Rhinebeck recap, mostly via Instagram photos
I took the train+shuttle to Rhinebeck with my friend Nancy this year, and as soon as we got off the bus I snapped this picture of the gorgeousness as we walked in:
http://instagram.com/p/fsdNQ0iLNt/
The weather couldn't have been much better, it was crisp and chilly (yes! we got to wear sweaters!) but also bright and sunny. It was a joy to be outside.
For the next 6 hours, we wandered all over the grounds, stopping to buy supplies and food. Nancy did most of the fiber purchasing while I did most of the food purchases. I actually didn't buy anything knitting-related at all!
But I did buy food. A lot of it.
Stood in line for 30 minutes to buy apple cider donuts:
http://instagram.com/p/fsuxuViLDm/
Then just before leaving, bought an absurd helping of kettle corn:
http://instagram.com/p/fs-85IiLEt/
Which Nancy and I ate during the entire trip home. That was definitely the best kettle corn I've had in years.
All in all, the trip was wonderful. Nancy and I spent a while talking about what a Chiagu booth might look like if I were to do one at next year's Rhinebeck . . . and believe me, if I decide to go that way, I'll tell you all about it as we work on it!
--
PS - You should follow me on Instagram if you're on there =)
Rhinebeck 2011 Redux, part 1 (the animals)
I think I'm still recovering from the weekend! This was the first year where I went to Rhinebeck for more than just a few hours and let me tell you, there's a huge difference between being there for two days vs. for a short day trip. I think I looked at every booth twice! It's going to take a bunch of posts to tell you everything I did, saw, bought, and ate, but I'll do my best ;o)
Looking through all the photos I took of the show (you can always keep up with me via photography by friending me on Flickr), the first one that strikes me is this one:
This goat in the petting zoo was SO SO cute! He was tiny, super soft, and very friendly. I totally wanted to take him home.
Also fun were these baby sheep:
They had their eyes half-closed and looked like they were asleep, but they were chewing at the same time! So funny.
But my favorite out of the zoo was definitely the kangaroos:
How ridiculously cute is the baby in the mom's pouch? I could hardly stand it! We literally stood there staring at the kangaroos for at least half an hour, and I could have stood there way longer. They did the funniest things, like scratch their bellies or hips:
Bend way over to put their front feet on the ground:
And use their tails as a third leg to stand on when upright:
I couldn't get enough. Until Sunday I'd never seen a kangaroo in real life before, only on TV or in movies, and I think I'm in love. I'd love to go to Austria to see some of the really huge ones!
At any sheep & wool show, the animals are not only entertainment, they're part of the market itself. There were plenty of sheep, alpacas, and llamas wandering around being bought and sold (and petted and photographed). I loved these two black-black sheep wearing "coats":
Especially because I spotted them while in the huge Sanguine Gryphon checkout line when I was getting antsy from boredom . . . but more on that later.
In the "breeds" tent, my favorite was this guy:
Now I can't remember if he's an alpaca or a llama, but he had so much personality with all that hair falling down into his face! He had a "yeah, whatever, I'm so over this scene" attitude about him that cracked me up.
It seemed like everywhere I looked there were little kids petting large, harry animals and loving it:
And while the kids petted the animals, the adults petted the yarn, fiber, and tools . . .
I'll fill you in on what I bought in my next post!
