It’s been a long time since I last posted anything. I’ve been to Minneapolis and Rhinebeck, which explains a couple of week’s absence. But since then, I seem to have the attention span of a housefly and I haven’t been able to string two sentences together.
In a nutshell, I’ve had a blast. I taught at Amazing Threads and the Minnesota Knitters’ Guild in Minneapolis. I’d show you photos, but I forgot to take out my camera.
From Minneapolis, I flew to Albany, then drove down to Rhinebeck for my first ever New York State Sheep and Wool Festival. Wow! What an amazing concentration of animals, fleece, fiber, yarn, food, and all things relating to spinning, knitting, and weaving. When I arrived for my Thursday morning class, I couldn’t find my name on any of the curtained-off areas in the main arena.
I was nervous that having the faucet fall off in my hand when I tried to adjust the water temperature in my shower that morning might be the beginning of another series of “Budd Travel Curse” events. Had I gotten the year wrong and I wasn’t supposed to arrive until 2014? Had I dreamed that I’d been invited in the first place? When I nervously asked the coordinator where I was to set up, she replied, “Oh, you’re in the bar.” Oh dear. Why was I being separated from the rest of the teachers?
I’ll never know why I was put in the bar, but it turns out that I had the best possible classroom. We didn’t have noise from other classes, we could control the temperature, we had lots of natural light, and, best of all, we had our own bathroom! The only downfall was that the bar was closed for the season so we couldn’t celebrate the end of each class with a glass of bubbly.
I had time off Sunday afternoon to wander around the fair and imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon this vendor:
Apparently, there’s a rather large branch of Budds in the Hudson Valley. I tried to convince them that I should get a free latte and pastry because we were related, but they didn’t go for it. Maybe they could tell that I only married into the name.
Sounds like Rhinebeck should be added to my bucket list.
I was in your Saturday morning sock class at Rhinebeck, Ann. Well-done! I’ve been knitting your socks for years and it was great seeing you in person–I learned a couple of new things (and loved your shoes). And I agree that the bar was the best possible location for a class at Rhinebeck, even empty.
I love garter rib and the simplicity of the jacket. Nice job- sounds like it was well tested. Ysolda Teague just published a book called The Rhinebeck Sweater- I understand it is a phenomenon to make a new sweater for the festival.