our house is a very, very, very fine house

oh boy, did WE ever have fun—he’s not the only one with lots to laugh about!

we took beckie’s red pickup, figuring we might need some extra room on the return trip (ya think?).
we had a great drive over to the catskills, through the allegheny state forests and southern tier regions, with spectacular foliage displays the whole way to entertain us. the trip seemed not to to be too long, and we arrived in time to have a whole evening of relaxation in front of us. the house was just what we had hoped for and more

monica joined us soon after we got there and we proceeded with our evening of eating, spinning, and talking. did i take pictures of that? no, but i think monica did . . . i actually forgot about using the camera for the first two days—shame on me, bad blogger.

i spun up some shetland fiber that beckie brought along from her flock. beckie’s fiber is . . . well, it’s simply beautiful, and i wish everyone could have a chance to spin it. i made me some sock yarn to add to the collection.

the next day we headed to the CIA for lunch; it was the first of many trip highlights, but do i have picures of THAT? no!

but hey, i was busy eating.

actually, that dessert wasn’t mine, but since i ate most of it and it’s more frou-frou than mine was, i stuck it in there. let’s just say that the CIA lunch was a grand success and highly recommended. especially the waiters.
(monica is pretending it’s their timing she liked, but we who were there know better.)

we lurched out of the place feeling like pumpkins, just in time to catch a rain squall advancing on the front of the property. i love New York State—it is where i grew up and lived most of my adult life and it is stupendous, really. the weather and landscape are a constant surprise and delight, and i am always happy to have a chance to go back. but it is even more thrilling to show to friends who have not experienced it yet, and have no idea of what awaits their senses.

after lunch we drove to morehouse merino where we all did damage to our credit cards (again in grand style), but we ended up concentrating on bargains, thanks to monica.

we went home to get busy with some spinning, not realizing there was a huge gathering of knitters IN poughkeepsie that we could have dropped in on. but you know, we looked forward to being in the house too—it was such a peaceful, lovely place and we all got along so well there.

besides, we wanted to rest up for saturday.

the park was as attractive as ever—one of the things i love about this show is the venue. the fairgrounds are ringed with trees, pathways, benches, and gardens. there is plenty of room to sread out and enjoy oneself, even when the festival is at its busiest.

i didn’t shop saturday morning except for a quick stop into the little barn booth and a drop-off at briar rose. i had promised mysef not to overshop (stop laughing, monica), and thought that getting into the middle of a frenzy of fiber people might not serve me well . . .

besides, my mom came down to meet me! she arrived with my cousin and we toured the show for a few hours together; i was having fun watching them absorb the shock of how big it was and how many knitters and spinners there were. but did i get pictures of that?
no. and i really meant to . . . having them visit was the highlight of the day!

once they departed, i moved on to the blogger meetup.
now apparently, i wasn’t quite prepared for this. i went over to the meeting area and did not see many people at first, so i looked at some more wool, and by the time i came out—holy smokes. there were about 200 of them. and they were . . . intense.
and i hadn’t even met beth yet!
and no, i don’t have a picture of that crowd either (i was too busy talking to everyone). but

i do have a picture of corbett and the lovely gray la gran, who i enjoyed meeting very much and will certainly be keeping in touch with.
corbett underwent quite a transformation in his attitude about manLace, once he got the moth on his shoulders

he is now totally endorsing the concept.

i don’t know what happened after that—the rest of the afternoon was a blur. somehow i lost my resolve after the meetup and saying goodbye to my mom, and monica got her hands on me. we made our way in a crazy zig-zag pattern through several buildings, and by the time we were done i was loaded down with stuff. i seem to have taken the worst hit at carolina homespun

you see, i went to the event thinking i would get some silk, as i did not have any in my stash. and guess what? they had some.
and not only did they have some, but monica had spent the morning perusing everything and had figured out where to go for the finest selection. so i willingly pigged out there, not being able to decide between the cross-patch creations and the 3 bags full fiber. and then there were a few others, as you can see. i also managed to find fox fiber

everything i bought has silk i think, and i got a variety of blends: merino, camel, rambouillet, and of course, just plain silk (but not plain plain).

i spun some of the 3 Bags Full during the next couple of evenings and i have to say i love it.

almost everything i bought is tweedy with neps (i’m thinking manLace projects now . . .), but i did get a few sleek blends that will make smoth yarns too.

saturday night was a party at carole’s suite, which was highly enjoyable and at which i got to talk more with some internet friends.

sunday we moseyed over to the show to graze some of the exhibits we could not get near on saturday, like the fleece show.

i looked more closely at rugs i am thinking of buying for the house, now that we have a few rooms ready for “decor”.

i met several weavers who make just the thing i am looking for (but in different colors).

we tried some wheels and made a few small purchases sunday, and ran again into judy from smatterings. who showed us her gorgeous yarns.

we might be cooking up a special shawl-yarn combination—be on the lookout for that (it might be after the holidays, but that’s fine, right?)

we left feeling more than satisfied. monica went home from there, and we missed her almost immediately (monica—can you say rag doll?).

on monday we went out for a trek through the area, visited some of the historic sites such as Val Kill, the home of Eleanor Roosevelt. we loved the house AND the staff, who were warm and inviting (AND they were knitters).

then we drove back toward new paltz and did a sort of trails of crafters. there are quite a selection of artisan workshops scattered throughout ulster county. our very favorite was crafts people, in west hurley, a compound of buildings devoted to various functional arts, and run by Rudy Hopkins.

it is well off the beaten track and not at all run-of-the-mill—another highlight of the trip. we finished off the day with wood-fired pizza from chefs on fire. mmmm

tuesday morning we got up, cleaned the house, and said our goodbyes.

i rubbed the buddha’s belly for a certain kind of good luck, just in case (i’ve done it before, but it didn’t work)—you never know!