Ring of Kerry...sort of

Well it was very wet today. We started the day off with a hearty breakfast at our lovely hotel, the Ballygarry House, in Tralee, County Kerry. This hotel is just amazing. Our bathroom is SUPER SWEET and I could easily park a car in it.

We headed down to Killarney National Park and for a two mile hike or so to Muckcross Abbey, a ruins that you can only access by foot/bike/jaunty (horse drawn) car. It is very quiet. We were the only people there. We carried on the Ring of Kerry for a bit and took in foggy, albeit lovely views of at "Ladies View" and Moll's Gap.

But the BEST part of the day, the SHEEP FARM! I got to sheer a sheep and feed a lamb with a bottle. We also saw and amazing sheep dog demo, but out in mountains and rocky terrain, it is much better than seeing a demo in a ring at Maryland Sheep and Wool.

We just got back from dinner in Tralee, where my sister drank her beer and finished off me and mom's cider...beatch! We looked at all sorts of ARAN sweaters today; they have them for about 130 euro hand knit to each Clan specific pattern...it was very cool. They also had some Aran weight wool...but I kept on moving to the Guinness souveniers...I've bought enough yarn already. Tomorrow we tour the Dingle Peninsula before taking the ferry across the River Shannon to County Clare for our last three days based out of Ennis.

Peace, Love and Yarn
Knitty D

ETOH

drinking in Ireland...

can't type anymore...

The Emerald Isle

Hello from Ireland! We are on day two of our Irish adventure. Allison arrived, a couple hours late but in good shape. Yesterday we toured Powerscourt Gardens and County Wicklow on our way to Kilkenny for the evening. We stopped for, of all things, an Italian dinner, in Carlow...but it was REALLY good and after eating fish and chips all week it hit the spot.

After getting ridiculously lost in this small town for 100 roundabouts, we found our in and settled in for the first all out Bach girl giggle fest. I'm so proud of Ali and how she staved off her jet lag.

Today we toured Waterford Crystal and got to see master craftsman blowing glass. The tour conveniently drops you in the shop. The crystal is really fantastic and the process by which it is blown and cut is fascinating. After lunch and 1/2 pints of Guinness, we headed back to Kilkenny where we've seen the Kilkenny Castle ( Castle # 11 of the trip) and the Kilkenny design center which hosts local crafts and craft makers. The knitting shop was disappointing...we would do better!

Tomorrow we are off to the Rock of Cashel, Cork and County Kerry...

I'm am homesick...but mostly beagle sick. Trying desperately to get more knitting done with very little success...

Also, I lost my mobile phone in the Glasgow Airport...unless it is wrapped up somewhere in a chacki...anyway...my number has been suspended. Please email me you numbers to knittyd@gmail.com so that I can reprogram before I come back to Philly (one week from tomorrow !)

Miss everyone
C

BAAAAAAAA....

Castle Count= 10
Miles Traveled around = 750
Cost for 1 tank of gas=50£ or about $110 (an we Americans think we have it bad!)
Number of Sheep Seen= Thousands
Number of Time keys were locked in boot requiring a call to the AA (american equiv = AAA)=1
Number of Photos taken= 1000 (and counting)---they are being burned to a DVD as we type


Hello from Pitlochry! We are heading down out of the Cairngrom Mountains and the Highlands back toward Glasgow. We fly out this evening to Dublin and meet up with Allison tomorrow after her overnight flight from Chicago.

We've had a lovely time in Scotland, and met some lovely people along the way. We are off to eat more fish and chips and drink more Tennets lager (from Glasgow and YUMMY!)

More from the Emerald Isle...Ps I've gotten like no knitting done, except when James was taking two hours to fish the keys out of the boot (trunk) yesterday...then I cast on the Koigu shawl...felt like a good time to do so.

Love
Knitty D

Sadly, No Monster

Hello from Inverness and Loch Ness. Mom and I took a cruise on the Loch today, on a boat outfitted with sonar and we DID NOT spot the Loch Ness Monster.

Scotland continues to amaze me...it is just fantastic. I have managed to MASTER driving on the left side and on single track (one lane for both directions of traffic). The Isle of Skye was fantastic...we drove past rocky coast line, towering cliffs, waterfalls and mountains. Last night we stayed on the end of the island, literally. If you look at a map of Scotland and the Isle of Skye, on the westerly edge is Neist Point Light House. Our B and B was about one mile from there. Last night we had a spinning demonstration from our hostess, Janet. This morning she had home-made bread and preserves...yum.

No I haven't tried Haggis yet and I'm not planning too.

Castle Count = 4
Miles Traveled in Scotland = 500
Times we've put the "hood" of top of our car down=2
Number of photos taken= 800 (and counting)
Number of Lochs we've sailed on =2 (Ness and Dunvegan)

And the fish and chips...oh yum yum yum
More to follow

Isle of Skye

Hi from the Isle of Skye! We have found yarn (!) cashmere and hand dyed silk! We are having a jolly old time. Lots of fish and chips and guinness. It is amazing here!

Sorry I can't write more, but there is a line for computers and we've got more shopping to do!

More to follow!

update

We are here and things are MUCH more civilized in Scotland. They have Starbucks. Need I say more. Feeling better...heading out to begin our adventure.

More to follow

Almost there...

We are in Dublin, awaiting our flight to Glasgow.

So far, we had a little surprise when we got to Boston and realized our flight had been changed...instead of going directly to Dublin, we landed in Shannon around 530am and then forwarded on to Dublin around 7am. The trans-atlantic part of the trip was very smooth and FAST.

Being in this airport reminds me of why I dislike Dublin so much. It is a mad house here. Too many people in a very small space with not enough infrastructure to support it...just like my experience with the city two years ago...so I'm looking forward to getting back on the plane and heading for Glasgow.

It's 335 am my time right now. And it's my birthday.
I'm going on no sleep. Almost finished a book and watched two episodes of The Office, including the season finale, which WAS AWESOME. There is NO decent coffee here and no where to get breakfast, so I got a rice krispie treat and a diet pepsi. But at least I'm in Ireland...not Philadelphia.

Peace

The Guy

Ellen and I went to the Phils game on Saturday. Yes, I ate lots of crab fries and Bulls BBQ...but the best part of the game was...THE RAIN DELAY.

Sitting behind us was this poor soul:

He fell asleep during the delay and his friends thought it would be fun to see how much stuff they could cover him with...look closely and you'll see:

-peanut shells (including one on his head)
-an all star ballet
-an empty crab fry container
-a food tray
-a bottle of beer
-lots of people having a good laugh at this guys expense.

What was even better...when he woke up...

Can you say DimSum?

Well, in a few days, I'll be 35. Since I'll be in another country we decided to celebrate at our favorite dive, the Lakeside Chinese Deli.

I am silly walrus chopstick girl

Klusaritz in the House

My knitting pals, Wendy, Robin and Allison

Jim is a copy cat!

Arthur gives Trishy some loving

Sergio, Me, Arthur and Super T

Check out that HOT shawl!

Jim, Me, Kava and Jen

Me and Ellen

Kelsey, Me and Money

A rocking time was had by all. Thanks everyone for sharing this special night with me.

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

I am the Champion my friends

Success. It is very sweet. I finished the shawl.

Blocking:

Finished:


Now close your eyes and imagine me jaunting through the Scottish Highlands with this around my shoulders. See Gus demonstrate

Good job.

We leave Saturday. Finished just in time...

Worth the Wait

I know I know. I haven't blogged for a while...but I was saving it for SHEEP AND WOOL 2007!!!

Can you say, BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

The treck started Friday night. Wanting to leave promptly at the "crack of ass," Nicole and Elizabeth slept over at my house. They weren't into the traditional slumber party stuff like the Ouija board or levitation. No, instead, we planned our attack for the Festival. We all wanted to hit the Koigu booth...I mean, seriously, who doesn't want to score some discounted Koigu? I also got Nic into Socks that Rock when I showed her my stash, so we also knew we wanted to hit The Fold. We also knew we wanted to fondle all the Brooks Farm yarn (not the Brooks Farm hottie Wendy and I referred to after last year's festival). Beyond that, I was looking for Brittany cable needles, a shawl pin and blocking wires. And of course, we had to score FESTIVAL SWAG.

Let me start by saying, there was no Koigu. Maie broke her foot and they decided not to make the trip. After a brief period of disappointment, I knew we had to move on...no use crying over spilled milk...and I could spend that money EASILY somewhere else.

Well, I can tell you one thing about the festival. We are REALLY REALLY good at standing in line. You waited in line for everything...to buy yarn, to pee, to buy food, to pet a llama. The festival has become so much more crowded over the years. Not just with knitters, but with fiberholics galore. Weavers, spinners, dyers, knitters. And then, there are the people there to show their live stock. We saw sheep, llamas, alpacas, angora goats and angora rabbits! Here are some animals:

Here is my haul!

I realize it is a bit hard to visualize everything, so here are some more specifics:

Cute Socks

Brooks Farm Acero for Socks, Wrist Warmers and the "Crest of the Wave" Mobius,

a Brooks Farm Pattern

Socks that Rock in Carbon Dating, Pebbles and Lunasea

Two Morehouse Merino Kits

Not 1, but 3 Shawl Pins

No festival is complete without CASHMERE!!!

This is from Just our Yarn and when it grows up, it will be the "Feather Shawl"

which is one of their patterns

I also scored a festival tee, that just happens to match the one I got at Rhinebeck as well as a tote bag and a special present for my mom and my secret pal.

But the best part, the friends who joined us at "Camp Knitty D and the City!" Yes, we made camp, complete with chair, blankets and lots of room for knitting

and let us not forget, the brownies: