The Christmas Sweaters

     Here's my 1st Christmas sweater.  It's a size 4 pullover with a rolled collar and rolled cuffs.  It's 
hand knit with Red Heart's worsted weight, 100% acrylic  machine wash and dryable yarn in turquoise, 

on circular US 6 & 8's.  The snowlady is wearing a straw hat with a pink hat band and bow.  Her scarf is knit on US 4's
with a pink ombre sock-weight yarn and goes around her neck and is tied in front.  Her mittens...on her stick arms...match her scarf.  Her eyes are French knots done in black worsted yarn and her nose is a carrot...knit in orange sock-weight yarn  on US 4 's and sewed in place.  Plastic snowflake buttons surround her on the sweater front.  She will be available later this month at both Cooper Country Crafts in Cooperstown, NY and on my Esty Shop, knittingfoolbymary for $45.  
   The 2nd Christmas sweater will also be a size 4 pullover, this one done in Red Heart's worsted weight yarn in burgundy, with a rolled collar and rolled sleeves.  The snowman will be wearing a black top hat...and that's as far as I've got!  Photo and a complete description to follow! 
9/22/19-  The 2nd Christmas sweater is almost finished.  The snowman has a couple of knit holly leaves with berries on his hat, a multi-colored scarf and mittens.  The 3rd(!!!) Christmas sweater has a snowman wearing a navy blue baseball hat and a navy scarf with white pin-stripes.  Instead of mittens, he has a baseball button at the end of one of his stick arms and a baseball mitt button at the other.  Both of those snowmen have carrot noses and French Knot eyes.  There may be a few snowflakes around them...depends on how many snowflake buttons I have left!  I want them to get to the shop around the first of the month so I'm going back and forth trying to finish both of them (and work in all the yarn ends, etc.)  As soon as I get them finished I'll take photos and post them here!  

Happy Anniversary, Cooper Country Crafts!

  

   Happy Anniversary to Cooper Country Crafts!   

   The shop celebrated it's 45th anniversary this past Thursday night with an After-hours Party with the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend but by the looks of these photos those who were had a good time   with plenty of good food and drink and sparkling conversation!  I can't believe the shop has actually been open that long...I think I've been involved for over 30 years!!(It's actually been 41 years but don't tell anyone!9/17/19) Members have come and gone but we still go on. 

  There's not enough room to post...or list...all the crafts that are available!  A trip to the shop is worth the drive!  (And be sure to leave plenty of time for a pizza at Sal's or coffee at Stagecoach or a stop at the Fly Creek Cider Mill on the way home!)




    I am looking forward to next year when I can be active in the shop again.  Right now, without a reliable car, a trip to Cooperstown is out of the question for me.  I'm lucky enough to have a couple of friends who are willing to take my knitting down when they can.  At least my display is still full!  I hope everyone understands my situation.  I don't want to be stuck on Rte 28 with a blown engine so I'm not making the trip.  Hopefully, we'll have a better car by spring.

This is ME!

Something New

   Well, I did it.  I opened a shop on Esty.com.  It's called 'KnittingfoolbyMary' and right now it only has 5 sweaters and a rack of hats.  I'm keeping the prices the same as what the sweaters are in the shop but I'm going to offer free shipping.  Just got to stay cool and wait and see how it goes.  If they sell off the site, good.  If not, it's only an experiment.  
   Jeff got the new hose clamps put in place and drove home without any problems.  Now that's a waiting game, too.  He got another bottle of sealer and added that to the radiator, too.  Still got to get another bottle of antifreeze.  Boy, we've gone thru that stuff like it was water!!  He still doesn't want me to try Vickerman Hill with the Forester for awhile.  He wants to be sure all the leaks are plugged and everything else is running the way it should.  So do I.
   I said I wouldn't be making any friends with my announcement that I wasn't going to be working in the shop anymore this year.  Got accused of being selfish and other things but that's the way it goes.  I had to get a replacement for myself for tomorrow and was able to get one of the guys to open in the morning but he could only stay until 1pm.  If no one else comes forward the shop will be closed half the day tomorrow.  (And I'll get the blame for that, too, no doubt, but personal safety has to come before the shop.)  Thanks to Ward and Anita the shop will be open all day!!--9/8/19
   I ordered a box from Misfits, an online produce company and it came today.  Jeff wasn't thrilled with what we got.  There was kale, 2 sweet potatoes, a leak, an big onion, 2 small zucchini and 2 bell peppers besides a bag of white grapes, 4 plums, 2 pears, 3 apples and something big and round that I can't ID.  Maybe a pomegranate?  They cost was $20 and Jeff wasn't impressed.  The veggies didn't thrill me (I'm suppose to stay away from kale...too much Vit K  & doesn't agree with Warfarin) but I really like the fruit!  Had some of the grapes for lunch!!  I think I'll try it one more time, if Jeff doesn't like what we get next time I'll cancel the subscription.  You can get it delivered every week, every other, once a month or every other month.  I picked every other week.  I also changed my preference to include cheese and snacks next time.  He might like that, too. He put all the veggies in the crock pot with a small beef roast and let it cook all night.  Boy, does it smell good!  Today's meals are done!!--9/8/19
  I have to say that I honestly feel better knowing I'm not going to Cooperstown tomorrow.  It was starting to get to me and I've had a couple of nightmares about the car.(Don't tell Jeff!)  I don't think I'll miss the shop that much...some of the people, yes, sitting there all day...I don't think so!  Hey, I even told Jeff I might start to clean house regularly.  

Thermostat, Gasket and Spark Plugs and Other Things

    Jeff got the new thermostat and gasket in the Forester today...the gasket took several tries because it had to be eased around the thermostat just right.  It fell off twice before he got it screwed in because it wouldn't stay eased around the place where it should have be.   He had to gently open the pre-cut slit in the gasket so it would fit where it should go.  Finally that's back together so now he's changing the spark plugs.  
   It's a wonder the car was running at all with those spark plugs!  They look like they have never been changed.

That space on top...like a hook...is called 

the gap, and was so out of wack you could see the difference between a new and used plug just by looking at them! 

    The placement of spark plugs in Subaru's has always been a mechanics nightmare...and this Forester is no different. Jeff had to take the battery out of the car to get at the two spark plugs on the driver's side.  He's not sure what exactly he'll have to disconnect and remove to get to the 2 on the other side.

   In the meantime, I've been listening to Zoey whine and cry because she couldn't get close to where Jeff was working on the car.  When both dogs were outside Fanny took herself for a walk...over to the field where we saw the deer the other day.  Definitely 'not in the yard' so Jeff went after her and she got a whack on her rump!  Like a lot of large,white, middle-aged dogs Fanny is losing her hearing and she doesn't always respond to our calls.  Sometimes I think she chooses not to respond because what she's doing is more interesting or fun than listening to her 

humans.  Right now both dogs are inside with me.  Zoey is pacing back and forth between the kitchen door and the window in my room and Fanny is on the sofa next to me growling softly when Zoey comes by.  
   I was working on a size 4 Black Sheep sweater to replace the one that sold Wednesday.  This one is grey heather and the sheep stand out very well on it.  I'm not sure what color the flowers and buttons will be, lavender, purple or pink.  (Lavender flowers 

and buttons won out!  They look petty good with the emerald green leaves and grass, don't they?  The Black sheep on the back looks pretty, too!) 9-10-19

Right now it's time to go see how far Jeff got with the spark plugs.  He deserves having someone listen to him bitch about how Subaru's are constructed!
   Jeff finally got all 4 spark plugs changed and boy, he was not happy.  He said he doubted that they had been touched in 5 years, and was amazed that the car started at all!  He refilled the radiator and burped it several times before taking the car for a test drive.  When he got home the car stalled in the driveway several times and when he finally got the it parked in front of the garage the radiator was boiling over.  The radiator was almost empty!  And he just went 'around the block'...down the highway to Eatonville Rd, up Eatonville to where it meets Smallsbush, then up the hill to where it crosses Burt Rd and up that hill to Shellsbush RD.  He had no problem with the car and didn't have any flashing red light on the dash going up those hills...especially the one between Burt Rd and Shellsbush which is only a seasonal road.  After things cooled off (including Jeff) he put more water in the radiator and we watched as it leaked out.  At first he thought it was the gasket at the thermostat but then he realized it was the clamp on the hose that was loose. Guess we'll get a new clamp tomorrow.  
   While I put a frozen pizza in the oven for supper, Jeff went to watch another YouTube video in hopes it would tell him something else about the Forester.  When he came to the table he was in 'a bit of a state' and told me in no uncertain terms that he did not want me to try to take the car to the shop as long as it kept developing new problems.  He apologized for telling me what I could...or couldn't do...but insisted I listen to him.  He said he was afraid I'd get stuck somewhere between Mohawk and Cooperstown with a blown engine...or worse!  I really don't want a car engine to blow up on me so I agreed to listen to him.  I don't think that's going to make me the most popular member of the shop but he's got a point.  I sent a couple of emails to try and arrange for some help with getting my stock to the shop, and I'm sorry for causing so much trouble for the shop but I'd rather be unpopular than stuck on Rte 28 with a blown engine...especially now that the days will start to get shorter and it will be dark sooner.  We've spent around $700 to $800 for repairs this summer... between 2 trips to the mechanics and all the work that Jeff has done on the Forester.  We had accumulated that much because we had hoped to get another car.  Now we've got to hope that the Forester will last til Spring so we can try to save that much again and can get a newer car in the Spring.

Something Good At Last!

    Well, I didn't make it to the shop yesterday with the new brakes after all.  I got as far as Dennison Corners when that damn red light on the dash started flashing again.  It finally came on and stayed on around Columbia Center Rd and I pulled over and stopped and put on my 4-way flashers and called Jeff.  He said to let it cool off (it had steamed and boiled over) for 15-20 mins so I called the shop and then pulled the book I had with me out of my project bag, opened some windows and got comfortable.  Just when I was about ready to check the radiator and add more water a car pulled up and parked in front of me.  I couldn't believe it!  It was my friends, Maggie and Horst, on their way home from shopping in the Valley.  Well, we checked the radiator and I added more water but we thought it kept leaking out so I asked them to take me home and bring Jeff back to the car.  By the time he got back there, the engine had cooled off completely and where ever it had been leaking had stopped leaking. (He had put in more sealer that morning so maybe it finally worked?)  On the way home he stopped and bought a new thermostat and gasket and will do that job tomorrow or Saturday.  (Did you know a new gasket...in effect a large rubber band...could cost almost $7?) Let's see if a 'sticky thermostat' has been our problem all along.
    While I was sitting on the side of Rte 28 yesterday waiting for my overheated car engine to cool off, the shop was busy with customers.  They ended up

selling 3 of my sweaters!  The pink Flowers and Lace sweater was relatively new having been on  display for only 2 weeks!

The train hoodie had been in the shop a little longer and the Dolly and Me set had been there since we opened in April!  And they all went to the same lady!  Thank

you, Madam!   I have another Dolly and Me set in the stock bag (but it's Flowers and Lace instead of Black Sheep) but I don't have any Train hoodies or Black Sheep sweaters on hand.  I could put just the Flowers and Lace sweater in the shop and do a new Dolly and Me set with in the Black Sheep design...I don't know...  Whatever I decide to do I'd better get busy and knit! 

And I can't stop doing hats!  I'm out of Pumpkin hats and low on baseball hats.  Oh, my
left hand is going to hurt!  The tendinitis is going to flare up but that's just my occupational hazard!!  I looked for arthritis compression gloves at Walmart the other day but couldn't find them.  Jeff said he saw them so I guess I'm going to have to take him there and have him show me where they are.  And soon.
  Last night we went to Denny's for supper.  I thought Jeff deserved a special dinner for all the hard work he's been doing on (under the Forester) and I was too tired and keyed up to prepare one.  He got one of their skillet/platter dinners...bourbon chicken...he had me taste it...very good!  I got chicken tenders with french fries and Southwester creamed corn.  There was Buffalo dunking sauce for my chicken...  also very good!  It was nice to sit down and eat a dinner without having cooked it or having to do the dishes afterwards.  The only things I didn't like was the crowd at the table behind us (high school kids) and the air conditioner blasting away...it was cold in there!  (And I was wearing a flannel shirt!)  But the food definitely made up for the inconveniences.  

The Case of the Wrong Brake Pads

   We bought new brake pads for the front brakes for the Forester last Friday and Jeff remembered today that I was scheduled to work in the shop tomorrow so he decided he better change those brakes.  The left one went on ok but the right one wouldn't fit and he really had to fight it to get it on.  When he came back from his test drive he was pissed and the right front brake was smoking!  He thought he'd take those new right front pads off and put the best of the old ones on so I could go to Cooperstown tomorrow but while we were eating supper he decided against that...too much of a chance that right front brake would fail coming down Vickerman Hill on the way home.    Instead I got the receipt (and my check) and we noticed that the brake pads they gave us were for a 2001 Chrysler Sebring. (Remember, this is our 2009 Subaru Forester!)  And the warranty for the pads was in someone else's name!  I called Judy and told her I'd be there but late tomorrow and we decided we'd go to AutoZone when they opened at 7:30am and see what they'd do for us.  More to follow.
9/4/19-8:40am:  Just back from our early morning trip to AutoZone.  They maintain they sold us the right brake pads...the warranty was for another sale not ours...and after talking with Jeff,  the sales clerk and Jeff decided the caliper was shot and decided to replace it.  So, we got new...and improved...brake pads and a new caliper for the right side.  Jeff is outside now trying to change the pads on the left side before attempting the big change on the right.(Left brake pads went on easily but now Jeff has decided we will be changing that left caliper before Halloween...he doesn't relish rolling around in the snow doing it after then!  He's started the difficult part...the right side!!)  He can return the 'smoked' brake pads and the old caliper and get back part of what he spent this morning. The big question of the day is whether he can do it all before it starts to rain.  A huge thunderstorm followed us up the road home but it seems to have passed by (a little good luck, at last?). 
   The dogs met us at the door...both crying and whining...glad to see us and upset we didn't take them with us.  After a quick trip outside, Fanny is comfortable on the couch next to me but Zoey is still whining and running from window to window trying to see where Jeff is and what he's doing.  Since I don't think she knows anything about automotive mechanics I think she's better off inside whether she likes it or not. 
   I've got a pumpkin hat OTN to go with me to the shop today and should finish it down there.  I'm taking my Christmas sweater, too.  Don't think I'll knit on it but I may clean up some of the loose ends.  One thing about doing a design on the front of a sweater worked in the round, you create a lot of loose ends!  Oh, I found some snowflake buttons at Walmart yesterday that should go very nicely around my snow lady.  Thinking of calling the sweater 'Ms. FrosT'.  (Mom and I use to call our soft sculptured dolls 'Sof-T's'.)  What do you think?