A Week Later...

I have had a lot going on since the last post and I haven't taken may photos - ergo the lack of posting.

Last week Jen1, Barb, Jeanette and I met at Jen's for a crafty day. It was loads of fun and we got everyone on board with the Hardanger project. Our next day together will be in two weeks.

I got my scissor fob put together, weighting it with a penny. Jeanette explained that when it's weighted, if it falls, the fob falls first, then the scissors. Thus the scissors won't be dulled as they'll fall last being pulled by the handle. I have to assemble the needle case so will have a good look at the instructions before I do that.

On Friday, Scooter came out from The Big City. We picked him up at the GO station and immediately headed to Kingston to catch the Wolfe Island Ferry for the first part of our Finger Lakes trip.

In line to board the ferry

The ferry is free and only takes 20 minutes.

Scooter and me

It was a beautiful day.

We're the 'big glasses' people!

The sky was practically cloudless. Here, I'm looking back at Kingston.

Once on the island, we drove across it to Alexandria Point (a 12 minute drive) where we could take the next ferry - a 10 minute ride - to Cape Vincent NY. It's a privately-owned ferry that can hold 4 - 6 vehicles and cost us $20 CAD ($17 US).

Once there, we had lunch at waterside at Captain Jack's, then drove along the shore to Sackets Harbor, a town that was involved in the War of 1812. Skip and Scooter are history buffs so enjoyed looking at old cannons, battlefields, and touring the historical centre.

The next day, drove to Peterboro NY to attend the Civil War reenactment weekend. On the way we stopped at A Stitcher's Garden in Lafayette NY, along the Old Erie Canal. I purchased some small pieces of fabrics for stitching small items.

When we arrived in Peterboro, there was no evidence of the Civil War reenactment that had been held on that weekend for the last 25 years. When Skip inquired about it at a local business, he was informed that it was cancelled. Instead, there was a fundraising chicken dinner at the old fire hall. We soothed our disappointment by eating chicken, potatoes, and pasta salad until we were stuffed and then drove on to the fibre festival at Bouckville.

In the first tent I found the woman who was selling the little charms that I like to use for zipper pulls on some of my knitting projects. I bought 25 of them. On close inspection, I noted that the ring joining the two pieces is one of those double jump rings - making it very sturday. The vendor told me her daughter makes them.

There were about 7 big tents, live music, some food vendors (but not the deep-fried artichoke folks this year), plenty of port-a-potties, free demonstrations, and scheduled fibre-themed classes. We watched a longwool sheep being shorn.

In one of the tents, babydoll sheep were on display. They were only 8 weeks old and very cute.

The next day we ventured down to Skaneateles (pron. ska-nee-AT-las), where Skip and I have visited several times before. We walked out the jetty and looked back at the town.

There are two lovely, waterfront parks. This one looks up the west side of Lake Skaneateles.

There's a bandshell at one side of the park

and a beautiful, war memorial at the opposite end, honouring men and women who perished fighting in several wars/

The historic Sherwood Inn faces the park.

There are several cute shops. This one had pillows and tea towels that had been printed, then embroidered.

Many of the shops on the main street had very cute planters.

We met birding friends from Texas for lunch. They live near Auburn NY this time of year. After lunch we went to their farm to tour their 1800's farmhouse and out-buildings. After a couple of relaxing hours, we made our way back to Watertown for the night. Yesterday we made it the rest of the way home.

I've been stitching more of the scissor fobs for possible gifts or sale. On the baby blanket that I've been knitting, I'm almost finished the mitered, garter-stitch border. My progress came to a screeching halt when the cable broke away from the needle. I got the stitches picked up and set it aside for another time.

Although the Civil War plans didn't pan out, and Scooter and Skip never made it to a golf course or driving range, it was a great weekend away. We shopped, ate, did easy driving, stayed in nice hotels, visited friends, a stitchery shop, a couple of fabric stores, a fibre festival and enjoyed beautiful weather.