THE DAILY CHUM

Around this time every year a great rumbling fills the online knitting world. It starts in September, sometimes before, with people knitting crazily, sometimes spinning as well all in a rush to be done at the end of October. For a newbie to the online knitting scene it must be somewhat disconcerting.

“What?” I can hear them say, “Is Rhinebeck?”

picture shamelessly horked from sheepandwool.com

Wikipedia is no help on the mystery of Rhinebeck, though I have learned that there is both a villiage and a town called Rhinebeck in upstate New York and that the villiage is actually located inside the town. For the slightly more informed people who know that by “Rhinebeck” knitters mean “The New York Sheep and Wool Festival”, well there is a Wikipedia article, but it’s about as informative as fridge mold. It does, however, have a link to the Official Site. This is where you can get a hint of what Rhinebeck is, but not on the front page, or on the information page. No, you have to press the vendor list button. You see all of those vendors? The amount that would satisfy a smallish sheep and wool festival? That is just the letter A. There are 11 building for just the vendors, not even counting the farms that take up the livestock buildings. Most of my favorite yarns will be there in some capacity, if not in their own booth (Blue Moon Fiber Arts, and patron of St. Brenda Briar Rose fibers) then in the booth of a store (Webs, and The Fold), and not just yarns, fibers of all kinds, in every state from sheep to shawl (or llama to legwarmers). Rhinebeck is for shopping.
The other thing Rhinebeck is for is meeting people. Every year Stitchy McYarnPants holds blogger bingo the point of which is to stalk people for prizes. Many of the people whose knitting I’ve drooled over go to Rhinebeck every year. They knit sweaters and are wonderous and magical, and then they wear them and you can see what they look like for real. This year is better than ever because there will be a massive book signing with many wonderful authors including Ann and Kay of Mason Dixon Knitting, Clara Parkes of Knitter’s Review.
If I hadn’t decided to spend my first column discussing Rhinebeck, because I simply have to, I would now explain where Rhinebeck fits into my overarching scheme of fiber events. It is technically All About the Animals, but there are lots of opportunities to learn new skills, and a heavy chance of Special Guests approaching from the Northwest, South, West, and every possible direction. And of course, Rhinebeck is one of the biggest Shindigs of the year.
I sure make Rhinebeck seem like a fibery wonderland filled with magic (and bloggers) don’t I? One problem: I’ve never been. There’s this thing about being a starving college student, Rhinebeck is in the middle of Midterms. I almost feel as if I’ve been though, several times over. It has a lot to do with when I started reading knitting blogs (October 2005), and this feeling like everyone was onto a secret that I was missing out on. Then I saw the results of everybody’s trips… Wow yarngasm. I have to say that, of all my vicarious Rhinbecking, there is one moment that is a clear winner, from Amy Singer’s knitty blog last year (2006), “Amy, Stephie go yarn now.” I close my eyes and I can almost smell the Llama poop (which, ok, I can do any time I want, if I would just clean out the barn).

Image blatantly stolen from knitty.com/blog

Considering that Rhinebeck is this weekend, and instead of midterms I’m in an opera. So I will once again be missing out, but that doesn’t mean that I am looking forward to it any less, because I get to have vicarious S.E.X. In order to get ready (and inform the uninitiated into the wonders of Rhinebeck) I’ve pulled a few of my favorite Rhinebeck blogs and I present them now in chronological order:
2002
Knitty Article (Shannon “Donald Trump of Knitting” Okey)
2003
Knitter’s Review (Clara “I know yarn” Parkes)
2004
Knitter’s Review
Yarn Harlot part 1 , part 2 (Stephanie “go yarn now” Pearl-McPhee)
The Blue Blog (Alison “Sockapalo^xza” Hansel)
2005
The Panopticon (this is part 5, but the only one to talk about the festival specifically)(Franklin “Delores’ Roomate” Habit)
The Blue Blog
Knitty Blog part 1, part 2, (Amy “can’t touch wool” Singer)
2006
Knitty Article (Stephanie “la Harlota” Pearl-McPhee)
Yarn Harlot
The Blue Blog
Knitty Blog part 1, part 2
Blogger Bingo 2006
Needles on Fire (Kate “Clapotis” Gilbert)
2007
Blogger Bingo 2007

Erin is…probably in Minnesota somewhere. She adorns the land of 10,000 lakes yarn stores with her glorious presence and profound geekiness. Erin knits, when she is not studying, singing herself hoarse, and reading whatever comes into her notice. Erin also enjoys speaking in the third person, although she does not do so on her blog.

Popularity: 1% [?]