Hi! I was reading thru the Garment comments and saw you posted about the Rhinebeck festival, do you know how to check what the year's knitted garment that people knit and wear would be? Ive never heard of the festival but now I want to go and make something for it, because it looks like so much fun
There isn't really an "Official" Rhinebeck sweater, but often there is one that is very very popular. Last time I went "Alpenglow" by Andrea Mowry was The sweater of the festival and surrounding events. And this can be fun because you get to see the same pattern knit by dozens of people in all different color combinations and interpretations. Maybe someone turns it into a dress, another a cardigan, someone else uses the stitch pattern/design on a completely different garment type, and so on.
Groups and communities on Ravelry, local yarn shops, pattern designers or publishers, indie yarn makers often have knitalongs or challenges leading up to Rhinebeck. Especially if they are having events there or are traveling there (a LOT of people travel, fairly far and wide, and occasionally internationally for this specific festival).
Quick side note on vocab here. The entire weekend gets referred to as Rhinebeck, which is the name of the town in New York state. There is the actual festival, The New York State Sheep and Wool Festival, and then there are the side events, of which their are many, an example is A Woolen Affair which starts the Thursday or Friday before the festival weekend. There are other workshops and small markets and events in the areas around the town of Rhinebeck generally starting around Thursday with the big day of the festival happening Saturday at the Duchess County Fairgrounds. The actual festival is several days, Saturday is the day. But, collectively, everyone just to refers to the entire weekend as Rhinebeck.
Back to The Rhinebeck Sweater. Again, we refer to them as The Rhinebeck Sweater but people make hats, jackets, accessories, all sorts of things. There are loads of groups (some just 3 people, others 50+) that will all decide to make the same pattern and meet up on the hill at the fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon to chat and do a group photo. Others might not have been part of one of those groups but walking around the fairgrounds see and meet others with the same pattern and go join the fun. And that is great and cool to see.
Personally though, I love seeing all the other patterns people make. Like an ultimate show and tell fashion show of knitters and crocheters. A lot of people, myself included, use it as a push to go nuts and make something maybe a bit more challenging or that we have been wanting to make for a while but haven't or with a yarn that is special. So it is really inspiring to see the various works people make. Also enlightening (hm, that fits/hangs/looks different than I thought in person) and motivating. Friends I went with saw someone in a sweater they had been considering making, loved it in person, and immediately bought the yarn needed to make it there at the festival to cast on that very evening.
There is also a challenge this year (I think as part of the Woolen Affair group? I remember Brooklyn General Store talking about it) to try and make something with locally sourced fibers. Which is a cool challenge.
