It was a rough drive down on Friday night in the pouring rain. But we soldiered on.. Diana, Becky, Liz and myself.. trying to get to the hotel in Saugerties to settle in for the night, knit, drink wine, and pray for a dry Saturday.
And dry it was. Look at that sky! This picture is from Saturday morning after our first sweep through building 29 (right next to the gate where we parked and entered.) See, no real crowds.. yet.
Diana and I sat for lunch at this spot while people watching until it was time to venture over to the spot between the food building and building A for the massive knitter meet.
I loved the striped sheep. S/he (?) even had a sign on the gate of the stall stating "this is a naturally colored sheep". And the baby doll sheep were interesting . They reminded me of Shetland ponies.
The meet outside the food building was overwhelming. So many people. If not for the Ravelry buttons, I might not have recognized some folks. I did recognize Susan immediately. And saw Carole from a distance, but never made it over to say "hi". Talked with Knitspot Anne briefly, but mostly stood and talked with Paul (who can be seen here in the last two pictures next to Diana.) Funny thing about me and Paul.. we went to high school together.. well sort of actually. He was a senior when I was in seventh grade. Anyway, Paul kept us laughing (oh my gaaawd did he make us laugh!)
I also talked with Vicki very briefly at the Seaport Yarn booth early that morning while watching the massive crowd fight over Socks That Rock at the Fold booth. I was hoping to run into Vicki again at the meet, but never did. I also met Kathy a little later while picking out lincoln cross batts.
Also at the meet.. I don't know her. But I was watching her spin with a drop spindle. Something I can't do very well, much less on the move.
This is Anne. She was my downstream pal for Sockapalooza 3. I was excited to hear that she had worn the socks I knit for her on her way to NY.. and they were even commented on by the TSA official during the security check. Cool.
Really awesome was meeting Nancy. Not only is Nance a frequent commenter here, but a person whom I consider a friend. The bonus was meeting Maribel and Nancy's son Avery as well. The bummer, not being able to spend more time with them.. or meet Rinaldo and Ian who were off having fun in the children's area.
Um, no. I didn't buy this. I wish. If I can ever afford a Golding wheel.. it will have hand carved dancing bears.
And lastly from Rhinebeck.. my modest haul. I'm still shocked at how little I came home with considering I planned on spending twice as much. The three solid colored batts are lincoln cross and oh my goodness, fluffy soft. They were purchased with the Fiber Trends felting starter kit at the Barneswallow Farm booth. A Grafton Fibers batt there in the middle. Eight ounces of Blue Faced Leicester roving in a deep shade of green (this was my steal of the day. SEVEN dollars for EIGHT ounces. It was tucked at the bottom of a bargain basket and I'm not sure WHY!) One skein of Aussi sock yarn in Faded Valentine from Seaport (who can't resist those colors for 13.00?) A beaded orifice hook, snagged for $3.50, but unfortunately too short for my Baynes (no worries, it will work on my next wheel!) And a pattern, Moon Garden Wrap from NatureSpeak Knits. I didn't realize until on the way home in the van that this pattern is written only, and not charted. Drat! I'll have to chart it out myself before starting.
We got home around 7ish on Saturday evening, exhausted. I even woke up on Sunday morning, feeling hungover, which Richard insists is the sign of a great weekend! I trudged through the morning however, sucking down coffee, so that the family could make its way to the state fairgrounds for the Alpaca Extravaganza.
And after looking at all the adorable fluffy sweet alpaca, we finished Halloween shopping..
Dylan and Connor in their chosen costumes. I'll rant some other time about how Spirit Of Halloween's prices are seriously marked up. Its Monday. Its over 80 degrees. And I'm still exhausted. Whew!
