It's that time of year again!

Amanda and her boys came up for a visit this weekend so we could make our annual trek to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York. Normally, we would not have dragged two babies on such an excursion, but there were no babysitters available this time, so we had to bribe Moose with hot dogs and carousel rides. He was a little whiny but we all survived.

It all started out with the usual pretty knits and yarns.

But this year there was some very cute artwork as well.

And look who we met!!!! It's Stephanie Pearl-McPhee of The Yarn Harlot fame! She signed our books for us while we told her how much we love her writing.

And then she asked to see what the boys were wearing.

Handmade by their mommy Amanda. And their hats had googly eyes too.

Moose was excited to see all the artisans at work. This lady was needle felting animal figurines.

And this lady was spinning yarn. Notice how Moose was concentrating.

He also enjoyed watching this man make woven pictures.

We stopped to look at the fish in the pond but Leo was looking at something else.

As busy as the festival was Moose found time to stop and smell the roses... or ageratum actually.

Moose enjoyed petting the sheep.

And checked out the angora bunnies.

I think the sign on the pen said this sheep was a Cormo. I love the bangs!

The alpaca were out for a walk but Moose didn't want to get too close. The last time he tried to pet a llama it tried to eat his hair!

We got caught in a sudden downpour of rain and ducked under the carousel for a bit of a ride to stay dry.

We got back home just in time for a quick visit with Uncle Drew before he had to run. I think he's giving Leo the rules about not spitting up on his clothes. LOL!

I am glad we had this visit even though it was a short one.

And I think the boys are glad to be going home tomorrow. I have been showering them with kisses until they can't stand it anymore!

Moose and Squirrel? No, Moose and Sheep!

Moose and his mommy, my daughter, are visiting this week and we thought Moose might like to see some animals at the Massachusetts Sheep and Wool Festival. Well, yes, that was just a ploy to get him to join us on our trek for yet more fiber. We drove to Cummington, Massachusetts for this lovely little fiber festival on a glorious sun-shiny day.

Our first bribe, I mean stop, was to see the angora bunnies where Moose got to choose the one he wanted to hold.

He named this one "Toodles" after his pastor's bunny. The soft little guy sat with Moose just a few seconds before he decided it was time to scramble away.

The festival had drop-in spinning and knitting and we watched a customer taking a quick spinning lesson. I loved how intently the young man on the left was watching the proceedings. Another spinner in the future, perhaps?

We stopped at another booth to see the beautiful wheels and fiber and Moose struck up a conversation with this wonderful lady. I think they were discussing something pretty funny here, don't you?

We saw Miss Karin at the festival while she was taking a break from her vendor booth. She walked with us for a while and stopped to buy Moose some finger puppets which he loved!

Moose had to make sure he got all the way to the bottom of the basket to get the best selection. You'll see later what he chose.

I needed a large shawl pin for my heavier shawls and Leslie Wind was making some beauties on the spot. You'll see that later on too.

There was a little play area for the youngsters so they wouldn't get bored and Moose made good use of the facilities.

There's nothing like a good pile of hay to climb!

And what's a festival without a good hot dog? Moose was flirting with the waitress in between bites.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to the sheep and head for home.

But we were able to buy some goodies to remind us of the good time we had.

Miss Karin was selling her hand dyed yarns and I made sure I got a skein of "Tree Frog" to make myself a pair of socks.

Amanda wanted to give me my birthday gift early since she won't be making another trip up to my house until after her baby is born. Since she knows I love shawls this was a perfect gift for me.

And while at the festival I found the perfect yarn to make this shawl. And here is the shawl pin that Leslie made for me to wear on the new shawl. I have a few projects on needles at the moment which need to be finished before I can undertake a new one though.

Amanda found some bargains which she will use to make baby hats to sell.

And here is Moose with his finger puppets that Miss Karin bought for him. He now has Kung Fu Panda, Elmo, and we're not sure who the last one is but Moose is calling him "Monkey".

We finished off the day with a quick ride around the block to work off the delicious dinner that Poppop had waiting for us when we returned home.

As Martha Stewart would say, "It's a good thing!"

New York State Sheep and Wool Festival 2010 in Rhinebeck, New York

Yesterday I took Amanda for her first visit to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.

It is held the second weekend of October every year in Rhinebeck, New York, along the Hudson River.
We arrived bright and early, as did hundreds of other fiber fanatics. It was only about a 20 minute wait standing in line.
And that meant that there weren't crazy crowds at the exhibits either.
The weather was beautiful and Mother Nature was really showing off.
The fall colors were plentiful and beautiful.
The air was crisp and windy which helped to send wonderful aromas through the air. We knew our meal plan would include some of those delicious scents we could smell so early in the day.
But first we had to dive right into the fiber!
As usual, the colors were exciting.
And patriotic, to say the least.
And if I were so inclined, I could find any color fiber to spin. I just prefer to get right to the knitting though.
There were many pattern books for selection...
and I think Amanda was a bit overwhelmed by the yarn offerings.
I looked all over for one of my favorite booths, the little elf villages! They are so cute!

The person who made these is a real artist!

We ran into Stephanie who was working the Sliver Moon booth. I stole a quick hug as did Amanda.

And Karin got a hug too. She was working beside Stephanie.

Around the corner we ran into Elaine. She was taking a break waiting for her friends to meet her at "The Tree". You'd know that was funny if you could see how many trees there are at this location. It turns out Diane was standing there the whole time and none of us saw her! LOL! I guess we were looking at the wrong tree!

Back inside we checked out the spinning wheels, of which they had a great variety. This character would make spinning inviting...

As would these spinning wheels sporting sheep, goats and dogs.

The drop spindles were beautiful and decorative.

And so pretty!

I had to stop to watch the weavers make magic out of string. This weaver was making an evening bag with the prettiest sparkle yarn.

And even the men got in on the demonstrations.

And any age can learn.

This woman was using a one of a kind spinning wheel. She said this hand painted horse wheel was the only one of its kind in the world.

Here a first timer tries her hand at spinning with the help of a more experienced expert.
We had to stop and see the bunnies. This little guy thought he could make a quick escape but he didn't get far.
These Australian puppies make great sheep herding dogs. They were so cute and active. And they were for sale. Sorry Andrew! I'm allergic. Besides, they weren't Bulldogs.
I didn't want to miss the animals who give us all this wonderful fiber so we stopped by to pay our respects. This alpaca was very vocal, making the cutest little sounds as though he was trying to say something to me.

These two fellows couldn't care any less that I wanted their picture.

But Llama Boy was ready for his portrait.

As was this cuddly guy. He even smiled for the camera!

I had to make sure to thank them for their contributions to my knitting addiction.

Amanda and I met with other "Ravelers" on "The Hill". That's sort of the same as "The Tree". Apparently, everyone but us knew the location of the hill. Then as we were walking around we noticed this large crowd and as we made our way over we could see everyone wearing "Ravelry" buttons. We found the hill!

The day was getting late and we had eaten our delicious lunches and the obligatory fried dough so it was time to call it a day and head back home.

It was time to bite the bullet and brave the parking lot and the curse of the exit line.

To put it in perspective for you, Amanda started this hat when we got in the car. Two hours later when we reached the exit (yes! I said two hours later!) she had almost finished the hat. All it needed was the ribbing band.

Moose was willing to model it long enough for a photo.

Well, we had planned to spend the day at the festival and we did have a wonderful time. To be honest with you, we stood for such a long time that a three hour ride home (that includes the two spent in the parking lot) seemed like a reward well earned.