Argh . . . I don’t believe it . . . I lost my entire post and have to start over, and it’s never as good the second time . . .

So, finally, Rhinebeck. Not only have I been looking forward to this for months, but it took quite an effort to actually get there! The directions were horrible! Instead of what looks like about 15 minutes’ worth of driving, it took us 50 minutes to get from the exit off Rt 87 to the fairgrounds. Three major wrong turns, two stops for directions, and none of us could decipher the directions at all . . . they made no sense! (Since getting home, I’ve checked the website again–the directions are complete, but there are no margins and so they scroll off the page to the right, cutting off huge chunks of directions, including some fairly important points, like, say, mentioning Rt 209 . . . if you are in the business of writing directions on webpages, please do your readers a favor and make sure there are column widths so that they print on a standard 8.5″ piece of paper. This was completely insane.)

We did, finally, get there, parked, admissioned-ourselves in the gate, and started shopping. It was still raining at that point, incidentally. Misting more than really showering, but still–enough that I wore my raincoat into the fairgrounds, so that when the rain stopped around 12:30 (just as NOAA forecast), I was stuck carrying the thing around, crammed into the big, orange tote bag I brought as my purse today. It did turn out to be a lovely afternoon, though–the first sun in over a week, warm, but not too hot. Really nice. And really crowded.

I took barely any photos, but did snap this one of the meet-up that Cara organized at 1:00. It was so nice to actually get to meet some of you that I’ve been reading and commenting and emailing for so many months, and I’m only sorry I didn’t get a chance to say hello to everyone there. (Please know that if I didn’t, it was just because time ran out, not because I didn’t want to.) Among those I got to talk to: Annie. Rose. Alison. Laurie (who gave me a bit of a neckrub in greeting as I struggled to get my shawl back in my totebag). Julie. Julia (who bounced up in one of the friendliest greetings!). Chelsea. Wendy. Nancy. Katy. JessaLu. I caught glimpses of some, that I didn’t get to talk to, like Cassie and Norma. (If I talked to you and left you off the list, I apologize–I’m tired!! And remember, this is my second time writing this post. Please, leave me a comment so I can acknowledge you properly.)

  Of course, Cate and Risa were there, too, positively flaunting their beautiful, perfect, matching Hyrna Hergorbar shawls.

Really, I thought it was quite insensitive of them. But then, I suppose they had friendlier yarn and so were able to complete the project, so I really shouldn’t blame them for having the shawls. I mean, they’re both lovely people (with matching sets of young twins) and deserve beautiful shawls. I don’t begrudge that at all . . . I’m just a little sad for my lost one, you know . . . (sniffle)

But then, it’s not like it made my life that pleasant while it was here, and frankly, at the moment, I’m not talking to either the pattern or the yarn. They’re just going to have to manage without me for a while. Besides, I have some new, fibery “friends” to play with now.

  Like, for example, two skeins of Four Play from Brooks Farm in a lovely blue-with-a-touch-of-green colorway. I’m excited about that since I so enjoyed working with their Primero and Duet in that shawl last winter. Or three skeins of wool in a really beautiful gold-brown shade from the Sheep Shed. And did I mention the dear, little, twee Pinwheel spindle from Golding? (Please also note Chappy checking out my purchases. He was very curious about everything when I got home.)

I had hoped to get some Cormo for spinning, since I’ve heard such wonderful things about it, but didn’t see any–or at least, not in roving for me to spin. (I think I’ve established that I’m not such a fan of the whole raw-fleece processing thing, at least, not until or unless I can get a drum carder.) But I did get pretty much everything I really wanted to get . . . a small Golding spindle (5.5 oz!), some Brooks Farm yarn, some other wool . . .

You know, it’s the funniest thing, but I could swear that there was something else, but . . . gosh . . . I guess my memory’s going now that my birthday’s getting closer. (If you didn’t catch the subtle hint in there, just remember my Mom came with me and now I’m suffering from selective amnesia . . . so, anything else, you’ll have to wait a few weeks for photos.)

Now, I’m tired. So tired, in fact, that I didn’t even consider knitting tonight, and haven’t even summoned the energy to flip through the Vogue Knitting that arrived today. But I wanted to tell you about my day before I started to forget things. Fun. Exhausting. And at least for next year? I already know how to get there . . .

• Tags: Friends, General, Knitting/Spinning, Weather • Permalink:Finally, Rhinebeck // 21 Comments »