Okay, get scared, it's twice this month - Rhinebeck and all that

Minor miracle, but there is so much fun to report and photos to show. Just because I went to Rhinebeck doesn't mean that is all I am going to write about. On Friday I accompanied my younger son on a school field trip to someplace called Stonehenge USA in Salem, NH. They were supposed to see aged stone works and find out what an archeological dig was like. I think those educational objectives were accomplished. See, first there was digging - like going in a time machine back to nursery school, but with a slightly longer attention span and no throwing of sand.
Then there was a tape guided tour of all these little stone caves and walls and piles of rubble - with the tape played on a boom box carried by one of the kids (only marginally successful for such a large group).
And then while waiting for the bus the kids amused themselves with trying to touch one of the eight or so alpacas that are raised there. What the alpacas have to do with prehistory and archeology I don't know, but the kids enjoyed them as much as all the other activities, I think. Maybe they are all fiber fanatics and just don't know it yet!

So that was just practice - only a 50 minute bus ride - for my trip to Rhinebeck the next day with the Yarn Safari tour group. That was a five hour bus ride each way. I think there were some things that made it longer than driving oneself - route selection, dropping off the other pick up point people first, riding in a glorified school bus - but if I had driven myself I couldn't have knitted for the whole trip out and half way back! I have never been to Rhinebeck or any other similar festival before, so I didn't know quite what to expect, but I am glad I did some homework. I spent a little time with the Web site looking at the vendor lists, scoping out the ones I already knew and loved, and then printing off a copy of the site map and writing those locations on the back. By the time we got there, the annotated maps at the gate were gone, and there are no maps posted anywhere that I could see. Later on I did get a map from someone who was leaving - maybe they ought to have a recycle bin? Fortunately, another of my knitting buddies had come on the other bus and brought along the entire alphabetical list of vendors by building, so between that list and my map we were pretty well oriented. Besides, there are wonderful lovely things everywhere! Like this (for those who like roving):

and this (Color! Yarn! Pick me!)

Not to mention the chance to people watch (and garment watch):

I saw only one MS#3 (very nice!) and had two sighting of Yarn Harlot and her amazing Kauni cardigan (if it was me I would have been carrying it instead of wearing it, so I hope she was not too warm). And through the wonders of the Internet and cell phone technology I met up with Gryfinitter (her blog is Wandless Knitting, and I would give you a link except I haven't learned how yet) even though we only know each other through exchanging comments in blogland. Amazing!

I managed to come home with an alligator scarf kit from Morehouse, yarn for three pairs of socks (STR, VanCalcar Farms and Sliver Moon FIber Arts), several patterns, some pumpkin scented soap and some stitch markers. This represents remarkable self restraint on my part, and I think I have escaped the spinning bug for now (but some of that roving was so soft and so pretty....).

I will save the yarn photos and the meme response (which I have not forgotten!) for the next post. I have to do the dishes and laundry before they come to life and lock me in a closet!