rhinebeck 2015: shamé
October 20, 2015
how to talk about rhinebeck.
how to talk about rhinebeck
when you haven’t talked
about knitting
in ages.
start simple.
the loot.
this was, perhaps,
the most restrained i’ve been
at a fiber festival, mostly just
replenishing those things i always do.
to begin,
my rhinebeck knitting.
i haven’t been knitting at all. at. all.
so i started simple with a garter stitch scarf knit lengthwise
using the fiber optic paint box gradient in swamp muck
purchased at rhinebeck in 2013.
i’m definitely not as deft as i once was;
i dropped a lot of stitches,
my gauge is inconsistent,
and i had to take breaks for achey hands,
but boy did it feel great to knit again.
gotta love that shift in brain waves
brought on by a repetitive action.
so since i was using this paintbox,
i gave myself permission to replace it.
(i couldn’t get a good shot on its own, but you see it in the first pic.
the colorway is steampunk in the kashmir base)
then i went to my towel lady, karen tenney,
of hawk meadow mountain handwoven textiles.
(look how artistic that macro shot is)
my mom’s been kinda awesome this year in the face of pretty intense stress. so when i saw these two towels that match the one i got her last time, i knew what i was buying from karen this go ’round.
(she doesn’t have a website, apparently,
but if you want more info you can email her here)
then i got my stock of handmade soap from simpler thyme.
a couple lavender, a tea tree, and sandalwood will last me a while.
i also stopped by gene matras’ booth,
stocking up on some of his notecards to sustain my semi-secret paper addiction. (*sigh* another artsy macro shot showing only the ass of the sleepy pig notecard. i guess i’m out of practice with photography as well.
at least you get an idea of the level of detail in his work)
someday, i’m going to get one of his originals.
and i better do it quick; he’s no spring chicken.
this next item i didn’t even have to purchase.
on the anniversary of the annual chili pepper challenge andrea and i inaugurated five years ago at which we (and now most of our housemates) sample the hottest sauce at the wild coyote booth,
old man chili himself gave us each
a free bottle of hot sauce.
he gave me a bottle of buried alive, the sauce that gets its flavor and heat via not one not two but all three varietals of the ghost chili.
this shit does not. fuck. around.
and finally,
the favorite thing i got a rhinebeck:
a selection of pieces gifted by sonya philip from her microscopy series. this gave me a lot of feels. a lot. i’ve admired sonya’s work since before i even knew who she was. and for her to just give me this work that she made… it meant a lot. i’ll treasure them and give them a place of honor in my tiny house.
well kids, that’s it for the loot.
i’m still meditating on how to tackle my rhinebeck post proper.
it was…an incredible retreat from reality, so restorative.
it stirred up a lot of things in me, happy parts of me
that haven’t been a part of my life in a while now.
i’m feeling really lucky to have gone
and want to write it up right.
see you tomorrow?
*taps mic*
October 15, 2015
so…
not sure if there’s anyone out there anymore,
but i’m heading to rhinebeck this weekend.
will i see you there?
the human door
October 20, 2013
i don’t have enough bandwith to do a proper post
but this is what i’ll say about today’s rhinebeck adventure:
beware the human door.
this bitch kept getting in everyone’s way at the into the whirled booth.
i and about five other women just wanted to look at some roving,
but she was not having it.
you’d move,
she’d move.
you’d reach for a braid,
she’d reach for a braid.
she was a fucking fiber linebacker;
there was no getting around her!
so beware, bitches, the human door.
she is not fucking around.
fall shawl
October 7, 2013
i am so. behind.
in the past two weeks or so,
i’ve been fighting off some kind of plague
and been dealing with the death of my grandpa.
it’s been one of those times when one is reminded
that being an adult fucking sucks.
(it also means there might be some big life changes in my future)
but for right now,
i have a lot of catching up to do.
so of course i’ve cast on a boneyard.
i never get bored of a plain triangular shawl.
i imagine it’s what sock knitting is like for sock knitters.
and so i’ll sit here a while longer,
ignoring the pile of work in the other room,
trying to remember what it felt like before i had responsibilities.
those were the days.
*t-10 days to rhinebeck.
rhinebeck 2013: countdown
September 22, 2013
because my (likely vain) pursuit of becoming an “academic”
requires a gradually increasing inhuman amount of work
such that anything that involves fiber
has been all but completely eliminated from my life
my annual trip to rhinebeck is especially important to me this year.
these are the things i love about rhinebeck:
1. the homeric two-day road trip with my fiber buddy andrea; epic driver, designer, yarn hocker, networker, and the brains (and brawn) behind yarn superhero llc. we laugh, swear, gossip, judge, eat, harmonize to joni mitchell for hours, and peep the shit out of some leaves. this drive is the initial decompression required for me to (try to) forget my real life and put me in the rhinebeck state of mind.
2. i stay at the cool kids house. while i’m not famous, and there are definitely houses with more famous yarny people in them, our rhinebeck house is by far where the real cool kids stay. fuck the ravelry peeps and their damn baby. fuck whatever cabin in the woods the yarn harlot or clara parks might be staying in. we stay here. while most of the details are completely confidential, let me just say that there’s some extraordinary inappropriateness that goes down at our house.
you wish you were invited.
but you’re not.
3. this year, my old friend, coworker, and yarn-store sibling, anna, will finally be coming to rhinebeck. she will be staying at the cool kids house. (the details aren’t clear, but i think there was a horrible death in the group that led to an opening. i don’t ask question)
4. my lack of vagina combined with intense undiagnosed sleep apnea means i get my own room. as an only child, this makes my soul rejoice.
5. the food. people have strong opinions about the food at rhinebeck. after a few years, this is what i think. the artichokes are not worth the line. the lamb ravioli with a side of garlic spinach is. i skip the shitty breakfast sandwiches and load up on apple donuts and cider. bring your own booze.
6. the ghost chili challenge. this will mark the third year of andrea’s and my masochistic indulgence at the hot sauce counter, thus making it into a tradition. the ghost chili is the world’s hottest pepper (last year, we had some fellow tasters, one of whom vomited after) but we just can’t seem to resist becoming high school boys for a few minutes to relish the feeling of doing something stupid for its own sake. this year, if memory serves, there’s a rumor that the hot sauce man has acquired the new, even hotter scorpion chili whose spiciness supposedly makes the ghost chili look like a lovely glass of milk fresh from the cow’s teet.
pray for us.
7. judging famous knitters based on their outfits.
(no elaboration necessary).
there are other things,
things i can’t put into words,
things i can’t even think of at 2:34 in the morning.
but the my favorite thing about rhinebeck
is “nips with steven: a rhinebeck photo essay”.
(check out year 1 here and year 2 here, if you need a reminder)
my goal is to outdo the previous year.
so if you’re going to rhinebeck,
or know someone who is,
look for me
and be a part of rhinebeck herstory.
it’s for art.
in other news,
the clockwork is on the move.
it was last seen with some new hampshire knitteratti:
right to left: thea colman (babycocktails), dawn catanzaro, diana (bestitched), julia farwell-clay. unseen & across the table were cecily glowik macdonald, bristol ivy, ellen mason (odacier), & erin m.
(who is rather immune to internet stalking so no link for her!)
photo courtesy of misa
happy halloween or the official rhinebeck post of 2012
October 31, 2012
it’s halloween,
sometimes known
as gay christmas.
so it feels oh so right
that i should have a happy post.
maybe some life stuff?
and then the rhinebeck post?
ok i’ll keep the life stuff brief.
1 – i gave a guest lecture today. i, apparently, rocked. i presented a scaled-down version of an article i’m working on. prof liked it. two undergrads came to her office hours and told her how much they enjoyed the class.
go me.
2 – i rewrote my entire comps proposal this week. committee members find it much improved. i continue on, encouraged.
go me.
3 – i have discovered the udon sushi bakery in east lansing. it’s asian fusion in the real sense, pulling from taiwan, korea, and japan. i am obsessed. i plan to eat my way through their entire menu. and the taro bubble tea? divine.
go food.
the combination of these three things has turned my frown entirely upside down. maybe the harlot is right about that whole universe balance business she’s always going on about. the thing that’s kept me going is that, while the stress has been nuclear, i can track real results in my progress in the program and improvement in my work. i might actually make it through this thing and become a scholar i want to be. we’ll see.
but now for the official rhinebeck post.
writing a cohesive narrative about rhinebeck is a fools errand.
instead, i’ll give my overall impression
and let the photos guide me.
sound good?
this is where we stayed.
i realize you’re jealous. you should be. it’s an amazing house.
(but don’t any of you fuckers even think about trying to book it for next year’s rhinebeck. we’ve got dibs. and anyone who tries to snatch it will have to answer to our leader, yarny old kim a.k.a. buttermilf painkcakes)
ahem.
this was my room.
getting this room was the only perk ever accorded to me for being an epic snorer.
this is where we gathered
and modeled our knits
and delayed our departure for the required pre-rhinebeck tomfoolery.
this was the line.
(the leaves were far less peepable this year)
this is misa‘s epic fucking scarf
in which she has knit four lines of robert frost’s ‘mending fences’
if memory serves.
misa?
this was the crowd at into the whirled.
i predicted last year that they were the next big thing. i heard a sales figure that validated that prediction.
this was the miss babs mob
with a bonus stephen west kinnering.
(so last year there was this moment when i saw him and was sure he saw me, recognized me, then looked away. i realize this is completely paranoid and kinda arrogant since, most likely, he has no fucking idea who i am. still. my insanity requires i now keep my distance. maybe next year i’ll get over my lunacy and ask him to be a part of nips with steVen)
speaking of kinnearing,
that is clara parks.
this was the rug
and the lady who hooked it
that made me finally get rug hooking. gorgeous.
this is the very loud andean band that plays every year.
your support bought them those ponchos.
this is the crazy magician wizard man
of whom i am terrified and cannot imagine letting a child near.
this is a cat statue.
this lady fucking wove those bath towels
and i bought the shit out of them!
this is morgaine.
(see my allegan post)
this is what andrea thinks of the crowd.
this is me with david.
he comes from a land down under. i have a crush on him.
this is andrea and i inducting two new people, dale a.k.a. njstacie‘s gingerlovahhusband & michelle into our rhinebeck tradition of sampling the ghost chili (a.k.a. chili fantasma) pepper sauce.
i don’t know why we do this. it is not pleasant. next year, there will be a new, even hotter chili pepper sauce for us to sample: the scorpion chili.
i’m afraid of next year.
(p.s. after this moment, michelle chugged a large chai to cool the burn and threw it right back up into the cup. sorry to put you on blast, girl, but i refuse forget that memory)
these are vicuñas. 
they are really rare.
this is a pretty sheep.
this is what it looks like
to sit in the leaves of a substandard leaf peeping year.
imagine a good year.
these are some of the yarn bombs we left behind.
next year – horn warmers for the water buffalo head in the den.
this is what we do on the internet early in the morning.
best quote of the weekend:
“ow! my twat. my twat!”
“it’s for art!”
see you next year!
putting twist into the wool
April 22, 2012
it’s coming up on finals time here.
i am more in danger of losing my mind now
than at any other time in the year.
and it makes me miss my knitting.
mindless knitting has become essential
if i want to get any knitting done at all.
and as of yet,
i haven’t found the right project.
(suggestions for about 500 yards of aran weight yarn?)
however,
i’m not the type of dude to get defeated.
the only child in me requires that i always get my way.
and so while my needles rest,
the wheel turns!
i picked up this fiber at rhinebeck.
it’s been mocking me for far too long.
am i the only who thinks fiber mocks him?
corriedale top by into the whirled in the ‘rendition’ color way
anyway.
as it turns out,
i don’t have to do much thinking to spin.
sure if i planned it out, i could get the colors to blend like i wanted.
i could reduce the handspun trademark barber poll effect some.
but i kinda like that fate decides.
i just try to keep it around sport/dk.
for the most part,
i succeed.
i have about five more ounces of this stuff.
if i can get about 500 yards,
that’d make a mighty fine boneyard
wouldn’t you say?
also,
i’ve had this song in my head for days!worry.
rhinebeck pregame
October 14, 2011
andrea, one of the world’s best yarn reps,
and i, your humble blogger,
have arrived at our motel
in newburgh, new york.
(i’m in love with this incandescent motel lighting!)
there’s a little time left
before we’ll start foraging for food.
so i thought i’d just do a little rhinebeck pre-game.
1. i’ve made significant progress on my rhinebeck vest,
but i realize, now, finishing it by tomorrow is impossible. i’m not even sure i spun enough yarn for it. in any case, it’s still my rhinebeck vest, and i’ll be working on it as much as possible this weekend. anyone who wants to knit a courtesy row or two for me tomorrow need only ask. (i don’t have a cable needle, though)
2. like last year, i’m a square for rhinebeck bingo,
and as part of the fun, i thought i’d give away my dustland hat.
the first person who a) has me on their bingo card b) stops me to check me off of their bingo card and c) asks for the hat will get it.
3. i have a couple photo projects i’d like to undertake. the first will be “the beards of rhinebeck” since it was so much fun in maryland. the second is “nips with steven”. that project will be photos of my friends and readers who take a nip from my whisky bottle that i plan to smuggle in. are you brave enough to take nip at rhinebeck?
4. is anyone else going to stand in line to get a signed copy of the yarn harlot’s new book? is it worth the hassle of dealing with a frenzy of crazy-ass knitters? i’m on the fence.
5. i plan to go to saturday’s ravelry meetup. is everyone else going? is it too dorky? and if so, do we care?
i think that’s all. coming to rhinebeck is a kind of pilgrimage for me, and, even though this is going to put me way behind for my next week of school work and grading and i might find myself crying by wednesday, it’s totally worth it.
right?
my first rhinebeck or the time i saw uma thurman smoking.
October 18, 2010
let’s just get this out of the way: i finished my sweater.
and i hope to never be put in that position ever again.
i knitted almost the entire drive from pittsburgh,
and had to pop pills to dull the pain in my hands and continue.
i could never have done it without the support of my travel buddies
kelli, lisa, and especially andrea who had the needles i needed.
around 11 p.m. friday night
with pits to kitch
and ends to weave in,
i bound off
too tightly and my sweater wouldn’t fit over my head.
i kinda wanted to die.
rather than commit suicide,
i decided to work on finishing.
when midnight rolled around,
my underarms were well closed
and most of my ends were woven in.
but i knew i couldn’t go on.
i’d have to finish in the morning.
as soon as the alarm went off,
before i even remembered my own name,
i found my chibi, and finished weaving in my ends.
i then ripped out my collar
borrowed a bigger needle size
and knitted like the wind.
in the parking lot of the dutchess county fairgrounds,
i bound off for a second time,
and pulled that bitch over my extra-large cabeza!
and walked through the gate properly attired.
(which was good since i didn’t really bring a coat and it was pretty cold)
the rest is a blurred happy memory.
there was yarn. there were sheep.
there were several nips of whiskey from my flask.
here are the highlights:
i met the pocket wheel
and now want one.
i ran into adrienne martini, a new old friend from the blogosphere,
and clara parkes who knew who i was! really, she knew the hotpants from maryland and i told her i was the one who knitted them.
i also ran into beth hansen who i met back at the silk retreat. she was selling the lovely miniSpinner.
i now want one of them as well.
there was this crazy wheel that i do not want.
i saw bobsolda and casey at the ravelry meetup.
it was kinda more creepy than cute.
(also i totally have a crush on jess aka frecklegirl aka mama rav’s brother.
what can i say? i love me a ginger beard.)
the lovely melynda of french press knits spotted me and my sweater, and we finally got to meet in person. i got to feel the baby bump and meet her husband too. she was so beautiful in every sense of the word. i loved how michigany she was, her accent and demeanor. she made me miss home.
of course i was so caught up in the moment that it didn’t occur to me document the moment. *sigh* curse this blond hair!
between nips of whiskey,
andrea and i hung out at the beer garden.
there was this guy who was apparently very into carbs.
i spun on my future wheel.
it was brand new and heavily discounted.
they wanted cash, didn’t take plastic.
shady? i thought so.
and kept walking.
i headed back to the motel to rest and get ready.
on my way out i saw uma fucking thurman get out of her car
with an unidentified homely gay man.
she was smoking what appeared to be a parliament light.
the lady directing traffic asked her, “aren’t you in the movies?”
uma replied, “i used to be!” and kept walking.
then i snapped this shot.
i was too chicken to be a real papparazzo.
but andrea can back me up that this was in fact her.
after dinner, it was time to party ravelry style.
i slipped on the hotpants,
grabbed my tuxedo jacket,
and off we went.
the highlight for me was finally meeting ms. helloyarn herself.
i’ve been stalking. . . er. . . befriending her online ever since i started knitting.
i spotted her earlier at the ravelry meetup,
but was too apple juice* to say hello.
plus i didn’t have my gift for her.
i decided the rav party would be the perfect time.
i stood right next to her at the bonfire but didn’t see her.
she couldn’t see me either but couldn’t miss the hotpants.
those shorts saved my ass!
she gave me jam.
i gave her booze.
it was perfect.
i had an emotion.
i posed with the ladies of the sanguine gryphon
who are both beautiful and fabulous.
(but i really love the rabbit-eared photo bomber in this shot!)
i spotted melynda again, and made up for my earlier absent-mindedness.
and yes, blondes do have more fun.
when i met the smoking sheep puppet
i knew it was time to get the hell outta there.
but before i left,
i swallowed the last of my apple juice,
and asked mary-heather for a photo.
you know how, people online can be totally different in person?
like they seem super sweet and nice online,
but are really a complete bitch?
this is so not the case with mary-heather.
she comes off not only as sweet and nice,
but beautiful and intelligent.
she is all good vibes folks.
here we are
blurry and fabulous!
after freezing to death waiting for the bus,
i headed back to the motel and slept like a christian.
the next day was a bit lower key.
i hung with yvonne and kim,
bought some loot
and just tried to take it all in before i had to head home.
i had a lovely time.
but the absolute best part was the handful of people who came up to me all geeked out telling me they love my blog. that seriously made everything worth it. to those readers i say thank you so so much for making rhinebeck for me!
if you spotted me i’d love to hear it.
and if you took my photo, i’d love to see that too!
oh yeah,
hear’s my loot.
socks from lisa.
sweater from me.
jam from hello yarn.
two skeins of sunna by spirit trail fiberworks.
two skeins of bugga by the sanguine gryphon.
see you next year!
*apple juice is our term for losing all sense of intelligence in the presence of a celebrity of some sort.
Bitches Get Stitches 