Rhinebeck 2009

Thanks for being patient with my mini-post yesterday. I was just too tired to come up with much more. But now that I’m home and rested (and well fed) I can fill you in on our adventures.

I know Norma said she thought the fair was less crowded than usual but honestly, I thought it was more crowded than ever. I don’t know if it’s the Ravelry effect or if it was because Saturday’s weather was better but either way on Saturday – UGH. People everywhere. And while I like people in the individual sense (as in, my own peeps) people in the collective sense – not so much.

We made the most of it, though, and decided to approach everything with a sense of bewilderment and amusement. I took pictures to make my point.

Jessalu at Rhinebeck 2009

This is JessaLu’s face when observing some of the outfits. I know it was cold and I know we needed warmth but honestly, it’s not necessary to wear everything you’ve ever knit all at once.

Sharon at Rhinebeck 2009

And this is Sharon’s face when someone hit the back of her legs with a stroller. For the umpteenth time.

Manise at Rhinebeck 2009

Manise made this face when she saw the line for the bathroom.

Kathy at Rhinebeck 2009

And Kathy looked like this when she saw the line for the artichokes. I heard tell people waited 90 minutes for one of those little bowls of artichokes. We skipped them on Saturday but did manage to get some on Sunday when the line was only 25 minutes long. God bless the rain is all I can say about that.

I hope our silly faces made you laugh because that is definitely the intent. We had a wonderful time hanging out and shopping. Even with all the crowds I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

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This Post Has 46 Comments

  1. Wait, that pic of Sharon is right outside our barn, and you still didn’t come say hi. Boo. 🙁

    That said, I definitely had moments on Saturday where the sheer crush of people coming into our booth had me on the verge of a claustrophobic anxiety attack. And I waited until Sunday to hit the artichoke stand, too.

  3. Too funny. I love that so many people are so excited to come out and experience it all, but yeah. There are limits.

  4. We made all those faces when we saw (more than once) adults (?) wearing handknit animal-eared hats. Not a good look, no matter what. Thanks for the smile this morning!

  5. While I’m very sad to have missed Rhinebeck this year, I really truly hate crowds and previous years were really just tolerable. I’m sort of glad I dodged a bullet there. Glad you had fun though! Very creative depiction too.

  6. Yours is the first Rhinebeck wrapup post that captures my experience perfectly! This was not the place for people who don’t like crowds (me!!)! I almost felt bad for the vendors b/c I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to purchase something wonderful but couldn’t bear to wait on the line to have the fleece weighed and then another line to pay…. I had fun, it was amazing to see all the good stuff and see lots of people I haven’t seen in a long time but….OMG too many people! All that said, I will definitely do it again next year if my LYS is running a bus again.

  8. Great expressions! I get annoyed with the strollers myself. Maybe because I am past that point in my life, but I don’t know if I would venture into that place with a stroller!

    It seems to get more crowded every year. I have heard it from so many people that it was crazy on Saturday.

    Thanks for my morning laugh!

  9. I have to admit I stopped being jealous if Rhinebeck attendees a long time ago. I really, really hate crowds, and think I probably would not have a good time. Even my beloved State Fair is best enjoyed by me on weekdays when the crowds are thinner and avoided like the plague on sunny weekends.

  10. Crowds can be so disheartening. I hope that those not pushing strollers were considerate to you all. Sounds like Rhinebeck needs to get some crowd-control pointers from Disneyland. I’m marvel at the numbers of fiber lovers in one place!

  12. Sunday was so much better – I bought more because I could SEE stuff!

    and yeah, that -shall we call it an ensemble? Burned into my brain for the rest if my life. ;o)

  13. Love the faces! (your people photography is ever more phabulous).
    By the time I arrived at 2 pm on Saturday , the crowds had thinned a bitt so it was bustling but not pushy/shovey. Except by those artochkes. I didn’t even try!

  14. Oh all weekend I kept thinking “almost the whole rest of the knitting world is having fun without me!” and you WERE!!!

    It looks like a fantastic time. Damn those strollers anyway.

  16. OMG! I thought the same thing and commented to my friend – do people really have to wear every handknit item they ever made all at once!? LOL!

    We skipped all the lines for food – no pot pie or artichokes. Instead we walked right up to the stand selling Gyro wraps no lines at all and the bathroom between the barns 34 and 33 (I think) barely had a line and moved very quickly.

    I’ve decided the trick is to get there when it opens, and park near the back gate. Seriously we didn’t run into any crowds until we got down near the grand intersection around 1pm. We also skipped the Ravelry stuff. Nice but we were on a mission 🙂

  17. So funny – I’m thinking there should be a limit on the amount of handknits you can wear at once — and it should be LESS than 6.

    And the lines, yep. I’d bet money I never end up trying a artichoke or a pot pie for that reason alone. Ditto on the lamb burgers.

    but it was fun!

  18. It is a dream of mine to go to a wool festival, there is a small one this year that I plan to attend, but I don’t think there is a larger one in Southern California. What a fun bunch of friends you have. By the way I neck piece that Manise was wearing. A scarf or perhaps a neckwarmer? The colors were delightful

  19. Perfect post! There definitely ought to be a dress code – limit your handknits to 4 or less and adults who wear hats with animal ears ought to be restricted to the kiddie area. On the other hand, those folks sure are amusing.

  23. I think Hillary is right! Someone should be at the gate.Say the knit fashion police or a 4 items or less limit!

  24. Oh, my gosh! Love Sharon’s expression 🙂 Wish you’d gotten a matching photo of the outfit that caused that look on JessaLu’s face!!

  25. I am SO glad we went Sunday, even if I did miss all of you guys. Every. last. one. I hope I wasn’t “the one” wearing all the handknits…for the first time ever I actually WORE handknits, but only three, and the socks weren’t visible inside my hiking boots, under my jeans. My lace scarf just kept me warm where my V-neck sweater didn’t! I think it was worse on Saturday than other years because even the vendors said that. I got there at 9 (vendors technically didn’t open till 10), did everything on my list, and was in the car at 12:15. And came home with more money than I went up with, go figure!

  30. Hee..

    I don’t get what’s up with the artichoke love. I went for the pie ala mode next door…

    (As I waited in line, I amused myself by counting the number of hand knits the passing crowd was sporting!)

    Wish I would’ve run into YOU!~

  31. Artichoke line? What? I’m missing something Carol! What is artichoke YARN? That would make more sense.

    Love the funny faces!

  36. See, now I can tell myself I made the right decision because crowds freak me out. And the charity pumpkin sale I worked on Saturday brought in oodles of money!

  38. Great wrapup! Succinct, and accurate. I just don’t get the artichoke lines. Nor do I get any line that has you waiting for NINETY MINUTES in the cold. My lunch is always the shortest line: apple crisp. With the caramel, one is transported to food/sugar heaven. I did it both days on purpose.

    Yeah, the handknits. So much fun to see them! And so funny to see the stacks and stacks of them.

  39. I could ditto just about everything Lynne said. We avoided the usual stuff, and just made do with what we did experience. We went clockwise, rather than our usual counterclockwise, and if a booth or food vendor was too crowded we just walked on by. And we skipped the Ravelry insanity. There is just no other word for it but that. Doing it that way, and not needing to see everything — and for me definitely not needing to BUY ANYTHING, makes it so much more enjoyable. And I was amazed that there was ZERO line in the bathroom where there is usually that entertaining lady (who wasn’t there this year) and only a teeny line for the lamb chops. But 2.75 miles for the chicken pot pie. No chicken pot pie is good enough to wait that long, and the artichokes French (which I had last year for the first time) smell much better (to me) than they taste, so I opted for the delicious apple crisp instead, and again, only maybe a line of 2 people when we arrived there.

    Yes, maybe we DID go to different Rhinebecks. But then again, I saw you and all the same people, so how did that happen? Time travel for both of us, perhaps???? 😀

  40. That picture of Kathy is priceless…I love it…haha!!!

    All those lines is one of the reasons I opted for the hot fudge sundae for lunch…hee hee. No lines on a cold day for ice-cream. 🙂

    As always it was fun to spend time with you grrls. 🙂

  41. Those are great friend shots!! I want to see the person wearing the most handknits at once… just cuz. I totally understand what you mean about people in a crush.

  42. I am not a fan of crowds, either, but it sounds like such an experience that I hope to attend one day. I love the attitude you chose, and can tell it added to your enjoyment.

  43. saturday we bought 2 cheeses, 2 bottles of wine, 2 artichoke french on the way out of the festival , skipped dinner at a restaurant, and ate our booty in the hotel room.

    best decision ever, we were exhausted after a day of walking and shopping 🙂

    what was up with all those god awful huge felted hats? i guess they made you easy to spot in the crowd…

  44. Funny post! 🙂 (though I disagree with the “don’t wear everything you’ve ever knitted all at once” philosophy)

    I’m of the opinion that strollers should be banned from festivals such as these. HOW is navigating and shoving a stroller over cobblestones and/or dirt easier than wearing your baby in a sling? Seriously. I’m asking. How do people think that’s easier?

  46. Yip, that made me smile! 🙂
    90 minutes queueing for artichokes? Are they made of gold, or pickled in a longevity elixir???

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