Cheese Tour part two...

Picking up where I left off way back when...
(don't be confused, this is from November 10th not October 26th. I started it then and thought I could change the date but it wouldn't let me)

The next cheese farm we went to was Dancing Ewe Farm - the cheesemaker studied in Italy and they make a variety of Italian cheeses from sheep and cow milk. The farm buildings themselves are beautiful as well, with a Tuscan kind of feel.

outside view

Inside the cheese room, this is the giant tank they make cheese in with a lovely skylight overhead

Another view of the cheese room, looking the other way - this shows the beautiful local Granville slate that lines the floor and walls of the cheese room.

and a few of their cute little sheep freshly shorn


Next we went to the Argyle Cheese Farmer, a dairy farm. My mother-in-law also enjoyed this farm because her mother was a teacher in Argyle, and one of the farmers actually had her for a teacher! I didn't get any good photos, but here's a shot of the fresh yogurt we bought.

Trevor said it was very tasty! (he's the vanilla yogurt fan, I like plain)

We had a lunch break at a very yummy little Adirondack decorated diner. Cheap, good, breakfast all day on Sunday. But I can't remember what it was called or which town it was in.
But they also had super cheap maple syrup for sale! And my lovely inlaws bought us a half gallon. This part of New York is very close to Vermont (close like the diner had those travel maps for all Vermont towns instead of New York), so they sell "Vermont" maple syrup. I use the quotes because the waitress told us that the syrup all comes from New York trees, it is just boiled in Vermont. So I guess its six of one, half a dozen of the other with that.

The last cheese farm we made it to was Sweet Spring Farm. It is a nubian goat farm!

big nubian goat

baby nubian goats

They had super yummy chevre (soft goat cheese) for a very reasonable price.

(by the way I come from a weird family with both a sister and mother who don't like goat cheese. Or foot cheese as my sister calls it. freaks.) ;-)


On the way home we met up with this guy, who is taking this horse drawn "house" across the country (annoying cars behind him all along the way) ;-). He started in New Hampshire and he's in Ohio right now.

Rhinebeck!

It's that time again! This past weekend was Rhinebeck! I went both days again, this time I got a hotel with my mom instead of freezing in a campground... I didn't get many photos, but it was fun as usual. Here are some of the highlights...

my sister cuddling an adorable, sweet little border collie puppy

part of the llama & alpaca parade

On Saturday I kinneared the Yarn Harlot (yellow sweater in the middle)

and on Sunday Stephanie signed two more of my books (the woman in line in front of me asked if I'd take her photo and took mine in return)! Usually I can't think of a thing to say when I meet an author, and just stand there like a dope basically. This time, right before I got to the front of the line, brilliance struck! Toronto! We just went to Toronto! So I told her that and how much we loved the city and we had a little conversation about how great Toronto is and how walkable it is. phew. Disaster averted. ;-)

Sunday is when they always have authors for signings and presentations. I also met the lovely Kay and Ann, of Mason-Dixon fame!

They were both very nice and friendly. They both signed my first Mason-Dixon book (I don't have the new one yet) and put in their super cute rubber stamps of themselves.

They also did a panel discussion in the afternoon on Sunday. They brought a bunch of gorgeous finished knits from the new book and talked about how the different designs came about and the like.

We tasted a bunch of amazing cheeses, bought wonderful aged gouda for half price, and went to a sheep cheese tasting in the demo kitchen.

I bought a sticker for my car

two cute pottery wall hangings
bad angle on the photo, that's a hand not some freaky thing

and, wicked expensive but amazing sock yarn!

this looks like wool right? But I can't use wool. :-( But no! This is alpaca/bamboo sock yarn! It comes from Maple Creek Farm and is beautiful. It was out of my price range when I first saw it, but after my brother-in-law treated me to dinner (thanks, Justin!) I went back to spend my dinner money on the yarn. I should be able to cast-on with this around January, after I finish Christmas and baby gift making. ;-)

Speaking of wool, something that was very popular around the festival this year - rug hooking. I saw a few vendors last year but it must be taking off in popularity because there were a ton this year. I love the traditional rug hooking and would love to make something but again, with the wool. I even talked to one of the vendors to see if she had a non-wool suggestion. Her only suggestion was the type that uses yarn instead so I could use cotton. That has a different look and isn't exactly what I'm interested in. I did some looking around online and discovered people doing it with jersey/strips of t-shirt! The t-shirt won't really unravel, the same way the wool doesn't. Sometime soon I'm going to give this a try, and I'm thinking about doing some dyeing of the fabric so it would be possible to get some of the more muted historic looking colors that you really wouldn't find in a shirt. I'll keep you posted on this! (I also want to try miniature punchneedle! My sister bought a kit but these were also wool. But this can be done with cotton embroidery floss so I'll be able to try it eventually.)

All Hallow's Eve Package!

Yay, I got my All Hallow's Eve Dishcloth Swap package in the mail today! I box of pumpkiny Halloween goodness. Thanks, Carrie! (Also, Carrie has a gorgeous weimaraner so that's another reason to take a look at her blog if you are a fan of those lovely dogs like I am.)

Here's a look at all the goodies:

peeking into the box...

a pretty wrapped up dishcloth

It's a jack o'lantern!

a nice old fashioned Halloween card
(I'll probably pass this on to my mom for her nifty altering art!)

wonderful pumpkin pie bodywash/shampoo/bubble bath, good enough to eat!

Nifty writing utensils! The crazy pumpkin hand is a pen, the pencil has candy corn all over it, and the skull is an eraser

Ooh, the knitty type goodness. Two skeins of 2nd Time Cotton from Knit One Crochet Too. This beautiful yarn (pink!) is also environmental! It is made from recycled cotton taken from the garment industry (75%) along with a little acrylic (25%). I'm not sure what I'll make with it, but I'm thinking maybe a cowl. I think I'd like one for chilly days at work when a scarf would get in my way. Now to pick the pattern!
And, a package of bent tip needles with the cute little plastic holder. I am always misplacing my (too small and not meant for weaving ends at all) needles so this will be a big help. As long as I put them back in the cute container ;-) but I'm sure I will.

Oh look, a pumpkin! What could be inside?

scrumptious caramels which I *might* be nice and share with my husband. Also a pumpkin pez dispenser!

Thanks again for all the fun stuff, Carrie! Oh, Carrie also has an etsy shop with quilting, stamping, knitting, and clay jewelry and stitch markers! So check it out when you are shopping, the holidays will be here before you know it!

While I'm pimping etsy shops, I can't remember if I showed off my mom and sister's new shop? They are both great artists and crafters and are selling beeswax collage, the cutest clay figures (I am in love with the bunny reading to the baby bunnies), paintings, and much more! Please take a look and consider them for your holiday and other shopping needs as well!