A better way to work from home?

Looking for wool in all the wrong places.

 I had a very busy spring and summer this year, so I missed all the wool festivals I had planned to attend. I have a pretty good stash so I thought it was probably for the best. But then I learned that Falmouth, Ky. has one in Oct. I was told it wasn't much. But as it turned out I was going to be making a trip into Kentucky that same weekend. It was meant to be. And The Gardener, being something of an enabler, didn't mind making the small detour. So off we went.
 Things looked promising as we came into town. There was a shuttle. Shuttles imply crowds. We aren't the shuttle kind, so we drove ourselves. Things got a little congested as we neared the entrance. Cars were backed up in both directions, there was a policeman controlling traffic at the entrance, we could see lots of tents from the road, and the parking lot looked pretty crowded. All good signs, I was sure.




I think there were three flaggers for every car.


Just inside the gate were craft booths. And plenty of 'em. We saw John Deere gear, aprons, yard art and signs, holiday decorations, and food items; honey, sorghum, and stone ground corn.



Birdhouses



Bears



John Deere stuff



 I was a bit puzzled that there weren't any wool vendors, in any shape or form. But, when we came to the petting zoo I took heart. At least these animals weren't stuffed. There were a couple of bunnies, some goats and alpacas, but no sheep.



Would like to be petted, please.

 

Then on to more craft booths.



Musical Instrument Lamps





You can make windchimes out of anything.



We saw some things that would certainly qualify as art too.



Pottery





Sculpture



By this time we had nearly forgotten why we came. And we were hungry. We had trouble deciding between the rocky mountain oysters and the kettle corn. Well, not really. :)  But I regret that decision a little. Maybe next year.
 We found more interesting things after our snack. Lika a woman making chicken and dumplings in cast iron pot over a campfire, wooden rocking horses, jewelry, hand carved flutes, animal pelts, and more ornaments.



A jackalope with an eyepatch.



Just as we rounded the last corner before the exit. We saw it. The wool tent.



One tent.

I have to say, I was disappointed. The vendor areas inside were small, making it difficult to get more than a person or two in at a time. There were a lot of people in there too. One booth I did get into had some very smelly handspun that felt nice, but the woman in the booth wasn't the owner and didn't know anything about the fiber. I found some reasonably priced hand dyed sock yarns in some nice colors but it looked and felt a little coarse to me. There was an icelandic sheep breeder selling pottery, not icelandic fiber goods.
 My take from the Falmouth Woolfest consisted of a bottle of sorghum syrup, windmills and flutes for the kids at Christmas, and a mug with a sheep joke for my mother.
 Would I go back? Probably. But not for the wool.

Mighty oaks...

 ... from little acorns grow. Just look at these little guys. :)

                 
The Gardener says that oak trees don't produce acorns until they are about 50 years old. These may be the first from the tree in the back yard. They are the first we have ever noticed. I was very excited to find them. A fraction of the size of the ones on the tree out front.
Edited 11-5-10. We did a little research and learned it's really 25-30 years. Still a long time to reach childbeaing age.

If I had a blog.....

I would hold it, and pet it, and feed it, and walk it, and play with it......whats that? I do have a blog!?

 While dutifully working on the second sock of  The Pair of Socks That Will Not Be Finished I noticed the first sock making it's way out of the bag. After a speedy rescue I said, "Corb, I thought you was my dawg!?"

To which he replied, " That's what dawgs do, they chew up you shit." He cracks himself up sometimes.

Thinking about socks.

 

I have knit many pairs of socks over the years. Some for myself and some for family and friends. Lacy socks from patterns and plain socks from a basic formula. Every pair has required multiple fittings to get the sizing right. So I have decided to develop a basic pattern, for myself and immediate family, that includes row counts. Fortunately, the guys all wear the same size. 

I know what your thinking. There are books out there that do that work for you. Well, knowing myself, if I follow someone elses pattern I will always be checking it. But if I create my own it will always be in my head where I need it. And let's face it, socks look more complicated than they are.

Some of my favorite sock elements are the hemmed edge and the tapered toe. The blue sock has a hemmed edge with picots made by alternating  k2tog with yarn overs on the row that creates the edge.  

Something I usually avoid is the short row heel. I think it looks more organic than the turned heel though, so I am going to learn to do it. I always thought the heel stitch was a better bet, especially for the guys, but as it turns out they always get holes on the bottom of the foot.

And I need to locate the ideal "guy" sock yarn. I think it would have to be a sport weight, (they all wear a size 13), super wash with nylon, in manly colors, that doesn't get too fuzzy after washing. Is that too much to ask?

Photographic Evidence.

Here is proof that I at least think about the blog from time to time. I have been thinking about a post on socks. And playing with the camera.

I didn't remember hiring a model for this shoot but, since he showed up, I tried to use him.

Well... he seemed to think it was all about him.

And he wasn't very focused.

 

I had to let him go. A post on socks is forthcoming. Really.