the nc state fair

this is actually a "cross post" ... i prefer to keep certain aspects of my life separate (ie: knitting vs. everything else). i do this because i don't really enjoy looking at crafty/knitting blogs, and read about all the other stuff. of course, there are exceptions, but for the most part, there's knitting/crochet/quilting/crafts, and then, everything else. all that other stuff is simply "life".

as i've been extremely busy, and the month of november promises no relief, i'd better get talking about october!

the nc state fair has come & gone. and now, the news of the fair is tied to e coli.

so, the first saturday of the fair, stuart & i had a little adventure ...





the city runs buses during the fair, for $4 round trip. i'd much rather take the bus, than to tangle with massive traffic.  we got up early, and walked about 10 minutes to the closest bus stop.





stuart has ridden the bus many times, so he's a pro. he held onto our ticket.





he even helped me keep track of my knitting chart for my poppy socks, as he clicked my kacha.





when we go, we like to visit the exhibits. we're not there for the latest deep-fried heart attack food-thing. we don't do rides (he's too short!). but, we like to look at all the crafty things, and the village of yesteryear.

the first place we stopped was a tent of pottery and ceramics ... i dunno about you, but i really don't know what THIS was doing at the fair ...





though, i'm sure, we all have one in our closet or our past (AND i'm sure there's one at my mom's in the basement!).

from there, the next exhibit i ran across was for Ford Motor Co.





this is their Fiesta. like the decal says, it really does get 40mpg. and it's NOT a hybrid. i want one. badly. i got inside, front seat and back. i want one. really. i've been driving the same truck for 14 years.

next stop, the crafts! this next part is just the general crafty stuff. i'm posting the knitting/quilting stuff over here.





EGGS! lol! these were just too cute!





nothing says "state fair" like a scuba-egg  =)

and then, the legos ...









we walked around for a few hours, and before heading back to the bus zone, we stopped and shared a cup of ice cream.





we had a fabulous time, the weather was perfect (both weekends!). maybe next year i'll make an effort to enter something (though, i can't compete with those blown eggs ;)

how awesome is this?

last weekend, when i was visiting friends, i of course took my iPad (i'm addicted to my tap zoo). and of course, i left my screen cleaning cloth behind, nicely hidden in the covers i was sleeping in. whoops!


so, leanne popped it into an envelope and sent it back to me ... and she folded it into this absolutely fabulous card!

it's so funny and twisted !!!

weekend visit

i went to visit friends this weekend, so i have food pictures to share ....

will made an awesome pizza! he made a rich sauce with garlic and other (mystery to me) ingredients. on top, it had chicken, mushrooms, and peppers. it was so yummy for dinner that we had round 2 the next day for breakfast!

and this is one of the perks to having free range chickens ... EGGS !!!

AAAARGH !!!

even sock monsters love $3 pint night, and "talk like a pirate" day!

9/11

this is what a 10 year old car magnet looks like

irene

the center of Irene was 133 miles due east of Raleigh at 2 p.m.

hmmm ... think i'll change the background/theme of this blog to match the weather!

monster madness

i'm pretty sure anyone who regularly reads my blog knows i'm a member of ravelry's Sock Knitters Anonymous (or SKA for short). and, more recently, i joined the Danger Crafts group.

what i like about the danger crafts group is we do swaps! (they do kal's too)
i have never joined a sock club, or any kind of swap, before this group.

i really like this group. we knit MONSTERS. and i LOVE me some monsters! ... whether knitted, crocheted, or sewn. teddy bears? ... not for me.

my latest swap partner and i were paired up, and we both love the color green (it's a color-themed monster swap). i'm very pleased to report i got her package in today's mail, and i'm hoping it gets there before the end of the coming week.

mr. postman said, "should get there by thursday". oh, mr. postman, please don't jinx me!

but, i'm gonna fully confess what's in the package. perhaps i'm naive to think she wouldn't come and check out my blog?

here's all the stuff i'm sending her! (ps. i have a VERY hard time keeping secrets)




here's a shot of everything that went into the fabulous green bubble mailer. ps. i found the bubble mailer at office depot. they had red, green, and blue mailers.

monster on the left is sammie the sock monster, and monster on the right is max the sewn monster. i made a max for my last partner, and he's just cute! the sewing pattern comes in 3 sizes. the first time (for first swap) i sewed the size small. this time, i went for medium.




i also knitted a couple of dish cloths. i first ran across this pattern in the 1st mason-dixon knitting book. but, the pattern is from Elmore-Pisgah yarns, and they call it the ballband dish cloth (click link and scroll down just a bit). i like mine a little smaller than theirs, so i only cast on 33 stitches.



i also got her a couple of fat quarters ... they were on sale at the joann's fabric store for $1 each. i used the 3rd one to make the sewn MAX monster up above.
(i actually had a hard time deciding which fabric to use for the monster! maybe next time, my next swap partner will get nothing but sewn monsters?)




THIS THRILLS ME THE MOST!
so, the same day i went and got my ice cream maker, i ran over to the nearby barnes & noble bookstore. i was looking at the page magnets, and found MONSTER MAGNETS! ... a little $ (well, for a swap, that was 1/2 my budget), but how could i not?! i got a set for myself as well =)

if you've never used page magnets, they are awesome. i use them to mark the page of my knitting pattern from whichever book i'm knitting from, or as a general bookmark. and, the backside, it says, i ♥ monsters !

candy is usually welcomed, and it was a challenge finding green candy. but, again, i got lucky ... and there is a candy shop in my city (candy shop, not a chocolate shop). they had these bulk bins, to purchase candy by the pound. i was able to go through and pick up a variety of candies in green only. the little green tin came from the fabric store as well ... i found it in the $1 bin just before checking out.

it's always great to get things, but giving is so much fun too !!!

ice cream!

last weekend, i bought an ice cream maker (and i don't really have much of a sweet tooth!). but, there are recipes that are not your standard variety, and some are quite savory or spicy.




though once the mix goes into the maker, it only takes about 20 minutes to create a soft serve ice cream. BUT, the bowl it mixes in has to pre-freeze for up to 24 hrs. thus, there was no ice cream on the 4th!

yesterday, a friend came by to visit for a few hours, and before he left, we made some crystalized ginger ice cream. i'll post more on that later .....

some more beach pictures

it's a holiday, i SHOULD be at the beach. instead, i'll just pretend ...

beach vacation