a festival named desire

Am I the only one seized with the irrepressable desire to knit EVERY SINGLE WARM N' COZY SWEATER EVER DESIGNED?!

Like this?


Or this?


Perhaps it's just the nesting urge that seems to overtake me every year as the weather turns, but lately, all I want to do is knit. School and work just get in the way.

My other preoccupation of late has involved putting my new ball winder to good use, making these:


I have a strange affinity for churning out, and then stacking these babies. I might be OCD, even for a knitter.

In other good news, as promised, I finally have pictures of the Rhinebeck haul to share.

Here's the beautiful batt from Grafton fibres -- so glad I went there first, that stuff moved fast!


Conveniently enough, as I paid at Grafton, I noticed the incredibly long line forming for the STR at The Fold. I promptly went to secure a couple skeins for myself, and one as a gift for my sister.


I also fell in love with this Merino/Silk. I get all tingly just thinking about this. You wish you could reach in and touch this. You really do.


I fell in love with this wool/mohair/silk blend at Brooks Farms. Confining myself to only two hanks was such a challenge.


It was at the end of day one of Rhinebeck that my sister made the ultimate knitter-sidekick mistake. After having lovingly stowed all of the above in the back of the car, she turns to me as I buckle myself in and says these words:

"Huh. There's a moth in the car."

I promptly stage a mildly hysterical and frantic seige on the haul, shaking and examining, tying double knots in the tops of all bags. My sister, all the while, is having a good chuckle at my impromptu impression of a crazy person.

Turns out it was just a fly.

It took me a good ten minutes to recover my composure, and another five to glue my ensemble and hairdo back together.

On day two, my sister and I discovered this Mohair/Wool at Titangel Farms. The colourway is called "Mushroom." It's photographed terribly, despite all my best efforts, but trust me...it's magnificent. Earthy and warm with a fantastc sheen to it.


Finally, at Briar Rose, my sister and I picked up a few cool stitchmarkers and a gorgeous button each.


I would've loved to pick up some more yarn -- they had gorgeous stuff -- but I was still feeling some guilt over my charka order and decided to be good. We'll see how long that lasts.

Happy knitting weekend everybody!

the yarn harlot stole my title

Day One:



First we got lost...



Then we got found. . .



Then the lanes shifted. . .



And we finally arrived!



There's my sister checking in. Doesn't she look cute for having driven for eight hours?



And this is what I did while I waited in the car. Too little sleep plus too much driving, plus too much time on my hands, and this is what you get!



Day Two: On the road to Rhinebeck.



We were blessed with a beautiful day.



Actually, the most gorgeously, amazingly beautiful, cotton candy clouded, blue skied, sparkling water'd, sunkist mountained, turning of leave'd day EVAR!



The camera can do it no justice.



Here's some more pictures in case you weren't convinced.





































Hey look! A house!



And Mandy's favourite tree.




























Here are Google's directions. Of course we got lost.



Here are the directions from the tollbooth guy with which we got found. Ironic, huh?



We're getting close. . .



Rhinebeck is a very cute



very welcoming town





with a cute church



and cute cows



and a cute gas station



and these people are serious about their welcoming!



There's also a cute hardware store



and a cute house.



Even the professional services are cute!



Lookit the cute runner! You can't see it, but, well...you guessed it, his dog is cute too.



There are also cute stores



and a cute main street



and even a cute ice cream place!



Apparently, Rhinebeck is also the home of the most beautiful house on earth!



Duchess County Fairgrounds, here we come. . .



And we're there!



And so are a lot of other people. . .



A LOT of other people.



Aren't you glad we're already here?



Aren't you?



Aren't you!?



They even came by the busload!



And even the fairgrounds are beautiful.



and cute.



See?



Bunny pics!



Am I the only one who thinks angoras look like cartoon characters?





Lookit that face!



The perfect combination of fall and cuteness!

When we finally got inside, Building A was already packed. I was rather impressed with myself that I managed to make it to Grafton Fibers before the yarn harlot (ha!) and secured myself a beautiful batt of my very own. (pics of the haul when I get my camera back)



11AM on day one. The STR is already picked clean. The lineup was totally worth the wait. I even made some friends in line!



As far as I'm concerned, the ladies from The Fold deserve sainthood for their patience and charm in dealing with the never-ending lineup with smiles on their faces. They were even sweet about my stupid newbie spinner questions.



Then I decided to try the charka. I didn't do very well at first.



Then Johnathan explained.



Now I get it. . .



I really get it!



Hey look! I just bought a charka!



Apparently, we're not the only ones who've inhaled enough yarn fumes for the day. . .



There's even a lineup to leave.



Ahhh. . .







We even saw more of Amanda's favourite trees along the way back to the hotel



We saw this too. Can anybody explain this (entirely green) license plate to me?



How 'bout this sign? How does one pick one's own pumpkins? Do they give you a wheelbarrow?

A beautiful drive and a quick outlet shopping trip later, and we checked in to discover this:



Biggest Bed Ever.



and this Biggest TV Ever



and even a pullout couch!



and coffee! What more could a girl ask for?



Day Two and we were back on the road.



Because you only get one chance to be goofy.



And I'm a keener.

Day two was mostly more of the same. I bought a ball winder and some roving and some very utilitarian and necessary black wool. We watched a bit of the "Punkin Chuckin' Contest" (I have video to prove it!), ate crumble, and bought some buttons. Cold and tired, we decided to head for home. . .



That was one pushy bus driver.



And what's with the creepy service stations? They ALL LOOK THE SAME on the I-90. Anybody know why they decided to go with a ski lodge motif for this particular interstate?



How about this strange parade of service vehicles??



Every Sunday the New York State cherry pickers come out to play?

The trip back was uneventful until THIS:



That was fun.

Finally home, and we totally collapsed into bed.



Pictures of the haul soon.