Rhinebeck Haul

Finally! Time to show you my Rhinebeck haul. In no particular order...

4 skeins of American Wool from Wild Apple Hill Farm sold by Orange Clove Primitives. These skeins are intended to become a pair (or two) of felted slippers.

Two sampler bags of Simpler Thyme soap. One bag is from Becky as a housewarming gift. Thanks, Becky!

Sock that Rock - Mediumweight sock yarn in Farmhouse from The Fold

A bag of merino fiber for use in felted bead jewelry, thrummed items and felted soap. I don't remember which booth this came from.

A cute DPN (or crochet hooks) case made by Go Monkey Design.

A Debra's Garden sock/lace needle gauge pendant.

Creatively Dyed Yarn Woodbrook yarn in Dan, selected by Jamie to become a Christmas gift for her. She wants a stocking hat and she is one of the few people that I take knitting orders from.

Oasis Yarns Seduction in Ruby - sold by Seaport Yarn. This is already on my needles on its way to becoming a Lacy Baktus. It is so soft!

There is one more thing that I bought, but it is the mail being exchanged for the correct size. I'll have to show you that one later.

Sunday Knitting Time

Project 365: Day 205

Rhinebeck - Day 2

Day 2 of the festival is decidedly less intense than day 1. The lines were shorter and the barns were less crowded. If it weren't for the much smaller selection, I might just opt for skipping the first day in favor of the second or at least taking it a little easier on the first day.

We took advantage of the short morning line at the artichoke stand to have a dish of fried artichokes over white beans and escarole. If I am not mistaken, this stand at the festival always has the longest line. It was good, but I don't think I would wait for hours for it. My curiousity was satisfied though, even if it meant eating something garlicky for breakfast.

The day rained on and off, but we still managed to spend the rest of our budgets on some pretty yarn and enjoy the extra space in the booths for browsing.

I'll take some photos of my loot to show you soon.

Rhinebeck - Day 1!

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!

Home Again!

I'm back from an awesome trip to New York for the Rhinebeck (NY Sheep and Wool) Festival and other added goodness. I'll catch up on posts soon, but for right now, check out the flight path our plane took on the way home last night. We followed the green route. The circles represent the 30+ minutes we spent doing loop-d-loops over Eau Claire, Wisconsin waiting for the runway in Minneapolis to become available for us to land on.

(Thanks to Adam for capturing the screenshot of our flight.)

Project 365: Day 183

Preparing

Two weeks from today Jamie, Becky and I will be at Rhinebeck together! I am looking forward to it. Today I got to spend some time getting my traveling knitting together. We have taken care of most of the trip logistics so now is the fun part where we think about what we want to buy and do and see. Jamie and I will also be spending a little time in New York City while we are out there, so it is a two-fer trip. A BIG BIG thanks to Paul for giving me this trip for my birthday and to Adam for hooking us up with discount points for our tickets, hotel and car rental.

What is that little black device in the photo? It is the huge splurge I just made! Friday night Paul and I went to try out some of the smart phones he has been researching. He is really into gadgets so he did all the research and then pointed me in the right direction. He recommended the Palm Pre and he was right! I really like it.

Up until this point, I have constantly carried an ipod, a camera, a phone and a paper planner stuffed with post-its and scraps of papers with various lists on them. I have never had a text plan on my phone so I only used it to make and receive phone calls. So, this is a HUGE upgrade. This phone is SMART! I have been learning how to use it and have already entered in lots of lists which means I tossed away a ton of those scraps of paper. In a pinch, this phone can also replace my ipod and camera. Having a smart phone means I have to carry a more expensive plan, but I think the ability to consolidate, carry less things and have a lot more functionality at my fingertips is worth it to me. And, the bonus is that I got it in time to bring it on the trip, which I imagine will prove useful for us.

Rhinebeck, here we come!

Craft Heaven

This weekend is ripe with craft fairs in Minneapolis. I ventured out to the No Coast Craft-O-Rama with former co-worker and new friend Jill (Hi Jill! You can delurk and comment now if you would like!) today and I plan to go to The Handmaidens' Craftmas tomorrow. I am not in the market for purchasing anything, but I did want to see what is being made by fellow local crafters and take in the sensory experience of all the beauty and creativity. Here are few of the vendors that nearly made me break my "just browsing" vow:

Becky Klay of Small Motor Designs makes really amazing textile jewelry primarily using embroidery. From afar it looks like the jewelry is made from tooled leather. I liked all of her designs, but I thought her most unique pieces were these textile lockets:

Not in my price range, but stunningly beautiful and impeccably made jewelry by bmf jewelry was a standout at the fair:

I loved the Jersey Scarves from Michelle Brusegaard (mbmb). My favorite purple one wasn't on her website, but these pretty ones were.

All of the photos in this post are from the artists' websites. Check 'em out! Each of them has lots of other pretties to be ogled and possibly purchased.

Rhinebeck Loot

It is time to fully disclose the Rhinebeck loot.

Mug from Westcote Bell Pottery

I bought a bowl from this potter last year and was excited to go back and get another piece. Plus, the potter has a very enchanting accent.

This glass stick is from Moving Mud.

I bought a glass closure from them last year and immediately wished I had bought more things from them. I came to the festival this year knowing that part of my Rhinebeck budget would be spent at their booth. By the time we got to them, the booth had been nearly emptied from the earlier shoppers. Even with the limited selection, I still had a hard time deciding what to buy.

3 skeins of Alpaca Tweed in Andean Trail colorway from A Touch of Twist

I stopped by this booth early on in the day and knew that I wanted to buy some of their yarn but wasn't quite sure what I wanted to make with it. I took the day to think about it and then ran back at the end of the day to make my purchase. I decided to buy enough to make a shawl of some sort to keep at work for the chilly days. I am thinking I might see if it will work for this pattern: Ella. It definitely didn't hurt that this yarn was a steal at $9.98/skein.

Blue Moon - Socks that Rock in Loch Ness colorway

I have heard so much about this yarn. Last year the van full of women that I went to the festival with made the booth that was selling this yarn their first stop. This yarn sold out quickly last year so I didn't get any. With the full endorsement of serious sock knitters, I knew I had to try this yarn out at some point. I nabbed this skein from The Fold without even having to sign over my first born. I consider myself lucky.

Misc. Roving (white roving is cotton roving from Dorchester Farms)

I had to be careful not to go too far down the path of roving during the festival. There were so many beautiful choices, but I honestly have very little use for it. I make felted soaps and that is about as far as my relationship with roving has gone. I much prefer knitting over spinning. Or, rather, I like knitting so much that I won't give spinning fair chance because it would just take away from my knitting time. I did get some cotton roving to see if I can knit thrummed mittens with it.

Autumn House Farms - Herdwick Fine in Jackie's Woods colorway

This was actually my first purchase of the day. I couldn't resist the colors and it feels like it will knit up into slightly thicker, warm and toasty socks. Plus, I could look at these colors forever. And, did I mention the colors of this yarn!

Cascade Fixation

Finding Cascade Fixation was not the goal of the day as this yarn is readily available at many of my local yarn shops. However, I knew I would be needing a project for the ride home and this was a color I haven't seen before. I've been knitting with it throughout my commute and will soon have a pair of socks to show for it. I have knit this yarn into Priscilla's Dream Socks before and really like how the colors work with the short row heel.

The other bits of loot from the day are long since gone since they were eduble. The gigantic pretzel and apple crisp with ice cream hit the spot that day. Well, in truth, everything hit the spot that day and I can't wait for next year. I have a lot of yarn to knit before I can justify another day of yarn gorging so I guess it is good that Rhinebeck only happens once a year.

Rhinebeck 2007

Rhinebeck was amazing and tiring, as expected.

We boarded our Yarn Safaris bus before the sun came up and didn't get back until way past sunset. The exhaustion was worth it because I came back happy and inspired and also filled with a gas station dinner, but that is beside the point.

I was so preoccupied with getting to all of the vendors while not losing my crew (Jamie, Becky and Maggie) amongst the crowds that I didn't take many pictures.

New York Sheep and Wool Mascot, I assume

Punk Rock Angora

There was a lot of yarn to look at so I devised a system...walk through the building looking at each stand, if something catches my eye, stop and touch it, if it feels soft, stay and think about what to do with it, if a project can be thought up or if it is too beautiful to pass up, buy. My system worked well because I left with things that I love and stayed within my Rhinebeck budget.

I didn't get a picture of this but it is worth mentioning. As I was walking out of a building, the sleeve of a passerby caught my eye. After a glance at her sleeve, I said to myself, "That's the Yarn Harlot!". It sure was and I know her knitwear enough to identify her by her very distinct sleeve.

Jamie finally got the birthday wish she has been wishing for all these years as she blows out her candles: a ponytailed man in spandex standing/riding on two costumed horses.

Oh, what a day!

The suspense!

Rhinebeck!!

In less than 24 hours I will be amongst most of my favorite things. I am really looking forward to spending the day feeding my senses and I get to be there with Jamie and Becky and it's Jamie's birthday. Be still my heart!

I've been reading what other knitting bloggers are writing and it seems that there is a universal sense of anticipation of something great to come. One of the parts of Rhinebeck that generates buzz on the blogs is Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo. I decided against participating even though it sounds like it would be a great way to connect with people whose blogs I read. It was just going to be too hard to split my attention in so many directions. There is yarn to look at and fleece to fondle and animals to pet and knitwear to admire and, oh, is that kettle corn? You see my problem. Too many things to pay attention to. I was afraid adding blogger bingo to the experience might have caused my head to explode.

We are starting out for Rhinebeck really early. We will rise at 5-something in the morning in order to make our Yarn Safari bus on time. It still beats having to do the driving ourselves, though. It'll be my first safari.

I am also looking forward to the answer to this question:

Will Becky finally knit something for herself and wear it?

Becky has a tendency to knit things and then not want them when she is finished. (Yes. She is likely a little bit crazy.) This time she is close to finishing an alpaca sweater and I have been egging her on to have it done in time for Rhinebeck. Time will tell.

I am going to have some serious catching up to do on this blog once this weekend is over. I have yet to report back on the wedding that left Paul in a sorry state and my foot in a multi-colored state and my sweater is almost done, too. That'll all have to wait because I've got Rhinebeck.

Sewing Monday

Last Monday I had the day off so I decided to tackle my long-neglected pile of to-be-sewn items. I did a bit of mending and then tackled the stack of bags that needing finishing of some type or another.

This bag has been waiting for at least a year to be finished. I made this bag during a free sewing class that was offered at the public library last year. The instructors encouraged people to bring in fabric that could be reclaimed. The idea was to take old clothes or other random fabrics and put them to a new use. The class was loosely structured. Students were instructed to bring fabrics and an idea of what they wanted to make. The instructors used the class time to help students work through their projects.

I brought along an old stained tablecloth that had a fantastic edge and some other fabric scraps. I wanted to make a tote bag. Being the big dreamer that I am, I didn't want just any old tote bag...I wanted a tote bag with pockets and layers and fringe and I wanted it to be perfect! I did a pretty good job except for one major mishap. I didn't sew the handles in deeply enough for them to be secure. If I carried any type of weight in the bag, the handles were likely to fray and dislodge themselves from the bag.

On Monday, I reinforced the handles by adding a layer. I don't think it turned out too terribly and now I have a fully functional tote bag.

Next in line was finishing a Sophie bag that I knit 2 years ago. I wanted to do something different for the handles but never found a solution that I liked. So, for the sake of finishing, I just added a zipper and decided that I am going to go without handles.

I knitted this little bag using random leftovers with the intent of lining. That was a LONG time ago. I've since learned how to sew linings in a tidier fashion, so I guess it is good that I waited. The reault was a tidy looking bag with the zipper edges tucked in between the lining fabric and the outside.

It was a pretty productive day of sewing. I had started the day hoping to plow through my pile and then move on to something from my new sewing book, Bend the Rules . There are lots of cute projects in this book that I am excited to try out. However, after I finished the pile of bags, I was out of sewing energy.

Instead, Becky came over and we had a knitting evening. We had a lot to talk about since Rhinebeck is coming up! We are getting there via a Yarn Safari. We will be accompanied by Jamie who's coming all the way from Minneapolis to share her birthday with us and all the sheepy goodness that is Rhinebeck.