Wicked Nice

I think Alison has the same picture – great minds think wool!

I’m so not sure where to start. Do I begin with Thursday when Vicki ended up at my house, in the ridiculous rain, with me mid- job and mid-cleaning? I did shower to pick her up and thank god I had washed the sheets that morning. Do I tell you how Friday morning I ran around like a chicken with two heads (that seems worse almost than no head) trying to get the jobs finished so I could run to the post office, in the still ridiculous rain? Do I tell you how we stopped for shoes for Vicki – because she didn’t anticipate the beyond ridiculous rain and only brought open shoes? (I’ll let her tell you that.) Do I tell you that we got home and Ann called to say her and Peggy were down the block and I hadn’t showered or packed yet? I just don’t know.

How about I start with the 1.5 hours it took us to go about two miles (I’m being extremely literal here) because of flooding. Once again, I’m sorry girls. I wish I had read the directions better. I’d like to think I could’ve gotten us out of it. But still and all, I think that Ann is secretly glad we got stuck because somehow I got control of the I-Pod and Barry Manilow got extra airplay and now she has something ELSE with which to torture me. Blogless (but not wheel less!) Peggy was the BEST driver – a girl after my own heart – aggressive and pissed and the quintessential NY driver. Yay Peggy! She got us to Rhinebeck (and home) safe and sound under adverse conditions. Listening to Ann and I go back and forth cannot be easy. Thanks again!

We finally got to the hotel in Poughkeepsie (blogger central) about six hours later – including a stop for dinner – to find Kris and Michelle looking for Norma. We invited them in until the festivities started. The cake was delish! Thanks Norma – and congratulations Nathania! Bloggers flowed in and out of Norma’s huge room all night. As Juno pointed out, I made the mistake of knitting something that I still needed the pattern for – not a big complicated chart – but a pattern, with like two YOs and some ribbing. I think I ripped 814 times. Next time, only socks for me (like pretty much everyone else) and st st ones at that.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early. I didn’t know what knits to bring, since it was raining (AGAIN) and even though it was supposed to stop, it was going to get hot. I had brought DFS, AEC and my one and only pair of handknit socks. Saturday I threw DFS in the car and headed out. My one and only goal, as you may have already heard, was to get to the Socks that Rock Booth before anyone else. I succeeded.

l to r: Fire on the Mountain, Watermelon Tourmaline, ROCKSTAR, Petroglyphs

l to r: Hard ROCK, Azurite

l to r: Black Onyx, Obsidian, Black Onyx

Um. DUH! Ann’s going to give me such shit for this, but in my haste to buy up all the SOCKS that ROCK, I missed. I wanted three Black Onyx to make a shawl – something dramatic with fringe (and maybe beads?) so I grabbed three. It wasn’t until I got home that I realized only two of them were Black Onyx and one was Obsidian. Although for the life of us, Vicki and I couldn’t tell the real difference. It seems like the Obisidian has a bit more brown in it and one of the Black Onyx has a lot of white, but really all of the them look pretty different. At this point, the only reason to get another Black Onyx is because of mental problems and packaging, not because of yarn and dyes. Thought you’d like that story. Oh and if you’re counting up the skeins and want to call me a liar because there are only nine, not ten, one is a gift. That’s right. Only one. Don’t you wish you were the lucky giftee. 😉

After SOCKS that ROCK, I really didn’t care anymore about anything festival related. Oh that’s not true. Please. I went shopping for a special someone and elicited the advice of many a blogger/spinner. Julia was particularly helpful. Thanks Julia!

When we finally got out of Building A, it was time for the blogger meet-up. I had mixed feelings about facilitating this one, to be honest. I wasn’t going to do it. I did it for Maryland and it was disappointing to me. I think, having the 20/20 vision of hindsight, my expectations were too high. And the area we met was less than condusive to meeting. This fact alone I think contributed to the fact that the Maryland meet-up lasted like ten minutes. So I wasn’t going to do it, but then Vicki was coming and she asked for it so I did it. It was great! First off, at MDSW, I picked a bad spot. It was right in the middle of traffic and the line for the t-shirts was still a mile long and, well, it just didn’t work. I wanted to meet EVERYONE at MDSW because I didn’t know anyone. This time, I was a little more grounded. I came with some great girls. I knew I’d see them (a little too much if you know what I mean.) Wendy and Elisa were sleeping with us that night (more on that later.) A bunch of girls I’d seen the night before. I knew I’d be seeing a bunch at the hotel later on. So for me, there was no pressure. Everyone I met at the meet-up was like gravy, you know? A very different feeling than at MDSW where I felt like if I didn’t meet them then, I’d never meet them. And the spot I picked was right on. A big open thoroughfare with benches and plenty of space to linger and talk and move around. People thanked me for setting it up and really, all I did was put some names up on my sidebar. You guys did all the work – you came, you met, you (hopefully) got to talk to some great people who you really wanted to meet. That’s all I asked for – and I received ten-fold. The only regrets I have is that there were people that I didn’t get to spend ENOUGH time with – they know who they are and all will be rectified. Mwah! Just because I didn’t hug you enough doesn’t mean I don’t love you! I do! I do!

Where are the pictures you ask? Welp, even though I carried that big ass honking camera around for two days, I really
didn’t take any pictures. Besides what you will see here – the only other ones I took are over on Kay‘s blog. The conditions at these shows are less than stellar for photography and I was too busy having fun with friends (old and new) to worry about getting the perfect picture. I should’ve left the camera in the car, but god forbid I should miss something like this:

Ann – you found the booth, right? (Kay actually spied this sign.)

So I had to have the camera. But, alas, I didn’t even get a good picture of a sheep. Sorry to disappoint.

Where was I? Oh yeah. If you aren’t bored out of your mind already, read on.

Midway throught the afternoon I met up with Kay and Carrie and became their personal fair grounds tour guide, if you will. Is docent more accurate? (Here on the left you have Norm Hall’s wood. Large sheep testicles to your right. And there go those NUNS again! What was with the NUNS? They were freaking me out!) I hope I did a good job for them. We wandered from barn to barn to barn, meeting up with bloggers everywhere! (I can’t believe I pretty much remembered everybody’s name. Except for Kellee. I’m sorry Kellee. I kept forgetting your name and your blog. I know it now and won’t forget! Obsession du Jour! Already in my bloglines!)

People accused me of enabling, but they didn’t do too badly themselves. I got this beautiful merino barber pole yarn while wandering around with Kay:

Lisa Ann Merian’s Licorice Twist yarn from The Spinners Hill Shop.
She calls the yarn Licorice Twist, not the colorway. She doesn’t name the colorways. Hand-dyed and hand-spun.

I liked it so much, I went back for more:

I’ve got about 1000 yds of the red/orange and 500 of the blue. I’m going to make mittens out of the blue – for Sandy’s Mitten A-Long. Maybe for me. Maybe for the kids. Not sure yet.

All too soon they were making announcements that the fair was closing for the day! I met back up with my cohorts and we went back to the hotel – exhausted and satisfied.

After watching Vicki and Ann get drunk on Sheep Shearer wine (there may or may not have been talk of penis tape measures. I don’t know for sure – I was trying to KNIT!), we headed to the lobby for pizza and knitting. Sort of a Pepperoni laced Stitch N’ Bitch. The pizza guys would come and deliver pies and we’d send them back out for more. TJ’s, right? Good pie. Not NYC good, but good. We knit and spun and laughed and laughed and laughed. There was A LOT of laughing. The good kind too, not where people are pointing at you and laughing. Although, to be honest, there was some of that (not mentioning any names ANN!)

Here’s where I get all philosophical and goofy. After Maryland, there seemed to be a dearthplethora (thanks Debi!) of posts lamenting the high school atmosphere. People felt left out, it was too cliquey. I was one of them. It was a hard thing, Maryland (and that’s not to say I didn’t have a great time!) As I said before, my expectations were very high – I knew practically NO ONE and I wanted to know EVERYONE. It’s not like I didn’t want to know everyone at Rhinebeck, I did. But at the same time, I didn’t feel the pressure. And I would be VERY surprised if posts pop up about high school after this one. That’s not to say that people didn’t have that feeling. I’m sure people felt left out and snubbed and excluded (and I’m SO SORRY if you feel like I contributed to that in any way – I SINCERELY DIDN’T MEAN TO!) But the whole event had such a warm, sisterly atmosphere. People were friendly. They WANTED to see what you bought, what you knit, tell you how lovely it was, rub you up and down and ooh and ahh over your knit. They wanted you to have a good time, to have a good time themselves. I was very nervous about going – because of the feelings I had after Maryland (that this group wouldn’t get along with that group, etc.) and because of the anxiety I suffered over the summer and it ALL WORKED OUT. For me, at least. Thank you Vicki, Ann, Peg, Wendy my love, and Elisa, who I didn’t manage to ask about her sexual history until AFTER we slept together, for making me feel so comfortable and cared for that I NEVER HAD TO TAKE A XANAX!

I’m all verkelmpt. I MISS YOU GUYS!

You know you’re all sympatico when you’re safely snuggled all in bed and Vicki says, “Hey, what side of the bed do you usually sleep on?” AND WE’RE ALL FOUR OF US ON OUR SIDES OF THE BED! No discussion about who will sleep where or who snores or nothing, we all just climbed in and were immediately where we needed to be. In case you’re wondering, if you’re facing the bed, Vicki and I sleep on the left, Wendy and Elisa on the right.

On Sunday, when we got to the festival, I went off on my own for a bit – too much togetherness and honestly the girls were a bit slow with their shopping. At that point I was in stealth mode to try and make sure I didn’t miss anything. I thought I hadn’t (although reading through everyone else’s blog entries it might seem that I had. I don’t remember half the vendors they’re talking about!) I think I went through those barns like ten times each. Don’t tell anyone, but by noon I was bored. Eeek!

But before I got bored, I tried one of these:

A Majacraft Rose Wheel

Uh oh.

No, no sillies! I didn’t buy it, but Peggy did! Yay Peggy! Hope you love it! But I was very, very intrigued. So intrigued that later in the day I made my way over to Robin Spinning Wheels and had Kim give me a lesson! Kim, thank you!!! It was so great to meet you! The wheel was gorgeous and I think I warmed up the seat just enough that Laurie might still be there. Or maybe she just put her name on some list. Apparently Gilbert only has a two-year wait for his wood. 😉

I’ve got to say, I think I want a wheel. I’m leaning toward a Lendrum because Toni says they’re fabulous and Ann loves hers and it can do everything! AND, they’re not too expensive. I can get the double treadle with the works for under $500. My birthday, you may know, is only 75 days away. We’ll see. I want to try some more – Jen and I might head out to The Spinnery. She thinks she’s going to buying a wheel soon, so maybe I can play with hers for a bit. Or rent one. And Ann says I can come over anytime if I can brave the dogs. We’ll see. I’m not making any promises to the coven, but I think a wheel might be much better for me than a spindle.

Did I buy anything else? I did – some more sock yarn, if you can believe it! Some of this will be gifted away:

Ellen’s 1/2 Pint Farm
100% wool on the left, 80% wool 20% nylon on the right. Hand-dyed.

l to r: Dorchester Farms Handpainted (Wendy and Elisa’s neighborhood!) and the last of the Spirit Trail sock yarn!
Next year, I’m hitting Spirit Trail first. You’ve been warned.

And last but not least, possibly my favorite purchase of the weekend:

My sheepy hat (the last one!) and Llama shirts for the kids!

The ride home was uneventful thankfully. Vicki and I vegged on the couch all evening – and I finally cast on for the second Sunshine Sock. Now that it’s cast on, though, I might just have to knit a ROCK STAR sock. It’s calling to me in bright pink fuschia sounds.

We had lunch with Jen on Monday, then it was off to the airport for Vicki and back to reality for me. I can’t say it enough though, what a fanfuckingtastic time! Thanks to all! See you next year!