It's been over a week...

and I haven't posted anything about the wonder that was Rhinebeck! It was amazing! Talk about being overwhelmed! Wow! Words cannot describe how wonderful it was. For a first timer like myself and my friend that accompanied me, we were not prepared for the scale of the show. I had thought that I was somewhat prepared with all of my research at Ravelry, making lists of must see vendors, planning my shopping list accordingly, even planning some of our food purchases in advance. But all of those things tended to go by the wayside once we stepped off the Yarn Safaris bus that we took to get to Rhinebeck.

We actually arrived a bit late, due to an issue that occurred before our stop. I guess there were detours involved on the journey there, but because we were knitting and chatting away and enjoying the beautiful weather and views, we didn't seem to notice or mind. Thankfully I had printed off a map of the fairgrounds and had it with me, because there were none available when we arrived. It was near noon, so my friend and I decided to attack lunch first so that we would be fully fueled for the fiber frenzy which was about to ensue. Even with all of the recommendations on Ravelry, I was not brave enough to try the lamb chili or the fried pickles or the artichokes french. They did look and smell wonderful, but I was not very adventurous in the food category. So I opted for a burger and my friend a sausage and peppers sub, both of which were good. The food lines were minimal at this time too, so it worked out well. I met my first Blogger Bingo person at this point too, Claire from NewYorkMinKnit. After that we ventured over to the Ravelry meet up near where we were eating. I stalked around and found a few more blogger bingo squares, but because my friend is not on Ravelry nor is she a Blogger Bingo person, I did not want to monopolize what little time we had there with all of my silly fun...after all, we were there for fiber!

We walked around with map in hand, checking off the buildings as we finished them so that we would be somewhat organized. Here is my friend fondling fiber:



We also visited the buildings that had lots of these:







I didn't have any of the celebrity sitings that other bloggers had, such as the Yarn Harlot...although I could have run right into her, literally, and due to being high on fiber fumes, I wouldn't have even realized it. We ate a huge fried dough for a snack, ran into several more blogger bingo squares( Boogie Knits, Wooly Headed, and Calling on Kahlo)and spent lots of money on stuff! Great fun was had by all! Before we knew it, it was almost time to board the bus for our return to reality...aka home. The ride was full of show and tells and oohing and aahing. Some folks chatted, some knitted and some slept. I was too high to come down until hours later, at home, where I fondled my purchases. Here is my haul:



There is some STR yarn in mediumweight in the "Brick" colorway from The Fold,hand carders from Carolina Homespun, a cute hedghog handpuppet kit from Orchard House, a Swiss Cheese scarf kit from Morehouse Farms, three patterns from Briar Rose, and a learn to spin Drop Spindle kit from Goldring. I pretty much kept to my list and budget, but could have easily gone really wild. Plans are already being made for next year, perhaps making an overnight event of it. Pennies are now being saved and projects planned...it was a wondrous day!