Sunday, October 29, 2006

Rhinebeck Sunday - two perspectives

My knitting buddy Phyllis wanted to tell you all about our drive up to Rhinebeck last Sunday. I think she has come to the conclusion that I am a bit eccentric when it comes to yarn and knitting. I don't think so, but I'll let her tell you about it...

Phyllis' View -
Rhinebeck - the truth about the obsessed
(Comments from the peanut gallery- aka the driver of the day, who sought her own perfect shade of blue, and was seduced by a cloud of laceweight.)

She said that she went back on Sunday because we had planned it- very true, and much appreciated. But, there was also the yellow/green scarf....

Deborah got in my car at 8 am, put down her coffee cup and whipped out the scarf. She finished the skein, and announced that she would need another.

We got there just around 10, and enjoyed some wide open spaces for a while. Deborah did lead us to some luscious yarn, and kept herself in control. Leslie and I kept fondling alpaca and merino- "oooh, soft!"

Eventually we found the booth with the yellow/green. The ladies there were very impressed with the instant scarf. Luckily there was more available.


A few minutes later.....

She was walking and knitting after the ball was wound, continued knitting for the drive home.

A perfect day- lovely scenery, no traffic, great company, bunnies to pet, sheep to smell (and thank for the wool) and no traffic on the Thruway!


Deborah's View

There are many knitting celebrities out there today and we love how they have brought skills and prose together to keep us all entertained as we try to discover and perfect new skills.

Well, Leslie and Phyllis are my real life knitting celebs. I met them both at my LYS. Leslie is the master of the most beautiful bags that Noni never created and Phyllis is the master of cables, sweaters, finishing and everything technical with knitting. What's better still - they share and inspire me.

Phyllis is the one who suggested the Rhinebeck trip, and she drove us all up and back which allowed Leslie and me to work on our projects. I worked on my Rhinebeck scarf.

As we were driving up, I ran out of yarn and had to keep my fingers crossed that I'd be able to find the vendor I bought it from and hoped that she had more left! Leslie was working on a beautiful shrug with yarn she bought back at her store. It was a fun 1 1/2 hours. We talked about knitting, knitting and knitting, oh and scouting (Phyllis is a master scout master too!).

One thing they didn't know about me until Rhinebeck is that I am not always worried about appearances. I was cured of that at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York City, when I was there delivering my first child 17 years ago. Ladies, I lost count of how many strangers (they said they were doctors) came to have a look see up my you know what. Who can be modest after that? But I digress...

I found the vendor with the yarn I ran out of and since I was having such good fortune, I set a personal goal to finish my Rhinebeck scarf, at Rhinebeck! The problem with shopping at these fairs is no vendor will take the time to wind your yarn. Well, if you want to jump right in and get started knitting with your new acquisition, somebody has got to wind it right? And I did. Admittedly, I may have looked a bit weird, but I rationalized that I was surrounded by fiber junkies and no one would really notice. Not true, I did get the occasional stare and one woman even stopped me to suggest that I was all tangled up and she'd help me 'unwind'. Whatever. My Rhinebeck scarf is now a FO!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My mother is becoming a knit blogger. Wonderful. Another thing to own her soul...
Love ya Mom! You look great!

Anonymous said...

I know that Deborah is knit obsessed.
I recognized the kindred spirit.

Anonymous said...

I love it. I've totally handwinded laceweight while running the streets of NYC, so I know it can be done. Kudos to you for finishing your Rhinebeck Scarf at Rhinebeck.

Necia

Anonymous said...

I love it. I've totally handwinded laceweight while running the streets of NYC, so I know it can be done. Kudos to you for finishing your Rhinebeck Scarf at Rhinebeck.

Necia