Weekend recap

Busy week here, poppets. I'm very, very tempted to pull a Wordless Weekend Wrap-Up post for Kate and my Rhinebeck shenanigans, but I can't rightly do that after making such a weepie git of myself in my last post, can I? So let's get to it.

Friday latemorning, Kate and I headed out to pick up the lovely and talented (but drivers' license-less) Véronik, and we chatted and knit our way down to the glamourous (she said with tongue firmly in cheek) Kingston Holiday Inn. We arrived in the early evening and met up with the fabulous Carol, Laura and Jim, joined them for a few cocktails in the supah swanky (again with the tongue in cheek!) hotel bar, then retreated to our room for some frantic knitting on my part (more on that next post) and some desperately trying to stay awake on Kate's part (she'd driven the entire way so I could knit, silly sausage).

When we arrived at the fairgrounds on Saturday morning, the knitters' had arrived en masse. The weather was lovely, a bit on the breezy side but heck, we were all swaddled in knitwear anyway, right?

We each grabbed a cuppa and, without any specific shopping objectives in mind, decided to stroll around and just enjoy ourselves. Rhinebeck can be a bit overwhelming, even when you've already been there, because there's just So. Much. Yarn. And people. And fabulous knitwear. And fabulous designers. We hadn't been there 10 minutes before we ran into Anne Hanson (we weren't able to get out s**t together in time to make it to the Knitspot lunch, sadly), and later that afternoon, another illustrious member of the knitterati happened to be strolling next to yours truly...


Can you see who it is? Take a closer look at the hat he's wearing... Ring any bells? It was none other than Stephen West, people! I just about sh@t myself!!!


OK not really. But when, a few minutes later, I found myself right smack dab next to the man at the Foxhill Farm booth, where we were both fondling some Cormo, I might have been a little bit of a dufus... (but not, like, in a weird way or anything. Hah). He was perfectly charming and agreed that my chocolate brown skeins would make something fabulous.

By late afternoon, neither Kate or I had made many purchases, much to our mutual surprise. We were able to pull it together though (like, duh), I with about a TON of Miss Babs, and Kate with her habitual Shelridge Farm.



And that about wraps it up. We had a lovely day, met some fabulous people, and spent some quality time among our kind.


The only thing that would have made the weekend better is if our friend Alison had been able to make the trip with us...


Oh well, there's always next year :)

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

Community

It's a busy morning chez Dear. I've sent the kids off to school, the husband off to work, and I'm running around the house like a crazy person, trying to prepare for this, the most anticipated weekend of the year. That's right friends, I'm going to Rhinebeck.

Obviously, I'm looking forward to the yarn. But more than that, Rhinebeck is - for me, anyway - about the people. It's about being part of the gathering en masse of thousands of fiber enthusiasts. It's about getting to spend some special time with some of my most favourite people in the world. It's about community.

The past few weeks have been hectic around here. In a good way, of course. My new job is demanding and challenging and so, so rewarding. Being a part of something, feeling like my work, my skills, are appreciated and valued has been like a tall glass of cool water on a hot day, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity I've been given.

Of course, all change has it's difficulties. I feel as though all I've had time for the past 2 weeks is work and (immediate) family. Friends, commitments, and yes, blogging, have all fallen along the wayside. My commute is (much) longer, I'm home less often, and Phil has had to take on more of the "holding down the fort" workload. We're still trying to adjust to the new routine, trying to figure out what works best. It's an adjustment, but I know we'll get there.

Which is why this morning, as I'm getting ready to participate in one of the biggest assemblies of the knitting community, I'm taking a few minutes to write up this post. Because this blog, this space is also about community, about my community. I haven't forgotten that.

Happy Knitting, Everyone.

Just the scarf

Last night, as I sat down for my pitifully small daily alloted knitting time, Phil asked me what I was knitting for Rhinebeck.

I'm starting a new job next week, the schedule is crazy, and it's taken me a week to manage to knit a freakin' size 3-month stockinette baby cardigan, and dude's asking me - 17 days before the event - what I'm knitting for Rhinebeck.

I just stared up at him in astonishment, my eyes conveying a subtle "Are you sh**tting me???" message.

"Just the scarf then, eh?", he stammered.

Yup.

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

Good mail

A few weeks ago, I received a letter in the mail. I'm not talking about a bill or a card or a note... I mean an actual, honest-to-goodness letter.


A friend of mine had decided it was time to step back from all this "convenience" and decided to take the time to physically set pen to paper and write me a letter.

I couldn't believe it. As I read her letter I had vivid flashbacks of a dozen childhood pen pals, of blue inked letters hurriedly written on ripped note paper... It was a simple, howdeedo? kind of letter, but the fact that my friend took the time to write it out by hand and send it to me by post - because she could have sent the very same message by email - infused it with an additional level of thoughtfulness and sincerity of feeling that moved me.

I can tell you that that feeling has led to some pretty deep, introspecty stuff at Casa de Dear. I've been pondering all this "convenience" which we've come to expect in our daily lives, and wondering what we've given up in the name of instant gratification... Honestly though? It's Sunday night. I'm beat. I think I'd rather sleep and live to rant another day, you know? :)

In the meantime, I'd invite you to pull out the old stationary and write someone a letter. It'll make their day, trust me.

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

p.s. : snail mail isn't the only thing my mail carrier has been bringing to my door this week!

Mantra

It's been an interesting week here. Not that I haven't busy with the usual errand-running/appointment-making/meal-preparing/personal-growth-in-the-form-of-exercise-and-drum-practice-ing that is my life, but I've felt... quiet. Big changes are afoot in my life, and it's like I'm trying to cultivate as much calm as possible now in anticipation of the coming storm.

I'm changing jobs. Again. In a few weeks I'll be starting a new position as the medical librarian in a prominent, well-respected hospital in the Montreal area, and I'm very excited. And scared. And worried about how this will affect all our lives. And nervous. And psyched about what an incredible professional opportunity this is. And grateful. And...

Well. You get the idea.

My thoughts are going every which way, and until recently, I was finding it incredibly difficult to stay focused. Luckily, my beloved Interwebz delivered a mantra which I've found most soothing over the past few days...


It totally works, too. Heh.

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

Soon

It's cold here today. Granted, we haven't reached the single (Celsius) digits yet, but it's cold enough that a single piece of knitwear isn't enough to keep me comfortable anymore. This morning's weather definitely called for layering. I combined the recently blogged Koigu Linen Stitch Scarf and my beloved Castlegar cardigan over jeans and a simple black Tee, but I knew in my heart that wasn't going to be enough.

Like thousands of Canadians, I'd been desperately holding on to my denial Summer, see... Sure, there had been signs for weeks. All around me, there were subtle reminders. Apple picking season had begun. Labour Day came and went, taking our white pants with it. But - for me anyway - reality only truly sinks in when something very specific happens, and this morning it did. As a responsible, intelligent grown-up, I had to suck it up and face the truth:

I was going to have to ditch my sandals and wear socks.

Not my hand knitted socks, of course. It's still a bit too balmy to wear those (hah!) ... But their time will come all too soon.

Luckily, I love my hand knitted socks, and once I get over grieving for the dearly departed Summer, it'll be a treat to dig into my sock drawer again.


As you can see from this crappy picture, I'm not one of those "Poorly shod cobbler"-type knitters, heh.

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

'Tis the season

I've always felt that Autumn is THE season for knitters. Oh sure, people are always quick to think of Winter, pointing out the necessity of the hats and mittens and such that knitters produce to get our loved ones through its long cold months, and they're absolutely right. But Autumn is when we can show off our knitwear not because we HAVE to, but because we WANT to. We can throw on a cardigan or a scarf and not look out of place. We can pull on a hat and a pair of fingerless mitts and look fashionable. Let's face it, when it's minus 20 degrees Celsius in January, you don't care WHAT the knitwear looks like, you just want to get warm. But in Autumn? Knitwear can be appreciated for the beautiful pieces of art they are.

This morning, over breakfast, Phil and I were discussing how absolutely perfect the day was shaping up to be. The sky was gloriously blue, the sun was shining, and yet the air was crisp and fresh.

This afternoon we took the kids on a nature hike in the woods that Phil used to explore as a kid. We've all been there a million times, but each time we manage to find something new and interesting to explore and marvel over. It's always soothing to get out there and just BE for a while. Restorative. For all of us.

Plus, it was the perfect opportunity to take pictures of the Linen Stitch Koigu Scarf, heh.






I can tell I'm going to get a LOT of wear out of this scarf this season. It's the perfect accessory to just throw on and instantly feel fabulous. Wearing it made me feel fashionable and grown-up. I felt sure Stacy and Clinton would approve.

To your needles, my fellow Knitters! Rejoice, for scarf season has officially begun!


Happy Knitting, Everyone!