Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Mockingbird Hill Cottage

We had Fun at Rhinebeck

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This morning found my sister and I rising at 6:15 in order to get out the door and on our way to Rhinebeck (The New York Sheep and Wool Festival) by 7:30. We wanted to beat the crowds and hopefully avoid the predicted rain this afternoon. It has been so, so cold the whole time my sister has been here! You remember, she hails from Florida? Well, we have been in the midst of an unseasonable cold snap – it was snowing the day I picked her up from the airport! Today was cold and windy.

We got there bright and early and had a great time, as always. I was forced to buy some gloves because my hands were so cold! Here are some photos of the day.

Yarn everywhere, hand spun, hand dyed – gorgeous!
Llamas, Alpacas, Lambs…we can’t get enough of these guys.


The online knitting community, Ravelry, had a noon meet-up and the crowd just got bigger and bigger.
This is a hugely popular event.

In the midst of spectacular Autumn colors.


Here is my beautiful sister, Meredith, modeling the coat she knitted from Noro yarn. Isn’t it gorgeous? Believe me, she received many compliments on it as we walked through the Festival. She is such a talented knitter.

We are having a wonderful time – it goes by too fast, though. She leaves tomorrow morning. That makes me sad. Scout and Riley are sad, too – they adore her. In the next post, I will share some lovely things she made for me.

My New Fabric Pumpkins

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Oh, lucky me…I was fortunate to win Donna’s giveaway! Donna’s blog, An Enchanted Cottage, is one of my favorites and also one of the first blogs I started reading when I began my blogging journey.

Donna has the most amazing group of fabric pumpkins. They are made by Ronda of Tempting Textiles. Donna had a giveaway for some of the pumpkins. I got to go to Ronda’s website and pick the grouping I liked best. Here they are:


Aren’t they wonderful? The green fabric is a little brighter than the photo indicates.

This pumpkin is perched in my white floral basket. We have to put them in safe places, where Mr. Riley won’t encounter them – he might just think he has some new toys!

I urge you to visit Ronda’s site – she has some lovely things – including office chair slipcovers. Hint: I may have bought one…but you won’t see it until Pink Saturday…and not this Pink Saturday (I’ll be at the Sheep and Wool Festival with my sister), but the following Pink Saturday.

Anniversary Recap, Hatpin Holders, Sister & Riley’s Tongue

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I couldn’t resist. As I was trying to capture a photo of the ever-elusive Riley the other day, his tongue came out at the exact moment I snapped the picture. What would be your caption for this photo? I have several ideas, but I will keep them to myself until I hear yours.

Thank you, sweet friends, for all the lovely anniversary wishes. They made our day! As I predicted, yesterday was spent raking, raking, raking and then more raking as we cleaned up the outside of MHC a bit. Of course, more leaves will fall, but the Maple in the front yard is almost bare. We’ve had a few windstorms lately that have hastened the process. We also cleaned out the gutters. Lots of fresh air and work makes for a good night’s sleep! Apart from the work outside, husband went into town and brought home Thai food for dinner. Ummmm! Love Pad Thai. As you know, Don does 98% of the cooking here and he wanted an evening off. Well deserved, I might add. Our anniversary was low-key and quite lovely.

Today I continue on my cleaning binge. I have a list and everything must be completed before my sister arrives on Thursday. We go to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, otherwise known as Rhinebeck, every October. It is this coming weekend. Meredith has been dealing with swine flu – both her boys have had it – and she needs a restful time at her sister’s! I adore her and can’t wait to see her. We laugh like crazy, the dogs get spoiled by their Aunt, we talk about everything under the sun, she gets to knit without distractions, we watch baseball and generally have a great time. Don is playing at a cafe on Friday night, so Mer will be able to hear him live.

My latest obsession, or about-to-be-obsession? Antique hatpin holders. I saw one that was going to go up for auction yesterday, and had Heidi bid on it, but it went for more than I was willing to pay. So I visited ebay – oh my gosh, there are so many beautiful hatpin holders! I see a new collection coming on!

Have a great day, my friends.

Lambs Like to Party

Lambs Like to Party

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