i call it heaven...

others call it the 34th Annual NYS Sheep & Wool Festival, and it might just be my favorite weekend of the year. it is held in Rhinebeck, New York, about 2 hours north of the city. colleen, siri and i spent the weekend at colleen's house in hudson and attended the festival on saturday, which was a glorious, crisp, perfectly autumn-y day...


this is where i buy most of my fiber to spin into yarn, because i only know of one place in nyc to buy fiber, the Yarn Tree (right here in williamsburg) and though they have an excellent selection, nothing can compare to the variety on display at rhinebeck! i especially like hand-painted rovings like the giant balls you see below, and interesting blends, especially if they contain angora. i will show pics of what i brought back tomorrow...

you will find just about every fiber-producing animal at the festival, including llamas, alpacas, angora bunnies (they produce angora fiber), angora goats (they make mohair), cashmere goats (not actually a breed; a few different types of goats yield cashmere) and of course infinite breeds of sheep. then there are the more exotic fibers, like yak, vicuna, camel, and silk, and the elusive possum, which i was hunting for but didn't find.



here i am with phylleri of Steam Valley Fiber Farm, where i apprenticed for 3 weeks in 2003 and learned how to spin. it was great to see her and briefly catch up; i will post more about my apprenticeship soon, i promise.


can you see the look of bliss on my face? thanks colleen for capturing it!