Macchina Sveglia

Tomorrow is Halloween. I have opened the bag of mini Tootsie Pops- they're only little, and I only like the purple ones.

In the spirit of this wonderful holiday, I spun some fiber- Vampire Suicide, and added some crosses to the I-cords. These are for Laura.

I also, on a whim, made Kate Davie "Sheep Heid" tam. I sat down Thursday afternoon and went through my Shetland stash, and had most of the colours there. Mogit and Eesit were subbed for 2 of them, and I finished it Friday morning. Gotta like that.

Laura said I could use her head, but not her face.

My niece brought her new car over, a Fiat 500- it's sooooo cute.

I didn't drive it- but it's even cute on the inside. We told her that FIAT is an acronym for "Fix it again, Tony!"- just kidding, it's a wonderful car.

We stayed up late last night watching some horror movies, and Kitten Chow is a little worse for wear today. Late nights aren't for him.

See you in November.

The Rhinebeck Experience

Despite giving the appearance of being an organized, together kind of person, it has taken until today to get some pictures off loaded from Laura's camera, so I haven't posted until today. Does that make any sense? I do hope so.

Speaking of Laura, she is now a full time legal assistant at a downtown Toronto law firm, and I couldn't be more pleased for her. This will suit her right down to the ground, and will be challenging and fun. So yes, it's just me and the kitty boy left at home.

Upstate New York, folks, is beautiful in autumn. We stayed with a lovely friend, and had some cat time as well. You may recognize Slushie- she is the Fat Cat, who isn't very fat any more, and I felt like I was in the presence of a celebrity, which I was.


And this little fellow is Tommie- who, really, just wants luvvins-

On Saturday, there was a meet-up for the Fat Cat fiber people, and here is someone I met, who just happens to have 2 very large cats, Spaz and Taz, at 28 and 31 pounds respectively, and make Kitten Chow look small. She's delightful. And check out that cool sweater.

And some more of the usual suspects- it was a great day.

Lots to admire, lots to see, and I did come home with some goodies, but the real fun was meeting the great people there. I've decided that I want to visit the major shows at least once in my lifetime, so perhaps Maryland? I don't even know if that's driveable from here.


But it sure is good to know that Kitten Chow is at home, keeping my yarn warm.

And Halloween is getting closer- I'll share my projects next week.

Silver Anniversary

Not my blog- because blogs haven't been around that long- but mine and FC's wedding. Twenty five years, it's gone by awfully fast. We're still laughing, and we've got these crazy kids, and animals- and we've really been blessed. He gave me a card with Snoopy on it.

On the subject of laughter, I have added this guy's site to my sidebar. Anyone who grew up in the 60's or 70's- or had grandparents, will really be able to relate to the humour. But what makes this really hysterical is his captions. If your tastes run to the warped side, you'll love this.

Lots of knitting going on- I've been making handspun fingerless mittens for Christmas presents. I really adore knitting with handspun.

I'm swatching for a hooded jacket design- I can't find a pattern that meets all my criteria- and so I decided to do my own. This will be a bit of a haul, but I can do smaller projects as well.

And most exciting- RHINEBECK- I am leaving on Friday morning and staying with a friend in Ilion- and a whole gang of fiber freaks will spend the day at the fair. I cannot believe I'm going. I'm also going to see a friend I met on Ravelry back in 2007- and we e-mail each other daily. Awesome.

I've given Laura instructions to be nice to Kitten Chow while I'm gone-

Mummy's baby. (sniff)

Hip and Happening

October the 1st. Ahhhhhh. I am having a blissful moment here. It is sunny and cold today, a perfect autumn Saturday. What could be better?

I've been walking quite a bit, and have eased back into the Weight Watchers routine. For some very odd reason, I'm not finding it hard in any way. People eating chocolate and stuff doesn't bother me- I'm fine just eating regular stuff. The photo above was taken on a walk with my sister and friend Todd, and you can see the Toronto skyline in the back.

Today I put up a free pattern on Ravelry for these handspun mitts. I used FatCat Knits Polwarth, shown in the "Nerds" colorway. I had the Rabbit in for service, and wrote the pattern while I was waiting. I called them 4H Mittens, and it stands for Hip Happening Handspun Handwarmers. As with everything, there is a little backstory about the name.

Alex has a friend, Kirk, who he met in Grade 9. They started a band around that time, and Alex got his drum set (which has since grown exponentially)- and Kirk was coming over because he played bass guitar. He's a lovely boy, but extremely quiet, and I wanted to see if I could get him to talk to me, without making him self-conscious. So, after a while, I told him he couldn't come in unless he said I was a hip, happening chick. Since then, I would open the door, and say "what am I again?" and he would look at his shoes and mutter "you're a hip, happening chick". Poor guy.

These are the men's version, in the Sweet Tortie colour. And yes, Chris, that is a pumpkin, and yes, there is more than one here. Have you read about the pumpkin shortage on the eastern seaboard? Better be prepared.

Next weekend is Thanksgiving, and after that I have a trip planned. What is worrying me is that I will be away from my darling Kitten Chow, and it was hinted that he may not be here when I get back.

"I can promise you, I will be here, but they may not be...."