Fall in the Hudson River Valley can mean only one thing… its time for Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool!

This fantastic fiber festival is held every fall at the Dutchess County Fairground. Fiber fanatics from around the world travel to this famous festival.  There are workshops, vendors, animals expos, and tons of fair food. If you never experienced Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool, imagine the State Fair and your favorite local yarn shop got together to throw a party.

I trekked north from Durham to meet my Mom for our Rhinebeck experience. We treated ourselves to a workshop on Saturday, Natural Dyeing for Beginners. I’ll admit I wasn’t sure what to expect. Neither myself or my Mom has dyed wool before the workshop.

Jackie Ottino-Graf was our workshop instuctor. In addition to teaching workshops, Jackie is the master dyer at the Swans Island Company, which specialized in naturally dyed yarn and wovens.

I must say, Jackie is an amazing instructor. She is so knowledgeable, not just of dying skills but, also of dying history. Did you know ancient dyers used a Greek shellfish to make purple cloth?!? Throughout the day, Jackie was so patience and welcoming. She really made the whole experience worthwhile.

Everyone in the workshop went home with eight samples of naturally dyed yarn that we dyed as a group over the course of the workshop. Some of the dye sources really came as a surprise to me. From the dye notes I took it went something like this:

• Red = Cochineal (a Mexican beetle)
• Orange Red = Cochineal + Welp + Fustic
• Yellow = Osage Orange Wood
• Olive Green = Osage Orange Wood + Iron
• Spring Green = Chamomile + Onion Skins + Fustic + Saxton Indigo
• Blue = Saxon Indigo
• Purple = Ironwood
• Brown = Butternut

I’m tickled by how vibrant and rich the colors turned out. Its the vogue thing to wear your handknits to the festival. I can’t wait to knit up a fun matching rainbow hat for me and my Mom to wear to next year’s festival.

If you aren’t familiar with this upstate New York staple, check out their website: http://www.sheepandwool.com