A Smile A Minute!

Last week’s trip to Central NY, included time at the New York State Fair!  Each year that Mom and I get to attend, the trip becomes more and more about seeing the friends we have made from all over the country, and spending hours at a time chatting with each of them!

Here are just a few shots to recap our time in Syracuse

Walking across the bridge from the parking lot to the fairgrounds

Mom and I

Lake at the National Park within the Fairgrounds

2012 Butter Sculpture - Olympian themed

2012 Sand Sculpture

Also appropriately Olympian Themed

I’m also proud to say that 50% of the yarn I packed was used over the weekend!  Not 50% of the actual yarn, but I used 2 of the 4 skiens to make 2 gifts for some very dear friends from Oklahoma City.

Here are Carma and Nancy at their booth with the Single Loop Cowls that I made them (something light weight, but offering of some extra warmth, as needed, for the short winters in Oklahoma)  We discovered this year, that Carma and Nancy first attended the NY State Fair to sell their hand crafted gold jewelry just one year after I first went with my parents to compete in the State Level dance competition!  I couldn’t tell you what year the first pieces of jewelry were purchased, but it was with in the first year or so that we found them, and I’m almost positive it was a “name” necklace with my birthstone!  We now spend many many hours at their booth every year catching up, seeing what’s new (both with them and their jewelry), and ordering new jewelry.  This year they’ve branched out into making more jewelry with silver – like the beautiful bracelet with blue jade that I’m wearing to work today!

To say that Mom and I love them and their jewelry would be an understatement!  They are amazing woman, and truly are “ARTISTS”!

Anyone who is reading this that lives in or near Oklahoma City, or plans to visit the area, you should DEFINITELY go to A Jewelers Art to see, and maybe even buy, a piece of their artwork!  You won’t be sorry!

Back to my Single Loop Cowls – here at are at the hotel right after I finished them:

Each was made using THIS pattern, but with a single strand of worsted weight yarn, and a K hook.  I forgot to measure them, but when looped, they come just down to chest….I’m guess that they are between 30” and 36”.  This is the first time that I’ve made cowls with a twist in them.  I’ve seen many pictures on patterns online this way, but never fully understood why you would do this.  I started playing around with a finished one before sewing it together and realized that putting that twist in means that it lays perfectly about 99% of the time w/o having to futz with it too much!  Will definitely continue to “add a twist” in the future!

Tonight I’m headed home to pack for our weekend trip to Myrtle Beach!  Lots of travel projects and yarn coming with me this weekend as well – hopefully a fun update next week will come of it!

Safe travels to anyone who is traveling this final official weekend of the summer!