Orange was a strong thematic element last weekend at Rhinebeck! It seems impossible that just a week ago today at 9:00 a.m. we were entering the Dutchess County Fairgrounds to experience the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York.
Thursday
Susan arrived in Washington, DC last week Thursday and was soon whisked off to the Bourbon Steak House at the Four Seasons Hotel. They served the best iceberg wedge salad she have ever had, and the poor thing dreams about it every day!!
Friday
Friday morning we headed to Rhinebeck, following a crazy, circuitous route that defied logic. GPS, what were you thinking??!! We chose to travel up the east side of the Hudson so we could get the lay of the land before the “big day.” The river and fall foliage were spectacular. We drove through Hyde Park, the home of the Roosevelts. And easily found the fairgrounds. We ate in Rhinebeck and discovered a local specialty: crispy artichoke hearts. Delish!!!
Our accommodations were quite luxurious 😉 :
Saturday
Saturday morning we headed to the festival in time to wait in line with hundreds of other excited fiber enthusiasts. We had not done any homework: we did not know the layout of the grounds or anything about the vendors. We like to go with the flow!! The venue was wonderful: the buildings seem new and clean, the grounds were covered in colorful fall trees, etc.
The first building we entered was packed with people. You had to fight your way into some of the stalls. It was wild. Noni from Noni Knits was there and had a full array of purses and the findings to complete the bags. We may have dropped a dollar or two!
One thing we both wanted: apple cider donuts!
OMG!! The best!! Cannot be described.
Susan’s other obsession was Maple Sugar Cotton Candy. She had heard about it and really wanted to try it!
It looked exactly like the most beautiful fleece in the world: creamy colored and just like cotton batting. Melted in your mouth and not very sweet. It was worth a trip back!!
We shopped and shopped. Susan found this stunning felted bag:
Sally loved these bags, too but couldn’t find exactly what she wanted…decided she could order one later. Julia makes many cute styles.
It was fun to see so many people that share your love of wool and knitting. Susan wore her Scatness Tunic and cowl as planned and enjoyed wearing it. Sally wore her Creature Comforts Cardi and wrapped up in her Mary Tudor Wrap because the weather was a bit unpredictable.
We dragged ourselves exhausted and broke into town to dine at The Terrapin (for more crispy artichokes). We were a little early for our reservations, so we shopped “a bit.” Well Sally found the bag o’her dreams in a little shop across from the Terrapin:
Now Susan thinks hers looks like a piece o’crap!! Sally’s is a truly stunning bag!
Sunday
Sundays at the festival are much less frenetic and far less crowded. We spent a couple of hours revisiting spots (okay, the donut shop and cotton candy stand), and bought more yarn (lots more yarn). And ate more crispy artichokes.
That evening we were relaxing in the hotel café, minding our own business, knitting and munching when a woman swooped by and invited us to a “post-Rhinebeck” yarn tasting event being held in our hotel 3 seconds from where we were sitting! Anne Hanson had her line of Bare Naked Wool and a few other yarns for sale. We thought we were done and all our yarn money spent. Nope.
Monday and Tuesday
Monday and Tuesday were travel days, getting back to reality.
Here is the yarn that Susan bought (Sally will share her great buys in a later post — she is travelling at the moment):
Harrisville Watershed – Penstock: a lightly spun worsted in a very dark, almost back, deeply colored wool. Purchased for Rowe (which she actually started last night!). Susan bought a ton of this for a sweater coat.
Shalimar Yarns Paulie — Orange is the New Black!! Found this yarn at the Anne Hanson event: could not resist this color (it added to the orange theme!!). Both of us snagged a skein.
Miss Babs Yowza in French Marigold — MORE orange yarn! A gorgeous coppery tone, perhaps for Thorntower. Miss Babs’ booth was crazy busy on both days. You could not even get to the yarns: people had to hand them back to you to look at!!
Take-aways
We love apple cider donuts, maple sugar cotton candy and crispy artichokes. We both really enjoyed the trip to Rhinebeck. The travel time and expense make it not as attractive an option as the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival (an hour’s drive from Sally’s home), but we would probably go back. Just not every year!!
Would you be kind enough to share the name of the shop and/or designer of the bag Sally purchased.
Comment by Cathy — October 25, 2014 @ 6:06 pm
The bag was purchased at a store called Joovay, sort of across the street from the Terrapin restaurant. The brand is Graf & Lantz.
Comment by surly — October 25, 2014 @ 7:12 pm
Fabulous report, ladies!
Susan, did you get Watershed for Erisort? What color?
Comment by Susan — October 25, 2014 @ 10:09 pm
Sounds like you two had a wonderful time. I’ve always wanted to go to Rhinebeck, maybe next year. Thanks for the report.
Comment by Patti — October 26, 2014 @ 10:13 am
Nice report! We arrived early, but did not stay very long as the crowds were so daunting. I do admit to be sort of crowd phobic! The booths I wanted to visit were so crowded- Miss Babbs was on my list, but not worth the aggravation. My husband was a good sport! His 1st yarn fest and I think our last. We stopped for a nice lunch and enjoyed a leisurely ride home. Nice to see the event through your eyes.
Comment by Sally — October 26, 2014 @ 4:43 pm
Try the apple doughnuts at The Linden House, off 66 just before Front Royal. No yarn, but closer to home (for one of you), and they are delicious!
Comment by Tracey — October 27, 2014 @ 10:53 am
Sorry – it’s The Apple House, in Linden. Google first, then comment….
Comment by Tracey — October 27, 2014 @ 10:53 am
What a fun report about Rhinebeck! I really got the flavor and hope to experience it myself one day. Both purses were pretty spectacular. Such temptation. I loved the picture of the trio of ladies wearing their “Rhinebeck sweaters” and was particularly intrigued by the gray sweater on the right worn with the red scarf. Would love to know the pattern. (Searching for it on Ravelry would probably take months.)
Comment by Chloe — October 27, 2014 @ 8:54 pm
To Chloe, the gray cardigan looks like Tinder by Jared Flood.
Comment by Lissa — October 27, 2014 @ 10:46 pm
Thank you so much Lissa! I checked on Ravelry and now that I see it in more detail, it is exactly what I want including the raglan sleeves, upturned collar and textured mid-section (so great for hiding a few extra tummy pounds). I have both queued and favorited it, and thank you Susan and Sally for providing this sweater example in the first place. Sometimes seeing something “in the wild” hits you more than the formal depiction of the pattern (although I have always loved Brooklyn Tweed’s patterns and bought several.)
Comment by Chloe — October 28, 2014 @ 9:45 am
Green with envy. Anne Hanson’s blog is one of my must reads and I have a small stash of Kent DK BNW sitting in my closet, waiting for just one more project to be finished. Anne lives and works in Canton OH, close to my home town, and she and her husband have made a huge contribution to the revival of a once thriving city…besides all the contributions to the knitting community! It’s always great when someone can use knitting to make a difference. Will look forward to seeing what all this bounty turns into.
Comment by Ellen — October 28, 2014 @ 10:38 am
I too found the crowds quite daunting but I did manage to meet Barbara Parry of “Adventures in Yarn Farming” fame and I found some lovely fiber to spin some day. I lost all my pictures due to a phone failure, so I’m glad you shared yours.
Since my friend and I travelled all the way from Florida, I doubt that we will have a chance to visit Rhinebeck again. SAFF is within driving distance and the vendors there are comparable to Rhinebeck.
Blogless Mary Lou
Comment by Mary Lou — October 28, 2014 @ 8:58 pm
You’re welcome, Chloe! I think it looks like a very nice sweater. I’ve been eyeing it for a while, which is why I recognized it. And I agree, it looked even better “in the wild”. 🙂
Comment by Lissa — October 30, 2014 @ 10:32 pm
To all of you who can’t get into Miss Babs’ booth at Rhinebeck or Maryland, come on down to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair next October (Halloween weekend) in North Carolina. Seriously! Miss Babs is there and while it is crowded, it is not mobbed and there isn’t a line. Just a suggestion. 😉
Comment by Laura Walters — November 2, 2014 @ 3:55 pm
Love both purses.
Comment by Laura — November 8, 2014 @ 1:23 pm
oh my !- yes, the second bag is quite lovely, Graf&Lantz are an amazing company, and a very different product.
– I am just hoping Susan does not still see her bag as “a piece o’crap” – I would hate for her to feel that way!!
Comment by julia — November 12, 2014 @ 1:20 pm