Did somebdy say "knitting"?

Friday was the day Blue Moon Fibers hosted an event for Cat Bordhi to announce her new book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I am absolutely gobstopped at the way that woman's mind works.

It was also the night my knitsibs helped get my mojo going again.



Remember the Bamboo Sweater From Hell that I said needed to leave my house? Chrispy, ever so tentatively, commented that if I decided not to gift it, she would take it off my hands. She does not lie well, that girl. But she does look good in that sweater, even if I did make her put on the Groucho glasses. Oh, see that sweater she's got on under the Bamboo Sweater From Hell? She did that; it has a beautiful lace pattern off-center down the front. She's a Knitter with a capital K.



The rest of the motley crew and I waited, somewhat patiently, for the doors to open. Did I mention we were there two hours early?

Once they did let us in, the first thing we did was inspect the sock samples. If you've ever knit socks in your life, even once, or know how they are constructed, this book will rock your world!



All Cat's beautiful and wondrous socks on sock blockers being fondled by knitters. The range of sizes, colors, patterns, fibers, and constructions is simply mind-boggling. Cat took a look at traditional sock construction (she even examined 4oo- year old socks in museums for research!) and thought to herself, "Gussets? We don't need no stinkin' gussets!"

Did I mention we were REALLY early for the event? The plan was: Cat talks, books are sold and signed, and dessert is eaten. Well, best laid plans of mice and men and knitters, being what they are, it was: socks are fondled, dessert is eaten, books are bought and signed, knitters chat, Cat talks, more books are sold and bought.

I know you can't see this in detail, and that's just fine. This is the fabulous Duffy and her fabulous sock. We've only seen parts of this on her blog and in person. She's holding out on us intentionally as she wants to eventually publish and sell the pattern. I cannot even begin to tell you how beautiful the pattern is; the black background makes the hand-painted yarn really pop. And that's only the beginning of the stuff she's doing on this sock. Ms. Duffy is definitely a Knitter with a capital K.

Kathy was there, too. She's had a rough couple weeks and needed some cheering up so I passed on ownership of two pairs of Groucho glasses to her. I'm expecting to see pics of her boys in them on her blog soon. I didn't see what she was working on, but she recently finished her Almost Cobweb Crepe Shawl (scroll down if you haven't seen it). She is also a Knitter with a capital K.

The PDX-Knit-Bloggers, shy little wall flowers that we are, took the front row. The traffic was terrible on Friday night; there was a concert at the Zoo, which tied up people who weren't savvy enough to take MAX to The World Forestry Center. Good thing the event was delayed, otherwise we wouldn't have had time to show off what we were doing, examine and praise what others were doing, eat way too many fabulous desserts, and laugh our arses off.

And Blue Moon gave away skeins of their yarn for unusual things in knitting bags. There was a credit card used to measure WPI, a plastic fork used as a lucet to make cording, a bread tag used to hold the loose ends of knitting, a bent paperclip used for spinning fiber, and my own plastic hair clip used to keep dpns from sliding out of socks and to hold pieces together for seaming. By the end of it, every PDX-Knit-Blogger had at least one skein of free yarn. They obviously know the way to a knitter's heart.

Cat gave a great talk about how knitting is made up of knit stitches, purl stitches, and that indescribable thing that makes it irresistible. She talked about taking a single fiber and watching how it floats in the air and lands, how to twist fibers together to see how strong they are, and how knitting probably was invented and forgotten a hundred times before it "took".

She also described how to knit at tree house. That's right; knit a tree house.

And she mentioned, in her talk and in her book, the inimitable Judy, who invented the Magic Cast On for toe-up socks. Judy is most definitely a Knitter with a capital K.

Knitters asked Judy to sign their copy of Cat's book on the page where her cast on is given. And Duffy shows off her sock yarn winnings.

Then we all toddled off to the MAX and home, high on yarn fumes, stuffed with tasty desserts, and heads spinning from Cat's new sockitectures.

My mojo's definitely back at full force. And no voo-doo dolls were harmed in the process.