 15 miles north of Poland. Luckly, there was a house across the road that had cars in the driveway and garage. They were very nice people, letting me use their phone to call AAA. They helped me bring my mother and dog into their house. They even put their cat out so it wouldn't bother Teddi!! AAA sent a towtruck and I called our neighbors at camp to come pick us up. We made it home around 2:30 in the afternoon, $93 (for the tow truck)poorer. By Tuesday the car had a new altenator and new battery and I had a monetary goal for the craft shows!

This weekend is Pumpkin Fest in Cooperstown. There will be a weigh-in for pumpkins, gourds and watermelons, with the winner getting a nice check. ($1000+!!) Those monsters weigh-in over 500 lbs, with the winners over 1000! There will be a craft show, 'make-it take -it' crafts for kids and food. All in the parking lot of Doubleday Field. It happens right in front of our shop so we have an increase in customers that day. I'm ready for that with sweater sets and pumpkin hats! I did a very nice Aran set that I'm quite proud of. Of course that means it won't sell right away!!

Next weekend is Applefest at the Barringer Rd School in Ilion. I'm not ready for that and if Pumpkinfest is very good I'm going to be a no-show in Ilion. I hate doing that, but if I don't have a full table what can I do?

Time Keeps Flying By!

While I was at camp over Labor Day some friends and I went to the quilt store in Inlet. Now the drive around the mountains from Speculator to Inlet is long and uneventful. I worked on a baby sock to pass the time. (Since I'm usually the driver, being a passenger was a big treat for me!) We stopped in Indian Lake for gas and at Raquette Lake to buy bread. The store is near the dock for the SS Durant, the lake cruise that serves the most fantastic lunch. The bread...all kinds...was hot from the oven and HUGE! Each loaf had to be 12" long x 5" wide x 8" high. They smelled so good, too. Everyone got a loaf but me since that had been one of the few things I had brought to camp. The next stop after a detour to the bank/ATM was the quilt store! I limited myself to $50 and knew I wouldn't be getting much for that. I bought a booklet for a quilt called 'Turning Twenty' that requires 20 fat quarters. I know I have more that 20 pieces of fabric home on the shelf from our pre-knitting doll-making days so I didn't look for fabric for that. I fell in love with a fannel pre-print and the co-ordinating pieces to go with it and ended up buying enough for a quilt called 'Fatty Fatty 2x4'. (Just the top, not the backing, batting or binding.) The other 3 ladies spent like drunken quilters! I think Lynn-the driver, hit $200! We went to The Woods Inn in Inlet for lunch. It's an old old hotel that has been restored. In fact, that's were Chester Gillette was kept until the Herkimer County Sheriff could come to get him after he was captured for killing Grace Brown(American Tragedy). We also stopped at a bait shop on the way home that had a large PIES TODAY sign on the road. Two of my friends spent $14 each for a pie. (The crust was very flaky but the filling wasn't too thick.)

The fabric was all so beautiful and I was really tempted but when would I find the time to do all this sewing??? I'm still trying to build-up an inventory for that show while keeping the shop's shelves full. And that's continuing to be difficult since my baby sets keep selling! I'm not complaining, but maybe I did get in over my head by signing up for this show. I've only invested $30 so far but I'd hate to be a 'no-show'. I still have 4 weeks until the show so I'd better keep knitting!

The End of Summer

I can't believe summer is just about over. This is Labor Day Weekend!! I'm still knitting those baseball hats but I've done several baby sets, too. I decided to do a craft show in Ilion on Oct 6th. (It seemed like a very good idea when sales were down for July, now, with August sales brisk, I'm not so sure.) I'm trying to build up an inventory but I have to keep the shelves full in Cooperstown, too! I hope I haven't gotten in over my head. I suppose if I sell all I take to the show it won't be a bad thing. I'm going to make my sweater sets (baseball, blacksheep, train, apple tree and autumn tree) only in size 9 months, but I don't know if I want to take orders for larger sizes. Oh, well, knitting usually keeps me out of trouble!

Summer Knitting and Other Things

The weather in Speculator had been great last weekend and I was able to combine 2 of my favorite past times...knitting and boating. We spent a couple of hours cruising the lake on Saturday afternoon and again on Sunday. Everyone was going to head home early on Sunday but that ol'shinning sun changed all our minds and we went on the lake instead! (I took a 'baseball' hat to work on (straight st st) and actually did 5".) Saturday I had gone to a birthday party on the beach before we headed to the lake. Saturday evening we went to a concert at Camp of the Woods. They're very good and free! We've gone to several this summer and hope to make the last 3. We have a favorite singer (Chavelier Lovett) who's a sophomore at Hartt College in Conn. We all think he will be famous one day. He's a baritone with great stage presence. The other singers are good, too, but we all like him the best.

This week we're heading back to Speculator a day early. There is a very good craft show on Thursday that I haven't been abe to go to in several year that I'm going to this year. I like to see what's new in the craft market.

July sales in Cooperstown had been very slow but August started out strong (I equaled our July sales in the 1st 5 days of August!!!) so I'll have to try to do a baby set or two this weekend. Not to mention those damn baseball hats!! My mother says we look like gypsies with our knitting bags and the extra bags of yarn. It's hard to decide on Wednesday what you want to work on over the weekend but if I don't bring the yarn with me there is no place to get anything but Redheart up there!

Cooperstown

Well, this was the big weekend in Cooperstown as the Baseball Hall of Fame held induction ceremonies. There were over 70,000 people in town, few free parking places and a lot of famous people walking around. Most of them were Hall-of-Famers who had autiograph booths on Main St. One customer to the shop answered my 'have you seen anyone famous?' with 'I think so, he had a large handlebar moustache but I don't know his name.' (I think she saw Rollie Fingers.) Another customer answered "John Travolta'. Now that got the attention of almost everyone in the store at that moment! Seems John is good friends with Cal Ripken, Jr who was one of the inductees and John & his wife flew in for the weekend. Half of Baltimore also seemed to be in town this weekend, too. I've got to say they were all very nice people and I love the accent! The only downside was that I didn't sell a lot. (Only 1 sweater set-a navy v-neck cardigan with white baseball buttons with a white hat stitched in red to look like a baseball , 3 of those baseball hats, and a blacksheep sweater.) I can make those baseball hats in my sleep...and do! The blacksheep sweater is an old design with 3 white sheep in a field on the front and a single blacksheep on the back. I get tired of making them but the keep selling. Shouldn't complain now, should I? My next big day in Cooperstown will be Aug 25 when I get to do a knitting demo at the Otsega Hotel. I wonder if anyone famous will be around then?

Times are Hard

This week is a really difficult one for me. I'm scheduled to work 2 days. My mom had a couple of doctor appointments and I have to work at the shop in Cooperstown on Friday, so my time at the library is short. This weekend is the Baseball Hall of Fame Induction so things will really be rocking down there. I'm working on Friday and on Monday. I usually try to miss these busy weekends but not this year. I hope I see someone famous...that I recognize. Sales have been really slow so I'm also hoping for a big crowd with lots of money to spend!

It's wasn't all knitting!

I just reread my last entry and it sounded like all I did on my vacation was knit. That's not true. We spent a morning shopping in Northville where there's an old-fashion five and ten cent store. I went out to lunch with some friends a couple of times and we got invited out for bar-b-q ribs one night. I went to a concert at Camp of the Woods that was very good and the local 4th of July parade (held on July 7th) was the best I've ever seen up there. And I read most of the books I had brought with me. (That alone was different!) I even washed windows in the camp and ironed and put up clean curtains! I enjoyed my vacation very much and I wish it had been longer. Ten days really flew by. I'll try it again in August.

Vacation in the Mountains

I'm in Speculator NY at the laundromat (!!) using a public access computer. It's been raining up here for a day and a half but today looks a little better. At least the sun is shining! I have gotten a lot of knitting done! I made a pair of baby socks with the wool-cotton-soyfiber-chitin yarn that I just had to buy. They made up kind of cute. (Chitin is made from shrimp and crab shells and is natually antibacterial.) Today I'm working on the superwash wool that was treated with aloe vera and jojoba oil. My hands feel smoother. I also did a baby set with a beret. I had Janet Evanovich's Mean Lean Thirteen on cd and that helped pass the time. Opps...the laundy is done!

Putting things in perspective

Sometimes we all go thru life looking at the little things that happen to us as major obstacles. A pattern that just won't work, a broken needle. Then something happens that puts it all in perspective. I just learned that a friend's son was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq last week. He was 30 years old. Marine Sargent Shawn Martin. Semper Fi

Working In The Shop

I worked in the shop in Cooperstown on Saturday. It was a nice day and quite a lot of people came into the store...many bought things, too. My first sale of the day, in fact, was one of my afghans. It was knit on the diagonal-like a dishcloth-on size 13 needles with Red Heart's Baby Cloud. Those afghans knit up pretty fast and look good. Most of our baseball hats (knit in Sugar and Cream Cotton yarn and embrodiered to look like a baseball) had sold. And the new summer sweater I had done in sport yarn with cables instead of ribbing was gone, too! I enjoy finding out that things have sold and luckly I had enough stock with me to fill in the holes on my shelves. Unfortunately, that was the only thing of mine that sold on Saturday. The rest of the day's sales were pretty well spread out to the other members of our co-op. One of my last sales was to a gentleman who was wasting time before a family wedding. He was a 'step' and I guess they don't have much to do during a family wedding. He was looking for something for his wife whose name was MaryEllen. One of our members is also named MaryEllen and he ended up buying over $30 worth of her beeswax candles and one of her hand-made baskets just because the name was the same! He was a very nice guy, too. I started another summer sweater yesterday and hopefully, will finish it tonight. Mom was busy knitting a baseball hat when I got home Saturday night so there should be a couple of them ready for me to work on, too. I want to get the shelves full before the end of this week. Cooperstown should be hopping this weekend and next week! Oh, the Doobie Brothers are in town for a concert tonight. Wish I was there instead of here at work, after all there is life beyond knitting, isn't there?

Too Hot To Knit???

We went to Speculator to our camp this past weekend and went to a pizza buffet at a local diner with a group of our friends. (Most of the other patrons there were locals so you know the food was going to be good.) The buffet had app. 10 different toppings on the pizza. It was a serve yourself/all you can eat thing with a glass of ice tea and dessert included in the $7/person. The pizza was pretty good and none of us went away hungry! Even my mother, a lst generation Italian-American, agreed that the pizza was good! I took my knitting to camp with me and worked on baby socks. I've done so many I can almost do them without thinking. Last night I started a v-neck, raglan-sleeve cardigan that I've done before and couldn't get it started. I'm blaming the color--soft navy--and the weather--it was too hot. Hopefully I'll do better tonight. I have to work in Cooperstown on Saturday and want to have it done by then. Mom knit a bear that I had found online and I did a matching cardigan for it without any trouble but the kids' size was beyond me. Oh, well, that happens sometime, doesn't it?

Cooper Country

I finished putting together those komono-type cotton sweaters my mother had made, and they ended up looking pretty cute. I had trouble with the edging, couldn't make sense of the crochet directions for awhile then suddenly it all made sense. Could be the time of night it was, who knows? While I was working at the shop (Cooper Country) in Cooperstown Saturday, I was talking with a customer about knitting and she told me how she uses short cables instead of ribbing to jazz up an otherwise plain sweater. I tried it and it really does look great! Have I done 10 minutes on the shop yet? It's a co-op in it's 34th year. I've been involved for over 20 years and we actually have 1 member who's been there the entire time! We're all scheduled to work a certain number of days during the year which determines our commission. There aren't any other fees and to the general public, the shop is just a gift store with hand-made articles. We have about 20 members this year which is low for us. (We do better with 2 or 3 more.) If you're ever in Cooperstown, stop in and see us. We're open April thru Christmas, 10am-5pm, and we're located next to the batting range in the Doubleday Field Parking lot. Besides my knitting, we have a weaver, a quilter, a candlemaker, basketmaker, woodcarver, potter, decorative painters, woodworkers, rustic woodworker, silversmith, glassmaker, stuffed animal maker who uses recyled real fur coats and more! It's a real treat to stop in!

Put down those knitting needles!

Last night I went to a class on tole painting held here at the Library. It was fun and I almost mastered 1-stroke leaves. Everyone went home with a wooden plaque that they painted and a smile. I think I'll take the second class in the series next month. But I'm not trading in my knitting needles for a paint brush just yet!! This morning I started putting together cotton komono-type baby sweaters that my mother had knitted. I have to crochet around them and sew on buttons so they're not quite ready for the shelves but 1 may make it by tomorrow. They're looking pretty cute!

Summer Time and the knitting is fast and furious!

I guess it's really summer and the tourists are in Cooperstown. All sorts of things have been selling, things that were experiments and things that I liked and (I thought) no one else did. My shelves look very empty and that means it's time to knit! I'm looking for a pattern for a one- piece baby romper. Saw one in a catalog but can't find the catalog now! I have a skein of sport yarn that's been sitting next to me for about 2 weeks asking to be made into something. I bought it just coz I liked the color and I think it's time to use it...maybe there's enough for a sweater set? I just ordered some new sock yarn, too. One with aloe vera and jojoba and another with chitin(extracted from shells of crab and shrimp) and soysilk. If those make up as soft as the bamboo/wool blend they will be very nice. And tourists always go for the odd thing on the label!

Can Never Tell What Will Sell

I can't believe the way things sold in the shop this week! I was disappointed about my sales over the holiday weekend and never expected sales would pick up on Tues & Wed!
A smaller Rona Lace shawl (that I had made in acrylic sport yarn as a receiving/christening blanket with an infant size sweater to match) that had sat on the shelf for 3 weeks sold! The vintage-style sweater-coat with the peter pan collar that was made for the fashion show also sold. And a couple of those eyelash scarves that I made 3 years ago sold. My mother had pumpkin hats and bibs sell, too. But none of the baseball hats. I don't understand, the shop is in Cooperstown, after all.

My Rona Lace Shawl

My Rona Lace shawl is done at last. Remember, I finished it twice coz I wasn't happy with it's size the first time.

I added a couple of patterns...

and should have added more

but I was impatient to see how it came out. I think it is beautiful. It's merino

and is so soft.

It has taken me a half dozen tries to

get the photo posted and I'm almost

as happy to have that done as I am to have the shawl done!! Gee, which shawl shall I do now? I think I'd better do

some baby socks or sweaters first.

Camp's Open

I put aside my knitting needles and went to camp in Speculator on Saturday to turn on the water...and count the leaks. I had l water pipe with a small split, called the plumber and taped it up with duct tape until he can get there. My water connections aren't tight and they spray a little but I can live with that until he arrives. I solemnly promise myself to call the guy who turns on/off a friend's water up there and not fuss with this anymore. I think I'm saving money doing it myself, but I can't fix water leaks so I end up calling a plumber anyway! My great neighbors had let in the gasman to turn on the heat and they were super nice and unpacked our deck furniture so I didn't have to do that. I'd like to be back when the plumber arrives but if I'm not, I hope my neighbors are. We stopped at River's Edge, a drive-in on Rte 28 just west of the West Canada School, for lunch on the way home. They make a great Mexican, and their french fries are to die for! One order of fries easily feeds 2 people! I got someone to mow my lawn at home and it's well worth the cost. This is the first time I can remember that camp was open and the lawn was mowed in the same week! I even worked in a flower bed! I don't feel so overwhelmed right now!!

Otsega Fashion Show

Yesterday was the Women's Club Fashion Show at the Otsega Hotel in Cooperstown. The food was fantastic (as usual) and my pi shawl was warmly received. Elena, an 18-month-old model in my vintage style sweater set, ran away with the show! The crowd went crazy over her and she loved every ohh and ahh that she received. I don't think anyone paid attention to the mc's remarks after she started prancing around! The next model after Elena was heard to remark: I have to follow that! One woman did come over to me after the show to ask the price of the shawl.($125) I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

Shawl #2

My Rona Lace shawl from Knitpicks is almost done. I thought I had finished it and blocked it only to find out that it was 10" short! So I ripped out the edge (ruining the yarn) and picked up the stitches (too many to count) and kept going! I repeated patterns as I wished and it looks good, no, make that GREAT!!! I'll post that photo as soon as it dries. I like knitting lace, but now I have to stop and go back to baby socks. I just got a new shipment of superwash yarn that looks so good.

Pi Shawl

For a close-up, click on the photo!

pi = DONE!

I finally finished by shawl for the fashion show next week at the Otsega Hotel in Cooperstown. It's a pi shawl (that, for not shawl-knitters means you start with an odd number and double the number of stitches every 6 rows until you have the shawl the size you want. Since mine is 52", you can do the math and figurer out how many stitches I ended up working on!) The vertical lace edging came out very nice even tho I had to wait until I reordered yarn coz I ran out with 18 rows to go!!! (That was about 3".) Now, for the same fashion show, I'm working on a pink vintage-style A-line child's jacket with a peter pan collar that's edged in navy and a beret to go with it. I want to finish that this week so I can do other things besides knit til 11pm ever night! Like clean house...maybe, not!

knitting my fingers to the bone

I am doing a round, vintage lace shawl for a fashion show at the Otsega Hotel in Coopestown and keep forgetting to do the YO's! I know I'm rushing to get it done, but I feel so slow and dumb!!! After working 7 hours a day at my job, knitting on lace for 4 hours is leaveing me cramped and cranky. Besides the shawl, I have to do an outfit for a 2 year old for the fashion show. I'm thinking of doing a vintage coat/sweater set with a tam. Of course, I'm not being easy on myself, I want to do it in sport yarn. Between the lace shawls, baby socks and baby sweaters in sport yarn, whenever I get to work on ww I feel like I'm working in bulky! And, of course, the shop is doing well with tourist right now and my stock is getting low! I have to force myself to give up lace for awhile and get back to children's sweaters. Oh, well....

so many projects, so little time

I am still hooked on knitting lace and have started another circle shawl, this time in merino. It is so-o-o soft! But, I have also started a child's sweater and need a pattern for a vintage child's jacket with a little peter pan-type collar. Any suggestions?

Some yarn

This weekend I went to a spinner's guild mtg. I saw some of the most beautiful hand-dyed/painted yarn. If you'd like to see them, go to www.FatCatKnits.com. Makes me almost want to spin...not!

knit 1, purl 2

I am a long-time knitter who, after a decade of hand-knitting sweaters and hats, has begun to knit lace. There is an entire different set of problems associated with lace knitting and while I love the results, I have developed a stiff neck!