The Rhinebeck Haul

Unlike some people, I did not prepare a list for Rhinebeck. I figured an open mind, along with an open wallet, was the way to approach my first big ass fiber festival. The only thing I publicly stated was that I was not going to buy a fleece. Did I or didn’t I? You’ll have to wait until the end of the post to find out.

In the meantime, I promised you the haul and the haul you shall see.

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My first purchase of the day. Lovely Grafton Fiber batts. Never mind that I already have 4 batts from Linda Diak at home. Never mind that I’ll most likely see her at SPA where there will be less of a frenzy to purchase. It just seemed like the right thing to purchase first.

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Seafoam Cashmere and Silk from Foxfire Fiber. Of course, this is also available to me locally. But still. It’s cashmere and silk and it’s soft and lovely and I succumbed.

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Brooks Farm Yarn. 2 skeins of the 2 ply kid mohair. I generally don’t buy yarn at fiber festivals because you can get all the yarn you need online and it’s a known commodity. But Brooks Farm isn’t available online, at least not in all the fabulous colors they have in their booth. So, I stood in line and it was worth it. Obviously, since I cast on the muted neutrals skein almost immediately. It will be a nice Old Shale pattern scarf for me. The red will eventually be a shawl of some sort. I’m open to suggestions for an appropriate pattern for 500 yards of very soft mohair.

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Icelandic mixed with Baby Alpaca from Frelsi Farm. The color was irresistible to me. And soft! Too bad we don’t have touch-o-vision computer screens.

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Eight ounces of this gorgeous green/blue blend from Spinner’s Hill. I picked this up on Sunday. There were better colors and larger amounts available on Saturday but the feeding frenzy was just a little too intense and I walked away. Margene got some gorgeous red from them, though. Wait until you see that.

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Three batts of Lincoln Cross from Barneswallow Farm. I had the two green ones in my hand and then Kim threw the rose one at me. She made me buy these. Really, she did.

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Spirit Trail Fiberworks CVM on the left. I didn’t make it to the fleece sale in time to score a CVM fleece so I went the easy route and bought some roving instead. The color is like melted chocolate and I know it will spin like a dream. This and That Farm’s Cormo pin drafted roving on the right. Because while bright colors are nice, natural is even nicer. And it smells yummy and all lanolin-y. Mmmmmm.

So, the fleece. Did I or didn’t I?

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Yup. I did. But it’s a Shetland and it only weighs 2.5 pounds. That hardly even counts. And the guy that was selling it was such a hottie, I was powerless to resist.

And that’s all, folks. I came home with a smile in my heart and money in my pocket. And I think this is enough fiber to hold me until SPA, don’t you?

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This Post Has 60 Comments

  1. woo-hoo! i’m first.

    nice haul miss carole. do you know i don’t even know who i bought from? i really should pay closer attention

  2. Nice haul. I think you bought just enough. The Brooks Farm mohair is beautiful. The red has such depth on my monitor. I bet it’s even more lovely in person.

  7. Goood haul! Especially the Icelandic. Mmmmmmmmm.

    About fleeces counting, the Official Significant Fleece Rule is that they must be 5 pounds or more in order to count as fleece acquisition.

  8. Holy guacamole, I hope you have a lot of free time for spinning! How I would love to reach through this monitor and touch and smell all that fibery goodness.

    Congratulations on the shetland!

  9. Did you really say “and that’s ALL folks.” Yikes; it’s a fabulous haul.
    How about using the red Brooks Farm for your Forest Canopy?
    P.S. What’s the date for SPA?

  10. Wow, really beautiful stuff Carole. Love the Foxfire and Frelsi and Spirit Trail stuff, especially. Mmmmm, I think I can feel it!

  12. Hey, I didn’t see you buy that fleece! You’re a sneaky one. You’re right though, those little Shetlands barely count. You’ll be done with it well before SPA.

  14. WOW, that’s some haul. Thinking of all I missed from Rhinebeck, I realized that I still haven’t spun most of the yarn I got from NH Sheep and Wool…I’ve gotta get back to spinning soon! But there’s so much on my “To Knit” list. Sigh. So little time. I hope you enjoy your fiber. It’s a delicious haul!

  19. So pretty! And really, at 2.5lbs the fleece is almost a non-issue ya know? The Grafton Fiber batts are my fave (in case you tire of looking at them I think you have my addy)!

  22. You know, with all this talk about lists, I’m starting to wonder if people are mocking me.

    That is an excellent haul, I must say. Very varied in texture and color–it’ll definitely keep you busy ’til Spa!

  24. Was there any doubt that you’d wind up buying a fleece? What is a little surprising, however, is that you didn’t come home with another wheel… or did you?

  29. All totally good stuff! We were tempted by a number of the same vendors too 🙂 And yes, a little shetland fleece sold by a hottie totally doesn’t count.

  30. What a cute little fleece! You will LOVE working with Shetland :-).

    Hmmm……I don’t think I had to twist your arm too hard…LOL!!!

  32. NIce haul. Yes, the Shetland guy WAS a hottie. Too bad you didn’t get a picture of him holding the fleece or better yet caught testing his own fleece by practically putting his ear in the bag! That was so funny to see. That Brooks Farm display was gorgeous.

  33. OK, I don’t feel quite so bad about my badness now. So far I’ve managed to avoid any discussion of my purchases with Grant — except he has seen the sweatshirts, which are not technically fiber or yarn and therefore don’t count. But after seeing yours I think I have to do show and tell too. (Honey, if you’re reading this, none of it is true. Could you please leave the room while I’m posting?)

  36. Man oh man you got some beautiful stuff! I read on another blog about Foxfire Fiber too…I somehow missed that booth. It looks wonderful in the picture.
    Do you process your own fleeces or do you send them out?
    Have fun with all your new fiber!

  37. Man oh man you got some beautiful stuff! I read on another blog about Foxfire Fiber too…I somehow missed that booth. It looks wonderful in the picture.
    Do you process your own fleeces or do you send them out?
    Have fun with all your new fiber!

  38. Wow. Nice haul! Makes my fingers itch to spin!

    Two questions — who’s the hottie with the great Shetland fleeces (I’m interested only in the wool, not the guy)? And, is that gorgeous silk/cashmere bombyx or tussah?

  40. Maybe I need to break out my spinning wheel. Yeah, that might help.

    Looks like you made a lovely haul, Carole. 🙂

  41. Yay Carole!! Awesome posts about Rhinebeck! I love your People Post and the Haul Post is superb! Thanks for taking so many pictures and showing so much greatness. You nearly make me feel like I was there without spending all that money! heheh

  42. Um, yeah. “Only” 2.5 pounds and you and me, we have NO fiber addiction problems either. Good thing fiber is healthy, eh?

  47. You got the fleece on Sunday, didn’t you. When I wasn’t there to save you from yourself… *shakes head* ;o)

    Oh, and did you know we got the same color of cashmere/silk from Foxfire? And, did you ever figure out why you bought something pink? *g*

  49. Very lovely loot! I just got some cashmere/silk and I can understand how you weren’t able to resist. The stuff is heaven! And everything else is just wonderful.

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