Jaime's Pippin Sweater for Rhinebeck

Ysolda Teague has just released a new book, The Rhinebeck Sweater, and it's my favorite knitting book this year. It is a tradition for most knitters to knit a sweater to wear when they go to Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool festival. Ysolda turned this idea into a beautiful book with 12 sweater designs by 12 different designers (herself included). When Amber and I decided to go to Rhinebeck this year, I knew I had to make a sweater to wear so I chose to make one from Ysolda's book. This pattern is Pippin by one of my favorite designers, Gudrun Johnson.

Amber and I might have some connections so I was able to get my hands on the this pattern before the book was released. That being said, I knit this up in record time to get it finished in time for Rhinebeck and before Spinzilla started (which took me away from my knitting for a week). 

Pockets!

All the sweaters in The Rhinebeck Sweater feature farm-y yarns that are representative of the yarns you can purchase at the Sheep and Wool festival. I knit this up in our Heirloom Romney yarn which worked so well for this pattern. The worsted weight longwool Romney has great stitch definition - perfect for the brioche details. I used the deep-purple Elderberry and the sweater took 5 skeins for the size 33 1/2".

Upstate New York is a great backdrop for photographing sweaters

There are so many things I love about this sweater, I don't even know where to start. First, there is the unusual sleeve construction. The shoulders are created with short-row shaping and then the sleeve is knit down from there - interesting to knit and soo flattering to wear!!

I love the fluffy brioche stitch details at the collar, cuffs, and pockets. The large fluffy brioche cowl neck was picked up and knit last - it really gives the sweater a striking look, and you know how I feel about large cowls...(insert heart eyes).

Professional details such as the bottom folded hem and kitchener seams make this sweater look fantastic and sophisticated.

I can tell you right now, you will be seeing more sweaters from this book knit up by yours truly - its a beautiful collection. The Rhinebeck Sweater book is in stock now so you too can start knitting up the sweaters of your dreams!

NY Sheep and Wool Festival: Report from Rhinebeck

Amber and I just returned from a long weekend in upstate New York where we went to the New York Sheep and Wool Festival which is commonly referred to in knitting circles as Rhinebeck. It was our first time attending and it was amazing. Rhinebeck is a wool festival similar to our Estes Park Wool Market--only times 1,000. There were so many people and so many booths of amazing things to buy! We were a little overwhelmed at first, but we got the hang of it after a bit and managed to find some things that we couldn't leave without.

HOLY SMOKES!

Nice work, nature.

We stayed with the lovely ladies of Kelbourne Woolens in a house in the Hudson Valley. What a beautiful fall setting for a wool festival! We spent a lot of time knitting at the house when we weren't buying fiber and yarn at Rhinebeck.

There were so many vendors selling local yarns, rovings and fibers. Amber and I had recently spun through our stash of roving so it was a free-for-all for us to buy more! We both picked up a sweater's quantity of longwool roving to spin-up during next year's Spinzilla.

Amber's roving purchase matches her Apple Cider doughnut perfectly

Longwool roving was seen and purchased

Loop had beautiful batts and art yarn

Outlander Adventures' Icelandic yarn Poetry mittens

There were plenty of sheep, alpacas, goats and llamas as well! We love seeing all the different breeds of sheep. Icelandic, Shetlands, Border Leicesters, Cotswold - all the sheep were in attendance!

Merlin the Leicester Longwool

Sheep Parade!

Icelandic Sheep Baby

An adorable Teeswater

Llama parade!

Ysolda Teague had some exciting news at Rhinebeck - the release of a new book "The Rhinebeck Sweater"! She was doing book signings for pre-sales of the book which will officially be released on November 6th. We have it on order and can tell you already that it is an amazing book, everything you'd expect from Ysolda with 12 gorgeous sweater patterns by amazing designers.

The best part about Rhinebeck was seeing and hanging out with so many awesome people! Ysolda, Cal Patch, Jill Draper, Maryjane Mucklestone, Ravelry, Sonya Phillip and more were in attendance and we loved meeting up with peeps for hot cocoa and doughnut breaks.

Sonya Phillip and Allison Page show off their Empire yarn from Jill Draper

Cal Patch and Jill Draper help us display all of our purchases!

Til next year, Rhinebeck - it was awesome!