You are currently browsing the monthly archive for October 2006.
Crossing over the George Washington Bridge to Fort Lee, New Jersey. We took a drive down from Poughkeepsie to New York City in the Bronx area and cut over the bridge to go house hunting.
The girls settling down after we landed at Albany International Airport. They did fine on the plane and are just warming up.
We didn’t take many photographs of our house hunting tour. This is the only photograph I remember David took of us while we were in New York the first time around. Gorgeous scenic birdseye view. I don’t mind moving here for the rest of our lives and raising the girls in this community.
This is a perfect shot to start our tour at Rhinebeck. Colorful autumn leaves and foliage. A pretty sight, you’ll feel as though you were just there yourself. Enjoy the virtual tour!
This was for sale for $68.75. A small charming child size antique French wheel with ivory accents and turnings.
One of a kind with swan carvings as posts on each side of the loom. I believe they do have a matching design in the swan theme in the Golding spinning wheel.
The much hyped about Golding wheel with ornate carvings. This costs at $4000 a pop.
This is where I acquired my Olivewood spindles at Toni’s booth. All the pretty spindles were all lined up hanging pretty waiting for its new owner. Toni is also well known for the Socks That Rock collection of yarns that she carries in her booth.
While waiting for my boat shuttle at the Bosworth’s booth I snapped a few pics. Here Jonathan Bosworth is helping a customer get to know the mechanics of the Journey wheel.
The famous Bosworth attache charkha in gorgeous cherry. No it’s not mine just a model showcased at the booth.
This was taken by the spindle rack where a customer was picking her spindle choice for the day.
I’ve always loved Cotswold because their locks are just amazingly springy curly. This is my most favorite shot that I took of the bunch.
I believe these are the Romney leicester? breed from the sheep exhibits. On another note, these must be bluefaced or border leicester. Someone pointed out to me in the comments. Thank You. I had so many photos that day and between tending to the kids and all else that is happening, it is difficult to keep track of every single thing. Really I don’t think 2 days were enough to peruse through all the festivities.
Okay! This seldom happens except in the grocery store by the shopping cart. She was really adamant to get into the sheep’s pen. I couldn’t stop her and she wasn’t interested in quitting her affair despite me calling her name umpteen times.
Petra Ava getting to know a couple of Tunis sheep that are up for sale. Of my two girls Petra is the one with the most interest for furry critters. Nadya was happy to be there and watch but she wasn’t into touching them or anything.
I walked past by Building 31 at the very end of the entrance and saw a commotion flocking on towards a tent where there was a sheep shearing demo going on.
Of all the booths this was the one that had the greatest variety of silk. They were all glorious colors and reflect the autumn/ fall season. A real feast for the eyes.
Gilbert Gonsalves folding wheel invention in figured cherry. Very compact and cute. This version costs a wee bit more than the larger classic Robin wheels. He priced them according to the complexity put in the work of each of these wheels. He did however talk about a 27 inch in the making if you’re interested in a larger drive wheel.
This is a close-up of the Robin Special edition wheel in birdseye and spalted maple. Gorgeous wheel, with attention to detail and a bobbin lead brake system. If you like figured wood and the Schacht Matchlesss design, this may just be the wheel for you. It’s a shame that these wheels aren’t double drive.
Our day 2 at Rhinebeck is spent at the Sheep Show and Competitions. Since we spent Day 1 shopping, and perusing products, Day 2 was aimed at capturing more animal photographs and actions as well as visiting with vendors and friends. This photograph was taken of the Leaping Llama show which is highly recommended if you plan to come to Rhinebeck in the future. It is very entertaining and humorous. Llamas really do have unique personalities.
Lambs being groomed and getting ready for the sheep show and competition
Shetland-icelandic sheep parked temporarily while waiting for its owner to get back from a chore. Look at those thick warm woolies. They’re lovely to watch. Quite the stocky creature but nevertheless gorgeous looking!
These angora goats belong to Indian Springs Farm of Missouri. Very inquisitive bunch. They’re friendly and would chew against my coat whenever I get near them. Gorgeous kids and one of a kind.
More Lincoln sheep in the pen area. Some waiting for their turn to enter the sheep competition. Others are just there as exhibits. They’re all very pretty to look at. Love the dark and moorit shades.
The singing Lincoln lamb getting ready for the Colored Category in the Sheep show. He was the most vocal lamb during the groom. Although I must say he had lots of personality.
Carolina Homespun also brought their wide array of spindle offerings. Although I must say that the pretty ones may have been snapped up real good in the first day of the festival. They carry spindles from Greensleeves to Charis and Magpie among others in the flock.
Carolina Homespun also had the Schacht and Louet at the festival. They were sitting quietly and pretty by the window on the back. I took the opportunity to snap a silhouette profile against the morning rays.
The winsome Timbers Special 30 inch Patience spinning wheel. Gorgeous workmanship. The spokes remind me of my Jensen wheel. Of course the Lennoxs had learnt a thing or two from the Jensens so there is some influence here and there. But no the two wheels are not the same. They’re two different animals by different makers.
Before we proceeded to visit Toni and Shelia at their booths we took another round of Building A. I’ve been wanting to take a shot of these. The booth was crowded on the first day but day 2 allowed me to take a photograph of these eye candies without having people in my way.
Petra didn’t get to enjoy the hay maze yesterday because she was taking a nap about the time Nadya and David went to have some fun. But we managed to bring both kids to the Halloween Haunted House Building and the hay maze on Day 2. Here is a photo of David and Petra. She wasn’t in the best mood for the picture but she had a great time in the maze even though she didn’t know what to think of it.
Oblivious to my pastime. At least out here I am not being told off for wanting to take a shot. I stopped by and he graciously smiled while continuing with his activity.
Day 2 was not as congested as Day 1 but there was still quite a crowd. The stall selling French Artichokes especially was still attracting lines. But overall this is your normal homey classic fair. You have a cotton candy stand, french fries, pretzels and one-man shows.
We went by Building 31 for the last time because I wanted to stop by Tongue River Farm’s booth. They were having spinning angora fiber demo at the same time. Dear husband was just bemused by the whole affair. No, he still hasn’t approved of an angora in the house. He said he’s not having any bunnies tearing apart our fine furniture and extra maintenance is out of the question. But he enjoyed the demo. While I shopped he was preoccupied by the whole bunny thing.
This was our last shot at Rhinebeck 2006. As we exited the festival area, we passed by a couple of pet alpacas. Of course Petra got to pet the two lovely cuddly creatures but I didn’t get to take a shot of that. Bummer. Regardless, we had a lovely time at the festival. It was a great trip!
Dear hubby wanted to visit the home of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Vanderbilt Mansion historic sites, so we went at the end of our Day 2 of Rhinebeck. This is a shot of the entranceway/ driveway of the Vanderbilt Compounds.
Here is the wide angle shot of the Vanderbilt Mansion.
Gorgeous architecture. You will notice in the subsequent photos that the Vanderbilts really have a great view in their backyard. We didn’t take any photos when we were at the FDR historic home down the road but let me tell you, Roosevelt didn’t have that kind of a scenic view as the Vanderbilts had.
Just enjoying the cool chilly air. If you notice Petra was already in nursing mode. She just wouldn’t get down and didn’t even care to look at the camera or anything else for that matter surrounding her. David turned around and took a shot. See how happy Nadya is, she was in her own world, raring to burn off all that energy in the huge Vanderbilt compounds.
David took this shot of Nadya on the steps of the Vanderbilt mansion on the rear end. She was in active mode and just wanted to run around. Petra was with me in the crabby mood and wanting to nurse and nothing else. She went “look at me daddy, I like a camera!”
This was taken by a Japanese couple whom we had also returned the favor of taking their family shot. We were all so very tired but managed to squeeze a smile. Love the colors of the foliage in the background. Just awesome!
This was a really good shot. David was just walking around and I called out to Petra to look at mommy and she was just observing me and my camera. I wanted her to smile but David liked it this way, just candid and in the spur of the moment.
Petra Ava let out a chuckle amidst the chilly air. She wasn’t really ready to go and wanted to run about more in the Vanderbilt compounds but we had to call it a day.
This beautiful bloom is what greets us this morning after a late night return from Albany New York. As some of you know we were in Rhinebeck for the Wool Festival, a little bit of work and play in NYC, New Jersey and in Albany. Will try to upload as many photos as I can but really I’m back at work so please be patient as I peruse and upload photos that I can afford the time.
Landed at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport where dear hubby has to return to work the next morning to Jacintoport. Apparently someone wanted him to come in for another interview for work opportunity in Atlanta, Georgia which is not bad for me either since CNN is in the neighborhood so I can coughup some kind of assignment but as of now NYC/ New Jersey is what we have in our hands with regard to future opportunity. The lights were from the runway hangar and you get the effect when you combine light and motion on a lense.
We used to live in high rise-condos in Singapore so we’re kind of used to the high-rise living thingy. But now that we have kids, gotta think twice about living in NYC. It’s just extremely fast-paced, congested and too yuppie a life. We both have too much yuppie life already at work so no need to drag it into the home aspect of life. But penthouses overlooking the city is a tempting opportunity. Not a picket fence but certainly an extraordinary childhood for both kids if we go that route.
Tired, and hungry and needing to go pee. Every single one of us. This is actually day two of us doing this house hunting thingy in NYC. It was quite a chilly morning and after all the adventure in Rhinebeck we just wanted to goof off and just relax, and not do any house-hunting. I snapped this photo of the trio when I turned around and told them to cheer up.
So we ended up going to the toy shop to use its restroom after all that walking and looking at NYC apartment homes. And we end up with this giraffe. Notice how glee Nadya is. She is actually wearing a giraffe print fleece. She was so happy she went “look mommy i like a giraffe!” The three love of my life in the toy store. So adorable. What would I do without them.
After looking at apartments in NYC and the trip to the toy store, we went walking down Park Avenue. I am really a fan of reflective photography so this has to be the shot. I love this, so much character and the guy was just so shy behind the glass windows. He must be wondering why I am aiming at him. It wasn’t like my camera was obvious but he realized later I was really taking a shot of photograph that is.
Remember the film Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz. This was the exact street they were on in that film. We drove by Times Square after the toy shop and the bakery. The news station is just a few blocks away where Rockerfeller Plaza is. We seldom are in New York City for play usually for work only but since we are got to take some touristy pics right?
Crossing over Lincoln Tunnel to Weehawken, NJ. Got to do this photo. My Contax i4r is very good at taking photos like this. Lights do really make a great effect on camera. The tunnel entertained the kids while we were in there. Must be the motion and light thing that they have for.
Pretty houses on Boulevard East in Weehawken/ Edgewater area. The thing is they’re all by the road where all the traffic are. Hubby wasn’t interested in any of these looking at the cars and trucks pass by. So we proceeded to hunt for more in the area.
This one is up the hill from the waterfront homes. Lovely skyline and riverview still about 2 minute walk to the riverfront. It’s in front of the darn road. And hubby was eyeing the house on top of the secluded hill across from it. This is going for 2.2 million a pop and the houses around here range from 800 000 to the millions. phee wee. Not sure if we’re willing to pay that kind of money for a house next to a road! Too much traffic noise. Still looking at the house on the hill 
More photos in my Flickr album
This is across from Weehawken. New Jersey. Pretty eye candy and asking about $1M-$3M a pop for a 3 bedroom. Pretty and by the waterfront. Not sure about that unless we get a boat or something. The houses are all stacked up side by side and hubby loves privacy. Although I must say you’ll still get the New York City skyline view and it’s only 15 minutes to NYC.
Now on to Rhinebeck Sneakpeak. I will write more later – I have many photos for everyone. I saw these while I was at the Bosworth’s booth across from them. Being the nosey parker armed with my little spy camera, I was always snapping photos. They were very prickly about taking pictures of their booths. They keep saying it’s against the law but I did pick up a couple of these things for my girls. If you look closely at the little sheep he seems to have a mullet hairdo. But again these were adorable and worth getting compared to some of the prices I saw of other soft toys there. My children love them and my hubby and I are happy. It kept them occupied the whole time on the plane. Oh by the way one thing I like about the sheep is that the handspun wool really smell sheepish and lanoliny, no not pungent sheep smell but really fresh, clean crisped meadow hmmmm…
If you think that you can get away with bringing these on the plane, think again, at least not at Albany International Airport. I saw one lady crying because some of her treasures could not make the trip. Hmmn let me count how many are there 5 total and not including the other tools and accessories I got from Rhinebeck and if I had not done these that’ll be like throwing a lot of $$$ for nothing. So the second day of the festival I went back to the vendor’s booth and bought some lovely Coopworth from Pam Child. That evenning after we got home I started wrapping them up like candies and tucked them away in our kiddos luggage. Lots of diaper padding and baby clothes and I was good to go.
Voila! These are what were wrapped behind those soft lovely rovings. No, wasn’t intending to spend that much as this was supposed to be a sightseeing trip but I really couldn’t help it. Olivewood, which is one of my favorites – it is just too hard to pass it up. Not sure what I am going to to with these as of yet, maybe I’ll set them up next to my lovely Bosworth Shadow spindles in the living room in a glass case or something.
This was a long awaited surprise. Something I had wanted for myself a long time ago. However the Bosworths were bogged down with orders for this year so it finally arrived in my hands last week. Sheila had promised to bring it down to Rhinebeck since I was coming in town. It is lovely. As always a first class workmanship from Jonathan and Sheila Bosworth. She has impeccable service too and knows what I want out of my tools. Not sure if I am going to start weaving with it since it is so pretty but these also work well as lazy kates for plying silk, cashmere and those precious fine fibers! Well, this is it for now. I’ll be back later with more photographs when I get hold of my laptop and more time!
Arianie & babies at Bell Park
Some of you emailed me the other day about being a generous mom to my little ones and leaving them wheels as heirloom/ inheritance gifts. Thank you, I am flattered by your compliments but really deep down I wanted to leave a memoir to my children in a special way and that is to include them in my passion for fiber. Then some of you also asked me what if the children don’t take a liking to fiber. I’ve thought about that and really I don’t have an issue with that either; I’m sure tangible things can always transform themselves into positive ways that benefit the recipient, be it monetary or memory. Whether they spin and keep the wheels as remembrance of their mother or whether they feel a need to sell the wheels and get monetary comfort out of it, I’m sure the memoirs will still be intact. I look at it this way. Way back when I first learnt to spin, I own this little simple NZ wheel that I have kept for many many years; it bore me sweet memories, bittersweet ones, funny ones, heart wrenching ones; you name it. I clung on it like a leech for sentimentality reasons until a lady wanting to learn how to spin came and bought my old wheel. I sold the wheel and put the money into buying some special silk that I spun so that I can smock little heirloom dresses for my children. That way, the wheel transforms itself into another meaningful memoir. The journey to remembering is endless and it is the same wherever and whenever be it with your children, husband, mother, family or friends. Life is too short; Cherish is the word.
No, I’m not about to get rid of all of my wheels just because my wrist has gone decrepit. As a matter of fact this lovely super powerful production wheel is making its way to our other home. Anyways, I’m sort of making some changes around here due to my decrepit wrist. The Van Eaton is a large heavy wheel and since I’m not in such an urgent need of large wheels that are not easily mobile around the house, (already have quite a few around here) it’s making its way to our other home where I can spin leisurely in my free time when I’m overseas. Plus I’ve got two Magnus Drudik wheels that need companionship since I’m bringing home one Drudik to exchange with the spare Lendrum, I’ll tell you about it in a minute. Meanwhile here is the gorgeous Van Eaton production in Quilted & Figured Beeswing Satine Maple.
Close up of Van Eaton Production Drive Wheel
I’m a double treadle gal through and through, can you tell?
Ok now here’s the story to the Lendrum DT, our folks both have the Lendrum Walnut Anniversary wheel. I told them the other day, I wanted a full-size no frills wheel that is possibly mobile unlike my production wheels which I said can withstand being ‘beat up.’ (sorry Lendrum owners, no pun intended) Not that I beat up my wheels, as some of you already know I obsessively keep my wheels in immaculate condition away in my studio. My idea of a beat up wheel is one where I can transport carefully to the kitchen, balcony, living room, study, just about any room in the house where I can spin in my leisure hours, use for teaching (I just acquired a new student who has a Lendrum DT) and plus my wrist is just giving up on me, the Schacht is finally retiring full-time into the studio. While compact, that wheel weighs a ton of bricks and I don’t want to scratch it whatsoever. So here’s the deal, they say I can have the new spare Walnut parts to dress up a new Lendrum maple just to match my furniture in the house; yeah talk about being vain…everything has to be coordinated, in exchange for a long-term loan on one of my Drudiks which I am bringing home. And thus the decision to replace the Drudik with the huge Van Eaton Production. By the way, did you notice that the Van Eaton Production has a flyer on the right. See – that was not supposed to be so because at the time I spin on the left. However, I did ask for a right hand flyer: the way the wheel was built, I had prefered the flyer to be on the right because the upright maiden support on the left appealed to me more than if the flyer were to be on the left and having the maiden support on the right. It’s a visual thing.
Here is the new Potpourri Lendrum accented with the Walnut maiden head and knobs courtesy of my folks. I like it; it does look different and not so blah no more; plus I already have all Walnut and all Maple wheels so this will look pretty in the kitchen or anywhere else in the house just to balance everything out.
On another note, my left wrist/ hand is being treated with supplements that I am currently taking – Flex Companion capsules with chondroitin/ glucosamine/MSM/ Ester-C/ bromelain/ vitamins/ minerals and Vita Flex MSM in its pure form. So hopefully, it’ll help me regenerate. Thank you, those of you who emailed to ask about my wrist.
I finally came to terms to sending my AA heirloom Banjo Charkha to its new home this past weekend. I got it as a mother’s day gift this year from my dear hubby but have not gotten any chance to spin on it whatsoever. Alas, my decrepit left wrist is letting go and its condition has worsen. Everytime I look at the beautiful sucker I feel excruciatingly disappointed on not being able to spin on it and I also feel that this bittersweet feeling I get from the disappointment also has to do with my incrementing hurt. So it went last Saturday to a nice lady spinner whom I know will make full use of the charkha. Here it is one last time in all its glory! By the way, those of you coveting my Louet S90 will be happy to know I listed it on eBay yesterday evening to find its new home. Good Luck!
Now a closeup of my ex-spinning hand. Is that wrist bone jutting out or what? I can’t fully hold anything heavy with this hand. On my flyer wheels , I’ve begun to long draw all the time these days and short draw with my right hand. Yes; I’m one of those ambidextrous chicks that can do things with both hands; it runs in my family, although my elder sister is exclusively left-handed.
On the fiber front, my husband and I went out this past Saturday to get some equipment for my dye-studio. Check this out, my new dye-pot! Holds a ton of roving and tops and so shiny, it is almost funky. Nope, I’m not a funky person, too realist and traditionalist, but it works like a dream and kinder to my unusable wrist. I’ll write more later… Kim Jong Il has gone berserk this morning with nuke tests and as a result my work is piling on the desk. Korea is my forte, can you already tell?
