In October of this year, I was a first-timer at the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, aka “Rhinebeck” (after the lovely town near the Hudson River in New York State where it’s held). I’d heard about this event a couple of times in the past 3 years --mostly from reading about it on blogs and lists-- and was interested in attending. Imagine my delight when a group of my internet buddies decided to raise some funds to assist in paying my transportation and accommodation costs for the event!

When I looked at the list of vendors, I was a bit worried that I’d get overwhelmed by the choices, so I drew up my short list of “must-visit”. Many of these were vendors whose ads I’d read in print publications over the years; some were recommended by readers of my blog. On the Saturday I visited their booths while walking through the display areas --discovering other vendors with nice stuff that was a delight to touch and see. On Sunday I returned to many of these booths as it seemed the crowd had thinned a bit, allowing a better opportunity to speak with the vendors and ask for recommendations. I was impressed by the quality of the pro0ducts I saw, and how knowledgeable the vendors were and their interest in helping people make good purchases.

The event seemed very well organized, and the grounds were clean. The weather was great. What a wonderful opportunity to meet friends, buy quality fibre-related products, see different breeds of sheep, and alpaca and llamas and other animals. For the non-spinners, there was plenty of yarn available in just about every color imaginable.

Will I be back next year? Absolutely. See you there!

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