Rhinebeck Recap

My trip to the Rhinebeck Sheep & Wool Festival in Upstate NY was everything I could've wished for and much more!  On the wooly weathered night I arrived, I had a scrumptious meal in a warm and friendly atmosphere at Foster's Coach House Tavern.  I had many delicious dining experiences throughout the trip but as this isn't a food blog, this is the only food photo I'm going to post.

(Sorry vegans) grilled pork chops, red cabbage sauerkraut, apple sauce, a baked potato and string beans sauteed in garlic with an Ithaca Beer Co. Flower Power IPA (or 3) for a tab that cost less than some shitty takeaway in SF.

I stayed at the Mirbeau Inn and Spa which was less than a mile from the Dutchess County Fairgrounds.  It's a brand new hotel and they hadn't even finished building it when I made my reservation months ago and was lucky enough to secure the last available room!  It was a lovely place to stay and I highly recommend it.  My knitting pal, Amber, took the train up from BK and shared the room with me from Fri-Sun and we enjoyed it so much that we already booked an advance reservation for next year.

Groovy yarn display in the window at A.L. Stickle 5 & Dime Store on the high street.

Great view of the Hudson at the Rhinecliff-Kingston train station.

I started these socks in SF and finished them during my trip.  They're knit on size 6 needles with Malabrigo SWM Rios in 841 Tranquilo using my favorite Atelier ribbed sock pattern.

The festival is literally Lambtown on steroids.  It's basically Lambtown x 100 with stronger county fair vibes, especially with the food tent offering tantalizing taste testings of a myriad of local produce and booze, the smorgasbord of food trucks and countless fiber themed competitions.

The weather was perfect.  My company was divine.  The vendors were endless and the quality of their products impressive!

 We arrived right when the gates opened at 9 AM and besides a brief lunch break, it took until the gates closed at 5PM for us to finish exploring the grounds.  It was very inspirational to be surrounded by so many talented and enthusiastic fiber artists and to see so many (different interpretations of) amazing patterns and products.

Great license plate spotted on our way out of the fest and a shot of my purchases.  Not featured in the photo, the other 7 hanks of The Periwinkle Sheep merino aran gold rush I bought.  The other 2 hanks in the photo are Hubcity Fibers Yummy SWM Aphrodisiac which I was lucky enough to find as a free gift in the ATM hut and Bumblebee Acres Fiber Farm Bubble Sock SWM "Claire" Outlander.  My adorable fimo stitch markers were made by WeeOnes and my beechwood yarn bowl was made by Yellow Dog Farm.

The fall foliage was spectacular!

One last photo of the final morning of my trip, sock knitting at a dear old friend's apartment in Ridgewood, Queens.  All and all, an awesome trip!  Can't wait for next year!

More Knit Socks!

As I mentioned a couple post back, 2 of my friends are having babies which causes my fingers to twitch with excitement.  Although I've knit plenty of socks for myself, because Xena generally despises wearing socks, I've actually never knit a pair for her or any other little ones but now I have a great excuse to go crazy making socks for some new babes-to-be.  

So, in addition to finishing a pair of off white socks in Plymouth Galway Worsted wool for myself, I just knit my first trial pair of baby socks.  I used Lion Brand's free Knit Child's Two Color Socks pattern for their Wool-Ease yarn because I already had some in my stash.

The pattern offers 3 different sizes.  I knit the smallest size and these socks are still pretty roomy on Xena's almost 22 month old feet.

This was my first time exclusively using SW to knit a heel.  Because toddler feet are so small they don't actually require a full-on heel flap and picking up multiple wraps to turn the heel after every SW was a bit cumbersome with such bulky yarn.  

I plan to try this pattern again with smoother yarn and smaller needles.  

Lambtown 2019

Here's my recap of Lambtown this year, which thanks to the hard work, promotion and support of the Black Squirrel and the Bay Area fiber arts community, it's on its way to becoming the "Rhinebeck of the West".

Although the weather was in the low 80s, at least there was a breeze this year.  The food trucks were slightly improved.  We had BBQ and I brought my own refreshments.  The marketplace had some fresh stalls and was bustling with excitement.

 Unfortunately my husband couldn't join us this time because he was working at a philatelic auction at the SESCAL stamp show down in Ontario.  Normally Xena and I would've joined him but I didn't want to miss Lambtown and now that Xena's a toddler, travelling is far less exciting for me when I have to be stranded in a hotel room once she goes to bed.

Xena loved watching the sheep dog herding demo which I've missed in previous years.

She also got to pet a few sheep and watch a demo on machine sock knitting.

I met up with a couple girls from the SF Knitters and Crocheters but I also bumped into quite a few familiar Bay Area fiber artists and realized how much I now really feel "at home" within this community and like I'm a part of something awesome.

I swore to myself multiple times on the drive up to Dixon that I wasn't going to go too crazy buying anything since I already have more than enough yarn, projects, WIPs, etc. but alas, I ended up buying 2 kits from Kira K Designs and 2 gorgeous hanks of "Cymry" 4-ply fingering 100% SMW from Houndstooth Fiber Arts.  It was also extremely rewarding to show off the Uneek swing tank top I knit with the the sock yarn I bought from them at Lambtown last year!

I'm really excited for next year and I definitely plan to knit a special garment especially for this event!

FREE PATTERN - Big Twist Double Crochet Baby Blanket

Two of my friends are having babies, due this spring.  The following free pattern is the result of a baby blanket I just crocheted for one of them.

Big Twist Double Crochet Baby Blanket

Supplies:

US Size G crochet hook

2, 8 oz. skeins of Big Twist Rainbow Classic 100% acrylic yarn in the Fun Brights colorway

Instructions:

Chain 150 + 3, DC into the 4th chain from the hook and DC back across all of the rows.  When you get to the end of the row, chain up 3 and DC across.  Repeat until the baby blanket measures 36" x 36" or desired length.  Weave in ends.

This blanket shouldn't have to be blocked.  It is machine washable but it should be air dried.

This variegated yarn creates its own fun, funky and fuzzy pattern.

 In between the completion of many other projects, I was able to finish this in less than a month.