Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Remembering Rhinebeck . . .

I know I'm a bit late with my Rhinebeck Recap post, but some things around here have kept me off-line during the end of October.  Things like finishing up my class, busy weekends, some not-so-good family news, out of town guests and being sick on the couch.  You know, life stuff.  That's okay though, because now I get to relive Rhinebeck all over again.  This was my favorite Rhinebeck of the three I've been to, so I don't mind going back in my time-machine one bit!

Part of what made it perfect was the weather.  Mr. Mean-Weather-Dude had been forecasting rain and snow.  So not nice!  Don't they know what Rhinebeck means to a knitter?  Luckily, he couldn't have been more wrong.  It was cold and the clouds came and went, but there was no rain or snow at all.  As usual, the ride up was gorgeous.



Instead of just buying yarn willy-nilly like I usually do, I actually did some Pre-Purchase planning this year.  I spend the day before Rhinebeck going through my Ravelry queue and matching up stash yarn with queued projects.  Then I made a list of projects that I didn't have suitable yarn for and printed out their yarn requirements.  As usual, quite a haul followed me home but most of it was bought with specific projects in mind. You can click on the picture if you need to know what's there RIGHT NOW! Or keep reading and I'll tell you more.

Rhinebeck yarn haul

It's become "tradition" for me to go directly to The Fold's booth the minute I pass through the admission gate, and this year was no different.  The booth is always crowded but I was pleased to see I had arrived early enough to avoid the long line of people just waiting to get INTO the booth like last year.  I was also thrilled to see a big selection of mill-ends waiting.  In other years, the mill-ends were mostly gone by the time I got there.  I picked out two gorgeous skeins of light-weight for only $14 each.



Then I hit the medium-weight section, where I selected a skein called Korppi and a skein called Green Eyed Monster.  Color-coordination is NOT a strength of mine but I'm hoping these will look pretty together when knit into a Chevron Scarf.



As usual the line was LONG and I was feeling really dizzy? Excitement of Rhinebeck? Too many yarn fumes? Nope - the culprit was a dangerously low blood sugar. My prince of a husband stood in line for me while I sat on a bench with some emergency candy. It took about a half-hour for him to get through the line, but luckily my blood sugar was back up to a safe level and I was ready to go!

Our next stop was Jennie the Potter's booth.  Every year I stop by and admire her creations.  Every year I lust after the yarn bowls and mugs.  Every year I run out of money before getting back to purchase any.  This year, I bought them right away.  I was nervous about breaking something during the day, but they wrapped them up well and the four skeins of STR I had just bought were the perfect padding!



Like my coffee mug?  Okay, okay, it's not really supposed to be a coffee mug.  It's supposed to be for holding straight needles.  But I have my morning coffee in a MUG - and the actual coffee mugs available are never large enough for my mammoth cup of coffee.  So I've been using a needle holder as my coffee mug every morning.  Problem solved!

Next up, some very exciting plans. Meeting up with Amanda Cathleen for an early lunch!!  Of course, having just eaten a load of Sour Patch Kids to combat that pesky low blood sugar didn't leave me very hungry, so I just enjoyed a coffee and the wonderful company of Amanda and her mom.  I've been following her blog for years and I was thrilled to finally get the chance to meet her in person.



The rest of the day is a bit of a blur of yarn and food and yarn and crowds and yarn. I wrestled back into Building B and its crowds just long enough to find a skein of Brooks Farms Solo Silk for a Darkside Cowl.



We waited far too long in line for lunch, making me sorry that I hadn't been hungry earlier when the lines were shorter. We saw a cute little bunny in a basket.



I scored some gorgeous Mousam Valley Organic sport-weight from A Touch of Twist. Hopefully this will someday become a Gathered Pullover.



No, I didn't pick gray because that's the color they used in the magazine. I actually fell in love with a gorgeous chocolate brown colorway, but there wasn't enough of it left to knit the sweater. *sob sob* I debated buying it anyway and looking for another project for it. In the end I did the smart thing and chose the colorway that actually had enough yarn from my queued project.

Of course, there needs to be one impulse purchase, right? Mine was made at the Still River Mill booth.



Cashmere!!! And a Bamboo/Yak/Merino blend!!!  So soft and luscious I just couldn't resist!  I'm not sure what they will become.  Maybe a couple of cowls? Some soft mitts?  I have no idea but I'm more than happy to just enjoy them and pet them and love them until inspiration strikes.

We rounded out the day by sampling the Artichokes French for the first year (and we'll be having them every year from now on) and perusing the wine selections.  A bottle of wine followed Pete home - which is becoming another yearly tradition.

Right before we headed out the door, we ran into Jessica of Zarzuela Knits and Crochets. It's always great to run into her. This time was even greater because she happened to mention that no one had won her contest yet - prompting me to scream out "He Who Juggles Fire"!!  It was so worth the odd looks I got from on-lookers (including my own husband) because I was rewarded with this!!



A shawl kit from Morehouse Merino! I'm one lucky knitter, aren't I?

And that's it.  Another Rhinebeck is over - but as I said, I think this was my favorite year yet.   What made it so special?  The luck we had with the weather?  The friends, old and new, that I ran into?  The wonderful yarns?  The long coveted yarn-bowl and mug that made their way home with me?  The prize kit?  Spending a day with Sweetpea?  I have a feeling it was all of those things rolled into one!

9 comments:

Lee Ann Thill said...

That looks like fun!

And to put your delayed recap in perspective, I still haven't finished posting about my summer trip to Texas... so ya, I suck, and you shouldn't feel bad at all :)

Sonya said...

What a great fibery day! I can't think of anything better to cushion Jennie the Potter's wares than STR. Maybe Malabrigo. ;o)

We'll meet up there someday!

Jessica said...

Looks like you definitely did well for yourself on that day! And you must have a serious coffee habit cause that needle holder/coffee mug looks HUGE! ;)

Congrats again on the prize. :)

Anonymous said...

Nice stash enhancement!

The bunny in the basket is beyond cute. I'm surprised you didn't get one of those.

Trina said...

It looks like it was a fun day! One day I will make it over there to go along too :) Congrats on that awesome prize! And i'm impressed that you were organised and only brought what you needed for your queue

Melissa said...

Awesome! Gorgeous yarns and other goodies.

Zonda said...

What a great haul! It does make it easier when you have plans with the budget. Oooh loving your mug and yarn bowl too! Pea is a wonderful hubby for standing in that line for sure!!!

chris said...

Wow, what a seriously awesome haul!! I especially love the organic gray you got- it'll make a beautiful pullover. Sounds like it was a fabulous day. And a lucky one, too- I love that shawl kit you won! I swear, someday, we'll organize a Hawaii contingent to make it to Rhinebeck!!

Anonymous said...

It was a great lunch! See what I mean about eating early, those lines get loooong and fast! You are one lucky knitting and you have some fab new stash additions.

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