I haven’t mentioned it much here, but two weeks ago, the moment I look forward to most all year (besides Christmas ^^) finally arrived: The Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival.
First of all, this festival is the perfect excuse to admire the stunning autumn colors across Southern Quebec, Vermont, and New York State. And Rhinebeck never disappoints, welcoming us with trees in vibrant shades of red and gold!
But obviously, the main reason for my trip is to dive headfirst into a world where knitting is king. Being at Rhinebeck during the festival makes you feel like you’re truly part of a community. It’s like walking through Ravelry in real life. Everyone brings their most beautiful shawl, their finest socks, or their favorite sweater.
In fact, it’s so much fun to have lunch in town (at Bread Alone—I love their coffee!) leaning against the bar and watching the knitters pass by. You find yourself admiring their work, wondering about the pattern name, studying the construction, the colors… it’s a total source of inspiration!
Then, around 9 a.m., it’s time to head to the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, where dozens of cars filled with women (mostly!) are already parked. This is where the excitement reaches its peak! Quick, quick, quick—I have to get to the booths for Miss Babs, Briar Rose, Foxhill Farm, Green Mountain Spinnery… What if all the yarn I want is already gone? Okay, okay, I’m getting ahead of myself: it’s the first day, it’s only 9 a.m., there should still be a few skeins left! ^^ But the yarn haul will be a story for another time. Today, I want to tell you about my experience with Ravelry and the release of The Rhinebeck Sweater book.
As I’ve mentioned a few times on the blog’s Facebook page, Ysolda Teague published a book entirely dedicated to the Rhinebeck festival, featuring 12 sweater patterns from 12 different designers, all knit using yarns from producers present at the festival. Naturally, I jumped at the chance to pre-order this book, which was being released early on Saturday, October 18, during the annual Ravelry meetup.
As they do every year at the festival, Ravelry organizes a massive gathering on the hill from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. for a group photo. And as always, I don’t say much; instead, I observe while Séb takes photos under my direction: “Oh! Do you see her? That’s designer so-and-so!” “Oh! Look at that sweater, that’s the [insert name] pattern!” I’m lucky he’s patient, curious, and willing to go along with my obsessions!
The moment I was anticipating most was the distribution of Ysolda’s latest book that I had ordered online. I ended up being third in line to receive it directly from Ysolda, complete with a personalized inscription: “You were in my online class, right?” (Yes! She recognized me! ^^) followed by a photo (where I tried my best not to smile too much!) to immortalize the moment:
After that, I set myself a challenge: get an autograph from every designer in the book. I almost managed it! This was the start of the “designer hunt” that lasted the rest of the day… ^^
The first person to sign was Mary-Heather Cogar from Sugarleaf. She is also one of the managers of Ravelry.
Second was Laura Nelkin, who was quite shy about signing the first autograph of her life! She is the designer behind Artichoke French.
Then came Amy Herzog, who signed her new book Knit to Flatter and her Maple Cotton Candy pattern for me. She seems like such a fun and dynamic person!
I also stopped by Clara Parkes’ booth with her Yarn Whisperer. She lived in France for a while and has a great French accent! She is also the creator of the Knitter’s Review website and the author of The Book of Yarn and The Book of Wool!
I didn’t get a photo, but I managed to get an autograph from Mary Jane Mucklestone, a Fair Isle and colorwork enthusiast with her Jenny at the Fair pattern, then from Thea Colman for the gorgeous Beekman Tavern (which I plan to knit very soon), and finally from Melissa Wehrle for Mulberry Street.
In short, I got autographs from 7 out of the 8 designers present at the festival! Not bad, right? I can now proudly say it’s my most beautiful knitting book!
As you can imagine, the day flew by and was full of emotion. I had an absolute blast and walked away with wonderful memories. In my next post, I’ll tell you all about my amazing yarn hauls!
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