Serpentine Mitts at the Mummers Parade

Saturday night was the annual Mummer's Parade in Hagerstown. This is the biggest parade of the year in this area and usually has well over 100 units and lasts about 3 hours. Our Farm Toy Collectors Club has had a float in the parade for the last 7 years and this one was no different. The weather was clear, cool and windy with highs in the upper 50's. There were nine of us on the float this year and I knitted right up until the time that we started down the route. I can't wave and knit.

It was pretty cool so the the Serpentine Mitts by Miriam Felton came in very handy. I took my heavy gloves to put on over the mitts but I didn't need them, the mitts kept me warm enough. I had them on this morning when I stopped at McDonald's to get my ice tea and the lady who always takes my money said she could really use something like that so I had her try one on (there was no one behind me) and told her I'd make her a pair. I plan to start them tonight.

The thing on my left shoulder in the photo is a gryphon puppet by A Midsummer Knights Dream. He's my constant companion at events like this where he attracts quite a lot of attention. His name is Andy Gryphon and we adopted him at the MD Renn Fest about 6 or 7 years ago. I take him when we go to shows to sell pedal tractor tickets and he really draws a crowd. I'm sorry that's such a bad pic of him, he's got his head hanging down so that you can't see his face or his glowing orange eyes.

I think we all had a great time at the parade but I for one am glad it's over for this year. Now if we can just get through our toy show in November without any major hiccups I'll be able to relax until it's time to get ready for the spring show in April.

The Busiest Season of All (for me anyway)

I've read that many people consider the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to be their busiest time of year. For me it's fall. My husband and I belong to a farm toy collectors club and every year in November and April our club holds a farm toy show that attracts hundreds of visitors. We only have about 15 members and only 8 are really active so this means that a few people do a tremendous amount of work. Our most important activity outside of the two shows is to sell chances on a pedal tractor to raise money for a scholarship. Every year we award a $1,000 scholarship to an area senior. That's a lot of chances for 8 people to sell. Doug, Linda and I take the pedal tractor around to various tractor shows and festivals, most of which are held in the fall. This provides many opportunities for Knitting in Public.

I knit in public all the time so when I learned that many consider this to be an unusual activity I was a little puzzled. Yes, I get comments and questions but I've never had anything other then a positive experience. More often than not, I'm approached by other knitters who want to ask about my yarn or pattern. I love this aspect of knitting in public.

Saturday Doug and I went to Crownsville, Maryland for the Renaissance Festival and I took my baby socks to work on while we're sitting around watching people (and drinking beer). I saw a woman knitting on the bench where I had been sitting and knitting just a few minutes before. I approached her we got to talking and really hit it off. It is amazing how many subjects we touched on during our short conversation. Her name is Sherry and she was there with her family. She was working on a sock but told me that she had only been knitting for a few months. You would have never guessed that by watching her knit. She went to a social knitting group with her daughter in Columbia, Maryland and I think that's how she got pulled into the knitting universe.

The Saturday before, I was knitting at an arts and crafts festival where we were selling chances on the pedal tractor when a little girl about 9 or 10 walked up to me and said, "You're knitting a sock." I was stunned. Not only did she know I was knitting but that I was knitting a sock. She scampered off before I could ask her how she knew what I was knitting. I looked at my knitting and it wasn't really to the point where it looked unmistakably like a sock hanging off my needles but she recognized it as such. I hope whoever the sock knitter is in her life teaches her how to knit.

Being out and about with time on my hands is a wonderful thing right now because I can sit and knit (or stand and knit) and I get to meet new friends like Sherry.

New arrival Spider Spud poses with Lacy Cabled Scoop sleeve

My, what a handsome devil! You can see on the box that he comes with all the necessary parts to transform back into Peter Parker Potato. Work continues on the Lacy Cabled Scoop. I have one sleeve almost done, just a couple more rows. Hopefully I can get a good start on the second sleeve this weekend especially since I'm off work tomorrow.

Saturday is our Spring Farm Toy Show and I'll be taking money at the door so I should be able to get a little knitting done after the initial rush. Happy knitting, Everyone!

Farm Toy Show, Pedal Pull and Santa

Here is photo of my nephew, Joshua, sitting on Santa's lap at the Western Maryland Farm Toy Show. That beard is real, folks! My hubby and I are part of the Tri State Farm Toy Collectors Club and we put on a farm toy show twice a year, spring and fall.

It's a lot of work and a lot of fun and I'm always glad when it's over but it's great to see that way the kids interact with Santa.

The club president, Linda, and I sit at the door and collect the admission and hand out door prize tickets. I saw a father, mother and five-year-old son come up to the door. The little boy peeked through the glass on the door and saw Santa just as his dad was opening the other door. He vanished, poof! with a scream of "I'm not going in there!". Several minutes later, they reappeared, the dad was carrying the boy and telling him not to look at Santa. The boy had his hood up and his dad was telling him which way to look so that he wouldn't make eye contact with Santa.

Here is a very enthusiastic little girl participating in the kiddie pedal pull. We have this every year as part of our show and it is a huge hit with kids and parents. If you've never been to a real tractor pull this is a kid size version of the real thing. A sled with weights is hooked to the back of the pedal tractor and the farther the kids pedal the heavier the sled becomes. The object is to pull the sled the fartherest down the track. It is divided into age groups, 5-6, 7-8, and 9-10 year olds. All the kids get little tractor toys for participating and the first, second, and third place finishers in each age group win a trophy.

Here are some photos of the toys.

Welsh Family Toy Collection












Our youngest member, Jared with some of his collection.