Rhinebeck Q & A

Life has been a little crazy here in the house of Knitcrit. Immediately after returning from Rhinebeck, I became engrossed in volunteering at my son’s school; specifically, in charge of a silent auction fundraiser. It is over now, funds were raised and the space put back to order. Now it's time to finally post about my trip to the New York Sheep and Woof Festival. I’ll do that in a Q & A format:
Did I finish my Aztec Mazes sweater?  
Yes!  It was completed on the Thursday afternoon, the day before we left. I wore it on Saturday.
What was different about this year’s event?
There were several new vendors that brought lovely product. Miss Babs, Into the Whirled, and Feederbrook Farms were my favorites. From Miss Babs, I bought DK yarn for another Honey Cowl, and Into the Whirled received my cash in exchange for my purchasing two packages of roving and yarn to knit my group KAL, the Zylphia Cowl.
The 100% Shetland from Feederbrook will be the perfect match for my future Candice Strick's Shawl from Vogue Fall 2011.
Because of the recent rains, the fields were a mess and therefore, the sheepdog trials and punkin chunkin were cancelled.
Also, there did not seem to be as many spinning wheel and loom vendors as in previous years. 
What events did we attend at the festival?
On Saturday, we went to the Anne Hanson meetup, which was highlighted by two photos – one of me with Sharon, wearing my Boxleaf Triangle shawl, and Anne; the other with Cathy, in her Aztec Mazes and Mary in her Henley With a Twist, knit in the same yarn as my Aztec Mazes.   
Sunday morning, we watched the Leaping Llama (and alpaca) contest, which was a hoot. The smaller 4H kids really had a hold on those llamas and alpacas.
Twice, we went to the book signing. My only purchase was a cookbook for Bruce, Goat, by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarborough. Author and knitter Bruce Weinstein also wrote Knits Men Want, which has become a favorite for finding good, basic men’s knitting patterns.  
Did I eat anything exciting there?
The picnic lunch at the Anne Hanson meet-up included some really good veggie wraps and homemade bread, while the competition among the chocolate bakers there resulted in some delicious desserts.
Sunday, we ate lunch at the 4H area, where I ordered hot dog with lamb chili. The chili was divine. Then, later in the day, I ate homemade apple pie, with ice cream, of course. Yum!
Were there any disappointments?
Only one, that the autumn colors, while at their peak, were not very thrilling. The late summer rains had deterred the leaves from turning, so where I had seen brilliant reds, oranges and yellows in years past, there was only green. 
What did I buy?
My recent foray into hand spinning created the need to buy some fiber. Prior to attending the festival, I did some research into recommended fibers for beginners. Fortunately, those were not hard to find, dyed in some scrumptious colors. 
I had a list of projects for which I wanted to find yarn, and I believe that I very carefully searched the booths for the right yarn at the right price for all of them. I did not purchase any sweater’s worth amounts, but rather all my yarn buys are for shawls, cowls and socks. 

My most favorite part of this year’s Rhinebeck trip was introducing this marvelous festival to four newbies. Although the drive up was horrendous – 11 hours – every minute driven was worth it to see the looks on their faces and feel the excitement in their experiences. Will I go next year? Only time will tell, and I am thinking of going to SAFF instead in 2012. Until then, I sure have a plethora of new projects to knit and spin.