where the heck have i been?

Posted on Posted in book reviews/events, designing, projects

i know—i fell off the face of the earth. i’ll tell ya, once sock summit got rolling for real, it was nonstop the whole time. i made an executive decision not to answer comments over the weekend because it was always tricky whether my “send mail” was going to work (i think we’re figuring that out now—maybe).

friday evening we had dinner with chris and cookie joined us at the hotel for some knitting and wine sipping. i finished the lady nate sock and gave it to chris to keep, along with the sample sock from the booth

i think she likes them a lot . . .
they are really cozy and yummy in her new nate’s sock yarn.

saturday morning i met my friend gail for breakfast, followed by another all-day sock design class, but i forgot to take a picture (sorry you guys). i did manage though, to get some photos of my surroundings at lunch and dinner time.

so many vendors that i knew were there—sheri is here with stephern houghton, author of the wonderful Y KNIT podcast, and soon-to-be knitter of a whitfield jacket. it was a blast to get to know stephen over the last few days—he’s got an interesting take on things

i also snapped this picture of our friend cheryl newhouse, the dyer behind the lovely new hue handspuns yarns.

as i was running back to class after lunch i was stopped by deb kessler of fearless fibers, a long-time friend and admired dyer who i’ve never met in person. deb didn’t have a booth at the summit, but she made sure to take time from her visit to grab me for a hug and a hello. it’s SO great to finally meet friends like this; being in the pacific northwest was a great opportunity to see many, many long-time correspondents in the flesh.

i did a little stint in the lucy booth after class on saturday afternoon where i was met by this lovely knitter (whose name i cannot dredge up no matter how hard i try) toting a BIG lace problem for me to help fix. i wish i had photographed every step of what we did, but i didn’t. basically she had a big hole in her lace and some other odd stuff going on. i unraveled a whole section, thinking to reknit it without ripping.

turns out that somewhere along the way, she seems to have turned the work and knit the other direction—somehow, she had 10 rows of work on one side of the mistake and 8 rows on the other (she did eventually cop to having a few beers while knitting on it one night).

i had the section of 8 or so sts pulled apart, but could see no way of reknitting them so that they could marry (some of the running threads were tranversing to sts several rows up on the other side). we made the brave decision to rip back, and with ronni’s help, managed to rip and rewind by hand without tangling anything.

i thought we deserved a beer by that point, so ronni and i headed over to chris’s hotel once again to join them for a pizza and wine party. i worked on the other orange nate sock; it was a fairly quiet evening, actually, with cookie joining us later on.

sunday morning we had another beginning lace knitting class which was really good—i was worried that so many people in it had too much experience, but it all worked out well and we managed to fill the time with plenty of material.

after class, we had a chance to go back to the market for a little extended visiting with vendors. up to this point, i had resisted buying or accepting yarn, choosing instead to browse and chat (because, you know—cough—i quite a collection of yarn at home).

but somehow on sunday afternoon, i weakened. it all started at the enchanted knoll booth—that josette, she’s a vixen with her colorways, hoo-boy (it didn’t help that i was walking the floor with cookie, either). i mean, her BFL sock—that stuff should come with a warning label.

i bought a few beautiful skeins there, then we visited miss babs and she gave us some, stopped by mackintosh yarns and she gave me some, and on and on.

some day i will learn to bring an extra suitcase for purchases but this time i didn’t and i ended up shipping a BIG tote bag full home. so we will take a look at all the goods when i get back there.

yeah, i’m not home yet, have i mentioned that? after the summit, i snuck off with a few people for a one-day “after” retreat in a lovely rural location near portland,

where i just knit and read the paper for one whole day. sigh. heaven, i tell you.

i finished up the first sleeve of my gray maze sweater and started the second sleeve. i think i might be closing in on a finished sweater here, guys—after 4 or 5 years on the needles, this one will be done soon, yay.

yesterday i spent some time exploring downtown portland with lucy, stephern, and syvia. we started out with a visit to knitPurl yarn shop, which has a lovely collection of seriously exquisite yarns, accessories, needles, etc.

we all succumbed just a little bit, but i think stephen fell the hardest—a neat little um bag made its way home with him, along with a few books

these bags are quite clever, unzipping completely to lie flat in a suitcase when traveling or storing them.

i think most of us managed not to buy sock yarn, but when it came to the lace display, syvia and i melted at the same time and steadfastly supported each other in purchasing something we liked (we totally bonded on this trip, what can i say??).

for her it was chameleon colorworks, which she can’t purchase at home; for me it was the realization that i didn’t have even a skein of lace yarn in my bag to play with on the plane. i found a beautiful 2-ply slk yarn and a ball of 2-ply cotton that feels like silk (and which i hadn’t seen previously, so i was curious.

i asked to have the silk one wound and got to watch the very cool electric yarn winder at work

maybe a little too much equipment to have at home for jsut my own use, but awfully cool to be able to watch it work away in the shop, where it is in almost constant use.

after we all paid it was time for stephen to head for the airport, but the rest of us mosied over to a nearby new york deli for lunch. i’m telling you, i could get used to this . . .

we took in the escher show at the art museum as well; it was real treat to go. david isn’t fond of spending time in museums but i love them, so this was a good opportunity to do that.
afterward, i had to head back myself for the airport, so i headed back to the shop where they were VERY graciously keeping our bags.

i’m looking forward to going back to portland some time; there was so much i didn’t get to see or do. i’m especially impressed by how bike-friendly it is there; i wish our city was like that.

in the airport, i took out my second nate sock. i’d been working away on it over the last couple days of sock summit—by the time the luminary panel ended, i was almost to the toe.

then i added another couple of inches the other night after dinner; i finished it off in the airport last evening. started and ended at the summit, very cool. david is going to love these . . .

so here i am at my next destination; i have a couple of really bad photos i took from the car window last night—can you guess where i am??

maybe now?? hint: i’m with david, wherever he might be . . .

more about all this tomorrow; i really must get off the computer now.

47 thoughts on “where the heck have i been?

  1. Looks like Vegas to me, probably not bright enuf though. What a trip! and you got to go to knit/purl!! Love that store. I’d be totally broke if I lived near it. Thanks for sharing your wonderful trip with us! Great story!!

  2. If you get to Gails Knits – say hello to Gail & Jay for me. I fell for Gail’s cat bed pattern and corresponding yarn.

  3. Thanks again for the sock summit pictures–I am living vicariously. I think it looks a little like Vegas too, but like Sharon I don’t think it looks “bright” enough. The first shot looks like you are in a very flat place, but it doesn’t look like Kansas lol.

  4. It is a sign of our utter devotion to our craft that after a sensory-consuming event like the Sock Summit you still went yarn crawling! I’m right with you!

    Love David’s new sock – I will have to go back and remember what that yarn is (having never met an orange yarn I didn’t like…). Love seeing your orange tote on your shoulder at SS!

    Can’t figure out where in the world you might be but I hope the R&R continues. The tomatoes are doing fine without you – lol.

  5. Anne, it was wonderful to meet you in person 🙂 thank you for a fabulous class on Sunday. What a great event – classes, new sweater yarn from Briar Rose Fibers, a new coffee cup that no one will mistake as theirs, and BMFA yarn. *grin* Though I am envious you all had enough energy to make it to Kenny & ZUkes, PAM and Knit Purl!

    True the city is pretty bike friendly – however there seems to be a rather fearless genre of riders here – er no helmets, they switch from being pedestrians to vehicles without hand signals. As a driver *sheesh* crazy. Oh, and there are the midnight cyclers down Burnside. If any of you made it up to Powell’s Books, you might have seen huge collections of bikes piled up and locked around light poles, or bike racks. Yes in the late or wee hours of the day – crazy people ride fearlessly down this long steep winding road – with traffic. Crazy city 🙂

  6. Just finished knitting ‘the carp’ from “Japanese Inspired Knits” which called for Bomuld. I couldn’t find it in Toronto, so I substitued zealana kiwi (whch is 30% possum!). If it does become more widely available soon I may make the pattern again. I’ll be interested to hear what you have to say about Bomuld.

    That knitPurl store looks seriously awsome!! What great displays of yarn. If I’m ever near Portland….

  7. Thanks for the pictures and all your commentary. Makes me almost feel like I had a bit of the experience!

    Looks like you are in Las Vegas baby!!

  8. Las Vegas! Hope you’re having a good time 🙂

    I was so happy to see a bunch of your samples at the Briar Rose booth…I might have had a falling down there after seeing some of the patterns knit and in the flesh!

  9. Loved your Sock Summit tour – for those of us who stayed home these blog posts are priceless. So far I have not discovered too many of them, but I know they are out there. Can’t wait to say how those new lace yarns knit up.

    Rest up and have fun – you deserve it.

  10. OMG OMG OMG, you’re in Las Vegas! Where I live! I’m sad to say we don’t have much in the way of yarn here, but if you’re in the mood for some debauchery, well we’ve got that in spades! (bad pun intended)

  11. What a treat to see the sock summit thru your eyes. It must have been so much fun!

    I know where you are but I’m not telling.. 😉

  12. Yarn shopping with Sivia Harding? That’s it – between Barbara Walker, Eugen Beugler and Sivia, I’m done, completely blown away. What a great time – I doubt Las Vegas can top it, but David’s there 🙂

  13. Beside manning my booth I had 2 goals for Sock Summit. #1 Get in on the Guiness knitting record. (did it) #2 Meet in person the woman who has done beautiful patterns with my yarn. (did it and got the pics to prove it!) Having a booth in the aisle way to the bathroom, I figured you would pass by eventualy, My boothmates were on “Anne alert”for me at all times 🙂

  14. It looks like a wonderful time was had by all. 🙂 It’s so cool to see Sivia on other people’s blogs instead of in my LYS. LOL.

    What is that luscious orangey yarn you are knitting the Nate sock with? It is so beautiful!

  15. Thanks for sharing Sock Summit with us. As I’ve said on numerous blog — I’m so jealous!!!! And what is the cotton yarn that feels like silk?

  16. When I saw that silo, I thought you had purchased it for stash storage! You really had me going there for a minute! Love seeing bits of the Sock Summit. Wish I had been able to be there with you. Have fun on the rest of your trip.

  17. How I wish I could have come to Sock Summit, but I love blog reports on it. Thanks so much. Your green silk looks like a Coyote Melon color on my monitor!

  18. I’m so sorry I never got a chance to meet you in person at Sock Summit! SS really was an awesome experience and I’m glad I was a part of it.

  19. Hi, Anne,
    It was such a treat to meet you and to bring home a few more Knitspot patterns and some big skeins of Briar Rose with which to knit them. And now you have a picture of me on your blog – I’m the head in the lower left corner of the world record photo in the Oregonian!

    Congratulations on the wonderful reception it was obvious that your patterns were having at the show. Have a great time with David.

  20. I love your summary! And it sounds like you got to have some relaxing time afterwards, which is always a good thing 🙂 Can’t wait to see pictures of what’s going on in Vegas!

  21. Awww, the memories! I didn’t know you got so many pictures of me!

    I’m so glad I got a chance to meet and hang with you. I suspect there’s more hang-time for us in the future, eh?

    We’ll be talking… enjoy Vegas, baby!

  22. Hey Anne,

    That’s my friend Kim, she said that you were a fantastic help!

    Glad to know you’re taking a bit of a vacay.

    – Rodger

  23. wonderful photos… the lovely stole in rose (photo of the knitpurl store) is this a pattern from you? Which one? It is so nice!

  24. Thanks for the great lace class on Sunday. I swear I learned something new! Your last day in Portland sounds like a dream. I regret that I didn’t venture out much beyond the Convention Center except to eat.

    I’m glad to see you’ve made it to Vegas okay. Enjoy!

  25. that would be vegas I believe, The Wynn, Encore and Ceaser’s Palace. that dpn through the nose caught me off gaurd, quite a skill!

  26. glad to see that you and David are playing a bit now 😉
    And how wonderful that you got to meet so many of the people in person! It looks like it was a great weekend.

  27. It’s a lot of fun seeing the people whose blogs you read, and whose yarn you buy. Thanks for the pictures. You had a great time!

  28. It was good to get to meet you at Sock Summit, Anne! I am still in love with that orange sock you are making. The color and the pattern combo is enticing. 🙂

  29. Thank you so much for the class on Sunday– I was so happy to have the opportunity to meet you in person! I’ve been reading your blog for a couple of years now so that was a real treat. I really enjoyed your class too- I know you were worried that there were too many experienced lace knitters in the class, but, as a beginning lace knitter, I felt as though there was really something for everyone in your class. I learned a lot and it was lovely to learn from you. Plus our class photo is posted on your blog! Woo hoo!

    After class, I had to go back to Briar Rose Fibers and buy some more Grandma’s Blessing… I’m trying to decide on one of your patterns to knit my first large lace piece! I’m leaning towards Artichaut at the moment. 🙂

    Oh and I am jealous you made it to Knit Purl– our hotel was just a block and a half away but I always left before the shop opened and returned from the convention center after they closed. I guess I’ll just have to go back to Portland again sometime! 😀

  30. How fun! I’ve been reading all the articles online I can find about the summit, it looks so fun!

    I would not have been able to restrain myself so well at that knit shop…lol

  31. Love Stephen. His mom is fun too.

    And what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…unless there’s actually a lys there where you can get more yarn. 😀

  32. Oh wow. I think my favorite picture is Chris’s foot. She has such a hot and saucy foot, doesn’t she????

  33. Las Vegas? Hope you get to see Circe de Soleil, if it is still there or maybe even Celene Dion (how bad can she be LOL) …

    seriously, thank you for your lovely photos. There have been a ton of things online re the sock summit, but each blog/photo/twitter is truly fun to look at.

    OBVIOUSLY you all had a blast, and there seemed to be nothing but great things said about your class (of course).

    But once again … what fun. And SS-09 is something that everyone, including those who didn’t/couldn’t make it/will always remember!

  34. Anne,
    Like the others…we are living through your eyes and enthusiastic writing. Can’t wait to see you in spinning class and hear all your wonderful stories.

    Miss you…. 🙂

  35. Glad you enjoyed Portland. Hope you will return soon and visit more of our yarn shops. KnitPurl is great along with Twisted, Yarnia and our long standing Norhwest Wools. I Love your blog.

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