Rhinebeck: where man discovered wheel

   

It was 2002 to be precise on a damp day at the Sheep and Wool Festival in Rhinebeck, New York.  Ron Bloom, a 60-something, began to spin.  Then the reluctant journey into knitting where he found his niche making button hats at a knit retreat in Maine (which we learned about from Knitter's Review).  All the hats were from wool he spun. Last month, for a racquetball partner's new baby boy, he discovered that it was pretty easy to shift from wool to Cascade Fixation cotton for this hat.

Weaving under the influence of Sheila Hicks and her small pieces continues to be his primary interest.  A few months ago, Mark Rothko's paintings with their dark color blocks caught his attention as another design source--along with adding objects to his pieces as in the two above.

While he searches this weekend's festival for particular colors for his work, my goal is to beware of the temptation to buy yarn.  There is way too much on our shelves; I'm behind in using beautiful fiber he spun last year!  On my list for Saturday is connecting with the blogger, Xtreme English.  We've talked about watching the sheep dog trials--always fascinating. 

Sunday is a big brouhaha of a Book Tent where I'll finally meet Ann Shayne of the notorious Mason * Dixon Knitting duo, and Clara Parkes of Knitter's Review (see above) whose new book on choosing and using yarn is billed as a compendium of everything knitters need to know to become more confident in their work.  I think the resident weaver and I could both use that!

Comments

[Martha]

It was really nice running into you and Ron at the festival. Wow, Ron's weavings are absolutely gorgeous!!!!

xo,
Martha