The Woolen Rabbit

...and the Winner is........

Moira of Twist of Fate!  I used this random generator to pick the winner.

I want to thank each and every one of you for sharing your bee stories with me....it has been SO fun reading all of the comments.  Who knew that so many people had such interesting bee stories!

It is important to get the word out about our little winged friends and what is happening to them.  Next time you see someone ready to squash a little honey bee....just say NO!  :)

One of the things that I did while I was reading all of the comments was to work on my Claudia socks.  Whoo hoo..........a completed pair!  A sock who has her mate!!  That doesn't always happen here........there are more than a few swinging singles hanging around this neck of the woods. :)

Pattern:  Carole/Claudia's Picot Edge Sock
Yarn:  Claudia's handpainted yarn in Peppermint Mocha
Needles:  Knitpicks Harmony wooden dp's 2.25mm (LOVE these needles!)
This pattern is the perfect car sock pattern.  Once you get past the picot edge, the rest of the sock flies.  Easy Peasy!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!  Boohaaaahaaaaaaaaa

It's a Beeutiful Day for a Contest!

The whole fabric of honey bee society depends on communication~
on an innate ability to send and receive messages, to encode and decode information.
~The Honey Bee~

Bees are a sisterhood of workers,devoted to each other and to the work that is so important to them.  Bees have a unique kind of communication called the "Waggle Dance"  This type of communication is very sophisticated and unique to the Honey Bee.

Sadly something is going on world wide with our bees...they are disappearing and the scientists do not know why. It is becoming increasingly more important to raise bees and help, if even in a small way. Here is a little segment on a tv special that was done recently, explaining the sad situation.  Hopefully the Beekeepers and the Scientists can unlock the mystery of CCD (colony collapse disorder)

Ok....so I bet you are wondering where the contest part is?
Leave a comment with your favorite good or bad bee story.  If you do not have a bee story, then a simple Buzzzzzzzzzz....will do.  The contest prize will be a skein of my new Bambino yarn in Tupelo honey with a Marie Antoinette pattern, a braid of Tupelo Honey angora blend roving and this sweet little Bee pin made by Rachel Badeau .

I will use a random calculator to pick a winner on Halloween (Friday).  I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Lastly, for you Manise, my friend, a favorite little bee ditty.... "Community"   (send them scurrying...)

The Best Part of Rhinebeck.......

Girlfriends!

There seems to be a Rhinebeck theme this year......cameras that stayed in the bag!  Over the years, many of us have become such good friends through blogging, so fiber events have become so much more than just about the fiber.  This is the ONLY picture that I took all weekend, but I will treasure it. :)

For me, spending time with some of my favorite people is the very best part about any of the fiber events that I have attended in the last few years.  Grrls who understand the passion we all share and who lend an understanding ear or shoulder when one is needed.  Heck, there are even grrlfriends willing to do the dreaded picot edge for a friend...just because.  Thanks Laurie!!

This year held an extra special treat for me.  Many of my fiber sisters know how very much I love Bees and the little book, "The Secret Life of Bees", so when Terry suggested that the movie would be a perfect grrlfriend movie, a few of us jumped on the suggestion.  After dining at the fabulous Ever Ready Diner..Margene, Sandy, Jean, Terry, Leigh and I took of to see the movie.   I am not going to say much about some pretty darn rude people in the movie other than to say, Sandy was my hero that night....you go grrl!

Now grrls, I SO hate chick flicks and movies that make me cry, but I will tell you right here, that in-spite of it being...yep, a chick flick and yep...making me...eek...cry.... I LOVED it!

Remember I mentioned that there would be a little contest here to honor my little winged friends?  Well, I am going to see the movie again with Ash this weekend to get in the contest mood, so check back on Monday :).

There were very few purchases for me this year.  You saw my beautiful chair that Norm made for me and my only other purchases were a beautiful ball of BFL from Chris of Briar Rose and this cute little needle punch kit.

What can I say about Briar Rose that has not been said already.  I RARELY buy spinning fiber anymore, but I could not pass up the beautiful ball of browns that called my name.

The little punch needle kit came from Woolen Whimsies.  Of course  I need a new hobby like I need a hole in the head, but I couldn't resist the cute little rug frame and sheep.  These little projects work up super fast and are fun.

And that's it.........another Rhinebeck has come and gone and as usual it was a blast, other than getting lost in the parking lot and the awful crowds with so many rude people...but that is another story.  I am already looking forward to next year!

Come back and see me on Monday and until then.......have a super weekend!

Rest For The Weary.....

A tree hemmed in by giants
Requires tenacity to survive.
Deng Ming~Dao

I'm sure you are wondering what the heck that chair is doing in the middle of no~where.  Or maybe you are not...but I will tell you a little story about this little chair that became rest for the weary Sunday afternoon!

Many of you have been to Rhinebeck or similarly large fiber events where the parking lot is very full.  Saturday, I didn't get to the fair until lunch time, so I was ushered to what would be considered the "nosebleed" section of a ballgame.  Very very far away.  The plus of being very very far away, was that I got out of the fairgrounds very quickly.

Sunday I managed to snag a parking place that was pretty close to the entrance...boo~yah!  I remembered taking mental note of what section I was in and remembered that I was first in a line of 2 rows of cars.  Knowing I was leaving earlier than most people, I figured I would be able to hop right in the car and go....

I did a little shopping on Sunday, collected this beautiful chair from my friend Norm Hall and headed on out to my car.  Feeling pretty confident as to where it was, I cheerfully headed in that direction.  The sun was shining, the foliage stunning and I had spent 2 wonderful days with some of my favorite people.  Yep, I was feeling pretty darn cheerful.

Sadly, this is where the good cheer came to abrupt end....

As I strolled down the path, my first thought was.....Hmmm.........not here?  Down another row.....not here either?  Hmmph...that's strange.  On and on it continued until I had walked almost every row to the street entrance and then back again.  Stopping every now and then to hit the panic button and lock button on my key ring.  Nope........no panicky sounding car.....no flashing lights?   CRAP!!  Where the HULL is my car?????

Ok, so 45 minutes later after walking probably what amounted to 2 miles and feeling very sure that I was entertainment for the parking attendants, I finally sat down on my chair ready to cry.  Trying not to panic, I picked up my phone and called Ken.  Of  course there was nothing that he could do for me, but I was hoping that he could help calm the panic I was starting to feel.  Did my new car get stolen?  CRAP, CRAP, crap............

As I was sitting there, looking towards the entrance and preparing to tell Ken my tale of woe.......there it was, like a beacon of light........ wouldn't you know my car was sitting 2 rows closer to the entrance than I ever imagined..........SIGH!

(It's ok.....you can laugh, I won't be offended.........more about Rhinebeck tomorrow.......)

Coming Around Full Circle

Those truly linked don't need correspondence.
When they meet again after many years apart,
Their friendship is as true as ever.
Deng Ming~Dao

Some of you may remember that I went out last year to visit Margene with Carole and Terry.  I remember coming home and finding it very difficult to blog about our time together.  There was something so precious about the 5 days of grrls sharing a piece of themselves with each other.......and it was hard to describe.  It still is, but I am sure that many of you know exactly what I am talking about.

While I was at Margene's she bestowed upon me a wonderful birthday present, which contained some Claudia yarn that I was lusting after.  While on a trip this past summer, I started a pair of Claudia/Carole socks, using this pretty yarn.....in that plain stockinette knitting with the beautiful picot edging.

Somehow they were put aside to work on other fibery pursuits, but I made sure that they did not find their way into the bowels of one of my deep baskets.  I put them in the little sock bag, next to my chair so that they could wait for a free moment.  How perfect that the right moment just happens to be just a few mere days before I see Margene and Carole....and hopefully Claudia :).  It's funny how things complete that circle of friendship, even when we do not plan it.

On another note, I finally managed to get my website back online....whoo hoo!  Many years ago when the internet was in it's infant stages, I learned how to write code and do websites. 

Well....all these years later, so much has changed!  I am proud that I managed to customize the templates that I used for the new site, but I will tell you that it has been a HUGE challenge.  I think I did ok, but fingers are crossed that it doesn't blow up or self destruct....LOL.

Take a peek and if you see any bugs, let me know.  I have only scratched the surface at getting inventory back up, so I will be adding things daily until it is complete. 

I forgot how much work it can be.........but I quickly remembered how much I LOVE this particular kind of challenge :).

I will leave you with a poignant picture of our fall.  Autumn in all her natural beauty is starting to pull up  her rug and say good bye until next year, but she will not be forgotten soon.

It has been a beauty of an Autumn for sure here in the mountains!

PS......I am looking foward to seeing many of you this weekend in Rhinebeck!

Hello Old Friend.......

Hello old friend....it's really good to see you once again...
Eric Clapton

Wow...I can hardly believe that it is Oct. 12th and I have not blogged since September 26th!  I have to admit that the fair and my "real" job have kicked my butt hard this year.   I also had a few big fiber commitments that really worked me hard after the fair, but I am finally starting to feel as though I am coming up for air...whew!  I will share some highlights of the fair with you during the week.

Some of you may have noticed that my "www" website is down.  I am in the process of redoing it myself and I was definitely spanked hard when I managed to delete all of the work that I had done over the last week.....for you computer geeks...think "Format C".  Ouch!  I was hoping to get it up by Wednesday and I am still trying for that, but it may be closer to the end of the week.

Now that I have all of the "bad and the ugly" out of the way, I am going to share something very nice with you! (beware...this is a picture heavy post.)

Yesterday Ken and I took his mom for a boat ride around Squam Lake in Holderness, NH, via the Holderness Science Center

Squam Lake is where the movie "On Golden Pond" was filmed.  It is about 1/2 hour away from Ken and I and just down the river from where Ash and Brian live.  Color here in the mountains is just starting to peak and as you can see the day was just about as beautiful and  perfect a fall day as there can bee.

In the above picture, we are leaving Little Squam Lake and moving into Squam Lake.  Notice the bird flying over the water........you will see more about him a bit later.

Squam Lake is the second largest lake in NH.  When you are boating around the lake, it is a bit deceiving as to how large the lake is because of the many little islands it inhabits.  This is one of the little islands.....I think this one is "Mouse Island", but I could be wrong.

The Squam Lake Association has very strict guidelines which protect the natural shoreline of the lake.  What you do not see when you travel around the lake is any commercialism or shoreline dotted with houses and beaches.  What you do see is pretty much what the lake looked like hundreds of years ago.....lots of natural terrain.  Houses need to be built away from the shoreline and the land can not be cleared out for views.  Whilst there may indeed be a lot of homes...you do not see them.

 
Remember that flying bird?  Squam is a natural habitat for the American Bald Eagle.  What a treat it was for us to see this majestic bird flying about the lake and finally landing in one of the trees.  I had never seen a Bald Eagle, so this was an exciting first for me.

In addition to the Eagle, the lake is home to our beautiful Loons.  Every year the lake association sets up nesting areas for the loons to raise their young. While Squam lake is a very very clean and pristine lake, mercury in the fish is definitely something that is directly affecting loons and their ability to reproduce.

I had to work hard at getting the picture of this loon as he was very busy fishing for dinner.  Good thing I had my camera strap around my neck.....'just sayin'.

See that beautiful red tree?  I was fascinated to find out that it was a Tupelo tree.  I had no idea that the Tupelo was a tree that grew this far north.  I did a little research and found that the variety of Tupelo that grows this far north is the Black Gum Tree (Black Tupelo)...one of the oldest trees in New England.  Brings it full round circle for me and the beloved bees :).

I have many many more pictures, but I think you get a feeling for the incredibly beautiful day we had.  Each year when Autumn rolls around, I truly am amazed at the beauty that surrounds me. I feel so fortunate to live in such a beautiful part of the country.

Just to keep this knitting related.....I did take my knitting along :).  There is some angora goodness in that little knitting basket.... :)

It sure is good to be back amongst old friends!