October Quickie

I haven’t posted my October goals before now because I have been too busy working on getting them knitted since they have actual deadlines. The first and most important is the Rhinebeck 2011 sweater. In fact, this quick post is to announce that it is finished!
I finished it today and leave for Rhinebeck tomorrow for the 2011 New York Sheep & Wool Festival, at the Duchess County Fairgrounds. Hey, that’s better than last year, when I was completing my Rhinebeck 2010 sweater at midnight the Friday night before, after driving 8 hours.
I have wanted to knit this sweater for awhile, and set it as my Rhinebeck goal right after deciding to go to this year’s festival – only about 5-6 weeks ago. Everything was running quite smoothly until I realized last week that I would run out of yarn. An additional skein came in the mail on Tuesday, but the dye lot was way off.  So, I alternated the skeins and while I think it’s more noticeable than I’d like, I don’t think that it will be obvious to others.
I am excited about wearing it on Saturday to the festival, with my yellow and brown clogs to match. A priority of the day is to attend the Anne Hanson / Knitspot picnic.  I hope she likes it, too.
Another October priority is my Socktoberfest socks. The pattern is Olympian Socks by Sheryl Giles. I selected the pattern because of its ease. I just didn’t want a more complex pattern to compete with my sweater. It was the right decision, and knitting 
on the sock has been a soothing diversion from the sweater. The yarn, Anzula Squishy is absolute luxury, with its merino/cashmere/nylon blend. The eye of partridge heel is perfect for the yarn. I hope to get a lot of work done on it during the trip this weekend. 
Lastly, my color work group chose to knit 8-inch squares of the varying color techniques, to be combined into a charity blanket. The October technique is slipped stitches, so I will cast on my square and have it done by the meeting, toward the end of the month. Maybe I’ll work on that, too, this weekend.
Time to go pack. I’ll be back to post about the Rhinebeck experience after I return.