Knitting: Rhinebeck!
Every year on the third full weekend in October, Rhinebeck, New York hosts the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. Among the fiber cognoscenti, it is simply referred to as Rhinebeck and it is an amazing weekend for fiber enthusiasts at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. I hadn’t gone in a few years, but the weather was forecast to be spectacular this weekend and I couldn’t resist the siren’s call. Off I went with a fiber-loving companion and thousands of others.
It was a truly spectacular fall day, brilliant sunshine but cool, perfect for the phenomenon referred to as the Rhinebeck sweater. Attendees often plan well in advance and knit a sweater or other finery to sport at the festival. It is not unusual for a stranger to approach, ooh and ah, ask about pattern, yarn, knitting experience, and then continue on. I wore my recently completed Icelandic sweater, not intended for Rhinebeck but fitting the bill quite nicely (You can read more about the sweater and other recent knitting projects on last week’s post here). If you’re on Instagram, you can search on #Rhinebecksweater to get a sense of the commitment or watch this two-hour video (!) from last year. One of my favorite bloggers, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee aka Yarn Harlot, posted a picture on Instagram of her sweater, completed at the 11th hour, drying in the back of her car on the way to Rhinebeck! Also swung by and met the folks behind another favorite blog, Mason Dixon Knitting, and picked up one of their field guide books, Transparency. (Ann Shayne, pictured on the right in the lower picture, was one of my sweater admirers.)
I went with the intention of finding yarn for up to three projects. I had very specific kinds of yarn in mind, both by fiber content and color, and that is really best done in person. I came away with one project’s yarn: some beautiful natural baby alpaca yarn from Artisan Yarns of Hamden Hills, MA for a Rodeo Drive poncho, designed by Staci Perry of Very Pink Knits. Couldn’t find exactly what I was looking for the other two projects and indulged in only one impulse buy: a gorgeously dyed yarn by Dragonfly Fibers call Streets of Laredo. I was enabled by many strangers also admiring the exuberant colors, who encouraged me to get it. My tribe. I haven’t quite decided what I’ll knit with it but I have a strong contender.
We arrived just after the gates opened at 9, knowing what a crush it can be as the day unfolds (attendance in 2016, the last figures I could find, was estimated at 38,000 over the weekend; I’m sure it’s grown each year since then). This year there were nearly 400 vendors mostly selling yarn and fiber but also other craft supplies, kits, tools, as well as livestock auctions. I do enjoy seeing the animals; it makes me feel that I’m thanking them for their part in something that gives me such great pleasure. It also is important to me to put my money into the hands of the people doing the work to produce these great materials, compensating them directly for their skill, talent, and time.
You will note that I have few pictures of the yarn offerings. The buildings are so packed that it seemed lethal to try to take pictures. I sometimes feel like I’m in a rugby scrum with lots of soft padding around—that’s the benefit of having product that soft and squishy!
As we left around 2, the queue to get in wound its way down the paths, the parking lot was crammed with cars, and still people streamed in. I’m glad we left when we did as I had hit sensory overload threshold. Looking forward to next year’s festival. Better get busy planning next year’s #Rhinebecksweater!