Rhinebeck has come and gone in a blur of gold-red-green leaves and the occasional snow flurry (no joke). It was a cold-but-wonderful weekend, and these are just a fraction of the images I took away from it. (Click to embiggen.)
Petting all the animals is one of my favorite parts of Rhinebeck. Katy and I certainly had our sheep-petting fill, enjoyed watching the leaping llama and alpaca competition, and wondered at the presence of monkeys, kangaroos, and lemurs at a wool festival.
Another wonderful part of Rhinebeck is meeting up with like-minded friends, old and new. Not only did I get to enjoy the fair with Katy and Rivkah and her mom, but I got to meet new friends from Ravelry in real life! There’s no greater feeling than finally meeting people you’ve spoken to for months online and realizing that you really do like them and can’t wait to see them again! As it happens, in the LITERALLY ONE HOUR I broke away from Katy to meet up with my new friends, Katy got to make friends with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Clara Parkes. (I am trying my best not to hate her for getting to meet my two biggest yarn idols in person without me. Sigh. In truth, I saw Clara later in the day but chickened out on approaching her. Katy is by far the braver one between us.)
And then once all the fair-going is over, we still have the haul to cherish. I tried to stick to truly special items that I knew I couldn’t obtain easily otherwise, or items for which I already had a plan. From left to right, my purchases were:
- Into the Whirled Merion/Yak/Silk fiber in Quoth (one of the Discworld colorways)
- Foxhill Farm Cormo Aran, for a Daisy’s Hat
- RedMaple alpaca socks that Katy bought me because she is the nicest
- Woodshaper darning mushroom in gorgeous lacewood and maple
- TexasJeans bead spindle in rosewood, birdseye, and curly maple
- Blue Moon Fiber Arts Merino/Silk fiber in Fall Frolic
- 6 skeins of O-Wool O-Wash Fingering, for an Andorra Wrap
That last one on the list was my biggest impulse purchase, the rest were more-or-less pre-meditated, but if you had seen the sample of the scarf in person, I doubt you could have resisted, either. I cannot wait to cast that sucker on!
And that’s probably my most favorite part of Rhinebeck: the re-inspiration it brings to my knitting, spinning, and crafting. It was much needed and is most invigorating.
Did you get to go to Rhinebeck? What’s your favorite part of shows and wool festivals?
I’m jealous. There, I said it. It looks like you got a great haul and had a great time. I really hope that a I’ll be able to visit Rhinebeck in the future… and maybe even bump into you. Wouldn’t that be nice?
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That would be super nice, I’d love to meet you! I wouldn’t mind sharing an AirBNB place or something if you needed somewhere to stay, I feel like that would be fun. 🙂
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So glad you got to hug some ALA peeps. ❤
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Next time we need you to come!
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What a haul!!!! I’ve only been to Rhinebeck once…about 6 years ago. A friend and I a-l-m-o-s-t made the trip this year…but have sworn that next year is the year we go back!!! (so glad you commented on Blind Assassin….just bought that Monday night when I heard Margaret Atwood speak!!! Thought I’d catch up with a couple books of hers that I missed before launching in to the new one she was promoting.)
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what is the story behind that monkey photo at the top?! so glad you had an amazing time at Rhinebeck. On of these years I’m going to go!
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I wish I knew what that monkey was doing. I was just sort of idly snapping pictures and then when I reviewed them realized that he was making a disturbing face… it was a hilarious moment.
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Ah sigh. I watched all those photos come through on Instagram and wondered if I would ever get to experience such an amazing event. You are so lucky!
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On the one hand, it’s just like any other wool festival, but it’s definitely bigger than any others I’ve been too, and much more hyped up. I think its biggest draw is getting to see so many knitters in once place. 🙂
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