Rhinebeck Birthday Bonanza

What more could a girl ask for--the NY Sheep and wool festival was on my birthday this year! Couldn't have planned that one better myself. And I will just say that it was fan-friggin-tastic!

Here is an example of the gorgeousness of that weekend:




I was actually a very discriminating shopper this year. I was focused mainly and seeing and learning. Ok, and getting some kick ass wool combs. I went to every vendor who looked like it even remotely had prep equipment and eventually came upon The Wheel Thing. I looked at them and fell in love instantly. I'm kicking myself for not getting them on the spot. I decided to keep looking (dumb) and by the time I got back they were all sold out. Here is a pic of what they look like (this is not my pic, but one I found via flickr). Beautiful, eh? Unfortunately because they are made-to-order I have to wait for them--but oh will it ever be worth it! I already have a few things in my stash that need some prepping with these beauts.

Sooooo what else did I get? Spinner's Hill batts of course! (Their website is being very cranky, so it might not actually show up). I always look forward to thier booth, to see what amazing fiber/color combinations they have come up with. This time around I bought some gorgeous red Finn. I was drawn right to it--it looked just like a pile of gorgeous autumn leaves. Had I not been in public I would have been apt to jump right in it!

One of the highlights of Saturday was meeting a regular from the Virtual Knit and Spin-in group, Sheepish1. We got to pal around a little bit before she caught her bus (which she filled with a bunch of friends, isn't that cool?). She is so funny and sweet! I loved hanging out with her and dearly hope we can do it again! Here is a pic of her at the Spinner's Hill booth, where I kindly enabled:



I also got a few patterns (including the obligatory Fiber Trends kids' clog pattern), some BFL and a crapload of angelina (for blending on the combs), and a high-speed whorl for my Shacht. And last but not least...signed copy of Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's latest book, Things I Learned from Knitting! She didn't have a talk this year. Instead she kind of just hung out and signed books. Once again I was way too starstruck to say anything at all to her, even though I could have had a one-on-one conversation had I been my usual charming self (snorts): there was absolutely no one in line!

Regrets aside, I had a great dinner that night at the Double O Grill, a nice little restaurant with a rather eclectic menu. It was totally delish. Hubs and I finished off the meal by sharing a gorgeously huge piece of strawberry cheesecake. YUM. It was a great decision to eat there; we could wait out the horrendous traffic by enjoying ourselves entirely.

We then checked into our hotel, the Superlodge in Kingston. Quite an underwhelming hotel. There aren't bugs running around or anything, and the sheets and towels were clean, but it was kind of dumpy. And hubs swears we were sleeping under what looked remarkably like exposed asbestos. I'm not going to say he was wrong about that. If you can find another place to stay for the same price, by all means do so.

To escape our fate for a while we hit the Ravelry party, where we promptly froze our tushies off. We did get some free (and yummy) local beer from our sponsors, but entirely missed the food and freebie bags. It was very very very cold. Since I didn't know anyone that was going to be there (aside from the Yarn Harlot, who aparently sends me into a fit of silence, and other knitting celebs like Jess and Casey from Ravelry) we floated around a bit until the raffle.

Things got immediately warmer when 200 bodies crammed together in the hopes that they would win something from the most impressive prize table. I had my hopes on the Ann Hanson kits. Sadly it was not to be!

Raffle shots, with Jess, Casey, and I think Mary-Heather:




The next morning we woke up early. Hubs dropped me off at the entrance of the Dutchess County Fairgrounds and went to take a tour of the gorgeous Vanderbilt mansion. Not my thing, at least not that day. My mission was WOOL COMBS plus watching some shearings, competitions, and visit with some Romneys, to thank them for their wooly goodness. Anyway, as it turns out the festival started at 10 am, not 9 AM, as the website so bodly and incorrectly stated. So I sat in the freezing cold with a couple other early risers andwe grumbled about it enough that they let us in a smidge early.

An aside note: I had my picture taken twice by random people, simply because I was wearing my clapotis! If you took my pic and are reading this, please let me know and I'll link to you!

It was really nice to walk around the halls and barns and still be able to breath. After checking the animals and booths out, I went to the food and crafts building, where I checked out the Sheep to Shawl competition. I espeically enjoyed the halloween team (I forget their real names! sorry!):





Other team pics:







And can I just say that it was incredibly cool to see a person this young participating in such an event? awesome!



Once I met up with DH again, we poked around the sheep stalls and of course I ooohed and ahhhhed the sheepies and goats. I just wanted to hug 'em all!

Angora goats (I think):


Cotswald Sheep:


I actaully had more pics, but all of the above were taken with the old camera, and I was lucky to be able to keep as many as I did. The rest were truely sucky.

my significant other insisted that I check out the Vanderbilt estate on the way home. I have to admit I'm glad I did. Does hubs read my blog? I'm sure I'll find out for sure now! Anyway, the vistas (a term hubby can't get enough of) are stunning. Here is my very handsome better half, enjoying said vista:



On the way home we bought a very nice camera, so I did take some pics of my loot, but they will have to wait until the next post! I know I know, but honestly the software is not exactly dummy-proof!