NY Sheep & Wool 2021 & Recent Projects

With great trepidation, I went to NY Sheep & Wool Festival in Rhinebeck this past weekend. The Maharajah accompanied me (for the first time in 14 years of my attending this festival). 

One of three photos I managed to snap. The mask was made by my friend Andrea, and the scarf around my neck was knit by my friend TheGeorg. Check out their designs at https://www.louisianayarnguys.com/The-Georg-Designs_c_142.html

I chose to go on Sunday as this are typically days with with lighter attendance. That all said, there was a good turn out, and mask compliance was dodgy, hit or miss—this was especially so indoors. At a minimum, I'm glad that I was not accosted by anti-maskers for wearing my mask. So there's THAT for which to be grateful.

I had a couple items on my festival To Do List. 

First up, I saw Shannon Okey and had a nice chat with her. Wish I could have spent more time, hopefully there will always be next year's festival.

As I passed Ms. Bab’s, I grabbed 3 skeins of a lovely magenta yarn only to put it back. The building was crowded, my anxiety was heightened, and there didn’t appear to be anyone eager to take my money. 

It was about that time I reminded myself my big splurge purchase was going to be with Gnomespun, who was not vending at the festival this year—so an online purchase will be made to scratch that itch. (Check out his yarn and his drop spindles--he does such fantastic work!)

I went through the food building and got some venison, duck, and pierogies. This was all I bought at the festival, and Maharajah bought some soap. from a local shop Periwinkles at Rhinebeck, who was vending at the festival. Sadly very few cheese vendors appeared to be vending this year--just as well, since a lot of the appeal is tasting new varieties of cheese before purchasing. Fortunately, I got my festival cheese "itch" scratched by placing an order with Worldling's Pleasure, whose products I've enjoyed at a couple different chocolate festivals during The Beforetimes. HIGHLY recommend!

Next on my to do list was to locate & visit with MaryBeth of Hooked for Life Publishing, and so glad I did. Photo snapped after finishing up my lunch of lamb chili and before putting my mask right back on my face. 

After MaryBeth went on her way, I schmoozed with a lady & her friend nearby. She asked who MaryBeth was and hopefully she’ll be visiting MaryBeth’s publishing site.  

We schmoozed some more and I showed off some of my recent projects, including a diamond pattern sweater I hooked up to wear to the festival, but the temp was too warm to wear it. 

A sweater I am making for the Maharajah, which I am not using a pattern. It features Tunisian entrelac in the yoke, and the body will be composed of linked Tunisian stitches (imho just a fancy term for short rows of TSS worked vertically or perpendicularly from the yoke. 

A week ago, my office was shut down due to someone testing positive for the plague, and of course all my gear to work remotely, as well as the project bag with the entrelac yoke sweater were still in the office (as I had a reasonable expectation to have been in the office the next day). So what to do? I started hooking up YET ANOTHER sweater, this time a V neck sweater by Kiki Crochet, which I am using as a guide for a cardigan for the Maharajah, using some souvenir yarn I bought from Northeast Fiber Arts the last time we were in Vermont. No photo yet!

Another photo I shared with the woman I was schmoozing with was the sweater I made specifically to wear to Rhinebeck: My Precious by Katarina.

(My Precious, by Katarina https://by-katerina.com/?s=my+precious)

I don't like front post stitches. I don't know if it's because I'm left handed or if the stitches are actually as awkward to stitch as I find them. So, I did my own thing. I started the project with foundation single stitch, and then did single crochet ribbing through the back loop. And on the bottom I just finished it off with some half doubles and some chains. 

I made three of these. I used the Seabreeze dress pattern (also by Katarina), but made shorter to be worn as a tank top). Very pleased with this pattern too. 

Yes! Yet another Chevron Lace Cardigan by Milobo! I had (and still have!) yarn leftover from the My Precious sweater and banged this one out for my friend Melanie. Looks like she hasn’t updated her blog recently, but check it out, lovely musings. http://teabird17.blogspot.com/ And no, I haven't finished the cream colored Chevron Lace Cardigan that I shared a photo of a while back. 

Another item on my festival to do list was to locate & visit with my friend Joanie, who usually represents the Jacob Sheep Conservancy. https://www.jacobsheepconservancy.com/

Little did I realize Joan wasn’t attending this year due to health issues of her husband. Joan has a sheep farm in NW NJ, and before the pandemic I would help out on sheep shearing day. 

I hope next year all this mishegoss of the pandemic will be behind us, and I’ll be celebrating the anticipation of Spring by helping out again next year.  In the interim, I ordered up some buttons made from the horns of her sheep. I have yarn from her sheep which will one day be hooked up into a sweater, and the buttons would be the perfect finishing touch. 

That sweater will ultimately be Anzen, which I found in an issue of PomPom magazine. 

This photo I grabbed from A World of Imagination, who had the same color scheme as what I plan on doing. 

There will be three yarns used, one of which is a grey yarn from Joanie's sheep. I have some black wool I bought as a souvenir of my trip while in Amsterdam, and the third yarn is an angora, made from fiber from a friend's rabbit, and the yarn was spun up by my friend Star (check out her shop on Ravelry: StardustSpinworks). 

It has been challenging to adapt during the pandemic. I have tried to fight through the anxiety and rage and depression and disgust and disappointment I have been processing, seeing the true nature revealed of people I thought I knew, and now I don't feel safe to be around a good lot of them. If they can't have sensitivity enough to wear a mask because my mom died or the fact I got so sick from the life saving vaccine, that tells me everything I need to know about their character. The virus doesn't care about what you think your "Constitutional Rights" are, and it doesn't care if you think it's a hoax. Hopefully, in time, the virus itself will become a very elegant solution regarding those who are only prolonging this current state. 

My mom died in May 2020, and was in the first horrendous wave of deaths. The day she died, the total of American deaths was under 70K. Now we are well over 700K deaths. I look upon my decision to attend Rhinebeck is to prove to myself that the pandemic hasn't COMPLETELY destroyed me; however, the pandemic has certainly brought right up to the surface all the horrible things from childhood I thought I overcame (feeling unsafe, vulnerable, insecure, abandoned, rejected, etc). Fortunately for me, I my "cro-jo" (crocheting mojo) finally returned, and I've been hooking a LOT to self soothe and distract myself.

For those friends and hookers reading--please stay safe. And to those who think that the last 19 months has been a libtard hoax, please stay away. Seriously. Don't go away mad, just stay away.