Letters
Rhinebeck 2019: Big, Big Joy
Dear friends,
This year’s New York Sheep and Wool Festival is in the books, and it was a grand one.
For two October days—a crystalline Saturday and a foggy, be-drizzled Sunday—thousands of knitters and shepherds and yarnmakers came together, to experience their virtual knitting community in real life. We have never seen the Dutchess County Fairgrounds so packed with people, sweaters, and joy.
It was a feeling we hope you can see in this pile of photos that we snapped along the way. Be sure to click through the gallery up top as well as below. (Please let us know if we misidentify you!)
A high point: getting to talk to Melanie Falick about her fantastic new book, Making a Life: Working by Hand and Discovering the Life You Are Meant to Live.. External Link. Opens in new window.
A high-on-sugar point. Ann succumbs to the kettle corn (again).
A bottom line pullover. External Link. Opens in new window. party featuring Nashvillian Kelley Dew (and a bottom line cardigan.)
Mother and daughter lopi (and dimples).
The Air BNB might have had its issues (being on the grounds of a haunted motel), but it was perfectly styled for knitwear photography. here: cristina’s double-wide parallelogram scarf. External Link. Opens in new window. is not even scared.
all about the wellness: Co-bloggettes on a pre-festival hike in Tivoli.
Clip & save: bear instructions. (we totally would have run.)
at the fairgrounds: Sunne Meyer. External Link. Opens in new window. in Marie Wallin and bag of her own making (among other handmade wonders). Yer killin’ us, Sunne!
the delegation from Kay’s knitting group, the mighty balabustas. Their scarves are All You Need . External Link. Opens in new window.by heidi kirrmaier, in Jill Draper’s marvelous farm-to-skein yarn, Mohonk.
Visitors from the UK: Angela and Shirley. External Link. Opens in new window.. You can’t see Shirley McAlpine’s amazing Loopy Mango cardigan very well in this photo, but we couldn’t take our eyes off it.
Loopy Mango. External Link. Opens in new window.’s head designer, Oejung Kim, was at the table next door, and as always, her outfit was amazing and hi-vis.
What to wear to the falafel stand (if you’re Oejung). have you seen her new book. External Link. Opens in new window.?
MDK contributor meetup: Jen Arnall-Culliford AND Samantha Brunson.
Saturday saw many meetups on the hill, and perfect photo conditions. Here, proving the point: Kiki Hall. External Link. Opens in new window. and Stephen Hartley. External Link. Opens in new window., all the way from Joshua Tree.
America’s got hugz: a moment on the hill with Gaye Glasspie aka @ggmadeit . External Link. Opens in new window.aka Icon of All that Is Orange.
Champion spinner @alexcreates. External Link. Opens in new window. created this stupendous pullover, which combines knitting and crochet and has a . . .
. . . party in the back.
Hatdana. External Link. Opens in new window. two ways: minutes before the epic Hatdana meetup. External Link. Opens in new window. with star designer Denise Bayron. External Link. Opens in new window..
Three sweet shepherds: the family Prado de Lana. External Link. Opens in new window..
The Mini Moebii. External Link. Opens in new window. + Cristina. We’re declaring this a win for #TeamColin, as he is wearing a brand-new Rhinebeck sweater.
Beloved wool warrior Clara Parkes signing her brand-new book, Vanishing Fleece. External Link. Opens in new window..
Tiny! Goats! We could’ve watched these (literal) kids hopping around on their Little Tikes climber all day.
Thank you to everybody who braved the scrum in the book barn to say hi, told us that they are indeed in their pajamas when they read their Snippets every Saturday morning, let us take their pictures, and told us the details about the amazing sweaters they were wearing.
One thing we kept saying in response to kind words was, “That means a lot to us.”
It really does.
Love,
Ann and Kay
I couldn’t attend the festival in person this year,but everyone took many photos and I felt I was there minus the actual squishiness of the yarn and the smell of livestock in the barns. Love your photos!
Thank you for that lovely set of photos!
Thanks for all the photos as, once again, I packed my camera and took not one photo. I shuffled through the book barn but due to incipient clautrophobia did not pause. Must keep moving to see all the things!
Great pictures! Having succumbed to a bad case of camnesia at Rhinebeck, I will use yours to refresh the memories of the weekend. Which included braving the zoo that was the book barn; saying ‘Hi’ to Ann, who looked tired but up for it; and buying ‘Big Joy.’ Which I could have bought online, of course, but waiting in a checkout line is half the fun. (Most repeated conversation at Rhinebeck: ‘Is this the line for….?’ ‘I sure hope so; I’ve been on it for twenty minutes.’)
Haha! Yes, the lines. Can you imagine waiting in say, what you thought was the donut line, and then realizing it was somehow the falafel line? Both delicious, but not what expected.
It was a magical Rhinebeck! Thank you for including us in the roundup. Mr. Moebius will always be grateful for Kay’s support for his getting a new Rhinebeck sweater each year. He proudly told everyone he chose the yarn and the pattern. However, he now wants colorwork for next year.
Sunday was a double dose of fun for me; my first ever Rhinebeck AND I got to meet and chat with Ann. Bucket list item checked off.
What a weekend! So good to see the both of you !! Xoxox
I could not attend this year (and wasted my Indie Untangled tickets too ), but was there is spirit!
Does anyone know the pattern for the adorable striped knitted jumper (sleeveless dress, not sweater) in the photos?
That’s Michale Glennon in her “temperature” dress. It’s beautiful but it also visually represents climate change. She is @mjglenno on Instagram and there may be more info there.
I love these pictures- they allowed my some armchair Rhinebecking this year since I couldn’t make it out there!
Thank you for the lovely Rhinebeck pics. What fun! It means a lot to many of us who simply can’t there from here! Love your blog and follow it all the time. I’ve learned so much and you’re both a class act. Thank you!
Ann and Kay–So sorry I missed seeing you at Rhinebeck this year! I missed the book section. (My oversight!) Happy knitting, Heidi (aka: KnittedYarns)
I am thrilled and encouraged to see such a wonderful group of happy people!
Thank you for sharing these wonderful photos!
Such great pictures. I loved the happy faces of you two guys, all the COLORFUL garment pictures. Red! orange! pink! Color seems to be coming back at last. The baby kid goats, oh my. So sorry it was impossible for me to come. Thank you for sharing!!!
Thank you for letting me live vicariously.
I felt like I was there in viewing your pics! Thank you!
Love the pics and your story line. Thank you!
I always love these postcards. I wish I knew more about the striped dress, that cute lady is wearing.
Just saw the email telling who she was.
Your photos brought back the day for those of us who got to Rhinebeck. I so wanted to stop by and talk with you Saturday, but couldn’t get near the table! Too many people crowded into that book vendor’s site. Maybe I can catch you next time….. for an autograph and a chat.
Love all the beautiful people and pictures! Looks like such a super great event. Definitely a bucket list for me. Jen A-C and dwj also had great pics this week on their blogs;)
I’m sure someone has suggested this before – but does Ann know that she can have kettle corn anytime she wants if she buys a Whirly Pop?! Life changing.
Couldn’t be there this year. Thank you for the vicarious joy—glorious photos!
Someday I will get to Rhinebeck! I love you guys!!
Great photos! How many of those goats “accidentally” went home with you two?
Our rule: take only pictures, leave only goats.
Looks like great fun
Oh, what fun! Thank you for sharing the love and the handknits!
Thanks for posting the photos. The festival looks like a lot of fun and superb yarn eye candy!
My hearts didn’t show up. Loved the post.
I will be at Rhinebeck next year!
Thanks for sharing the delightful photos. Looks like so much fun. It’s kind of you to share. You both mean a lot to me.
I walked right by you both when you were taking a rest at the entrance to one of the barns at the top of the hill (A?). Anyway…I clammed up, SO unlike me, too shy to ask for a selfie with my MDK idols. C’est la vie! There’s always next year! This was my first Rhinebeck… already planning for 2020.
Thanks so much for providing a little “armchair Rhinebeck” – so many happy faces 🙂
I sent a few things to the Cashmere Goat Association booth but that was the extent of my participation this year, and I had to skip the Vermont fair and cashmere goat show entirely. It feels odd – like a part of Autumn didn’t even happen this year, and already Winter is on the horizon. In more cheerful news, I found out yesterday that my next knitting project will be a “first baby” gift for a young couple who are very special to me. Just typing that put a big smile on my face!
Where can I find the LOVE wrap pattern? Love all you do!
It was so nice to see you both again and to complete my Field Guide collection (for the moment…). You are a testament to the magical powers of Kettle Corn!
My big Rhinebeck moment was sitting at THE HILL top on the bench and eating lunch with my daughter while watching all the happy greeting going on. I finally decided to just plow through and saw all the social media gurus in all their knitted glory. Spied you two signing books, earlier.
I have never seen so many smiles all day long.
So great meeting you at the book signing on my very first Rhinebeck! Seriously, you can totally make a planned pooling scarf!
Thanks for posting such beautiful photos and so glad you were there to enjoy our Northeast Fall days..