On Saturday I woke up early, earlier even than I do on school days when we have to be out the door at 7, and drove through a foggy, misty morning down the length of Vermont and into New York for my first visit to Rhinebeck.
Normally I dislike driving, hate it actually. But driving all by myself through forests and over mountains and past farmhouses with a good book to listen to (we almost never listen to books when we drive as a family as they almost always put Will to sleep - even the exciting ones- and little ears in the backseat limit what exactly you can listen to anyway), well, it was kind of pleasant.
The wool festival was, of course, wonderful, as wool festivals are. I spent most of the day plunging my fingers into different bags of fiber or petting pretty yarns. I visited the sheep (of course!) and threatened Will (via text) to bring this lady home. Look at that face! I went back and forth and back and forth between three different Alpaca fiber stalls, feeling and touching and debating before buying two pounds of lovely charcoal fiber to spin for a sweater. My first attempt at spinning an adult sweaters worth of yarn. I also picked up a sweaters worth of yarn in my favorite greeny green and a half pound of some romney wool fiber that should be named Maleficent, because it looks just like she did in Sleeping Beauty. Black and green and purple and a little yellow. I usually buy my wool in 4 ounce bags for spinning so having the chance to buy it by the pound was delicious.
I also got a chance to see some of my New York Knitting gals, which was a treat, although one couldn't make it because of a family emergency and was very much missed, by my stash as much as by me because she would have convinced me to buy way more, the way good friends do :)
And then, after roast lamb sandwiches and cider donuts and with a (new!) basket full of (new!) fibery treasures and two huge caramel apples for the kids and some super warm socks for my sweet husband who didn't bat an eye when I said I would be driving 10 hours to look at yarn and wool and sheep, I drove home. Back through the colorful trees, back over the mountain, even back through the fog that returned for the last hour of my trip (slightly more stressful in the dark at the end of a long day, I must say)
Now it's time to get spinning. And knitting. And spinning! And KNITTING! Mummmm, a winter's worth of fun ahead.
