Knit and the City

Crazy trial a thing of the past, insane work week over, and we were headed to Rhinebeck! After a four hour drive, lengthened by the 45 minute traffic fest that escorted us out of Philly, we arrived at what could only be described as the Bates Motel, or, as I put it, "Christina, I think people come here to kill themselves."
But for $120 for 2 nights, it was just fine. So the once tiled shower now had a concrete slab, and we seemed to have a ghost sharing the room (Christina slept through it, but at some point during the night, all of the bottles over the toilet leapt off the shelf onto the floor) -- what did it matter when Christina was up and at 'em at 6:45 a.m. It was Maryland Sheep and Wool all over again - the anxiety to get to the Koigu tent replaced by the manic desire to secure Socks that Rock. So, at 7:30 a.m., we found ourselves at the Every Ready Diner, chowing down on Silver Dollar Pancakes, and scrambled eggs with lox. Mmmm, mmmm, a hearty meal to set us up for the shopping fest to follow. We left for Rhinebeck, ten minutes down the road from Hyde Park (yes, we stayed right next door to the Roosevelt Estate, no we didn't go), at 8:30, and we were in a parking space at the 4H gate at 8:45.

I've read on some other blogs that people were forced to wait until 10:00 a.m. to storm the compound, but we got lucky, purchased our magic ticket, got our t-shirts, and we were in - straight to Building A, and the Fold.

When we got to the Fold it looked like this - I sheepishly asked, "Are you open," and Toni was like, "Yeah, sure, come on in!" And, this is what we had to choose from:












And, this is what we bought:
We each bought 7 skeins, 6 for ourselves, one for someone else. By the time I got home, though, I was in a panic - I hardly ever knit socks, what was I thinking????? So, I ended up selling off another skein, for a nice number of 5 in my stash. So, in this bunch are Farmhouse, Rocktober, Rooster Rock, Puck's Dream, Waterlilies, Bleeding Hearts, and Rhode Island Reds.

Once we had our Socks That Rock, we crossed the aisle to Brooks Farm. How convenient! I bought enough Brooks Farm Four Play in Maryland for a Clapotis, and then I ended up making it out of something else. I got it in my head that I wanted to make a Wallabee out of what I had - but of course, I didn't have enough yarddage. So, I thought of ways to improvise - I could do the pocket and the hood in a solid, I could do a provisional cast on, and if I ran out of yarn, I could do the bottom ribbing in the solid . . . I could buy different yarn. So, I knew that I wanted to buy sweater quantity yarn at Brooks Farm. I walked around, felt up the yarn, but none of the colors were really calling to me. I wasn't moved. I decided to put off the purchase, and come back. There must be something wrong with me that I couldn't find a skein that I loved.

So, after Christina made her purchase, we made a drop off at the car, and returned to the now increasingly crowded fairgrounds.
And then I began my quest to fix my wheel - see below. The search for parts and gadgets did distract me from the yarn a bit - but I did buy laceweight at Skaska, along with an Orenburg triangle pattern (what was I thinking - there's like 10 charts - I'm going to have to go into a month-long seclusion just to get it started!!!), a Moorehouse Merino scarf kit, and enough 50 llama/50 merino to make the scarf/bonnet in Knit2Together. And yes, fairly late in the day, I wandered back to Brooks Farms - and found the perfect yarn - a beautiful variegated green - hidden on the bottom shelf of an almost empty cubby. And, when I paid for it, one of the Brooks Farms women was like, "ah, you're buying my green." I think they had secreted it away, in hopes that maybe no one would find it. But, I did! Yum.

Christina was a much more adventurous buyer than I - buying the 50 merino/50 Samoyed yarn. That's right, Samoyed, dog. I know that fiber festivals are about adventure, and trying new things - it's like going to a restaurant and trying tripe. But, if horse were on a menu, I'd pass. If monkey's brains were on the menu, I'd say next. And, I feel the same way about dog. The woman who spun the yarn told us that it's so great because, just like a dog, it's water repellant - in a rainstorm, the water just falls right off of it. Uch. Not interested. Dogs are pets, not products. And not headwear. Christina, I know you love your hat, and that's great, but it's not for me.

We met lots of livestock, see Christina's blog for her love affair with Lamby, the alpaca. I had no idea that the different breeds of sheep looked so incredibly unique. And, because we got to the fairgrounds early, we had a chance to talk to a lot of vendors before they were swamped, about spinning, and yarn, and running a farm, and this and that. And, thank you so much to everyone who recognized us and said hi - you really made us feel like rockstars!

Late in the day we headed to the Morehouse Merino store - where the pictures of Poppy below were taken. At some point, I took my glasses off and put them in my back pocket - oopsy. I bent them ever so slightly, but while we were in the Morehouse store, I felt slightly off balance, and while it was the most beautiful yarn store I've ever seen, I didn't buy anything, and all I really wanted to do was sit down. Luckily, in the car, a few adjustments later, and the glasses were back on track, whew!

I would definitely go back again - I think it's very different from Maryland Sheep and Wool - the festivals compliment each other. I know from talking to people, it used to be a lot smaller, more intimate, and I definitely got that feeling when we were wandering around before 11:00 a.m. So, I know there are those who think its ruined, too big, but I had a great time, and hopefully, will find myself back again next year.

So, now, I'm home, and I love my yarn, and have big big plans for it - well, except for the Socks that Rock - but I'll get to it . . .