rhinebeck

what a weekend! i've been looking forward to the nys sheep and wool festival since, well..... as soon as i left last year. it did not disappoint!

joan, cc and i traveled on friday to stay the night with my sister. i've a standing reservation for this weekend and she accommodates us with style.

we were at the festival eager to go at 9:15am. we arrived to get parking next to the entrance gate and we took advantage to dump purchases throughout the day. i got tickets online, so we just stepped through the gate, no waiting! we all made purchases within the first 15 minutes!

cc bought yarn and i got roving from creatively dyed yarn. i'm eager to try ocean fiber (70%wool/30% seacell). joan wandered into the booth with the felted hats. how could she not get this? i admit that i nudged her (just a little) and she was in bliss the remainder of the day with her topper. amythefibergoddess came with the bus group, and then traveled home with us. we fell in love with the karakul sheep. interesting breed that i had not yet encountered.

of course, we visited every barn and building at least once and the item to have were the baskets. i purchased two small berry sized and amy had even more! i acquired roving from gale's art.... lots of fun colorways and some interesting new to me fibers. all totaled it seems that 2 lbs of fibery goodness made its way home with me. i still feel that i missed things, even though we closed the gates. i am already eagerly anticipating next year!!!!

allison on the go

allsion is really doing it up! pedi-cab ride in San Fransisco, and there are rumors that she was spotted with several young sailors...... (it was fleet week). who better to appreciate a gator, than sea men!

moonstruck

several years ago, i think it was my first visit to rhinebeck, i wandered into a booth filled the most gorgeous kits. sweaters, vests, blankets, they were stunning. here's where the story goes south.... i walked away. i checked the price, had sticker shock, and just left. as i thought more about it, i realized that they were very reasonably priced, and why would you want to go cheap on something that you would wear forever? life lessons.


sadly, they have never been back to rhinebeck. i search every year and still feel that pang of regret. the important part is that i learned my lesson. i keep a small fund for those types of finds and one just crossed my path. huge fan of 'blue moon fiber arts', huge. i've done lots of 'socks that rock' played with the roving and generally bemoaned the distance to the studio. since it is located in washington (state) it makes a road trip.... unlikely! so i content myself with the website, visits at fiber fests, and my current stash. a pattern was promoted several months ago and i fell in love. well, it was extreme lust, but hey, i'm flexible with my affections. then a promotion comes along and ...... it was mine!

moonstruck is a cardigan that i will be knitting in gaea ( organic merino ) colorway~grawk. can't wait to cast on!

allison

remember the gator bag? created for my sister, naughty, it has become my best gift ever. she loves that darn thing. when it didn't win first place at the fiber fest, naughty took it as a personal insult (remind you, there were tons of awesome creations and i was thrilled that it was even in the top three).

so, naughty is on the road. with allison. i've started receiving the pictures of her travels. naughty is visiting california and took the bag onto the plane (refusing to check it in her luggage as allison would not do well in a small enclosed space like that)

here she is visiting the ginormous redwoods in northern california. go naughty!

what was i thinking....

that making a princess costume would be a do-able project? at least i had the smarts (?) to cut it out today and really look at the instructions. yards, yards, yards of lace, a sparkly bodice and lined sleeves. with any luck, it will be large enough for a few years worth of wear.

the vest ~ fred's jazz vest in berroco peruvia worsted~ is moving right along. must be all the sitting time at lessons now that fall is here. i've even perfect the seam less jog! i know, i'll be the only one looking under his arm to see that smooth seam, but hey..... every fiber artist needs a small thrill!

catch up

fall is such a wonderful adventure, and it always goes to fast. so, i'm playing catch-up today with my adventures from last weekend. amythefibergoddess decided that we needed to check out the knox farm fiber fest. i am always up for an adventure and since my partner would be knee deep in work it was a perfect time to skeedaddle!

the weather was brisk, and very windy when we arrived at the park. knox farm is a restored working farm that has become a lovely park. there are animals and barns and rolling hills to explore. the festival is small, easily doable in an hour. amy is sporting her first purchase, a lovely wrap hand knit from hand spun. what a find. we both went crazy at the witch booth. full of wooden creations celebrating all the holidays of this season.

we chatted with fiber friends then headed into the nearby village of east aurora for lunch. we went with a recommendation for a coffee house on the main street and our lunch was well worth the wait. veggie friendly for me and a carnivore's delight for amy, we were able to chat about guild stuff, fiber stuff and just relax. now i'm eager for rhinebeck!!!!