thanks guys! I knew I wasn’t the only pom pom fan out there. I was going to reply individually to the comments, but wordpress is doing a funny thing when I hit the reply button. Instead of automatically putting in the commenter’s email address it comes up donotreply@wordpress. Any other wordpress users with words of wisdom?

Today is knit day at Kathleen’s — I think she is making halibut cheeks for lunch. ;) I hope to put the finishing rows on another sweater.

I feel a pom-pom phase coming on. The last time I went through a pom-pom phase, I think I was 11.

Take yourself back to the early seventies, to a Philadelphia suburbs. You are a cool kid. or at least you are trying to be. It is Friday night. Where are you?

At the local ice skating rink!

What are you wearing?

well, who the hell can remember that? But I will tell you, there were pom poms on my ice skates!

And I do believe as soon as the ice skating thing went, so did my pom pom fever. Until now.

I just finished a Christmas project that you can see here. (if you aren’t on Ravelry – look to the right of the blog page for a link to my flickr account.)

Are you noticing the fantastic pom poms? they are perfect, right?! I got this pom pom making gadget at Granny’s and it is far superior to either making one yourself out of index cards or those flat plastic discs with the holes in the center. These pom poms do not require measuring the yarn out ahead of time or any kind of stress when tying them off and they come out fat and perfect every time!

It’s addictive —- I am looking around wondering what else could do with a bit of pom pom …….

I have been knitting — in fact I have a few finished projects and two just-about-finished projects! Here is one of the finished to share — it is the slouched tuva hat knit with my very own handspun! and a link for all you ravelers! I think I will add an increase after the ribbing on the next one I knit for an even slouchier effect.

D#1 called this morning with some terrible news —- a huge fire in town, luckily no one was hurt and it was not her apartment, but two of her friends are displaced. : (

new shoe rack!

OMG — how great is this packaging?! I ran into Waldbaum’s last night to grab two things and saw a display of this pasta.

Now I want every box of these. I want to hang them on my kitchen wall.

Did I ever tell you that Boar loves trains? He has a dream of walking the right of way ala The Station Agent. On our way to Rhinebeck he noticed lots of pedestrians on the old train bridge that crosses the Hudson in Poughkeepsie. Sunday morning we drove around until we found the one end of the path. The bridge (and surrounding pathways) have been turned into a state park – Walkway Over the Hudson! Boar was thrilled!

What are you doing on Sunday?  I’ve got something fun planned – the Cinema Arts Center is showing the documentary Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design. They are also planning “a micro indie craft fair (goodie bags for the first 50 folks), art exhibit, a skillshare or two, some creative/interactive performance art, and a book signing with author/filmmaker Faythe Levine!”

so how about it?

The minute I sit on the sofa I become a bullseye!

I am nearing the end on my most recent knitting project and have decided that before I begin the next new thing, I will absolutely finish two other projects — one needs only the buttons to be sewn on and the other needs to be seamed.  Those last details always defeat me.  ergh.

First off, I would like to thank you all for putting up with me.

And now as promised, a Rhinebeck recap …… before the Great Whine, I believe I had left you all in suspense about D#2.

Well, she did manage to get to the fair – although she slept through that painfully early wake up call, she got there around 10. Some of the highlights ….. she fell in love with this little angora goat who seemed to return the sentiment. We had a lovely time cruising through the barns, enjoyed an early morning chicken pot pie and picked up some Brooks Farm Riata for her next knitting project.  She seemed  impressed with the whole fiber festival vibe and is now eager to finish a project she has on the needles so she can start on that Brooks Farm – a true knitter!

Here is a mosaic of the shopping bag …..

The two middle pictures are of the Jennie the Potter mug and the Riata – all the rest of the yarns were bought at Creatively Dyed, two skeins of laceweight and two of sock.  I can’t wait to dig into those!

God. I feel like I’ve been up all night having some grueling emotional conversation with a boyfriend. You know, that emotional hangover feeling?

After discussing this over and over with various patient friends I will put it out there for my bloggy, spinning friends and then I will try to put this out of my head.

The original Rhinebeck Saturday morning plan was to drive a little past the fairgrounds, pick up D#2 at Bard (she is a sophomore) and then go to the festival. D#2 is a new knitter, it was parents’ weekend – a perfect thing to do! Pick up time was planned for 8:30 and D#2 asked for a wake up call beforehand.

What do you think the success rate of getting a college student out of bed on a Saturday morning is? I called and called and it went to voicemail. Then I tried a wake up text message. Then I decided she was an orphan. Actually what I really decided was that she would call when she got up and she could get herself to the festival.

All of this put me at the fairgrounds much earlier than ever before. Early enough to be first online to get the elusive Norm Hall wheel.

I need to say that I have spun on a Norm Hall twice before and I really didn’t like it. The wheel is gorgeous – truly a piece of art. But the alignment of the double treadle and the offset orifice on the Saxony makes me twist at the waist in a way that I don’t twist anymore. The woman who was there helping Norm said that the long draw is the way to go on this wheel. I know how to do the long draw and have done it, but it is not my usual method – I fall somewhere between the woolen and worsted method.

OH MY GOD – I am making myself nuts even writing this blog post. This is a long way of saying that I turned down a Norm Hall wheel because I haven’t liked it, still don’t like it but everyone else likes it so much that I am wondering what in the hell am I missing??!! I recognize that it is beautifully made, but I find the actual spinning uncomfortable.  I keep going over and over in my head – what am I not getting??

What have I done????? Have I made a terrible mistake??????

ps. adorable owl mug from Jennie the Potter.

pps.  I promise another ‘New and Improved Rhinebeck Post, now with no more whining!’ sometime this week.