SHEEP & WOOL ARE BEAUTIFUL NOW

SHEEP & WOOL FESTIVAL -- RHINEBECK, NEW YORK

One of our favorite things to do each autumn, less than a 2 hour drive from our Manhattan HQ, is the Sheep & Wool Festival, held at the Dutchess Fairgrounds, in Rhinebeck, New York.

While it might not sound all that exciting, unless you are a farmer or you knit lots of sweaters, it is one of the most fascinating and beautiful fall festivals.

Every mid-October, since it began as a local ewe sale in 1980, the Sheep & Wool Festival has grown. It is now one of the largest annual gatherings of fiber-arts enthusiasts in the United States.

Knitters, crocheters, handspinners, and growers of natural-fiber-producing livestock all flock to the Sheep & Wool Festival. 

Beyond many varieties of sheep, there are cashmere goats, angora rabbits, llamas, musk oxen, and alpacas.

Fiber artists and small scale producers, tool makers and other related craftspeople find each other here as well.

Enjoy the rainbow of vendors, demonstrations of fiber arts, livestock competitions, sheepdog trials, sheep to shawl contests, and more.

The variety, quality, and artistry is truly astonishing. You will see things done here with wool that will blow your mind!

Weston Hill Farm, a small family farmstead in Westerlo, NY, raises Border Leicester & long wool cross sheep. They offer luscious long wool roving in natural & hand dyed blends and beautiful Cottage Spun natural and hand-dyed yarns.

And there’s plenty of good old fashioned country fair kitsch to enjoy.

The Hudson Valley is dotted with sheep farms and woolen makers. One favorite is the Hudson Valley Sheep & Wool Company, located on a 131 acre farm in Dutchess County, NY, where they raise Shetland and Icelandic sheep.

Learn to knit, crochet, spin, hook, dye, and felt with one of their excellent classes.

Chicks with Sticks is a wonderful group of women in the Hudson Valley who use their wool-related talents to bring comfort, warmth and beauty to people who need it most.

They knit for causes such as homeless shelters, hospitals, charities, and hospices, both  near and far.

Share your favorite nearby places with us on our BN Share and BN Facebook pages.

Read more about Favorite Nearby Places in Breathtaking Hudson Valley Landscape Portraits Now, The Most Beautiful Hudson Valley Hikes Now, Beautiful Food & Wine Just Up the River, Woodstock Film Festival 2016 Favorites Part 1 and Woodstock Film Festival 2016 Favorites Part 2.

And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact Daily Fix posts.

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IMAGE CREDITS:

1. Image: Courtesy of New York State Sheep & Wool Festival. Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
2. Image: Courtesy of New York State Sheep & Wool Festival. Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
3. Image: Courtesy of New York State Sheep & Wool Festival. Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
4. Image: Courtesy of New York State Sheep & Wool Festival. Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
5. Image: Courtesy of New York State Sheep & Wool Festival. Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
6. Image: by Adam Kuban. “Sheep Grooming.” Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
7. Image: by Urban Sea Star. “Spinning.” Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
8. Image: Courtesy of Weston Hill Farm. Long Wool Roving Yarn. Westerlo, NY.
9. Image: by Eliza Brown. “New York Sheep and Wool Festival.” Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
10. Image: Courtesy of Hudson Valley Sheep & Wool Company. Red Hook, NY.
11. Image: Courtesy of Chicks with Sticks. Glenmont, NY.
12. Image: Courtesy of New York State Sheep & Wool Festival. Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.
13. Image: Courtesy of Chicks with Sticks of Glenmont, NY. Yarn display at the New York State Sheep & Wool Festival.
14. Image: by BN App - Download now!
15. Image: by M. Salamone. Courtesy of Rhinebeck Community Forum.  Sheep & Wool Festival. Rhinebeck, NY.