Sock Summit-a multi-part report

Yowza!

I got a bumper sticker at Sock Summit from Carolina Homespun. It says, "I got heeled at Sock Summit"! Clever, no? And that is just one example of the clever SS09 goodies vendors were offering!

Boy, there was so much to do, see, experience! I seriously don't think I could capture it all-and I couldn't because there was just so much going on everywhere, every minute, that I couldn't have done everything! But I can share with you what this one, single Sock Knitter did at Sock Summit! (after writing much of this, I realize this will need to be broken into a couple of parts...yeah, my usual long-winded manner of reporting...)

You saw my previous 'lazy' post that included Irishgirlieknits and my Cotty-clad feet! Cotty pattern itself by Irishgirlieknits! Too fun! I showed you my VooDoo donut (banana fritter with chocoate and peanut butter, sprinkled with chocolate chips and chopped peanuts). You saw my new spindle and a bit of the stash enhancement. So what else could there be?

Well, there was the atmosphere...everyone seemed so excited and happy to be at Sock Summit! It was buzzing and knitters were converging from all around, smiles on their faces, happy to say 'hi' and identify one another as summit attendees.

Opening Reception was preceeded by a special silent auction for Knitters without Borders. There were fabulous items donated from the many vendors. Some VERY GENEROUS donations that included: a UK Knitting Retreat (did not include airfare, but could be a deal for the right person and very little competition!), a specially personalized "Sock Summit" machine-embroidered knitting bag filled with an assortment of yarns (valued at $500!), jewelry, gift certificates, knitting kits, roving, autographed Sock Summit posters...In the course of an hour, we raised a total of nearly $6000 for Knitters for Borders. Knitters are so cool-so many winners rounded-up their prize payments. One knitter even bid up a mug by Jennie the Potter to $205!

Just look at all those Sock Knitters! FULL HOUSE! My co-worker approached me today to politely ask about how Sock Summit was. When I told him there were some couple-thousand of us, his mouth dropped. He told me he thought it was, like, a 35 person thing! HARDLY!

During the Opening Night Reception, Tina and Yarn Harlot Steph shared the trials and tribulations-not to mention the sheer joy and excitement-of putting an event of such magnitude together. There were tears as they acknowledged their capable ST-2 staff of Cockeyed, Rachel, Debra and JoAnn. All of them were clearly exhausted and SS09 had just begun!

I was fortunate to get a few classes: Cool Socks A with Lucy Neatby, Colorful Stitches with Tina Newton and Anna Zillborg, and Darn It! with Merike. Forgive me if I have sinned and misspelled names. It happens. I'm lazy and don't want to look it all up. If you are a knitter, you know who I'm talking about anyway.

I saw Lucy at Stitches West and Cockeyed had said what a great teacher she is and how wonderful her DVDs are, so when the opportunity came up to take her class, I went for it! So very glad I did! I would never doubt a Cockeyed recommendation and she was completely right-on! Lucy has soooo much information, technique, ideas...quite overwhelming! I definitely have my eyes on future Lucy Neatby DVDs.


Colorful Stitches was great! Anna is an absolutely hilarious woman! How can I NOT love a woman with a sassy wit and a burgundy painted refridgerator? Or was it teal...? I think the teal one came first. But it is amazing how you can just play with color and figure out what works and what doesn't. And as she says, 'if you don't like it, you can always throw it away!'-lol! Yeah, Anna, I'll do just that! And as always, Tina was her wonderful self, sharing her common lack of Color Theory studies other than through personal experimentation. Two women who came to color in similar ways, not 'seeing' colors until later in life.

Anna is so cool!

And look-my Sam n' Ella Cotty matches Tina's shirt!

Other than embarassing myself by being so serious in trying to follow directions ever so carefully, and snatching way more yarn than needed for our exercise, only to have BOTH teachers approach me, telling me I had enough and needed to sit down, I would say the biggest event in class was the infamous calf-impalement. Yes, a classmate somehow managed to impale her calf on a straight (what looked like size 13) aluminum knitting needle.

We were all being sensitive to her predicament, not daring to even attempt to sneak a photo; however, once photos were requested by our injured classmate, all stops were out!

My Darn It! class was a one-hour session with Merike who had us darn a whole as she explained how to do it. She pointed out that the use of merino guarantees that our socks will wear out, necessitating a future darning. She condensed the content of her usual 3-hour class into this one-hour workshop. It as great and I even got a sock mended, thanks to the fact I had forgotten my homework swatch in my hotel room!

Merike is awesome!

Sock Summit was like a mini-camp reunion, too! So many campers from first, second, third year camps. Lou, Linda Welch, Lisa (who was Volunteer Coordinator, so forget any kind of reasonable visit with her though lots of glimpses!), KT, Sam, Alice from the Heartland, Socktopus Alice, MisKnits Susan, Blogless Carla, Irishgirlieknits, Cupcakefaerie, SnBLeslie, Marisol, Mya, Stormy, Virginia...probably more of us, too! And there other knitterly friends like my dear bud, Lara, the most talented Gail, WoolGirl Jen! And new friends to be made...Terbear, PDXKnitterati, Deb Acuardi (who hosted the luncheon)...Not to mention the fabu dyers like Knitted Wit! Uh-uh...I guess I'm doing the Miss Maryann thing again-sans mirror! Sadly, my bud Nartian was not in attendance! And Knittinggolfer Marcy was also MIA. But I was a good knitting-bud and hooked them up!

Buried in Fiber Lara and me-yes VooDoo Donuts!

Marisol, Deb, Linda, Susan, Alice and -Laura? (the Schaefer Yarn Rep! I really should learn her name...)

Leslie x 3!!!

Speaking of buddies, this trip was supposed to be attended together with my BFF Paula who sadly had to have emergency surgery. So sad she couldn't join my in such a remarkable event! Hopefully she'll at least enjoy her 'consolation bag' of yarny goodness!

So next post, I will touch on the RAVELRY party and market!

Sock Summit-the Lazy Edition

Look at all the lanyards...oh my, big crowd a-comin'!

And lookie-Jess and Casey are staying at my hotel! Yes, crappy pic of me and all!

I don't know how the pics ended up in this order, but I thought you would all enjoy getting glimpes of, for instance--Turtlegirl! Who could miss her?

Or Irishgirlieknits putting all those badges together?

And just for Knittinggolfer, a pic of my brand-spanking new Jenkins' Turkish Drop Spindle!!! Beauties and they packaged it up in a silk hankie!

All I can say is that the market ended today at 6pm, but by 4pm, I was pretty wiped out! So many indie dyers all in one place and so very much that I was on serious overload! I did stay til the end of market, but my head was mush!

Class was absolutely incredible-right down to a classmate impaling her calf on a straight needle!

More when I return, but I thought some of you would enjoy a glimpse into this wonderful event that is SOCK SUMMIT 2009!!!

You wouldn't guess that Sock Summit Hasn't Started Yet!

...if you were to see the amount of sock yarn I've already amassed today!

But guess what? ALL THE ABOVE wasn't purchased! Well...I did pay for a 'yarn tasting luncheon', but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine a luncheon with so many goodies!

Including this bag of treats!...

And after our glass of prosecco to start things off (stitch marker attached to our glass!), a first course like this...
Acuardi Insalata served with our salad!

And door prizes! I won this prize donated by Larissa herself! And the bag didn't just include her Knitalong book, but also a whole French Press Cozy KIT! Yarn and pattern!

We had lunch with the various dyers who so generously donated their yarns for us! We later had the opportunity to visit Abundant Yarn Dyeworks and I actually was kinda good...

I purchased a skein of Cascade 220 Superwash to make 12" blocks for a special afghan they are making for a special little girl who lost her mother. I can mail the blocks to them if I don't finish any prior to leaving. And I couldn't resist some authentic OREGON yarn to bring home!

So I got a bit of a headstart...oh well!

What was fun is I poked in to say 'hi' to Cockeyed and got to peek at a couple of vendor booths! All I can say is O M G!!! This is going to be way too much temptation! I was already petting and pining over some of Snicklefritz's Yarn! GORGEOUS and some merino/cashmere was just asking to be snatched up! Alas, no snatching. YET.

Please, oh please...what to do to keep from grabbing up skeins of yarn and buying, buying buying?

Third Time's a Charm?...

I don't think so!

But there you have it...the Princess Mitts for a Queen! Still not perfect, but certainly better than the first TWO renditions of the left mitt!


Last I posted, I think I had mentioned the issue of gauge and the near-inch difference between the first and second knitted mitt!

But when the second go-round was knit, look what happened!

For those who need a bit of a hint: I have two RIGHT mitts, not a right and a left!-doh!

And really, the third "left" mitt would have been nicer to re-knit had I more time and patience, but it wasn't happening. I just couldn't do it. But in case you didn't notice, the left gusset was very strange: the ribbing just didn't seem 'right'.

And sure enough, Nartian figured out and found the revised Princess Mitts pattern! If you look at the revised charts, you would never guess that it was the same pattern! Well, at least not the thumb increase chart portions...Ah, well...as Knittinggolfer and I discussed, sometimes it is hard to remember to check for pattern errata. In my case-especially when trying to get a gift done quickly! I seem to recall either Cat (Moebius Bordhi) or Yarn Harlot Steph say in one of their classes that you should 'frequently admire your work'. Nartian said it was Harlot in our last Knitting for Efficiency class. But in that class, her reference to admiring work frequently was that doing so often slows your knitting speed. I seem to recall that the 'admire your work frequently' I was recalling was made in reference to 'keep your eyes open for mistakes so you can catch them earlier on'. I don't learn, do I?

So I am back from a road trip with SassyMan and Lil Emp and all I have to show for it is a finished pair of sport weight Cotty's (that were just about completed before leaving...) and the mitts! That's it. I worked a bit on Ulmus...

The Ulmus found its way to the beach at the "Strand" on Coronado Island; I knit while I kept and eye on my guys...

I knit the left mitt of Princess Mitts THREE times.

I learned what a shark egg looks like...

they're the spiral algae looking things...

Lil Emp got his wish to see the La Brea Tar Pits!

I don't recall stuff still oozing from the ground, but it has been over 25 years since I was last there! Pretty amazing and all in the middle of the city!

And while in San Diego, we even got glimpses of ComicCon-goers! Sorry, Nartian, no Twilight Geek Fan photos!

Our trip even included a visit with Lil' Emp's cousin, Nico...

And upon my return, a whirlwind of basket ball clinic, PTA meeting/get-together, and a 60th Birthday party which ended with this...

Turtle Pie! So yummy! Happy Birthday to a wonderful quilting guru, my quilt teacher, and a most-talented woman, Karen!

So it's back to two days of work and off to Sock Summit on Wednesday morning! I'm stressing about the whole luncheon thing and luggage handling, not to mention the fact that SassyMan seems to have gotten a flu or something that I hope I will not catch! MUST STAY WELL FOR SS09!!!