I thought that for a fun change I would share a quickie post from Charlotte, NC.
I’ve safely arrived in Charlotte and am settled in my hotel room for the night. Now, what to order for supper?
Quickie Post from Charlotte NC
Tag: travel
Mother’s Day in the Smokies
I promised on my next post I would share about our trip to the Smokies. This was an unplanned, spontaneous trip. Before all this craziness happened we had been planning to take a trip the last week of April but we hadn’t picked out where to go. So, when we found ourselves with free schedules, except for continuing to make product for the business that we hope we’ll be able to generate some income from later this year when festivals start happening again, we decided let’s do it now while we can.
Where to go though? Since Tennessee and the Great Smokey Mountain N.P. was opening by Mother’s Day weekend, that seemed like a good destination. It’s only a 3-4 hour drive and I had some hotel points to burn. We decided, made reservations, and packed late Thursday morning. We were on the road with lunch packed to eat as we drove, by midday. Very impromptu, which made it all the more fun.
It was rainy and chilly all day on Friday, but we had a fun time anyway. We mostly walked around and explored Gatlinburg at the shops and restaurants that were open at the time. I didn’t get many pictures of that day, except these two. We ate at the Smokey Mountain Brewery for lunch (and a couple other times as well) and then while walking around in the afternoon ran across this phone booth where Jerry made me take this silly picture. We had a few beers with lunch. LOL!
The Park was open on Saturday and we had went to Cades Cove in the morning and spent about 4-5 hours. The weather was gorgeous and even though there were a lot of visitors it was great fun spending the day with nothing in particular we had to do but see the sights and look for places to eat. :-)
Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel in Gatlinburg and headed back in the Park to maybe hike up to Rainbow Falls before getting a late lunch and then heading home.
Deer on the trail 
We knew the trail was almost 5.5 miles round trip but what we didn’t know was that the first half, 2.7 miles, was entirely uphill. Yikes! We almost turned back at least 8x, LOL! Glad we persevered, but it took way longer than we expected, because of the frequent need to take breaks on the way up. I am so glad we brought extra water and snacks! We wouldn’t have made it otherwise, trust me.
We didn’t get back to the truck until about 4:30 and we hadn’t had lunch yet. We decided we were in no big hurry to get home so we booked another night in Pigeon Forge. We checked in at the hotel and headed to the Smokey Mountain Brewery again (the Pigeon Forge location this time) for supper and beers. We had a lovely night. :-)
On Sunday morning we told the hotel we would exercise my Platinum Elite Priority Club benefit of a late check out so that we could hang out in Pigeon Forge and have a nice dinner before heading home. We visited the Hillside Winery and bought a few bottles. We have already had one of them since we got home and it was quite good. I only like dry (not sweet) wines and found a couple. It’s hard to find in these parts. We did a little souvenir shopping and then found a great Mexican place for lunch.
We had such a great time! We have been married 32 years and these last 5 years have been the first time we have had both the means and freedom to do some traveling as a couple. We are going to try and take at least one more trip somewhere that will be fun but not be too expensive. Hopefully we can do that in June. Any ideas?
Holbrook #3 and Other News
I completed my Holbrook last week and am finally getting around to updating the blog. Hopefully this one will be staying in the booth longer than the last one did.
Here’s my new project on the needles. It’s another of my favorite styles to make lately out of my Classic Merino Superwash DK yarn, called Richland, by Dee O’Keefe. These have really been popular in the booth and I am excited to have a chance to knit with one of this year’s new colors for it.
Since my last post I returned from Schaumburg and Jerry and I took a short little road trip to the Smoky Mountains for two nights alone. We have been happily married for 31 years this year but have only away alone like this 5 times, including this one. We had a lot of fun just exploring and hanging out together. Must do it again! Anyway here’s a few pictures.
So the weekend after this I was in Allegan, MI for the Michigan Fiber Festival and had a great time there in my new space in the nice new Expo building. I think the booth looked especially nice with the better lighting and more room.
Before I close I will throw in a final couple shots of Holbrook which will be back in the booth next weekend in Wisconsin at the Sheep & Wool Festival.
New Pattern and More
I have a few things today. First I finally got that pattern written up and published for the little Cables and Lace Baby Blanket. I included a couple additional sizes as suggestions to the one I knit up, with the caveat that they are estimates as to actual finished sizes and yardage requirements. It is a charted only pattern since when I wrote up the stitch pattern itself, I made it as a hand written chart on graph paper and I didn’t want to take the time to write it out. The chart is pretty straight forward and easy to follow and since there isn’t even any shaping, I think that even a knitter new to charts should be able to use it and hopefully realize that charts are your friend. ;-) I have it listed on Ravelry and my website for $5 and the yarns can be found on my website as well. I used the Organic Cotton Sport but the Classic Merino Superwash Sport would be perfect too.
The next thing is that I am very close to finishing Tendrilly. I finished the last body section row last night and since I have some free time today after getting most of my booth set up done yesterday, I hope to get the edging done today. It’s only 13 rows. I love how it is coming out and it’s possible I could get it steam blocked to bring in the booth for the weekend’s event, Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) .
You may remember that I said I may modify the size, and I did decide to do that. The main reason for that was because I needed a 3rd skein of the Classic Merino DK to complete even the smaller version but I would have only used about a fourth of it. I hate to waste yarn so I thought a altered version would probably use up most of the third skein. Now I am just hoping it is plenty for the 13 rows remaining and the bind off. I think I have plenty so I am not too worried. All my modification notes are in the Ravelry link above for my project page if you are interested in that. I won’t bore you with it here for those who aren’t. :-)
The last thing newsworthy is that, as mentioned above I am in Asheville, NC for my 13th year (!) at SAFF. This show is special to me and one of my favorites for many reasons. This was the first show I attended as a vendor back in 2006, and it changed many things about our business model. It’s also such a nice area to visit, although I don’t get much time for sight seeing. I do have some time to myself today but I will probably just use it to knit and maybe take a break about lunch time for a stroll and some food in a mall near my hotel. Cheers!
Post From Virginia
Hi again! The Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival was great with wonderful weather and lots of attendees.
I have been enjoying a few days off while waiting for my next show set up on Friday for the Fall Fiber Festival of Virginia . I have mostly spent my time catching up on my reading and knitting, but I did go out on Tuesday to visit Luray Caverns. I had a nice time and have a few pictures, though not great ones I am afraid.
I have been re-reading the Cormoran Strike novels before starting the newest one that was released last week; Lethal White. It’s not a genre I read often but I can’t resist anything written by J.K.Rowling. These are both interesting as far as the mystery goes, and, even better to me, they are also character driven stories. I have loved getting to know the main characters Cormoran and Robin as the series has grown. It’s what she does so well. I am almost finished with The Silkworm already.
In knitting progress news; I have gotten to the last chart on Tendrilly which repeats 4x or 6x but I may be doing a hybrid size and repeat it 5x. If I do 4x it will leave about 3/4 of the 3rd skein but doing 6x will require a 4th skein. I am hoping to use just about 3 full skeins with my modification. I will know more as I approach that stage.
When I get a chance I like to sample local micro-brews, and this was my find here in Virginia to enjoy on my little vacation. Cheers!
Late Again..
I know it’s been a couple weeks since my last post, and I have no excuse. I had shows back to back and last week I was home for 8 days in a row and didn’t have a million things to do for a change, so I took a break. It was great. I just spent time with my people and got some knitting, cleaning, reading, etc.. done.
I did finish my new cable and lace baby blanket and worked up the chart for the pattern. I don’t have it all written up yet, but it shouldn’t take too long once I get to it. I may do that next week while I am here in Virginia between shows.
I also started a new sample for the booth on Wednesday night in my Classic Merino DK yarn using one of my new colors from this year; Quartzite. The design is one of Dee O’Keefe’s newest patterns called Tendrilly. It’s more cabley, lacey goodness in one of my new favorite styles, a triangle knit from the tip. That link takes you to my project page where you can also link to the pattern, and IIRC Dee is having a BOGO sale through the 5th of October. ;-)
As I mentioned above I am in Virginia at the moment and will be here for two shows on consecutive weekends. The one that I set up for today is the Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival in Berryville, VA. It rained on me all the way from East Tennessee yesterday, but the sun is finally out today. The weekend weather forecast looks great too!
I am not sure how I will spend my 4 days off except for one thing. I have been meaning to visit Luray Caverns since I starting coming up here and I think this is the year. Will let you know!
Carolan and Other Updates
I didn’t mean to let a month go by without posting to the blog. I tried several times to post from Estes Park, but the wifi and even my phone’s internet were not great in the mountains. Uploading pictures was just not happening. Then after I got home life kept getting in the way, but here I am with a few pictures, a finished shawl and a new one shawl on the needles.
I finished Carolan about 10 days ago I think but just got around to blocking it yesterday. I really love this shape shawl. It is pretty easy to block and wear.
Quite a transformation as you can see in these before and after blocking shots.
So here’s what I have going now. It’s a semi circle, using the Elizabeth Zimmerman pi shawl formula. I really think this shape is great fun to knit. I enjoyed the last one I did which Dee designed using my Classic Merino Superwash Sock yarn a few years ago. Here’s the Ravelry link to it; Culpeper. This new one is called Kassiani which I am making using my Classic Merino Bamboo yarn in one of my newer colors from last summer, Cerise.
I had a great time in Estes Park. It was my first trip to Colorado. 
This was taken on the little highway going into Estes Park. It was quite magnificent but as you can imagine can also be tedious when there is a lot of traffic. Which there was. Apparently June is high tourist season in Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park is right at the entrance. I stayed in an adorable little cabin just outside of the strip and about a mile from the park entrance.
I liked the quiet and was amazed that you really don’t need air conditioning. I left my windows open the whole week and it was actually quite chilly in the morning, getting down into the mid to upper forties at night.
This river was running through the property and was as close as I got to hiking. I started several times to go into the Park, but I kept getting turned off by the prospect of sitting in traffic for hours which is how it seems to be this time of year. I really didn’t mind just hanging out and reading and knitting.
One thing I did just have to do was go drive by the Stanley Hotel, when I realized it was right there in Estes Park just up the road from where I bought my groceries. For any Stephen King fans, you probably know that this is the hotel which inspired the story The Shining. I didn’t want to pay for parking so this was as close as I could get to it, LOL!
Unfortunately, I won’t be able to vend at the Wool Market next year since the date falls on the same weekend as another Festival I am already signed up for, but it was a fun experiment. It was a bit too far and expensive for what I made as well, and that’s just how it goes sometimes. You don’t know if you don’t take a shot though. By the time it was all over I was very happy to get home and stay here for awhile. After 5 shows in 5 weeks, it was high time for some home time. I am here until July 31, when I will be off to Chicago for Stitches Midwest.
Update From Minnesota
Hey there blog!
I am happy to report that we got all the yarn labeled before I left for my mini vacation. I was pleased to be able to meet that goal and relax and enjoy the trip.
I had a fantastic time in Chicago, where we went for the concert and then visiting one of my daughters. Steven Wilson and the band were awesome as usual and Jerry and I had a lot of fun alone time. We saw the show both nights at the Vic Theater and did some exploring around the area.
We stayed at the hotel just around the corner and saw the band’s gear being unloaded into the venue on the afternoon we arrived. I tried to play it cool and not look like a fangirl but I was totally losing it inside, LOL!
We bought the tickets for the first night’s show as a last minute idea so we were in the balcony that night. I didn’t take any pictures from that show but I am so glad we went since the setlist was slightly different both nights and we would have missed out on one of the songs we were most waiting to hear if we had only seen the second show. I had bought the tickets for the second show when they went on fan pre-sale so we were in the second row for that. I did take a couple pictures but restrained myself from taking more since they asked for no filming the first night.
This was pretty much how close we were when they came to the front of the stage. I only cropped these pictures a bit, no zoom was used. It was amazing!
On the day between shows Jerry and I walked down to the lake front park and puttered around for awhile before lunch.
We went to visit Meredith and Luke the next day and had a great visit with them, but I forgot to take any pictures. Oops! We also missed the new baby by a day and a half. She was born the day after we got home. They named her Samantha Claire and she looks very much like her beautiful mother did as a baby.
Speaking of babies, I did finish that onesie I was knitting on the night before I left for Minnesota. I didn’t get a chance to take a picture before I left so I will do that on my return. In the mean time here’s a knitting progress shot of Carolan, which I have gone back to work on. I was able to find my place without much trouble and have knit quite a bit on it in my down time at the hotel last night and the night before last.
I am headed over to the fairgrounds to set up my booth shortly for the Shepherd’s Harvest Festival tomorrow. Here’s a shot of my truck and trailer I took Tuesday before I left Nashville. As you can see we are in full spring/summer mode there, but not so much here in Minnesota today. It’s only mid 40’s today, but I see the forecast for Saturday and Sunday look sunny and warm. Hope it’s good turnout! See you again soon.
How is it already the end of May?
Yikes! Where did the spring go? How can it already be Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial start of summer? I guess time flies when you are busy (and old, LOL). I knew it had been awhile since I posted but I didn’t realize my last post was April 25th. Sorry about that.
I have been traveling much and basically checking in at home long enough to do the grocery shopping, launder my clothes and throw them back in my suitcase. :-) I have a bit of knitting progress on my Sprossling but it’s still not a sweater yet. I have the back almost finished. Â Forgive the lighting please; it’s in my hotel room.
When I AM home I have been enjoying the wildlife feeders we have in our yard. We see all kinds of critters and birds at the feeding stations. Here’s a feeder Jerry made for the squirrels (in hopes they will stay out of the bird feeder, LOL). Check out the one on the ground eating what the other one drops. :-D
I am in Wooster, OH at the moment for the Great Lakes Fiber Show. Â I hope to see some of you who are regulars to the festival. I am in my usual spot, for those of you who may be new to the show, that is Bldg. 39 booths 31-33.
I have always thought that the drive through Cincinnati is an interesting one. The way the city skyline appears coming in from the south on I-71/I-75. Â I decided to try to snap a quick shot on Thursday. I was kind of rainy, but still looks pretty cool.
The top image is the raw shot and the second is cropped to zoom in the perspective.
Well, I guess that will do for today. I hope I don’t leave you hanging for a month again. No promises, but I will try. There’s a new grand baby due in a couple weeks so at the very least you will probably hear from me then if not sooner. Thanks for hanging in there. :-)
Horns Book Review
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I loved the way Joe revealed the details of the characters intertwined lives like un-peeling the layers from an onion. It was a very captivating story if not a trifle odd. The ending was strange but sweet.
This was my third story of the author’s and my favorite one so far. I am looking forward to reading his collection of short stories 20th Century Ghosts. I am adding him to my short list of favorite contemporary authors. :-)
Brookfield Zoo post coming later today or tomorrow. I just wanted to share my enthusiasm for this book. :-)
