Rhinebeck Weekend

We’re deep in the throes of preparing for our rep packets – the twice yearly compilation all things new and exciting on offer from Kelbourne Woolens for shops – so there isn’t much to show around here at the moment.

We did, though, steal some time away last weekend to visit the New York State Sheep And Wool Festival, colloquially known as “Rhinebeck” to fiber people everywhere.

We headed up Thursday from Philadelphia, and after collecting some local provisions at Montgomery Place Orchards, spent a relaxing evening at our rented house, complete with an apple tasting!

Friday morning began with a hike up Overlook Mountain with Jaime and Karen. I am by no means a stranger to a nice hike, but it has been a while since I did a straight up hill climb. Oy! The views – and this amazing old decrepit building at the top – made it all well worth it. (And you know I ate an extra doughnut – or two – as a reward at the end!)

After the hike, the whole gang spent the afternoon visiting Hudson, NY. Despite going to college north of Albany, I hadn’t spent a ton of time visiting the towns of the Hudson Valley, so a leisurely afternoon in stunning weather was exactly what we needed. Highlights included a visit to my dear old friend Lauren’s new shop, Good Fight Herb Co., more cheese from Talbott and Arding, an inspirational visit to Minna, and an amazing dinner at Lil’ Deb’s Oasis.

TOP: L / Deadline knitting + Fairground lines = Win! R / My new best friend.
BOTTOM: L / Triplets with Jen and Asheley. R / Making some really tough decisions with Amber at Jill’s Studio.

In typical fashion, we didn’t remember to take many photos on the actual fairgrounds. Saturday was pretty overwhelming (as usual), but we still had an amazing time. Sunday was much more chill, and we spent a lot of the day relaxing on the little hill people watching, knitting, and eating (more) doughnuts. It was so wonderful to see everyone, catch up, chat about yarn and sheep and apples and the (crazy!) warm weather.

The yarn highlight of the trip was a visit to the Jill Draper studio, where she was also hosting a pop-up of Rachel Atkinson‘s amazing yarn. I snagged a sweater quantity of Rockwell in the undyed marl, and Jaime, Courtney, and I all purchased sweater quantities of the 4ply Fingering Hebridean/Zwartbles blend.

Thanks so much to our inspiring housemates Amber, Karen, Meg, Jen, and Jaime, for another amazing time.

Until next year!!