The past few weeks have been a whirlwind. I went to St. Louis, then NYC two weeks later, and last week to my grandpa’s funeral. Needless to say, I am behind on the posting of travels, finished objects, and general musings.

Rhinebeck was wonderful. I went on Sunday, wearing my Creature Comforts Cardi (pics soon, I swear!) and I was instantly enraptured by being in a place where so many people are wearing hand knitted goods. It was like a fantasy land. I felt like the patterns I saw the most were Clapotis and February Lady sweaters. I immediately got distracted by Building E, where there were a plethora of wines, cheeses, and other snacky foods. I spent at least an hour in there with my companions, gasping over the delicious cheeses and various sundries. I bought mostly sock weight yarn at both Rhinebeck and Purl Soho while I was traveling. That always feels like a safe purchase because I can easily make socks, a shawl, arm warmers, etc from just one skein. Here are the Purl Soho purchases:
In the back are two skeins of Koigu KPPPM in dye code P360. Koigu makes so many delicious colors. It’s very hard not to snatch up lovely ones we don’t have at my LYS. In front of that is a baby alpaca/wool/silk blend by Terra that feels wonderful. That color is Mint, and I also purchased Acorn. I was hoping to make two Bandana Cowls out of them, since the pattern calls for approximately 100 yards of yarn and these have 98, but I was running short when I tried it with the Acorn color, so I will either have to tweak the pattern, or use them for something else. In the front is a skein of Anzula Squishy in Teal. I love the vibrant teal color and subtle variation in the yarn. I can’t wait to knit with it.

And here is the Rhinebeck yarn:

There were so many amazing vendors to choose from. I was trying to budget myself, but I was really envious of the people walking around with bags full of wool. Sigh. These are both from Bittersweet Woolery. The color on the left is Iceling, and on the right is Crocus. I’ve been really attracted to blue, green, and yellow yarns for a long time. I don’t know if I should try to break out of my mold, or just be happy that most of my knitted stuff will somewhat coordinate.

Before I forget, there was also a small local fiber festival in my area. It was called the Ozark Folkways Fiber Festival. I entered my Summer Slice socks to be judged, and they won second place in the knitted category. I also purchased some locally spun yarn by Wool Therapy (love that name). Here is that lovely yarn:
Of course, I find wool, and working with it, to be excellent therapy.

The festival is really wonderful, full of luscious yarns, friendly folk, and tantalizing foods. I wish I could have eaten everything there. I had to settle for apple cider donuts, lamb ravioli, and Aztec hot chocolate because my stomach could only hold so much in a few hours and I had already stuffed myself with cheese samples.

Here is a quick slideshow of other Rhinebeck images, including some excellent fibers and adorable alpacas.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.