ETA: I put a picture of my Halloween costume at the bottom of this post just to make you all happy

This past weekend was a very sociable one for my family.

Dale’s cousin’s daughter got married on Saturday evening and the family gang was there in full force. It was a beautiful ceremony in a very old church. And the reception at The Atlantica was fabulous. We had a wonderful time eating, talking and dancing. And I might have consumed a martini or three.

Sunday was my (step)grandson’s Patrick’s birthday party hosted at Dale’s brother’s home. There were kids and grown ups and lots of fun for everyone. The kids played old-fashioned games and had a candy hunt in the backyard.

And now today is Halloween and that means more fun for the family. It means American Chop Suey for dinner, a family tradition since I was a little girl. And it means we get to see those adorable grandchildren again. Sadly for Hannah this year it does not mean trick or treating. She’s decided, somewhat reluctantly, that she’s just a little too old now, so instead she’ll be at home, handing out the candy. Of course this means that Dale and I can relax and watch scary movies on television instead of jumping up and answering the door every 5 minutes.

Happy Halloween, everyone! Watch out for those little goblins. And because you’re asking, here’s my Halloween costume for today:

I’m feeling a little horny.

I’m a constant sock knitter, as you all know. And yet, I only managed to finish one pair of socks for Socktoberfest.

Pattern: Feather and Fan from Socks Socks Socks
Yarn: A Piece of Vermont Sock Yarn
Dates: 9/21/2006 – 10/26/2006

This is the 4th time I have knit this particular sock pattern and I never get tired of it. I use Magic Loop with Size 1 Addis and only modify the pattern slightly – I don’t do that garter ridge when I transition from the leg to the ankle. Oh, and I make the leg a bit longer than the pattern indicates.

I wore these yesterday and they are wonderful. The blues in the yarn go perfectly with jeans, which is exactly what I wanted. I do feel a bit like a slacker for returning to the same pattern so frequently, but honestly, I love it so much that I can’t help myself. And I have enough rules in my life, I’m certainly not going to impose one on myself about what sock patterns I can and cannot knit!

That said, my current socks are not Feather and Fan. Just saying.

Most people have Christmas cactus, right? Well, here at the public library we have a Halloween cactus.
It’s beautiful, even if it is confused about when it’s supposed to bloom.

Not to worry, this isn’t turning into a quilting blog. BUT. I actually quilted at quilting a few weeks ago and I have a bit of bragging to do.

This quilt was a true collaborative effort of my entire “Hungry Crafters” group. You might remember that my quilt group used to be called the “Hungry Quilters” but since these days most of us often knit instead of quilt, we have changed our name to “Hungry Crafters”. You’ll notice: we’re still hungry. You’ll also notice: we still get together every Wednesday. It’s the getting together that matters, not the hobby pursued while we’re together.

In any case, this quilt was put together by all six of us. Some of us pieced and some of us cut and some of us pressed. The color scheme was my idea but everyone contributed scraps for the project. Lois did the quilting and I sewed the binding in place. It’s being donated to the History Alliance at Hannah’s school. They will sell raffle tickets for a fundraiser for this year’s trip to Richmond, VA. Hannah visited New York City with this group last year and will be going on this year’s trip as well so it’s fitting that those of us who love and support Hannah should make this contribution on her behalf.

I don’t have details yet on the tickets but I will soon. In the meantime, if anyone wants to buy tickets, let me know. I’ll cover the cost of shipping the quilt to you if you should win.

Unlike some people, I did not prepare a list for Rhinebeck. I figured an open mind, along with an open wallet, was the way to approach my first big ass fiber festival. The only thing I publicly stated was that I was not going to buy a fleece. Did I or didn’t I? You’ll have to wait until the end of the post to find out.

In the meantime, I promised you the haul and the haul you shall see.

My first purchase of the day. Lovely Grafton Fiber batts. Never mind that I already have 4 batts from Linda Diak at home. Never mind that I’ll most likely see her at SPA where there will be less of a frenzy to purchase. It just seemed like the right thing to purchase first.

Seafoam Cashmere and Silk from Foxfire Fiber. Of course, this is also available to me locally. But still. It’s cashmere and silk and it’s soft and lovely and I succumbed.

Brooks Farm Yarn. 2 skeins of the 2 ply kid mohair. I generally don’t buy yarn at fiber festivals because you can get all the yarn you need online and it’s a known commodity. But Brooks Farm isn’t available online, at least not in all the fabulous colors they have in their booth. So, I stood in line and it was worth it. Obviously, since I cast on the muted neutrals skein almost immediately. It will be a nice Old Shale pattern scarf for me. The red will eventually be a shawl of some sort. I’m open to suggestions for an appropriate pattern for 500 yards of very soft mohair.

Icelandic mixed with Baby Alpaca from Frelsi Farm. The color was irresistible to me. And soft! Too bad we don’t have touch-o-vision computer screens.

Eight ounces of this gorgeous green/blue blend from Spinner’s Hill. I picked this up on Sunday. There were better colors and larger amounts available on Saturday but the feeding frenzy was just a little too intense and I walked away. Margene got some gorgeous red from them, though. Wait until you see that.

Three batts of Lincoln Cross from Barneswallow Farm. I had the two green ones in my hand and then Kim threw the rose one at me. She made me buy these. Really, she did.

Spirit Trail Fiberworks CVM on the left. I didn’t make it to the fleece sale in time to score a CVM fleece so I went the easy route and bought some roving instead. The color is like melted chocolate and I know it will spin like a dream. This and That Farm’s Cormo pin drafted roving on the right. Because while bright colors are nice, natural is even nicer. And it smells yummy and all lanolin-y. Mmmmmm.

So, the fleece. Did I or didn’t I?

Yup. I did. But it’s a Shetland and it only weighs 2.5 pounds. That hardly even counts. And the guy that was selling it was such a hottie, I was powerless to resist.

And that’s all, folks. I came home with a smile in my heart and money in my pocket. And I think this is enough fiber to hold me until SPA, don’t you?

Of course, the downside of not posting about Rhinebeck immediately following the event is that so many other bloggers beat you to all the good stuff. Nevertheless, I have stuff to say, even if you have heard it all before.

There are loads of things I could tell you about why the weekend was so special. Here are just a few:

Most important, it was FUN. Frankly, I have a hangover from all the fun. Shut up. It’s not from the wine.

Blogless Sharon is a wonderful traveling companion. She drives through rain without complaint. She stops for coffee at a moment’s notice. And she doesn’t even get mad when the co-pilot screws up the directions. I wouldn’t want to travel to a fiber festival without her!

I also want to say that Manise makes a great roommate. She sleeps on a sofa bed and doesn’t whine about it. She cleans up after a mega-party and still manages to crack jokes and smile. And she’s always ready to hold your bags or give you a hug. Or both.

I got to meet my “ring sister” Vicki. See, Vicki hooked me up with Dixie so I could get one of these oh-so-special-cable-knit-rings as a birthday present from Dale. I was so excited to simply sit at Vicki’s feet on Friday night in the hotel lobby. We chatted and gabbed like old friends. Must be the power of the ring.

There was hanging with my peeps – all Rhinebeck first-timers like me. Despite our lack of knowledge about the festival we still managed to find our way around.

We visited Norm Hall’s booth. No, Cheryl didn’t buy this wheel. Touching it had to be enough.

The blogger meet up was out-of-control! There were bloggers everywhere. Cara organized and Stitchy facilitated with the ingenious Blogger Bingo. I was a bit of a Blogger Bingo Slacker as I left my bingo card in the hotel room. But I wore my “I’m A Square” button proudly and did have a few people check me off on their cards.

I got a picture of Margene with Kate Gilbert and Tadpole. Too bad Tadpole looked down just as I snapped because she has the sweetest face – she looks just like her mama.

We also had a mini-Estes-Park-reunion while at the Blogger Meet Up. This is a lousy picture of me but I had to post it just because it’s cool to see Bakerina and Ann and Margene and me all together in New York instead of Colorado.

Manise is holding just some of the haul. And that’s Linda, sister of Judy, hiding behind her. Linda is just as fun and charming and smart as her sister and really needs to get a blog. Just sayin’.

Kathy and Martha bought this, their first fleece, together. Of course a first fleece has to be documented. I hope it’s the first of many, ladies.

After the close of the festival, there was a bit of a, errrr, gathering in my room. Laurie and I hosted this and we affectionately termed it “Winebeck” because there was a bit of wine.

And quite a few guests, as well. And cheese and crackers and snacks. Eventually there was even pizza, thanks to the organizational skills of Beth. We talked and laughed and knit and spun until quite late. I was completely flattered that so many people took time out to hang with us. And I was over-the-moon to meet Lee Ann and her family and the darling Julia of Vesper Sock Yarn fame as well as the eternally clever Anne, designer of Wing of the Moth. Of course I can’t list everyone but I am really glad all of you were there.

Had enough for today? Tomorrow I’ll show you the haul.

Rhinebeck was just as wonderful as I thought it would be. I hung out with friends, I shopped for fiber, and I ate terrific food.

I have stories to tell you and pictures to show you but right now I need to catch up a bit. And perhaps do some spinning. I promise a full report tomorrow.

This weekend is Rhinebeck and it is my first time attending. It will be a joy to be amongst my people, I’m sure. And speaking of my people, yes, I am a square. You can see a recent picture of me here. No, I won’t be wearing the pink cowboy hat. Sorry to disappoint you.

Have a wonderful weekend all!

I think practically every woman I know loves a man in uniform.

Here’s my man in his Civil War reenactor uniform. What’s not to love?

Now Dale could tell you all about his various uniforms. He could tell you why they are made of wool and what the insignia signifies. He could tell you about his sword and his sword belt and the sash and why it’s maroon. Believe me, he could go on and on and on about all of this.

But for me, it comes down to two elements.

The boots.

And the hat.

Hot damn. I can never decide which I love more.

We made our annual pilgrimage to King Richard’s Faire last weekend. This renaissance fair has been coming to Carver for 25 years now and it never disappoints. Oh, the prices are ridiculous ($9 for a beer!) but it’s only once a year and it’s such a rollicking good time that we can’t resist a trip.

Most years we dress in costume but it was cold and blustery on Sunday and we decided that modern clothes would be more comfortable. You can keep a lower profile that way, too. We enjoyed the joust and the singing and the entertainment. But of course the best part of a medieval faire is the people-watching.

And you thought Carver was just about the cranberries, didn’t you?