I’m headed East toward Rhinebeck, in the car typing this as the miles fly by. It takes two solid days of driving to get from Minnesota to Rhinebeck, New York and I’m fortunate to have many drivers on this trip this year. So, here I am typing, instead of driving through the beautiful state of Pennsylvania.

We Minnesotan’s like to talk weather and this year might go down as the wettest on record. Anecdotally I’ve heard, “It’s a particularly good year for fungi,” more than once this spring and summer. True enough, as their abundance has made them a regular visual in my world, so much so that I put them on my pots. A group of mushrooms is called a troop, and these are troops I like best, colorful and whimsical.  The Peterson Guide to Fungi has been in heavy rotation identifying all the new troops sprouting after each rain. My mushrooms bend the rules a bit and are variety of colors and textures, a little departure from my usual technique. While I’ve not seen a tiny hedgehog under a mushroom umbrella at all this year, its a critter that fits well in my design arsenal. In the animal world, they’re probably the most likely knitter, right?

Once again, I’ll be setting up shop in the same location, outside booth 9, 27 A, closest to the 4-H gate. When you look at the map provided by the festival I’m near the rear end of the llama icon indicating the “llama parade gathering area.” Really, I love my job.

Join me for all the beautiful wondrous fun that is Rhinebeck, I brought the troops.