Rhinebeck

my most favorite part of the fall season is a trip to the little town of rhinebeck for the ginormous nys sheep & wool festival. i adore this crazy, crowded event. having made this an annual trip, this year cemented all the plans and tips. my travel companions were as eager as i to suck every second of fun out of this trip. we started out early friday morning, traveling through the hills of new york toward central valley. spotting three flying swans (amythefibergoddess swears they were swans:) and a rainbow, we took those as omens of a great trip. there's an outlet mall that is filled with upscale merchants, so we got our vera fix, and meandered about before grabbing a bite to eat and settling into the hotel. we spend the night in fishkill which is a bit south of the festival, but allows us to beat the traffic jams in the morning.
saturday dawned sunny and cold. lots of layers under our hand-knit shawls!

the entrance line snaked back into the parking lot, so we stood chatting with neighbors waiting to get in. our mission was to get into the hansen booth so amy had a choice of espinners. after years of seeing my love affair, she decided to join in the fun.

it was a match made in heaven. the company is re-working their wheels and attachments, and amy had her mind set on a specific configuration... and found it.

we stood in lines, fondled yarns and roving, made lots of fabulous purchases.... and can't wait to do it all again!

my haul. roving from itw, fiber optix, yarn for my loom from lisa souza and a touch of twist. i've already started spinning and weaving, the excitement hasn't faded.