Rhinebeck!

I was so fortunate to be able attend Rhinebeck last weekend!  For those of you not yet familiar with Rhinebeck, that’s the name knitters, crocheters, weavers, spinners, dyers and other fiber lovers have given to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, which takes place every October at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds in Rhinebeck, New York.

Going to Rhinebeck has become an annual affair for many.  For me, this was my second time attending, the first having been in 2011.  I wrote about that trip here: Fiber Festivals as Travel Destinations.

I attended Rhinebeck with my friends Meg and Jen, and we met up with other Ravelry friends while at the festival (see picture below).  We also had a great meet-up with our friend Alex and her mom, but I didn’t end up with the meet-up picture. We lucked out with lovely accommodations in Kingston. We had mixed results with our dinner in Kingston. But in the end, it came down to good company and lots of fun, fibery goodness.

Reports I’ve read state that about 30,000 people attended on Saturday.  It was a bit crowded for me, but good for people watching and scoping out the yarn.  Sunday was much more comfortable, the lines were much shorter and you could move around in the artists’ booths.  I made no purchases on Saturday and none until about the last hour we were there on Sunday. I was sorely tempted all weekend by qiviut, the fine undercoat of the muskox and the softest fiber I’ve ever touched, but finally decided against it.  I love locally sourced yarn, and that is mostly what I ended up with.

Now we come to the fun part, which is lots of pictures of Rhinebeck and pictures of the yarn!

And the fiber!!!

(Click on the pictures with a yarn source named in the caption to go to each one’s website.)

Thanks for letting me share my impressions with you. It was a wonderful weekend – and best of all was the time spent with old and new friends!

knit equals joy