Cornish Pasty and Knitting

This past weekend my sister and I headed to Mineral Point for Celtic Fest. After strolling the main street, which was filled with antique cars,

we headed to the Taste of Mineral Point where the local restaurants set up booths in the park and sold a taste of some of their menu items. This was where I had the pasty, yum.

We were quite entertained at the local opera house, which is slowly being renovated. In the afternoon Turner Collins taught us about celtic instruments and music and serenaded us. The best part of the afternoon for me was the storytelling done by Marion Paynter Howard. She's a local woman who has studied the history of the local cornish population. Her story is of "Mary Ann," an immigrant from Cornwall. The story, set in 1832, was fascinating and also heart-wrenching, especially when she read a letter from home, from Cornwall, from her parents who expected to never see her or her family again in this life.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent nosing about local shops, then stopping at a local pub for a drink while we waited for DH to join us for dinner. After a wonderful dinner at a local brew pub, we headed back to the opera house for a performance by Rising Gael.



I got quite a bit of knitting done that day. I've started another scarf project. It's my old knitting-in-public-and-I-don't-want-to-concentrate-on-a-pattern scarf, the Farrow Rib Scarf. I did have My So Called Scarf along, also, but I was wearing a black shirt and the fuzz from the alpaca is a pain to remove.

This (drum roll, please) is also made from yarn direct from the stash. This is Malabrigo worsted weight.



I love the color variations that appear in Malabrigo's solid color skeins.

As the unpacking of the new Stash Haus progresses, so does the organization of the knitting room. (OK, it's actually a guest room, but we can all dream, can't we?) I dream of ways to organize my books, etc. Crazy, isn't it?

Farewell

"Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince,
And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

Horatio (V.ii.370-371).

Miracle on 3rd Street

Those of you who know me will find this confession shocking.

You all better sit down.

Really.



I'm knitting...

with yarn...

from the stash.

It's Misty Alpaca Hand Paint Chunky. This stuff is fantastic to work with - so soft. That pattern is My So-Called Scarf. I'm using a size 13 needle, so I get the pattern, but the fabric is not stiff. The only caveat to the yarn is that it sheds a bit. (I left a conference with my shirt full of fuzz.)

And in response to Sue's comment of the last post. While this may end up being a stupendous example of famous last words and all that...oh, no, no, no, no, no. I am not going to fall down that black hole of spinning. I enjoy watching people spin. But I don't think DH could take my starting a roving stash. And although we're in a bigger house, I don't know where I'd put roving or fleeces.

For those of you who wonder what on earth I did before I began knitting.




It's counted cross stitch. They are both quite large - about 14 inches by 18 inches. The white ground and sky are stitches, not just the fabric. I was able to get photos of these as I stayed overnight with the friend who received them as a gift. I can't tell you how many items I made and gave away without making some type of record of the project. Sad, really. Most of my projects were done on linen and always with DMC floss. I still have all my pattern books, threads, and fabric and still work on projects occasionally.

Are there crafts, other than knitting, that you enjoy?

Good Day, Sunshine

Let's see - what's all happened since the last post?

First, we moved into the new Stash Haus and we've closed on the old. We're moved in, but nowhere near unpacked.

Behold - the dining room - and this is half emptied.


Unpacking has been slow since: a) I have to work and b) I'm having to clean every square inch of the house before getting everything sorted.

Click on this - if you dare. Yeech. (This is one of the cleanest spots in the house, so you can see what I'm up against.)



Others are settling in much faster than DH and I.




Our guild had the first meeting of its year and our guest speaker was Amy Tyler, who gave a presentation on slip stitches. Who knew these could be so interesting? Her bio is here.

Today we had our annual Knit Out at the local farmer's market. Our booth generated quite a bit of interest.





How nice it was to knit in the September sunshine!

For Susie in Texas

As most of you who read this blog know, I rarely write about politics here. The main reason is that I see this as a blog mainly about knitting (OK, and cats, too - but who can resist when one has beloved pets?). Everyday life is also a topic. Work, due to the confidential nature of what I do, is not a frequent topic. Politics, either - probably because I don't like how divisive the dialogue can be. I like to avoid the visceral, emotional reaction that often arises (on all sides) in political discussions. It may be avoidance on my part - an excuse for not standing up in the public forum of the internet. Another excuse - I deal with conflict and solving the problems of conflict every day at work.

However, I find politics interesting. DH is a political junkie - he reads more political sites and blogs than I read knitting sites and blogs - and that's saying something. You will find me frequently commenting over at Jean's blog.

So Susie in Texas commented that she'd like to know my sources for my comments about Sarah Palin. So, Susie, here are my sources.

To see coverage of her ethics problem, see here, here, and here.

For information about how the Republicans are claiming she has foreign policy experience, see here, here, here, (see John Bolton's quote) and here.

For information on her support or lack of support for that pork barrel project - the bridge to nowhere, see here.

It appears from her answers on a questionnaire (when running for governor) that the pledge of allegiance is connected to (or was written by?) the founding fathers and she doesn't know the duties of the Vice-President of the U.S.

I don't think there will be another such important presidential election in my lifetime. So be patient, dear readers - especially those that may not share my viewpoints. Until November 4th, there may be more political posts.