More Rhinebeck, Including a Highly Coveted Spinning Session

This man is a rock star.



Well, in the spinning world anyway. It's Norm Hall, and he makes the most amazingly gorgeous spinning wheels by hand. They aren't cheap.

He doesn't have a website. He stopped taking orders in 2005. You can get on a wait list, but it's not unheard of to wait many many years before you get a glimmer of hope that your dream wheel will get made. There is an active market in selling your spot on the wait list.

I only ever see him at Rhinebeck. He sits around his booth, chats with his fan club and occasionally, a lucky wait-lister will show up to pick up their wheel.



It was love at first spin for Mknits.



He also has a nice banjo player in his booth plucking away and making the corner a small sanctuary in all the grabby shoving of the festival.

Happily, his booth is very close to where lamb chili could be had, and I spied the most amazing sweater:



Handspun, handdyed, handknit. This woman was so proud of it, and as you can see from the stranger's hand reaching out to touch it, everyone was in awe of it.



She was super-proud of it. The fleece even came from a previous Rhinebeck.



I was having a lot of fun walking around with my camera and trying to capture the essence of the moment.











I have even more sheepy pictures tomorrow...and some gorgeous sheep dogs as well.