Rhinebeck Recap

I’ve been putting off posting about Rhinebeck because I’ve had withdrawal ever since I came home. I had so much fun, with some lovely folks, and it all went by so fast! I didn’t take a ton of pictures this year like I did last year. I think I spent more time taking everything in rather then photographing much. (You can see all the pictures I took in my Flickr set here.)

Diana (from my local knit group) and I drove up Friday. We stayed with Jesh and Hillary Friday and Saturday night, which was a lot of fun. It was great to finally meet both in person and have a chance to spend time with them. 🙂

Saturday was spent at the fairgrounds. We got there before the gates opened and were first in line to get in. Shortly after we arrived, I went to use the restroom and when I was coming out, I managed to trip over an acorn. A lady saw me fall and immediately rushed over to see if I was okay and asked if I wanted her to get help. I let her know I was okay, just startled and a little scraped up. I scraped and bruised my knee pretty badly, but I had Band-Aids in my bag, so it was only a minor problem (and the first aid building wasn’t too far had I not brought Band-Aids with me). Mostly it just hurt really bad and looked terrible! It was a little sore to walk for a while, though not bad enough that it bothered me. I was just glad I didn’t drop my camera, which I had hanging around my neck when I fell.

While at the fair, I made sure to try one of the chicken pot pies I’d heard lots of people rave about. I found the booth well before the long line and crowd started, which was around 10 am. I was hungry, the line was short, and I didn’t want to miss it, so I went for it! It was quite yummy and I was glad I got one when I did. Later, closer to lunch, the line was really long and I heard it was an hour or so wait. The fried artichoke line was the same way! Long line and wait. I had intended to go there early, but forgot and the line got long, so I passed on trying those.

Chicken Pot Pie – YUM!

The other memorable fair food that Hillary and I had was spaghetti and meatballs on a stick. It was quite good, though the sauce they give you could use some work. We’ve both decided we need to learn to recreate this one! I wasn’t able to finish all of mine because it was really filling. Definitely not something one could (or should) eat every day, but was definitely a unique fair food I hadn’t seen before that was worth a try. Isn’t everything better on a stick when at the fair? 🙂

Spaghetti and Meatballs on a Stick
Curious what the inside looks like? Click here.

My absolute favorite food item at Rhinebeck? Maple cotton candy! I love maple anything and when I heard about maple cotton candy, I had to try it. I didn’t find it to be nearly as sweet as regular cotton candy (I was worried it would be) and it was deliciously maple flavored. I had to convince myself that I didn’t need to go back and buy 10 bags to take home with me.

Is it fiber? Nope! Maple cotton candy.

Of course there were plenty of sheep, fiber, yarn, and all sorts of things to see, try, and buy besides food.

Hillary tried out a charka that was set up on a display for people to try out. It looked a lot harder then I imagined it would be! I didn’t try it because it looked like it was tough to get the hang of. Maybe next year I’ll be brave enough to give it a go. 😉

Hillary tries the charka.

There was a spinning competition on Saturday. The goal was to spin as much as you could in 15 minutes. There were wheel spinners and spindlers. Not entirely sure, but I think the spindlers and wheel spinners were in separate categories (it wasn’t very clear). Two of the three wheel spinners were guys, which was a pleasant surprise. We stayed to see them finish, but left before the results came back.

Spinning Competition

I saw lots of folks throughout the day, at the Ravelry Meetup and at the Ravelry Party. Many were folks I’d met in person previously (at Rhinebeck last year or the Spring Fling this year) and some were folks I knew on Plurk or Twitter or Ravelry that I finally got to see in person. Wishing I’d taken more pictures of everyone!! There were also some folks I managed to miss because I didn’t run into them or they were only going Sunday. Makes me wish that Rhinebeck lasted all month so I could see and spend time with everyone more!

Soooo… what did I come home with? I was surprisingly reserved in what I decided to buy and ended up with more fiber then yarn. I purchased a Bosworth Mini Spindle in Purpleheart, enough yarn for a sweater from Brooks Farm in Solo, a half pound of Corriedale from The Sheep Shed and Mountain View Farm, 4 oz alpaca/silk roving and 2 oz of silk from Gale’s Art.

Rhinebeck Purchases
Top (left to right): Bosworth Mini, Bosworth Mini Whorl, Brooks Farm Solo
Bottom (left to right): Corriedale, Alpaca/Silk, Silk

As always, these wonderful fiber events seem to go by far too quickly. I always suffer a bit of withdrawl from all the lovely fiber folks that I don’t get to see all the time that I wish lived closer to me. Is it time for Rhinebeck 2011 yet?! 🙂