The Best Rhinebeck Yet

Yes, Rhinebeck 2009 was my favorite so far...it still had too many people there, the lines for food and Briar Rose yarns were ridiculous, but I got to see and meet some amazing people...which is really why I go.



That was the 10 minute line just to get into Rhinebeck on Saturday morning.

The People
I'm going to have to split this into two blog posts...Episode I, "Rhinebeck-The People" and Episode II, "Rhinebeck-The Purchases."

Three distinct groups of people this year:

1. Friends I've known (e.g., Carol S., Marilyn, Mel, Ted, Loraine, etc.)
2. Guys from the Men's Knitting Retreat or from MenWhoKnit.com
3. Delightful folks who read the blog and introduced themselves

Unfortunately, I took very few pictures while at Rhinebeck, so you may have to use your imagination.

Existing Friends
I don't get to see Marilyn, Carol and Ted anywhere near enough, so getting to see them at Rhinebeck, even if just briefly is great.

Here's me and Carol happy to see each other (she'll be glad to note I have Photoshopping talents).



And here's Ted and David (Mel's partner).



And Mel and John.



This was the initial group shot I got to see upon arriving Saturday morning.



Of course, there's Marilyn and Jerry to the right and Ted in the center.

Guys from Men's Knitting Retreats and MenWhoKnit.com
Also in the picture above, is Scott, John and Dave who I know through the Men's Knitting Retreat and Jack who I met for the first time, although I follow him on MenWhoKnit.com.

I met a few guys with whom I was incredibly impressed.



This is Aaron and MMario (no I didn't mistype). I have met Aaron before at previous Rhinebecks, and he's a delightful guy. Getting to meet MMario was a real treat. He's designed about 100 different lace shawls (we saw a few of his designs go by while we chatted), but in addition to being incredibly talented (he's a legend on MenWhoKnit), he's the nicest man you'd ever want to meet. I was extremely glad to get to put a personality to his name and photo.

Finally, we had a brief planning session for the 2010 Men's Knitting Retreat, so I got to see the guys I fall in love with every year. The planning session is really just a lame excuse to get together with amazing men. I can't believe I didn't get one picture of Sean and Stephen or Joe E. or Mark or Alasdair or Guido. I also got to run into Thad (the other one who ISN'T my partner). It really renewed my excitement about the next retreat.

Lurkers I Met
This year I had more blog readers than ever come up and introduce themselves, and they couldn't have been nicer. I can't tell you how great it is to get to meet the folks that know me through my ramblings here, and get a sense about who they are.

Yes, all-in-all, it was the best Rhinebeck yet.

Current Knitting
Despite the whirlwind run up to and through Rhinebeck, I was able to make some progress on the Expedition Pullover.





I'm not sure how noticeable it is, but I did end up ripping out the right/front and re-doing that, and now I'm about halfway through the left/front.