NY Sheep and Wool Festival 2015: Quick and Dirty

2015 Saw fit to be the first year I ever signed up for a workshop at NY Sheep and Wool. To be honest, this was the first year there were a CONSIDERABLE array of choices of workshops to be had for CROCHETERS. This excited me, and as soon as I got the alert about the classes, I signed up for  Design It! Custom Designed Garment from Start to Finish, taught by the Shibaguyz. 

To clarify, this class was presented to/for both, knitters and/or crocheters; however, I was in the minority (was it three of us?), who were crocheters.

The class was informative and interactive, and the instructors were entertaining and engaging, and workshop attendees were provided the necessary tools to empower us to customize our patterns with our own measurements. 

In sum, I highly recommend this workshop, as well as these instructors. I'm glad my first Rhinebeck workshop was with them--you always remember "your first!"

In particular, I found the discussion on larger sizes (meaning, anything OTHER than small or medium, and going on up to 5XL) to be outright respectful and direct, unlike other (nightmarish, "judgey," size-ist) discussions I've heard of in the past (by others at other events/venues), in contrast (to that link) the entire Design It! workshop was very useful. And while I, myself, work almost exclusively in top down, no seaming construction, I hope to apply some elements from the class, the next sweater I decide to make.

During the lunch break, I had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with my friend Tina (of Bittersweet Yarns), where I got to meet her husband, and the only yarn that managed to find its way home with me were two skeins of hers:) 

I am very aware that my facial countenance during the course of the workshop ran from one extreme (happy) to the next (shall we say, agony?) And no, I don't possess a photo of "pain in process"--thankfully!

 

So my attendance at the workshop and seeing Tina, was the entirety of my "Rhinebeck" experience this year. 

Unfortunately for me, my body decided to REVOLT. To be honest, I have been struggling since early August with a weird development with pain. While I have a baseline which is my norm, this new development is well outside my norm. I started to rally and then a week before the workshop, the pain flare dug its heels in.

I've got a collection of issues, which at times makes it challenging for me to follow through on plans I've made well in advance. There's an old Jewish proverb, "Man makes plans, and God says Hah." I've alternately heard this one as "...and God laughs." Only in my personal version, "Maven makes plans, and her body laughs." 

I live a life where pain is an unfortunate, uninvited guest. I am in a constant battle with that guest! There are too many events and opportunities I have missed out on as a result of pain. I was hell bent on not missing out on the workshop.

Afraid I'd lose some, if not all, of the money I shelled out for the class, I decided to power through as best as I could. The night before, I saw my chiropractor, and hoped for the best. However, no matter how I slice it, 90 minutes IS A LONG DRIVE. By the time I arrived, I was already fatigued, and by 2:30, the Pain Demon was kicking my ass, and I was suddenly aware I would have a challenging drive back home.