My trip was great! I left first thing on Wednesday of last week and flew to NYC. I was lucky enough to stay with a close friend from highschool and visit with friends from college while I was in the city. On Thursday I walked down to Purl to check out what all the hype was about. Admittedly it is a very cute store but boy is it small! I got there just before opening and by the time they opened there were five of us waiting. Add to this the three people they had working and the store was full. I didn't buy any yarn there but I popped into their fabric store just a few storefronts down (where there was only 3 of us in the also tiny store) and bought fabric to make my own nappy bag and some fat quarters. The large print green fabric is going to be on the outside and the small print will be the lining. I have no idea when I am going to get a chance to make this bag but regardless I am really looking forward to it.
Next I walked a few blocks to The Point and checked out what they had. There was a class going on while I was there and I left without buying anything partially because I was getting hungry for some lunch. After I had some Pad Thai at a noodle shop around the corner I walked up to Habu to see what their store was like. I also didn't buy anything there but it was neat to see the woven pieces they had on display. I really like Habu yarns but I have plenty at home and they come out to the shows in California so I wasn't worried about missing out. The next day I went to School Products (which I have a hard time not calling Schoolhouse products even though they are different animals). There I bought two books and cashmere. Five skeins of cashmere in fact. In the above picture you can see four skeins of lace weight two in white and two in gray in the upper right hand corner. The fifth skein is the dark blob on the left. It is some of their bulky weight cashmere to make a hat for my dad.
Saturday I got up early and got on the Metro North train and took it up to Poughkeepsie. The fall color was beautiful and the trip easy. From there I picked up the rental car and drove straight to the fairgrounds. I had no idea what to expect. I heard two different numbers for the attendance on Saturday one was 10,000 and the other was 30,000. Regardless there were tons of people there. I walked into building A which is apart from the other vendor booths and did the loop around twice to see which vendors were there. This where the huge line for STR was as well as the Grafton Fibers booth so needless to say it was very crowded. At this point I didn't realize that there were 10 barns full of vendors and I begun to wonder what the big deal was. I mean the vendors in building A were great but there were about the same amount as the fairs in CA. Little did I know what was in store for me.
While in building A I bought a bag of Cormo and Silk Roving and a skein of Cormo and Silk yarn from Foxfire (pictured above). I also bought the Golding Spindle pictured at left. I saw a picture of this spindle in Spin Off a long time ago and have always loved it. I bit the bullet and bought one. It is pictured with some Coopworth dyed with Osage and Indigo from Handspun by Stefania that I started spinning the same day. I have to say that this is now my favorite spindle. I'm very happy I went ahead and bought it. After lunch and the blogger meet up (which was crazy but awesome) I finally discovered the other 10 barns full of vendors. Then it clicked as to why this festival is such a big deal. I just spent the rest of the afternoon walking through the barns taking it all in. Because it was so busy I couldn't really see much in the booths but that was okay because I knew I was coming back the next day. I didn't buy anything else that day. Wait, that's a lie. When I walked by Carolina Homespun and said hi to Morgaine I stopped and watched Mr. Strauch demonstrating his drum carders and I knew right then that I wanted one. So, basically I went all the way to NY to buy a drum carder from a vendor that is less than 45 minutes from me. Don't worry. They are sending it to me. Oh, and I bought 2.5 ounces of merino too.
At about four I left and drove over the Hudson River to Kingstown to check into my hotel and grab some dinner. Once done with dinner I drove back over the Hudson River to Moorehouse Merino for their "after party". The only thing I bought there was the Stupid Sock Creatures book even though I really liked their yarn. I also got to talk with Amy while there. She put in a plug for the STR Sock Candy so on Sunday I went to the Fold's booth first and picked out the two skeins you see above for a pair of socks for myself. While I am not allergic to wool I do live in California and so I wear wool socks more like slippers rather than in shoes.
Sunday was way calmer and I saw so much stuff that I missed the day before. Other than the sock candy I really only bought some packets of fiber to dye at The Little Barn. They had linen buy one get one free so I did. I also got some angora and some tussah. Their prices are excellent and they were very nice. Before long I had to head back to Poughkeepsie to return the car and catch the train. It was all over too quickly.
While it was a bit overwhelming especially to have gone by myself I am really glad I did it. I meet some wonderful people and I hope I get to go again next year. Speaking of wonderful people, it was really nice to meet you Cassie, Jessica, and Risa. You made a good time even better. Can't wait 'til next time!
I bought a Golding and some Stephania wool, too which is now on the spindle. Don't you just love both?
It may have not been at the festival but I'm so glad we stopped at the same gas station on the way out of town and we got to say hello!
Posted by: margene | October 26, 2006 at 02:18 PM
I loooove that spindle! So glad you had a good time and are safely home. Have fun at SOAR! I'm off to Britain!
Posted by: Julia | October 26, 2006 at 11:41 PM
All great acquisitions! Golding spindles are just fabulous, must find where I put mine. You'll love the Strauch carder, I have the finest and it really is great.
Again, I had a great time hanging out with you on Sunday.
Posted by: Risa | October 27, 2006 at 08:10 AM
Nice haul! I really love the spindle. Too cool! Can't wait to hear about SOAR. It was great meeting you and I hope to see you again at another festival. :)
Posted by: Jessica | October 27, 2006 at 01:12 PM
Hopefully things will calm down around here and I can start going to fiber festivals again. Sorry I missed out on meeting you. Are you going to try for SOAR next year? It will be in the Poconos - 2 hours away for me!
Posted by: Charleen | November 08, 2006 at 05:44 AM