Rhinebeck 2022 Recap: My 4 Favorite Parts of the New York Sheep & Wool Festival

Did you attend this year’s New York State Sheep and Wool Festival? I had so much fun during the amazing Rhinebeck weekend. This year, I put on my sweaters, Affiknity and Harbor Springs, and I was so happy to see your finished projects while I was at the festival!

I’m grateful for having been able to spend so much time outside: being in the bright sunshine, seeing friends, marveling at the fall colors and ooh-ing over adorable animals.

Here are a few happy memories from the weekend:

Perfect Weather

We REALLY lucked out with the weather. It poured on Thursday and Monday, but Friday through Sunday was perfect. The cider donuts were delicious and the leaves were at peak color. It was great to be able to spend so much time outside and run into so many old friends.

Book Signing Hosted by Merritt Bookstore

Thanks to all who came to get their book signed! It was great to meet everyone. We sold out by 10 am on Sunday (woohoo!). If you missed it, you still can get your AUTOGRAPHED COPY from my website here.

Knit Stars Meet Up

I FINALLY got to meet these amazing people in-person! A bigggg orange THANK YOU to Gaye Glasspie for hosting the fantastic Knit Stars meet-up. It was so fun to spend some time together!

Seeing All the Animals

Always the highlight of the event. Hello, my beautiful furry friends! This festival is—of course—all about fiber, so there are always a wide variety of sheep, bunnies and camelid breeds in attendance, AND there are always sheepdogs! So cute!

Lastly, I wanted to mention that I was so happy to see that each year Rhinebeck draws a more diverse crowd. More and more brand-new knitters/crocheters are joining people who have been knitting for a lifetime. Bringing together people of various backgrounds with different life experiences makes our community stronger. It’s so amazing to see people sharing their knowledge, being open-minded to appreciate everybody’s creativity, and purely enjoying the happiness and benefits of knitting. For more, here is a New York Times article, “Young Knitters Discover a Decades-Old Wool Festival,” sharing the younger generation’s perspective at the Sheep and Wool Festival. I know, it’s not exactly news that young people knit, but at least the headline is better than “Not Your Grandmother’s Knitting” 😂😂😂

Goodbye for now, see you next year!