Posted on 10 Comments

Rhinebeck! Who’s going?

Friday evening my teenager and I are hopping in the car and taking a road trip like we have for the previous three years. We’ll pop an autumnal playlist in the CD player (maybe this, this, or probably this) and drive up the New York State Thruway in the dark until we reach our hotel.

The next morning, we’ll find a place to get some coffee and a pastry to-go, and enjoy the beautiful foliage on our trip to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival.

I’ve already started checking the weather for Saturday, and I was so excited to see this:

Screenshot_2015-10-12-11-22-06

Now that is perfect weather. In the past, it’s been too warm in the afternoon for sweater-wearing, but 54F°? No, I don’t think there’s much danger of overheating in that temperature. Yay!

This will be our fourth time going there together, and there is just one thing that I’d like to do differently: I’d like to keep to myself less.

I would like to be comfortable socializing with other yarn enthusiasts, wandering into the Ravelry gathering, saying hello to people who I may recognize from their online presences, etc. But left to my own devices, I know it won’t happen. I’m just too timid for my own good!

Every year my son, who is not exactly Mr. Outgoing himself, pushes me to be more social. “You should go introduce yourself,” he has said on multiple occasions. And I have usually replied with, “you think? Should I? No… should I? Do you think she’ll even remember we exchanged email? Nah.”  And so on.

So this year, I have decided that maybe I should just accept that I am never going to be the one to initiate the conversation, and instead try to get some of YOU to make the first move for me.

button_mockupI have just ordered some snazzy Polka Dot Cottage buttons (that’s a mockup pictured there – fingers crossed they show up in time) and some business cards with coupon codes on the back.

If you come over and introduce yourself to me at Rhinebeck, I will give you a button (while supplies last) and a coupon code worth $5 off any pattern or tutorial purchase in the Downloads Shop.

Sound cool? I hope so! I really would love to put some faces to familiar names, and I am very enthusiastic about the process of chatting with some like-minded folks at the festival. I just need a little help getting started 🙂

How will you know me? First off, I will only be there SATURDAY, so don’t look for me on Sunday 😉 Also, this is me:

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(unless my new glasses have not yet arrived in the mail, in which case this is me:)

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and the plan is to wear this sweater:

My finished Caribou!

Additionally, I will have this guy with me (and he will probably not be wearing any handknits because he is a teenager and because “no Mom, I’m not a hipster”):

Aidan, Sophomore

He and I both will be wearing one of the aforementioned Polka Dot Cottage buttons, and I will have a tote bag with my Polka Dot Cottage logo slung over my shoulder. I’ll also have on a Ravelry button with my name and Ravelry ID (lclarke522) written on it.

If any of these things change, I’ll be sure to blog it, or Instagram/Tweet it with the hashtag #pdcsayhello (feel free to use that hashtag to get my attention!)

 

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Posted on 10 Comments

10 thoughts on “Rhinebeck! Who’s going?

  1. you two have fun. i’ve always wanted to go. your new sweater is really gorgeous.

    1. Thank you. And yes, we always do have fun! Maybe some year you’ll get to go. If I had more time to spend, I’d stay an extra few days and really get into the Autumn in New York experience. We get such a small taste before we have to be back home and back to real life!

  2. Have a wonderful time. Wish I could be there for a meet-up. Can’t wait to see your photos!

    1. Oh, I guess I ought to take some photos then, eh? 🙂 I’m feeling a little uninspired with my camera lately, but maybe a Fall festival is just what I need to get me snapping again!

  3. If I was going to be there, I would find you and give you a big hug! I enjoy your blog very much. Have a wonderful time!

    1. Aw, thank you! 🙂

  4. Brilliant idea! I get totally overwhelmed when surrounded by large groups of new people I love your creative way of getting to know more people 🙂

    1. I thought it was pretty clever myself. Although in order for it to work, some of you have to actually be going to the festival, LOL!

  5. […] It’s that time of year again: Convention Season. During the months of October and November, we spend about half of our weekends traveling to one event or another. We began this week in Maryland while Neil attended Capclave. And now, I write to you from a hotel room in New Paltz, NY where Aidan and I are spending our nights this weekend. Half an hour away (or 40 minutes if you take the scenic route as we plan to do) is Rhinebeck. We’ll be there much of Saturday. If you are going to be there, too, and would like to meet up, check my Instagram hashtag #pdcsayhello. I’ll be taking a bathroom selfie before we hit the road, so you know what I’m wearing and can be on the lookout for me Don’t forget, if you stop me to say hello, I will give you a Polka Dot Cottage button and a coupon! […]

  6. […] last week when I posted about my difficulty being social at these things? Well, I’m happy to say that this time around was quite different. Because of my strategy to […]

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