Rhinebeck 2014

I have been thinking about writing long posts about the NYS Sheep and Wool Festival held last weekend in Rhinebeck, but I am so busy trying to restock for the Fiber Festival of New England next week, that I haven't had time to post.  We sold out of so much stuff, my head is still spinning!  It was our most profitable show ever, and I am grateful to all the wonderful people who come to visit us each year.  That said, I have to get back to work dyeing wool and making kits and drawing patterns . . . . . .   So here are some photographs for you to enjoy.

Our booth

Another view of our booth

Yet another

My favorite sheep of the show

This guy was a sweetheart

Our neighbor at the show

Love this woman's baskets -- she's a rug hooker, too!

nice packaging

Goats are my favorites

Sunny skies and colorful trees

Garlands

Love the topknot

These trees look great every year

More yarn than you can imagine

Another corner of our booth

New York State Sheep and Wool Festival

My favorite show of the year has rolled around again: Rhinebeck, formally known as the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.  I'll be heading up the Hudson on Friday, enjoying the autumn colors along the bluffs.  Here's the scoop:  The Festival is held at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, Saturday, October 19, 2013, 9 AM to 5 Pm, and Sunday, October 20, 2013, 10 AM to 5 PM.  For more information, go to the website: New York Sheep and Wool Festival.

Barb and I will be in Building A, Booth 28, just like last year.  Come and visit and see my just finished rug, The White Whale Tavern.  I hooked this rug to look like an old trade sign, using 1 inch strips of fabric ripped by hand.  The texture is amazing.  I dyed up a new background color for this piece, which I call Blue Whale, and I'll have a few pieces available for purchase at the Festival.

Gloom has descended on Greenport.  When Cairo and I walked the beach this morning we walked through a cloud, gray and wet and sticky.  Not even the glorious tumble of roses and Montauk daisies in full bloom could brighten my spirits.  It's the kind of day that makes me want to curl up with a book, a latte and a cinnamon bun then take a nap.  But I was good -- I had a poached egg while writing out my grocery list, stuck a load of laundry in the washer, and answered all my emails.

I have been hooking and stitching a lot.  I need to catch up on merchandise after having three shows in three weekends.  (I won't do that again!) I finished hooking Parson Brown on Tuesday evening.  It's a pattern I designed a few years ago but never hooked.  When I finished him, I decided he needed a companion and drew out Father Christmas.  I think I may put a braid around each of them.  I thought a pair of related rugs would look good in our booth at the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, aka Rhinebeck, on October 20 and 21. At any rate, I am headed out to do a major grocery shop today and rest my shoulder, which tends to ache if I spend too many hours at my frame.  Do you think Father Christmas needs buttons?  He's a little jealous of Parson Brown, although when his beard is finally hooked he'll have something to show off.

Zippy Pins

One of the funnest things about the Sheep and Wool Festival is meeting new people. An energetic and creative mother and daughter team stopped by our booth on Saturday to tell us about their new business venture: Zippy Pins. They are manufacturing all manner of buttons with cute and clever sayings on them.

They have several pins aimed at the fiber fanatic market, but they'll create almost any button you could want -- for yourself, or to sell. (Yes, they do wholesale!) I saw scads of people with buttons all over their backpacks, camera straps, tote bags, hats -- you name it, people covered it in buttons. Jamie and Jenna gave us some samples to sell. We sold four within minutes of displaying them in our booth.

Their website has an artists' gallery, as well as a page for creating your own designs. They make key chains, zipper pulls and magnets, too. They're both very friendly, and I'm sure they're easy to work with. I plan on ordering a bunch soon!

Back from Rhinebeck!

Last week was tough -- I hooked long and hard on the dog rug and ended up with pain in my shoulder, and I spent hours worrying about the bad weather predicted for the weekend. I was sure this would be our worst show ever. Wrong! Fiber fanatics obviously don't care about rain and snow, because they showed up in record numbers and nearly wiped out our booth on Saturday.

Here's our booth early Saturday morning before the gates opened. See my red, white and black dog rug? I love it.



Other views of the booth:




We shared our spot with our friend Susan Borger, who has given up lavender to start the buttonshow -- a collection of her own needlepunched and vintage buttons and shawl pins. I neglected to get a photo of her always charming booth, but I am sure she will have a picture on her blog, susanbmade.

I sent Susan up the hill (man, I walked that sucker more times than I can count!) to Barn 36 to see the fabulous work of Julia Hilbrandt. She creates very sophisticated purses and pillows from industrial felt. Susan came back to our booth sporting a beautiful purse. When I spoke to Julia, she was sporting a big smile. She had a successful weekend, too.

Our friend Linda Repasky of Woolen Whimsies once again occupied horse stall H in Building 26. It sparkled with Kevin's clever lighting fixture and all the beautiful Gloriana Lorikeet wool thread Linda stocks for needle punching. Linda's work -- including the frames she so carefully paints -- is just magical. Here's a somewhat blurry photo of Linda's smiling face.


Linda's partner, Kevin Cooke, made that wonderful set of nesting Shaker boxes piled on the table. He also made the teeniest tiniest shaker box I've ever seen -- just about an inch long!

My baby Clara -- now a senior at Skidmore -- came down from Saratoga to visit me and her Aunty Barb on Saturday afternoon. Skidmore's Parent's Weekend always coincides with the Sheep and Wool Festival, so I have to miss it. I was really pleased she made the effort. We left Barb in charge of the booth and went in search of furry things that we could pet.







Every year we see this fellow with one of his flock on his lap. This is Vasey, a very friendly angora goat.



I am always happy to see Toni of The Fold, who sells the famous Socks that Rock yarn. She moved from Building A to a bigger booth in Building B this year, which helped to accomodate the hoards of knitters waiting for a skein of that delicious stuff. Her friend Thor joined her team this year. It's great to see a 6'2" Viking who loves to knit!

We had a great time. We always have a great time. We're already getting ready for next year: October 16 & 17. Hope to see you there!

My Studio, Pre-Sheep & Wool Fest -- aka "Hurricane Sarah"

I'm leaving for Rhinebeck (The New York Sheep and Wool Festival) on Friday. I am still hooking on the rug that will be the focal point of our booth in between packing and pricing and dyeing (I dyed 5 yards of wool by 9 am this morning). My studio is a complete and total mess. I can;t spare the time to stop and clean it, so I am wading through snippets of wool and whatever else falls on the floor.


I was reading Tammy's blog the other day (Skip to My Ewe). She said she never hooks in her hooking room because it is such a wreck. I told her if she'd post a photo of her studio, I'd post a photo of mine. I haven't heard from her yet, but decided to go ahead and do it anyway. I had a good laugh a few minutes ago when I looked up from my rug frame and realized I couldn't find the dog until a pile of linen in the corner moved. Did you spot Cairo sleeping on top of the linen basket? Poor little guy -- he can't wait until this show is over and life gets back to normal.

It's My Birthday and I'll Work If I Want To

You would work too, if it happened to you . . . . (Sing the title and first line to the tune of Leslie Gore's "It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To.")

I woke at 5 am today and at 5:38 decided to can the idea of more sleep even though it is Sunday and it is my birthday. I decided to get up and work. The New York Sheep and Wool Festival is less than one week away and my head is full of ideas and my studio is full of stuff that needs to be finished. Today I am revving up the sewing machine to prepare the binding for three rugs that need it, and to put together a slew of pillows I have made tops for. I've been working away on my new dog rug that will be the centerpiece of our booth this year. It is hooking up quickly, so I can afford to put it aside today.

On another front: Pete and I did a quick tour of tag sales yesterday to see if we could scrounge up enough chairs for the dining room without spending huge amounts of money. Remember, we bought a table last month at Brimfield and it has been sitting chairless in the dining room since then. Well, luck was with us yesterday. A restaurant in Southold went of of business and we bought a bunch of chairs at a bargain price -- cheaper than Ikea! We are very pleased with our purchase. So pleased, in fact, that Pete went back and bought four more for the kitchen.


The icing on the cake, however, was the delivery of my newly reupholstered hand-me-down couch. I LOVE my couch. It is at least 25 years old, has a hardwood frame, and had two owners before me. It was covered in a horrible shiny fabric that smelled musty. I kept it in my studio for naps on rainy Sunday afternoons. I've wanted to recover it for years, but never got around to it. Now that we have a family room that needs a sofa, I convinced Pete to let me get it redone.


I am a ninny when it comes to decorating. I tend to keep things on the quiet side. I've never owned a sofa with a print fabric on it. But this fabric just sang to me when I first saw it on my friend Paula's love seat. She was kind enough to give me a piece of the fabric, and the name of her upholsterer and voila! I now have the most beautiful couch I've ever owned. It looks a little stark against the white wall in the picture, so try to imagine it with the walls painted the color of the elephants in the fabric, and a long leather ottoman with a wooden tray on top of it for a coffee table, and an attractive rug on the floor. I can't wait to spend time in there once the Sheep and Wool Festival is over . . .

Now I really have to get back to work . . .

Back from Rhinebeck

It was another glorious, glittering autumn weekend in the Hudson Valley. My car windows were frosted both mornings . . . the perfect temperature for indulging in all things wool.



The crowds at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival were absolutely amazing on Saturday. We had lots of returning customers mixed in with the new and we met some online friends, too. I was pleased to see Naomi of Ravens Gate Primitives again. We first met at the Fairfield rug show back in the spring. My friend Christine Henson, owner of Now and Zen Yarns in Greenport, checked in with her husband Charlie Thorp (Charlie built my studio several years ago.) A whole passel of Peconic Ruggers showed up -- they all rode up on the bus with the local spinners' guild: Ron, Barbara, Judy, Jennifer, Sally, Sue all looked exhausted by the end of the day. As always, Abby Vakay -- who was palling with Tracy Jamar -- had boundless energy. It was great to see them all. And Barb and I really enjoy chatting with Toni from The Fold, who sells Socks That Rock yarn. Her booth always has the longest line of customers . . . One of these days I'm going to visit her in Marengo, Illinois and take her silver Audi TT out for a spin . . .

The biggest thrill of the weekend: I was interviewed about rug hooking live on WKZE, the local radio station. The woman who interviewed me was named Sally, who hooks rugs herself, and the owner and manager of the station is named Barb -- which is kind of funny, since my sister's name is Barb and my family calls me Sally . . . Anyway -- I'm glad I didn't hear myself, because I was awfully nervous.



We were so busy I didn't get around much. I did step outside to watch the sheepdog trials for awhile. The dogs were absolutely amazing. I checked out a few of the other vendors, too, and bought some yarn for more socks. I wanted to buy a "Llamas for Obama" pin, but never got around to it. . . they were selling like hot cakes.

So now it's time to get ready for next year's Festival, to be held on October 17 & 18, 2009. Barb and I already have a theme for our booth and I've started drawing sketches for new rugs . . . Hope to see you there!

Sarah

Is It Still Summer?

Cairo and I had a lovely walk on the beach this morning. (As you can see from the photo above, Cairo had a nice swim, too.) If I hadn't seen a busy squirrel run by with a fat black walnut in his mouth, I would have thought it was the middle of July. It has to be close to 70 degrees already, the sun is warm and the air is perfectly still. I wanted to sit on the dock in the sun for awhile, but the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival is this weekend and I still have work to do!

Cold weather is supposed to move in tonight. I'm hoping the rain stays away so that the weekend is crisp and the leaves stay on the trees upstate until I get there.

I'll post the particulars about the festival tomorrow. On Friday morning I'll set off for Rhinebeck and won't return until Monday.

Enjoy this glorious day!

Sarah