Happy New Year!

By Diane of Lady Dye Fiber Arts & Design

Happy New Year Everyone!

January 1st is the day that we set out to make our New Year’s resolutions. For those of you who make resolutions every year and keep them, I congratulate you for your commitment. And for those of you like myself who have struggled in the past to keep your resolutions, I want to provide you with a different perspective.

For the past two years, I have made no resolutions because I find them to be daunting and impossible to commit to each year. I have had friends in the past say, “Diane, just break those long term resolutions down to smaller ones?” This sounded so great but that didn’t work either. So here I was two years ago, in a place trying to improve myself inside and out and not meeting my resolutions.

Therefore, I decide to use my creative mind and made a “Scavenger Hunt” consisting of a list of things I have never done before and I had a year to find people, places, and organizations to complete them. Sounds pretty exciting, eh? Well, for me this scavenger hunt has changes my life for the best inside and out.

Consider these Scavenger Hunt questions:

• Find and item of yours that you are holding on to that you do not need and give it to someone who needs it more.


• Teach a skill to a person that someone taught you how to do.


• Search for a place or person to help you save a minimum of $350 for the year.


• Walk, run, bike, or do any other physical activity for 30 minutes or more to a place you have never been and take photos of that location and share it those images with someone.
  

I challenge you to look beyond the goals and resolutions and view this year as a creative search inside you for learning and teaching new things to yourself and others by seeking out opportunities for change in a different way. The very thing you are trying to resolve may require you to think beyond the obvious and search the unknown in order to make the change within you.

New York Sheep and Wool Festival

By Diane of Lady Dye Fiber Arts & Design

In October, I made the journey to Rhinebeck, NY with my best friend and knitting buddy to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival. It was my second time going but this year I went on Saturday instead of Sunday. The New York Sheep and Wool Festival is the Mecca for the knitting community. People from all over the country and world make their way to fairgrounds to see all breeds of animals but mainly to get some good deals on yarn and knitting accessories. Not to mention, this festival is by far the best Fiber fashion show you will every see!

Instead of making it a one day trip, we decided that it would be great to spend the night in Rhinebeck. However, all the hotels were booked months in advance for this special weekend. I guess I was the designated bed & breakfast finder because I spent a week looking up bed & breakfast places for us to stay at all through the Catskill Mountains. Well, I found one in the beautiful city of Purling, NY. We stayed at the Bavarian Inn & Restaurant, a family business. We had so much pre-party fun hanging out at the Inn with drinks and knitting by the fireplace and talking with the locals.

Overall the trip was great and there was so much beautiful scenery all around us I had to take pictures. I did have a great time at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival despite the shoulder to shoulder comfort I received from the thousands of fiber enthusiast who showed up. At first, I thought I was going to buy yarn for my etsy shop however, I left with yarn and roving for myself which felt so great! It has been a long time since a purchased fiber for just for me and I have to say it was money well spent :)

Are long drive to the Catskills Mountain in NY. The different color leaves were all around us and the sky turned blue for just this moment...then it rained the rest of the trip that Friday

The Bavarian Inn & Restaurant where we stayed...it was quite the experience

Having a good time at a local restaurant. I decided that a beverage and knitting made the perfect meal :)

This kid was so adorable! Ms. Llama was the main attaction walking around with all the knitters :)

Our drive home from Boston watching the sun set was amazing! Those look like mountains but they are actually clouds. Truly an amazing sight to see!