After much anticipation, the day finally arrived! The forecast was for snow and rain with a high of 42 degrees. Luckily we had checked the forecast before we went on the trip so we had all brought warm clothes and layers. For those who have never been to Rhinebeck, let me tell you, it is a big deal. People come from all over to see other knitters, buy yarn and knitting goods, buy fleece and spinning and felting supplies, take classes, eat festival food, look at/buy animals and enjoy the weekend amidst the fall beauty of the Catskill Mountains in the company of other fiber fanatics. We had to wait in line to get in the gates on a COLD October morning an hour after the gates had opened. We were still happy to be there, cold and line and all.
Once in the gate, the first booth we saw was none other than South Minneapolis's Jennie the Potter.
After we stopped at her booth, we skipped the barns to head to the nearest building so we could warm up for a while.
In the building we found one of the things that was on my list: soap! Simpler Thyme makes soap grab bags that contain a pound of mixed small bars of soap. Becky got one for Paul and I as a housewarming present. Jamie bought some grab bags, too. The rest of the trip the smell of these soaps followed us: in the car, in the hotel, in our bags. It smelled delicious.
Jamie and I got to knit on the Big Sock. The logistics of this sock are quite interesting. Multiple people work on it at the same time with a complicated leap frog system that keeps multiple strands moving at the same time and stitches that are spread over many circular needles.
This is the sheep and wool festival, so of course there were also barns full of fiber animals. Some of the animals were being sold, some were there to be shown, some were there to be sheared. This one had an awesome Kid of Kid 'n Play haircut. Judging by his baaing and his stuck out tongue, he either did not appreciate me mocking his hair or the trimming he was getting around his private parts.
There were a lot of varieties of sheep at the festival, some with light coats, some dark, some with long dreadlocks, some with fluffy fleeces and even some naked sheep!
There are not a ton of vegetarian foods to get psyched about at the festival but the apple crisp with caramel was something to get excited about. Jamie and I each had one both days of the festival.
Seacolors Yarn:
We went straight from the festival to the Ravelry party. A party bus took us from a nearby parking lot to the party site. When we arrived, we were greeted by Bob, the ravelry mascot. OK, we were greeted by Ysolda Teague in the Bob costume she knitted. The real Bob was not in attendance. (Bob is the Boston Terrier of Jess and Casey, founders of Ravelry, and the mascot of Ravelry).
She did an amazing job making the costume and was happy to oblidge all of the requests for Bob photos.
The party felt much like a wedding reception except that everyone was knitting!
We got gift bags, had some snacks and drinks and finished off the night with a cupcake.
It was a long, fun, tiring, inspiring, cold, but not snowy or rainy day. And, the festival wasn't over yet!
What great Rhinebeck photos!
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