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!
Arriving in RhinebeckFall is in the air at RhinebeckFair food – while I didn’t have any of this, I did have maple cotton candy – delish!Happy RhinebeckersPassport Mitts in the wild! Made by Meg, Jen, and AlexSunday morning drive to Rhinebeck4-H dad talks to Jen about raising Shetland sheep. They are social animals and have to be sold in groups of two or more – at least in NY.This little guy was about six months old. He was so cute!
And the fiber!!!
(Click on the pictures with a yarn source named in the caption to go to each one’s website.)
Buckwheat Bridge Angoras. Love the colorways! The top one reminds me of Van Gogh and the bottom one is a luscious green.North Light Fibers Atlantic in Blue Moon – Rhinebeck exclusive color…more of a periwinkleSolitude Wool loveliesWeston Hill Farm Hand Dyed Sport Weight in Pear and Mountain LakeWeston Hill Hand Dyed Worsted Weight in Peony and New Dawn Rose
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!
Mystic city seen from our lanai the last day of our visit to Maui. I looked at it for some time before realizing that it was the reflection of buildings behind and to the left of us in the glass of the lanai and not some real, true and tangible place.
Has something bright or reflective caught your eye in the moment? Share a photo of something you were able to explore a bit! ~Nancy Thanki, The Daily Post
Those of you who follow this blog regularly know that I love water. It is so plentiful here in Oregon in its myriad forms, and I am drawn to it, both for quiet, contemplative moments and as a subject for photography. I love its reflective and refractive qualities, its motion, its stillness, its seemingly contradictory gentleness and strength.
When sunlight filters through water to the river rock below, there is an enchanting dance of form and color. I was enthralled one day to witness this dance, at the Salmon River near the Oregon Coast.
H2O is the chemical formula for water. It describes water broken down into its elements.
For this week’s challenge, share a photo that features H2O; the element of water. Water comes in many different states and guises. From a foggy morning to your favorite watercolor painting, how will you show H2O in a photograph? I look forward to seeing your interpretations. ~ The Daily Post, Lignum Draco
It was perfectly clear when I arrived at the beach at 3:09 that afternoon, and by 4:06, completely socked in. It happened so quickly that it was alarming. I was hoofing it to get back to the car in hopes that I could get back to the highway before the roads became foggy too. You can see the whole thing in pictures here: 60 Minutes in Pacific City.
by cascottby leelaswannby kimmeryby jenb69by jenb69by PLC1by jenb69photo, pumpkin, and hand-carved wooden apple core by torunnbby torunnbby meby mejenb69’s Patch and Candy (I’m not sure which pattern it is)by PLC1, as is featured photo
Over a year ago, I was struck – “hit up ‘side the head” one might say – with the inspiration and desire to design a colorwork sweater. Nevermind that I had never designed a sweater. I was confident about the colorwork; not as confident about the construction of the sweater – but I had my reference books, so I was ready to go.
I started by building a secret Pinterest board – a mood board, so to speak. It is now a public board, if you want to check it out, here: Tee Inspiration. Using it as a springboard, I began choosing colors for the tee, charted out a flower, and began swatching.
This blog examines the design process. When I am designing, I’m not only designing and coming up with something that is (hopefully) pretty, but I am also thinking about how my mind is processing information in order to come up with that design. Basically, I’m thinking about how I think while I’m thinking. I believe this caused me some anxiety when the design wasn’t coming together like I thought it should. I was experiencing roadblocks, and I didn’t know why. I do know enough from experience to know that when this happens, I should stop whatever I am doing and let my thoughts go work on some other problem for awhile.
However, at this point, probably 9 months after the initial inspiration, I had too much invested in the design. I felt driven to finish it. Even if it didn’t come out exactly as I had hoped, I just wanted it DONE.
So, I finished it. I finished the knitting, I finished the writing, and sent the pattern for tech editing. Whew, such a relief!
I think it’s telling that what I love most about the pattern are the photos. That photo shoot was great fun and practically all of the pictures turned out well. I also loved being able to use the Kitchener Stitch with this sweater and working with the fabulous yarn.
Love this photo from the photo shoot
Still, I don’t feel confident in this pattern. I don’t think it is ready to go out into the world yet. A friend is testing it, and I worry that it’s not going to fit correctly. I know that sometimes those worries are completely unfounded; yet, there it is.
What this tells me is that the pattern needs to go into time-out for awhile. Perhaps I won’t ever publish it. Perhaps more time needs to go by and I need to work on other projects. Then suddenly one day, something will click, and I will know what this pattern needs. In the meantime, I may make my sweater into a dress (with a feather and fan skirt) and add long sleeves in teal. –Perhaps that’s what the pattern needs. Maybe I stopped too soon by making it a tee instead of a dress.
I’ll conclude by saying that now that I have finished writing the pattern, I feel incredible lightness. My brain cells are freed to think in other directions and about other designs. I had felt as if the life had been sucked out of me – and now it is back.
…more to think about in the design process…when something takes over like that and becomes nearly an obsession, perhaps that is the time to drop it and turn in another direction. Or perhaps one must pursue it to its conclusion to learn whatever lessons there are to be learned.
Note: This post was written a couple of months ago, in July. The pattern is still in time-out. Other patterns have been written. Is it time to move on? We’ll see…I’m still considering other methods of construction and other variations for the colorwork sections – kicking those ideas around to see if they will coalesce into something new.
Thanks for taking the time to stop by and to read about my experience with the project from H-E-Double Toothpicks!
The Race Day Spa Cloth is here! It’s one of the new patterns in the Folk Tales Spa Cloth Collection , a collection of fun-to-knit and lovely spa cloth patterns knit side-to-side. Quick to make, they’re the perfect go-to patterns when you need to whip up a nice gift – just add a lovely bar of soap. Of course, it’s always a good idea to make a few for yourself, too!
The stockinette and lace pattern in the Race Day Spa Cloth reminds me of pennants one might see on the day of a big race – like the one between the Tortoise and the Hare. This cloth is knit sideways, using pima cotton to create a soft, luxurious and pampering facial cloth, like all the cloths in the Folk Tales Spa Cloth series.
This is one of my favorite spa cloth patterns. I love the look of just a little bit of stockinette alongside the garter stitch and the lacework. Some lovely cloths have been knit so far.
I love this cloth, striking in red:
Knit by Ratch, photo used by permission
This cloth is knit beautifully and staged elegantly!
Knit by WillowandTwist, photo used by permission
This cloth was knit by my friend Torunn. White cotton yarn shows off the stitch pattern so well! Torunn hails from Norway and staged her spa cloth with a traditional Norwegian bowl she painted (did I mention how creative she is???) and a troll doll!
knit equals joy & Cliff's Civil War Blog 