Journey

I just got back from Rhinebeck, and I want to tell you about how awesome it was.  I mean, of course it was awesome because - duh - it's the freakin' New York Sheep and Wool Festival, but I think that the fact that it has inspired me to decloak and actually write something really says something about what a fabulous time I had this year, don't you think?

I mean... first of all, there was the weather.  The sun was shining, the trees were decked out in their finest colours... What can I say?  It was absolutely magnificent. 

Then there was the excellent company.  Sadly, my fabulous peep Kate the Enabler wasn't able to attend this year, but my good friend Marie-Michele graciously stepped in and - it has to be said - as a Rhibeneck newbie she did amazingly well.  It probably had something to do with my finely tuned mentoring skills (hah!).  The fact that she got stopped approximately every 11 minutes by someone who wanted to ogle her Color Affection probably didn't hurt either.  Sheesh.

Of course, it is the SHEEP and wool festival, so one musn't forget the animals.

 (I don't think this gent was enjoying his haircut too much!)

Especially when they make such yummy fiber.

This was the first time I went to the fleece sale.  Not to buy a fleece of course, since I'm pretty sure turning fiber into yarn is easier when one knows how to spin.  But just to have a look at the different breeds and see/feel what different fibers they produce was pretty cool.

The rarest breed of all, of course, is the elusive knitwear designer.  They're a famously shy breed, but with the right mix of patience and audacity, one can usually manage a sighting. 

(Yours truly and the fabulously stylish, friendly and gracious Stephen West.)

And then, well... I can't quite explain this one.  Let's just say it involved a scarf, a Robert Frost Poem, and a pretty kickass blogger.  Um... you had to be there?

Of course there was yarn, lots and lots of yarn.  Some of it even came home with me.  But ultimately, Rhibeneck wasn't really about the yarn for me at all.  This year, it was all about the journey.

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

The Swatch

I had a really laid back attitude as far as Rhinebeck prep was concerned this year. I didn't have a buying plan, didn't have any specific itinerary. Honestly? It's been a rough year, and I was just happy to be going at ALL, you know? Me and my peeps, going to spend a weekend with people who know and understand the awesome power of yarnz.

It was going to be great! I was happy and at peace. Right up until Phil asked me what I was knitting for Rhinebeck, 17 days before the big day.

At first, I just dismissed the idea. Knitting something (aka a sweater) in 17 days? Was he mental? The schedule was crazy! I was starting a new job! Things were just WAY too hectic. 17 days to knit a sweater? There was just no way, right?

Right?

I mean... it just couldn't be done.

Could it?

The thing is... you can't just plant an idea in a knitter's head like that and have nothing happen. In knitterly parlance, by asking someone what they're knitting for Rhinebeck, you've effectively drawn a line in the sand. You've challenged the knitter's skillz, dedication, and fortitude. Shit is going to go down, one way or the other.

And so it went. Fester, fester, fester... the idea of knitting a sweater in 17 days gnawed at me. I was as excited at the prospect of a good knitdown as I was pissed at Phil for even suggesting it in the first place. And to add insult to injury, it's not like I had nothing appropriate in the stash. I just happened to have 11 skeins of Shelter lying around, earmarked for Gudrun Johnston's Kerrera, for the better part of a year.

- "OK," I thought. "I'll knit a swatch. See what happens. Maybe the Shelter won't be a good match for the pattern. Maybe I won't get gauge. And that'll be that. It'll be out of my hands."

Naturally, I got gauge. On the first try, no less, which never happens. The knitting fates were just laughing at me at this point. I stared at the swatch. Tumbleweeds blew across the living room floor. Time seemed to stop. There I was, on the cusp of knitting greatness. Deep down, I knew what I had to do. I couldn't back down. I couldn't let it go. I was Knitter, and I would knit a sweater in 17 days or go crazy trying.

And for the next 16 days, I knit like the wind, people. Every chance I got, I knit. A few rows here, a couple of stitches there. By the time we left for Rhinebeck, I had completed the body and 2 sleeves, but I still had to finish the hood, make the pockets, and knit about a zillion miles of edging (in double garter stitch - aka endless time suck stitch - no less).

Luckily, Kate understood. Without my even having to say anything, she sensed my desperation, my knitterly angst, and graciously offered to drive the entire way to Kingston, all so that I could maximize the knitting time. (Or maybe she just didn't want me driving her swagger wagon. Heh.)

When we got there, while other knitters were whooping it up with cocktails around the pool, Kate was right there with me, giving me oxygen offering words of encouragement while I knit furiously into the night. Eventually even Kate couldn't hold on any longer, fatigue got the best of her, and still, I kept knitting.

I wove in my final ends at a few minutes past midnight, the night before the festival. I sighed in relief, and not a little disbelief too. I had done it. I had knit a sweater in 17 days. Wow.

Bug eyed and stiff from hours of intense knitting posture, I turned off the lights and shuffled off to the bathroom, my sweater grasped tightly to my bosom. Again, pride washed over me. I had done it. I put on the sweater I had knit in 17 days, and...

It looked like ASS.

Crumpled, egg-cartony, misshapen ASS.

My eyes widened. I may have sobbed a little. I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but it was just staring me in the face at this point. I was going to have to block the sweater.

What was going through my mind as I dunked the sweater into a warm bath at half past midnight the night before Rhinebeck? Resignation. Acceptance. Maybe a touch of insane hope as well.

- "Shelter isn't really a dense yarn. It'll probably dry quickly" I thought as I blindly patted it into place in our now pitch black hotel room, as Kate dreamed happy dreams beside me.

It didn't quite work out that way, of course.


The next morning (you know... 6 hours later?) it was still wet as... um... water. I wore it to the fairground anyway, draped over my arm when I became concerned it was going to stretch beyond repair if I continued to wear it. But eventually I came to my senses, mostly because I was tired of lugging a heavy, dripping, slightly smelly sweater around.

Still. I knit a sweater in 17 days, y'all. I rule.

Besides, she may not have been ready to make her debut at Rhinebeck, but she's still a damn fine sweater. Which is good enough for me.







Happy Knitting, Everyone!

Where's Ringo?

I was thinking about how it had been (gulp) 2 weeks since I last posted this morning, when one of my favourite lines* from Boogie Nights popped into my head. It's from the scene when Dirk is practicing his lines in front of the mirror at the end of the movie. There he is, in all his cheesy-eighties-porn-star glory, and he scrounges up every ounce of his acting ability to ask "Where the f**k is Ringo?".

I'm here, friends. I'm here.

Adaptation to the new schedule continues, however, and I confess I'm having a little trouble finding the will time to do anything beyond taking care of the family unit lately. The good news is that I'm knitting up a storm, however, and I've even put in a few evenings on the sewing machine as well, so I won't lack for blog fodder. We'll get there.

In the meantime, how 'bout we take a peak at my Rhinebeck purchases?

Miss Babs Northumbia Hand-Painted 4 ply BFL Yarn (437 yds). Colour: Squash Blossom.

Foxhill Farm Cormo Cross, 100% wool (410 yds). Two skeins.

Sanguine Gryphon Bugga! (412 yds). Two skeins: Robberfly and Rhinocerous Beetle colourways.

Miss Babs Northumbia Naked 4 ply BFL (240 yds). Colour: Luna Granite (2 skeins), Moss (1 skein)

Spirit Train Fiberworks "Sunna" (350 yds). Colour: Aquitaine (2 skeins)

Miss Babs Yowza Whatta Skein 100% Superwash Merino (560 yds). Colour Lady Bug (2 skeins)

The Sincere Sheep Keen 100% BFL Superwash (465 yds). Colour: Milpa.

The only question is what will I cast on with first? Any suggestions? :)

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

* Sure, most people remember what comes AFTER that line (that'd be when he finally reveals his... um... assets. Ahem.)

Weekend recap

Busy week here, poppets. I'm very, very tempted to pull a Wordless Weekend Wrap-Up post for Kate and my Rhinebeck shenanigans, but I can't rightly do that after making such a weepie git of myself in my last post, can I? So let's get to it.

Friday latemorning, Kate and I headed out to pick up the lovely and talented (but drivers' license-less) Véronik, and we chatted and knit our way down to the glamourous (she said with tongue firmly in cheek) Kingston Holiday Inn. We arrived in the early evening and met up with the fabulous Carol, Laura and Jim, joined them for a few cocktails in the supah swanky (again with the tongue in cheek!) hotel bar, then retreated to our room for some frantic knitting on my part (more on that next post) and some desperately trying to stay awake on Kate's part (she'd driven the entire way so I could knit, silly sausage).

When we arrived at the fairgrounds on Saturday morning, the knitters' had arrived en masse. The weather was lovely, a bit on the breezy side but heck, we were all swaddled in knitwear anyway, right?

We each grabbed a cuppa and, without any specific shopping objectives in mind, decided to stroll around and just enjoy ourselves. Rhinebeck can be a bit overwhelming, even when you've already been there, because there's just So. Much. Yarn. And people. And fabulous knitwear. And fabulous designers. We hadn't been there 10 minutes before we ran into Anne Hanson (we weren't able to get out s**t together in time to make it to the Knitspot lunch, sadly), and later that afternoon, another illustrious member of the knitterati happened to be strolling next to yours truly...


Can you see who it is? Take a closer look at the hat he's wearing... Ring any bells? It was none other than Stephen West, people! I just about sh@t myself!!!


OK not really. But when, a few minutes later, I found myself right smack dab next to the man at the Foxhill Farm booth, where we were both fondling some Cormo, I might have been a little bit of a dufus... (but not, like, in a weird way or anything. Hah). He was perfectly charming and agreed that my chocolate brown skeins would make something fabulous.

By late afternoon, neither Kate or I had made many purchases, much to our mutual surprise. We were able to pull it together though (like, duh), I with about a TON of Miss Babs, and Kate with her habitual Shelridge Farm.



And that about wraps it up. We had a lovely day, met some fabulous people, and spent some quality time among our kind.


The only thing that would have made the weekend better is if our friend Alison had been able to make the trip with us...


Oh well, there's always next year :)

Happy Knitting, Everyone!

So much for that idea!

I promised y'all a finished object parade last time, didn't I? Yeah, well, that didn't work out quite as I had planned. My usual DORMA shenanigans being squared with the absence of The Great Distractor (aka Phil), I didn't have time to take any pictures. So it's another wordy post for you, my lovelies!

Today I want to talk about the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, or Rhinebeck, for those of us who are in the know, heh. Heck, you could probably call it Knitter Mecca, it's so huge and wonderful and full of yarny (and sheepy!) goodness. Knitters dream of it all year long, and I'm no exception.

Earlier this year, the wise and powerful, soon-to-conquer-the-world Alison and I decided we would go together, as Kate-the-Enabler wouldn't be making the trip this year (something about creating a new human life and bringing it to term - WHATEVER). Alison's a hoot, we get along like peas and carrots. I was really, truly psyched.

Now, before I go on, I think I should confess to being A) incredibly impulsive and B) prone to cognitive dissonance. This can lead to lots of topsy-turviness chez Dear.

A few months later, the bills started accumulating, the noose around the neck started to get a smidge uncomfortable, and the rational, responsaible adult chimed in (don't you just HATE it when that happens?) and said: Rhinebeck is right after the start of (fairly expensive private) school. Perhaps it isn't the best time to subject yourself to that kind of temptation?

So I called Alison, we talked it through, and we agreed that she'd find someone else to room with her.

Now, after a long summer of mostly-yarn-fasting and general running around, Rhinebeck started to take on a new appeal. See, I've begun to rationalize, I mean believe, that the appeal of Rhinebeck is not, in fact, the yarn (stop that laughing!), but rather the prospect of having a weekend on my own. THAT'S hard to ignore, try as I might.

So after a few discussions with Phil (who IS a bit indisposed at the moment), we agreed that I will be accompanying Robyn, Amy and their friend Madeleine next Friday. I'm really, truly psyched.

I need to remember, though, that it's not about the yarn.

Happy Knitting Everyone!

ps: Oh, and Alison? Yeah, she's going with Véronik Avery. Trade up much?

Aftermath: Part 3

Subtitled: Damn, I bought a s**tload of yarn!

All right y'all. It's Sunday evening, I'm exhausted, but a promise is a promise. I give you my Rhinebeck purchases. Grab a drink, you're going to be here a while ;)

Briar Rose Fibers Legend (100% merino, sportweight, 1300 yards)

Kate's totally jealous of this yarn. I might hold onto it if I ever need extra leverage on her someday (insert evil laugh here)

Briar Rose Fibers Sea Pearl (50% merino, 50% tencel, laceweight, 1000 yards)

Briar Rose Fibers Wistful (50% alpaca, 30% merino, 20% silk, worsted weight, 500 yards)

What can I say about this yarn other than I want to kiss it and love it and I wish I'd bought more?

(By the way, if you're keeping track, this is all from our first stop. Go overboard much?)

Springtide Farm Cashmere (100% cashmere, lace 2-ply, 400 yards).

Yeah, what can I say about this purchase, other than I'm a complete softness junkie???? This stuff is just unbelievable. And besides, just LOOK at it!

And that colour. Those are MY colours, yo. No idea what I'm going to make with it yet, but I can tell you this much: at 35$ a skein, it's going to be for ME, baby!

Alpaca with a Twist Baby Twist Jumbo Hank (100% baby alpaca, dk weight, 549 yards)

I'm thinking a nice man-scarf for this yarn (I know what you're thinking, the men in my life have really got it made! You've no idea...). So soft, so nice. Kate-the-Enabler also bought 2 hanks of this yarn (hers is black).

Spirit Trail Fiberworks "Si-Ling" (scroll down) (100% Bombyx Silk, worsted weight, 273 yards)

This yarn literally stopped me dead in my tracks. I was drawn to it, I was just incapable of resistance! I've no idea what the heck Bombyx silk is, but it looks great and it's incredibly soft. Me likey!

I think at this point I fell off the bandwagon and bought 6 balls of Schachenmayr nomotta Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett, even though I'd sworn that I would NOT BE BUYING ANY SOCK YARN AT RHINEBECK (seriously, you should see my sock yarn stash. I's bordering on obscene).

Landscape Jungle (colour 4350)

Landscape Celebration (colour 4355)

Landscape Fog (colour 4253)

I cast on for another pair of Miscellaneous-Man Socks with this last one yarn (pics some other time, or you can check out my project page on Ravelry). Still no Landscape Fire though. I'll have to remedy that (in the distant future).

OK, so at this point I'm DONE. I've blown my budget, I'm DEFINITELY NOT BUYING ANY MORE YARN. I actually say to Kate, "Unless you throw some Cranberry worsted my way, I'm done."

Then Kate says she wants to go back to the Shelridge Farm booth to scope out possible yarn options for Wisteria. (Anyone else spontaneously burst into Def Leppard's Hysteria when someone mentions this pattern? Just me, eh? Thought so.)

She found what she was looking for, and I ran smack dab into this:

Shelridge Farm Soft Touch W4 (100% wool, worsted weight)

If you embiggen this shot, you'll see that the colourway is called Cranberry. Hey, who was I to argue when the Knitting Goddess dropped this on me? I'm no fool. I've got 8 skeins of this lovely yarn. I can't wait to get started. :)

And that about does it, folks. Oh wait, wanna see what was in the Knitspot prize I won at the Ravelry party?

Hamsa pattern, along with a skein of Knitting Notions Classic Merino Lace (100% merino, lace 2-ply, 388 yards)

Sock de la Mer pattern, along with a skein of Knitting Notions Classic Merino Supersock (100% superwash merino, 420 yards)

Nice, right? Oh, did I mention there was ALSO a 25$ gift certificate for the Knitspot pattern shop? Oh yeah, baby. Who da wo-man?

OK, the evening has passed me by. I'm beat, the weekend was productive, blahblahblah. I want to take the day off to sit in my pj's and knit. Dream on, right!

Happy Knitting everyone!

Aftermath: Part 2

I realize that you're all probably dying to see what luscious yarn came home with me from Rhinebeck on Sunday, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer. I still haven't managed to get decent pictures of my loot. Hopefully I'll be able to get around to it later this week (this weekend at the absolute Llatest. Promise.).

In the meantime, I do have various kinnearings of a series of the knitterati elite.

Jess and Mary-Heather, of Ravelry fame

Adrian Bizilia (Hello Yarn)

Kate managed to snag this picture of a blogger, hard at work. OK, technically she's not part of the knitterati elite yet, but I'd keep my eye on this one. Just look at that dedication!

Fine, fine. You want somebody really big? How about the Harlot herself? In the flesh, baby. She was sitting a stone's throw away (not that I would have thrown a stone at her. Just sayin' she was close, that's all).And finally, to make up for the fact that Kate and I TOTALLY lost our wits and failed to kinnear Franklin Habit when we checked in to the hotel on Friday night, a series of successful Panopticon kinnearings (OK, two) taken on Saturday and Sunday.

OK, Phil's waiting for me to watch last night's episode of Heroes, and my knitting awaits.

Happy Knitting everyone!

P.S.: "Kinnearing" is showing up as a mistake as I'm writing this post. Clearly, Blogger is SO not in the loop.

Ladies of Luxury

I wasn't able to write up a blog post last night. After Kate and I changed into our teddies and braided each other's hair, we had a pillow fight and I was just plain old tuckered out.

OK, not really. Here's what actually went down.

We left Laval at about 9:00 AM, and proceeded at a leisurely pace towards the border. The border crossing went pretty smoothly, and by about 3-ish, we were at the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde Park, NY. I had seen this estate on my trip to Rhinebeck last year, and having visited The Breakers in Newport, RI (another Vanderbilt estate), I knew it would be a great way to spend the afternoon.

It was. This was their "Spring and Summer" residence. That's 12 weeks a year, people. Not too shabby.
The view. Hi Kate! There's a happy girl!

The rose garden. Mmmmmmm....

It was a beautiful afternoon, and we had a lovely time walking the grounds and visiting the house.

From there it was on to Kate's bright idea for the trip, dinner at the Culinary Institute of America, specifically at L'Escoffier restaurant.

After getting changed in the back seat of my car (yes, really), we decided to take a few Vogue shots on the grounds.

Work it baby, work it!!!

Dinner was wonderful. Not exactly cheap, but we're SO worth it, right? As the wise and eminent Donna Summer once said, we work hard for the money.

From there we arrived safe and sound (if a bit late) at the hotel, where we brushed knitter greatness in the lobby. As we were waiting to check in, who should be standing in line in front of us but Franklin Habit himself. But our wits weren't about us, because we failed to Kinnear him. Oh well, we'll keep the camera at the ready today.

Happy Knitting Everyone!