So Rhinebeck was a total blast. I can't think of a better vacation than spending a perfect fall weekend surrounded by fiber, leaves and lots of hand knits! (Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen more knitted objects in one place. It was pretty awesome.) 

After a few travel hiccups (let's just say that arriving at your destination at 3 AM makes for a long day), Mom and I arrived in NY and caught a few hours sleep before the big festival. It was pretty chilly, so we bundled up in our knits and headed off to the festival. Once we arrived, we meandered around, got smooshed by the crowds and warmed ourselves up with lots of coffee. I also wasted no time in getting around to my main purchasing goal: a spinning wheel. I hit up a few vendors with wheels a tried a number of different ones to get a feel for them. Then, I sat down in front of a Kromski Sonata, and fell in love. 

A good chunk of my budget later, I was the proud future owner of this lovely wheel. It's a folding wheel, so it'll be great for packing up and taking to coffee shops, or even future fibery trips. Plus, the price was super affordable, and it spun so very nice. When I took my spinning class and rented a few wheels a bit ago, the Kromski wheels were my favorites, so I figured I'd end up buying one someday. 

After a fun filled day at the festival, we grabbed some dinner and headed over to the Ravelry party, where I met so many people, including Stephanie, Caro, Adrian, Mary-Heather and Maryse. It was pretty cool to meet all my blogging friends after so many years. Hi guys (or gals that is)!

The 2nd day of the festival was devoted to acquiring a fiber stash for my new wheel, so I ran around to all the vendors I could find and snatched up some wonderful spinning fiber. I may have even gone a bit crazy and bought a whole Cormo fleece. I was definitely intoxicated by the lanolin fumes, and my will power was severely diminished. Needless to say, my Mom thought it was quite funny that I had actually purchased an entire sheep's fleece to spin up. I don't see anything wrong with it, even if maybe I won't tell anyone at work about it... ;)

After dropping a staggering amount of money on a wheel and fiber (seriously, I think I could have given one of the Lehman Brothers a bonus with all that purchasing), we decided to take in a few of the sights. We definitely don't have leaves like this in NM.

The scenery was so pretty in fact, I decided it'd be a good time to get some pictures of the blue sweater in progress. The traveling time helped move things along considerably, and I'm just about to add on the sleeves now. Although, I predict that spinning might slow down the knitting in the foreseeable future ;)

After 2 days of the festival, Mom and I were in a wool-induced coma, so we took it easy our last night in NY and just hung out. We got up early the next morning to head to the UPS store, so that I could ship all my fiber to myself in NM (Yup, I told you I went all out). The wheel was being shipped by the vendor, so all I had to do was sit back and wait in nervous anticipation. 

Then finally a week later, the day came. I tore open the box with the joy of a 13 year old opening a Red Ryder BB Gun. After a bit of careful assembly, my Sonata and I were finally united. Isn't she beautiful? Now it's your job to help me think up a name for my new love affair. I'm thinking something classy, like Josephine, or Constance. Any other ideas? 

Now if you'll excuse me, I have some spinning to do. :)