rhinebeck

 

on the taconic parkway north . . 

 

since i had the kittens to take care of this morning, we didn't get on the road until much later than normal: 9:20 am. thus, we arrived much later and were assigned a very different parking lot than in past years. it felt wonderful to be out in a grassy field with a big blue, cloud strewn sky.

 

the first stop was my knitting group meet up; a group i became involved with during covid due to the fun zoom sessions it would have.

we managed to get organized for a group photo . . 

 

with lisa . . 

and cheryl and amy (who began the knit collage company a bunch of years ago through her love for hand spinning and creating soft, bulky, very woolly yarn) with her latest little one, barrett.

i then went in search of greg who was wandering around by the food trucks . . 

and we headed to the llama area.

 this little fellow was very interested in them also.

 

i saw quite a few instagram photos of this lady in her colorful outfit and gorgeous bag.

our next destination were the sheep . .

these were tammy's beautiful cormo sheep from wing and a prayer farm.

waiting patiently for me . . 

the lincoln longwool breed (from which i knitted a sweater a few years ago with yarn from prado de lana farm).

sweet dorset sheep who liked when i rubbed their noses.

everyone was admiring this one's beautiful brown wool.

this poor guy did not like having his fleece blown dry,

while this one didn't seem to mind his scissor trim.

 

heading over to the food trucks for lunch . .
 

in my kaleidescope sweater (you can see it closely on its ravelry page) . .

(grandma taking pics of her granddaughter)

i had a greek salad with falalfel and greg had a taco salad . .

and also apple pie with ice cream.

last pit stop before going home . .

i took a slice of pie home with me. the line for the donuts was too long (at least an hour!) and i wanted to get back on the road as i was concerned about the kittens, even though chanda was handling giving them their afternoon meal (she also had work at the cafe today). there was also a very large rainstorm on its way which i didn't want to get caught in. we were at the fair for about four hours which is probably the shortest rhinebeck visit we've ever done. i bought beeswax tapers and a bulky skein of gold colored yarn from sheepy valley farm. i only browsed through one barn very quickly. we thought it best to stick with outside exhibits.

the sky is always so beautiful.

and then we were on the road and home by 6 pm. it was a really nice day.

rhinebeck!

standing on line to enter the dutchess county sheep and wool festival! it was a perfectly cold day and everyone enjoyed shivering in their woolens! the time on the information for this photo says 7:51 am . .

 the time on this photo is 8:19 am . . so we had managed to stand in another line and buy yarn in the space of just half an hour . . as did many others. it was the miss babs line, and it was THE line to rush to if you were a miss babs fan. korrina was very happy with her purchase, and to give the people credit, the skeins were a good price and most everyone was sweater buying.

 so many skeins! i held her place in line and made friends with the husband in front of me doing the same for his wife. when we finally reached the front of the line, he stepped aside and motioned for me to do the same, "we wait here now," he said, "until they come back and then they head to the cashiers." it was nice to have a guide!

 making the purchase . . 

miss babs fans taking a photo with the lady herself.

 it felt so exciting to be roaming the aisles . . everywhere one looked there was gorgeous wool . . from grey pompommed accessory cases (yes, i succumbed and purchased one for myself) . . 

 to the most beautiful shawls showcasing hand dyed yarns homegrown on family sheep farms . . 

i don't have enough arms . . i don't have enough time!

so much yarn . . 

bats of roving . .

lace . . 

lace!!!

wooden buttons . . 

the miss babs line which has only grown since korrina bought her skeins and we started roaming around the four buildings in the welcome area. it was smart to head there immediately upon entering.

a peter rabbit spindle (korrina loves to spin).

meeting up with my friend janet to put her purchases in my car (she bought fleece and lamb's pride yarn in bulk for her children's crafting workshops she holds in her home).

 here i'm digging into armenuhi's lovely display at battenkill fibers. armenuhi is a new natural hand dyer i started following through instagram, whose colors and yarn i really admire . . plus she has an adorable three year old . . 

she set up a lovely display . . (she uses battenkill fibers yarn for her base) . . 

in my casapinka designed "loop" shawl with am's yarn that she dyed in cyprus . . i knit this shawl while traveling cross country last year.

finally meeting am and her new little one!

 korrina was excited to meet up with her ravelry group, as several came from the uk (it was fun to meet becci from riverknits, and is woolly wormhead in this pic too, san?)

 while korrina visited with her friends, i made my way over to the cider donut line.

at first, it wasn't the donuts i desired, just the cider . . but after standing in line for an hour and a half (yes, this is true!!!), i decided that donuts were in order!

one makes friends on the cider donut line . .

admiring barbara's beautiful sweater jacket, which she emailed me the pattern for.

 we were next in line when i realized after talking with our new friends behind us, that we didn't have cash and that we needed cash! (they had fallen prey to this catastrophe a few hours before and were on the line for the second time). i thought i would be able to use my debit card. well, we were able to cough up the ten dollars we needed for three ciders and two donuts, but everyone behind us and in front of us were ready to help out if we didn't have it.

 after biting into the donuts, we realized why the line was so long . . they were incredibly delicious! sweet and crunchy and soft and flaky! they were really the best donuts i had ever had in my life, and i think it was because they were so fresh out of the fryer. they were still warm and so sugary.

 janet came by for her cider and a bite of donut . . 

a little later on there was a rain storm, but that donut line did not waver! everyone stayed put, though others ran for shelter.

 my favorite sheep photo . . 

 korrina and i are now making our way to a sheep talk by amanda barcenas of prado de lana farm which is located in new hampshire. two years ago, while at rhinebeck, korrina picked up four skeins of yarn from amanda for me to make a sweater. it's taken a few years for me to get moving on that project, but i did finish it for this year's rhinebeck . . the motivation was that the lambs of the sheep my yarn was from would be at the fair today with amanda.

the pattern is the shore cardigan by carrie bostick hoge, and the yarn is from amanda's lincoln longwool sheep, leona. 

 korrina in her carbeth (kate davies) with yarn from a friend that she dyed herself (with rit dyes--a charcoal grey . . i think we like grey a lot . . )

and here's amanda . .with dana, lamb to leona.

a close up of dana in her stall (she's one of twins) . . the light was fading . . it was getting late . .

a last photo of the fair's crowds and the beautiful maple and oak trees . . 

 on our way to the book signing building . . 

 this is the storm that was coming up that couldn't quench everyone's donut desires on the cider donut line . .

 here i'm in the book building, admiring a woman's beautiful shawl. the pattern was "the love of spiders" in periwinkle sheep yarn. 

 and here's korrina's fan girl moment, meeting alex creates and taking a selfie with him. i'd love to get one of his ombres one day.

 the fair is finally quieting down and everyone is going home . . 

 but we first had to stop for a few more sheep and lama pics . . 

finally, it was time to say good-bye . . 

and the ride back to saugerties was horrible . . there was terrible traffic and it took us two hours to return to the room (it only took twenty minutes in the morning). it was dark by the time we were back and we were exhausted . . in a good way. we stopped by a pizza place for take out, and then headed back to the room . .

 stash picture taking time . . 

 this was yesterday and today, so i thought i didn't do too bad . .

just as an example of why i think that . . here's a pic of one of korrina's ravelry group friend's instagram page . . a huge suitcase full of yarn ready to fly back to england! we thought that maybe it was several friends' purchases combined, but perhaps not! i'm sure it will be used. some people can really knit up a storm.

and here's my oysters and purl purchase . . it's difficult to tell with this light, but these skeins are a slate blue color . . dyed with indigo.