Recovering from Rhinebeck

Since I returned from Rhinebeck, I've been really pooped. I guess driving all day Friday and then shopping, attending the Sheep and Wool Festival all day Saturday, driving to and shopping in Skaneateles on Sunday, outlet mall shopping and driving on Monday and driving home on Tuesday took somewhat of a toll on me.

The New York Sheep and Wool Festival is now just a technicolour memory.


My mind is whirring with knitterly ideas and plans.










Wednesday was Scooter's cross-country meet at Centennial Park in Etobicoke. It was a drizzly day and of course, the heavens didn't really open up until we got out of the car.

Here Scooter is showing Skip what route they were going to take on their 7km run on grass, through woods, up a 'mountain' (used as a ski hill in the winter and which Skip calls 'Mount Garbage' as it used to be landfill) and down the 'mountain' to the finish line.














It really only drizzled during the race and fortunately was not freezing cold for the runners.

Scooter (386 in the red shorts) made a very respectable finish. His team placed in the top 6 schools so will move on to the all-city meet next Tuesday.

It would be so wonderful if it was one of those balmy, sunny fall days.





Back at home this weekend I thought it would be cool to undertake some edible Hallowe'en crafts. The Internet being the wonderful resource that it is enabled me to find the Roots and Wings Co. blog packed with lots of seasonal crafts. This evening Scooter and I made white chocolate ghost suckers.

First, I bought some sucker sticks, white chocolate wafers and little chocolate chips (for the eyes) at Bulk Barn.


I printed the template for the outlines of the ghosts.

Then I put the white chocolate wafers in a ziploc bag and melted them until they were squishy.









I covered the ghost template with waxed paper and clipped a teeny-weeny tip off one corner of the ziploc bag and Scooter piped the outline of each ghost then filled in the body.

I then added the sucker stick, rolling it a bit so it would get all covered. Then he squirted more on the stick and over the whole ghost. Then chocolate chip eyes were added. Mini chocolate chips were called for in the original recipe but I couldn't find them at the Bulk Barn so our ghosts' eyes are really 'googly'.



I then slid the wax paper onto a cookie sheet and put them in the fridge to cool and harden. It only took a few minutes.











Once cooled, the ghost suckers just came right off the wax paper and were ready for eating.

You can rewarm the white chocolate if it starts to get too thick in the baggie. I think I set the temperature too high as the baggie developed a tear so I just slipped it into another bag and carried on.

Seasonal crafts are great when they're edible.

You can also make bat and cat suckers with milk or dark chocolate if you can find a good outline to use. We were satisfied with just ghost suckers.

Today I finished teaching my knitting lace course at Myrtle Station Wools and Ferguson's Knitting. I demonstrated blocking a rectangular scarf and a triangular shawl and displayed several lace patterns that my students might like to try next.


I finally finished the lace and cable baby blanket and just need to block it and weave in the ends.














I also finished the second 'Practice Makes Perfect' (Kaffe Fassett yarn/Fiona Ellis cable) sock and am thrilled that they are as close to identical twins as one could expect to knit.

The trick is starting the first sock right at a colour change and then finding the same spot in the yarn at the beginning of the second sock. Then use the first one as a guide.







On the way to and from Rhinebeck whilst riding in the car, I completed the first Roses mitten. The main colour isn't really brown, it's more of a dark aubergine (eggplant).













I used thicker yarn this time and the Latvian braid on the cuff.

It is an authentic Swedish pattern by Kamilla Svanlund and only cost $3US for the download.

It is quite long (almost halfway up my forearm) but a good design.

I already have the next new mitten pattern in mind...