Sock Summit 2009, Days 3 and 4

Remember Paula, my fangirl from Day 2? Thanks to Tami and her fast kinneering, the moment she asked for my autograph is now preserved for posterity.


And I eventually composed myself enough to actually sign the sock blocker. I hope I left room for the real KnitStars to sign it, too.



Day 3 was the second full day in Judith's class; no pictures from that, but here's one from Day 4. She was teaching "Spinning Exotics for Socks". That's one of my Spinning Sisters, Melinda. She's gldelx on Ravelry and her blog; she says it's "goldilocks" but I think it's "girl, deluxe".

I hope she remembers the parts of Judith's classes that have since fallen out of my head. I'm sure some of it fell out; there certainly can't be enough room in there to hold everything she said over the last four days!

On Day 3 (Thursday, right? They're all starting to run together. Seriously.), I went home after classes, got Andy Rooney fed and his insulin shot in, and went back to the World Forestry Center for the Ravelry Meetup.

There were LOTS of people. Go over to Tami's Picassa album; she's got way better pictures of the meetup than I do.

I did spot Charisa Martin Cairn, who had come down from Seattle for the Meetup. She didn't go to Sock Summit (silly girl!) because she's not really a sock knitter. She's contemplating starting a new knitting (and maybe spinning, too) guild in Seattle with thoughts towards some Pacific Northwest retreats or workshops. I left her sitting on the steps, dove into the crowd, and came up with Deb, whom I drug (somewhat forcefully, I fear) over to Charisa. My introduction?

"Deb, this is Charisa. She wants to do Northwest fiber events. Charisa, this is Deb. She does Northwest fiber events. Discuss." And I left to go find the bar.

All too soon, it was dark and then Jess was on the p.a. system saying the bar would stay open as long as there was food, so we should either drink fast or eat slowly. Then they started calling numbers for door prizes.

Day 4 was a morning of classes and then the Luminary Panel in the afternoon. I tried to take pictures, but we were so far in the back that none of them came out very well. Go over to Rachel's blog, she's got better pictures of that than I got. There was a professional videographer set up, so when they offer a CD, I'll definitely buy one. Oh, and check out Duffy's blog, too; she got the ultimate souvenir. Wish I'd thought of it! And if you want the Sock Summit report to end all reports, go read MonicaPDX's blog; she'll take a few days of recuperation to get it all up, but I guarantee she'll have the most complete report of all!

At the end of the Luminary Panel, I went up to the front to say a final goodbye to the teachers I babysat: Nancy Bush and Judith McKenzie McCuin. They thanked me and I them, we exchanged hugs and emails, and promised to let each other know whenever we are near another's home so we can touch base. I don't know when I'll next see Nancy, but I hope to get over to SunRiver to see Judith at SOAR.

There had been drawings going on at the Marketplace for doorprizes, many of which were apparently not claimed. So, the ST-2 gals had bunched them into bags and were calling random names and giving away bags until they were all gone. Immediately after I had said my goodbyes to Nancy and Judith, my name was called for a bag. And what a bag of goodies it was! Inside was a packet of note cards and a packet of postcards of Knotes for Knitters from Local Gringos; an audio book of A History of Handknitting from Knitting Out Loud; a box with two skeins of Louet Gems, a bottle of Soak, and a sock pattern all from Louet; two bottles of goat's milk and shea butter hand lotion in Cupcake and Lemon Chiffon scents also from Local Gringos; a skein of beautiful green merino sock yarn from Sliver Moon Farm; three button from Katrinas Wool World; a set of five glass and silver stitchmarkers from Purrfectly Catchy Designs; and a set of six ebony Sox Stix dpns in size 1 from Lantern Moon.

As nice as it is to have goodies to bring home and fondle, I really do miss the Sock Summit! I've been to TKGA and Black Sheep and Oregon Flock and Fiber, but they really do not compare to Sock Summit. To have that many knitters, the vendors, the teachers, the Knitting Rock Stars, the Ravelry friends, all in one place, creates an atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship that simply cannot be described. I feel extremely grateful to Stephanie and Tina for sharing it with all of us and extremely blessed to have asked to take part. It was an experience that I will never forget.