Rhinebeck 2012: avec bebe

We started the day positively covered in knitwear.  Lucy wore her Jayne hat, new red milo vest, and puerperium cardigan.  Pete took his black cabled hat and orange and black striped scarf.  I decided to bring my handspun  cowl and the beautiful beret my friend Emily made.  She was visiting for the weekend and brought her Clapotis.  

...Aaaand we shed all of it before we even left the parking lot.  A warm Rhinebeck is such a waste.  There were lots of stalwart showoffs who bravely kept their knits on, but we were not among them.  Poor Lucy looked positively unloved. 

It was so much fun to gawk at the great pieces walking by.  I couldn't resist asking this woman about her fabulous crocheted vest that reminded me so much of Mrs. Weasley.

Her friend took great pleasure in informing me that it was actually purchased from Forever 21 for only $30.  I thought they were teasing.  I nearly despaired of ever knowing the pattern, but I remembered what Stephanie Pearl-McPhee said in All Wound Up about crochet.  Apparently it is impossible to manufacture crochet.  It is all handmade.  So armed with that knowledge, I searched for the pattern and found it in only a couple of minutes on Ravelry.  Behold LUL's flower power vest.

Now for the bounty.  I had been daydreaming for months about what I wanted to find at Rhinebeck.  Many of the things on my list were just experiences I wanted to have--yarn I wanted to fondle, needles I wanted to knit with, etc.  I also made a vow to myself to avoid sock yarn acquisition, as I have plenty, and all things teal, as that color is adequately represented in my stash.  But there were also things I wanted to actually come home with:

My first purchase was 2 oz of intoxicating roving from Loop.  It's called Three Ring Circus, an explosive blend of merino, corriedale, bamboo, tussah silk, angelina, and recycled sari silk.  I have coveted her bullseye bumps for a while now, but decided to hold off until next year.

Ever since Emily bought some Koigu that looked as though pop rocks had been added to the dye bath, I have searched for similar yarn.  When we came across the Creatively Dyed booth, I knew I had finally found some.  I quickly scanned the worsted and sport weight sections and started picking up anything that caught my eye.  Before I knew it, my arms were full.  Emily walked over and I said, "Em, I need your help.  Something happened..."  She laughed and we sorted through the multitude of skeins and decided on two:

Woodbrook worsted weight in the colorway Manchester

And Voodoo DK Weight in the colorway Creator.

Then came the main purchase--a Golding spindle.  I chose one with a 3" solid cocobolo whorl and a walnut shaft.  It weighs 2 oz.  I cannot believe the change that has come over my spinning in just one day.  First, this spindle is like buttah, but mostly it is because of a friendly woman who showed me how to draft as I go.  I couldn't resist spinning a little to practice it on the drive home.

My last purchase of the day was an 8 oz bag of corriedale that looked a bit dubious, but wound up being the best bargain of all.  I am smitten with the resulting singles and hope to actually ply it up to make real yarn.  Stay tuned!