A Very Long Rhinebeck Post

I planned to do a blog post with all or at least most of the pictures I took, but it's going to take way too long, so I'll just recap, then post a link to the pictures.

Friday consisted of a lot of driving. We left Jessica's around 8 AM and arrived at the hotel around 5 or 5:30. We settled in, then went in search of wine. We were successful. That evening involved hanging out in the hotel, drinking wine and knitting. I should mention that I was working on my Mara shawl. When we left, I just had a few inches of ribbing to finish up. I worked on it for almost all of the car ride and in the hotel and finally finished it up around 10:00 that night. It turned out really nicely, but I really need to learn how to properly weave in ends because I have a few poking out.

Saturday morning. We get up bright and early and head off for the festival. We get there right around 9:00 AM (when the doors open). We stood in line for a while to get our wristbands and the line happened to be in a spot that had terrible winds blowing at us like crazy. We were all cold, but I was stupid and neglected to pack a sufficient sweater or jacket, so I was especially freezing.

We get in. We know we want to get to Sanguine Gryphon first thing and we have a heck of a time finding it. Finally, we find it and push our way through the crowds. Dawn, Andrea, and myself were pretty restrained at the SG booth. Dawn and I got 2 skeins a piece and Andrea got 1 skein. When Andrea goes to pay for her skein, she asks the SG ladies what the colorway name of her skein is, since it isn't marked. They see her Ravelry button with her user name and write "Andi Bug" on her label. So, Andrea has her own SG colorway now! Very cool.

After that, we head down to The Fold where they're selling STR. None of us decide to purchase anything there, so we walk around for a while. There's much browsing and buying and eating. (Most of us got Gyros and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. They weren't very good.) Most of the day is a blur to me. There were really nice people and really pretty fibers. Late afternoon, we all sat down and knitted for a little bit before heading out.

We chose the wrong time to leave (right around the time the festival ended at 5). We sat in the parking lot for an hour and a half before getting out onto the road. It was kind of ridiculous. Certainly they could do something about that? I was freezing (all day) so I wrapped myself up in some fiber and yarn in the car. There are pictures somewhere.

After we got out, we stopped at CVS and then headed to the Ravelry party. We were to park at the school down the street from the Elks Lodge and take a shuttle bus to the party. We ended up waiting there for over an hour to get on a shuttle, which wouldn't have been such a huge deal if we weren't freezing and in desperate need of a bathroom. We met some fun people in the line, though, so that's something. When we finally got to the actual party, we emptied out from the bus directly into the bathroom line. There were a lot of lines Saturday.

Okay, so we've peed and we're at the party. We went directly to the bar in hopes of warming up. There were two bartenders. One of them poured the drinks quite a bit stronger than the other. This is the bartender I went to for every drink. I think he put 1 1/2 to 2 shots in every drink he poured me. I liked him a lot at the time. Now, not so much.

The Ravelry party was really fun up until around 9:30, when they did the gift basket raffle. After that... who knows. I think it was still fun, but I can't honestly tell you. I remember little snippets, but most of my information has come from Dawn, Andrea, and Tina. (Jessica was in the same boat as me.) At some point, Jessica and I went back into the photo booth and took pictures and I'm pretty sure this is where we ran into Jess (of Ravelry). Jessica talked to her and I guess I did, too. I have no clue what I may have said, but I'm very hopeful that it wasn't anything too horrifying.

We'll leave out the rest of that evening.

Sunday morning. Ouch. Waking up was beyond terrible. I felt like death. But, I got up, showered, took a couple of Excedrin, and ate a bagel, and I felt like a real person again. I didn't feel good, but I felt alive, so that's something. We got back to the festival a little later Sunday due to our late-night partying.

We shopped, but I didn't buy anything else since I went over budget on Saturday. We had some chicken pot pie, which I'm sure would have been better if I hadn't still felt like crap. After eating, the others went off to do more shopping and I slept in the car for a little while. Best nap ever, by the way.

I did witness something awesome while laying in the car, though. A couple in their 40s or 50s came out to their car, which was parked next to ours, to drop stuff off and change. The man was in a button down shirt with a hand-knitted fair isle sweater over his shoulders (tied in front, like in a J. Crew ad). The woman said "When I was walking behind you, I saw a great shot. Come over here." And he did. And she took a picture of the sweater wrapped around his neck. The amazing thing was that he didn't groan or grumble. He just followed her instructions and allowed her to take the picture. Then he changed into a hand-knitted cable-y sweater vest. I wanted to hug him. Clearly the best husband ever.

And then, after my nap, the others came back and we headed home. We didn't get home until around midnight and we were so ready to be home. It was a really long drive home. It felt way longer than the drive there. But, we made it home in one piece.

It was an amazing trip with lots of fun stories to tell. I am so very grateful to my Rhinebeck companions for the good times. A special shout out to Dawn, Andrea, and Tina, for all they did during that part of the trip that I left out from the post. They were very understanding and helpful. And, unlike what I'm told I said in line for the bus back to the school, they didn't judge.

What I got:



Starting from top left, going clockwise:
-1/2 pound undyed merino roving
-1/2 pound undyed Alpaca/Merino/Silk blend
-2.1 oz llama bermuda handspun
-4 hanks of Merino/Angora
-SG Bugga! in Blue Dasher
-SG Eidos in Milesian
-Fiber Optic Kashmir in Catamaran
-Oak Grove Gemini in Paprika
-2 skeins Oak Grove Gemini in Hair
-1/2 pound dyed Merino/Tussah silk roving

Link to my other pictures: RHINEBECK PICTURES