Major Knitter

Fabrics and Fabrications

Friday, Lisa, Michelle and I went to Southport Congregational Church's annual quilt show called Fabric and Fabrications.  I was thrilled to pieces to have a girls day out and see such amazing handcrafted masterpieces from the 18th Century to today.

The sanctuary of the church had quilts draped over every pew and others displayed hanging from the choir loft, more on the altar, and more yet, in the chapel.  There were over 100 quilts on display.  Some from uniforms of civil war, others made by great grandmothers, others from the centennial celebration of our nation's birth.  It was truly inspiring.

Here are some of my favorites:

There were quilts that were entirely hand pieced and hand quilted.  There were quilts that were machine pieced and machine quilted.  There were some that were a mixture.  There were some made my elementary and middle school children.  There were some modern and some antique quilts.  There were some quilts that were made with the specific charity in mind.  Here are some of the puppy quilts for the Make a Wish Foundation (one of the show's benefactors)

 

Here's the puppy quilt handing over the back of the pew.  I just love how those happy ears are flopped with the force of gravity.  Doesn't it just look like an exuberant dog waiting to lick a little child?  

In the modern quilt section, this color-burst was truly a masterpiece and set aside to give it this distinction.

This modern quilt caught my eye because of the geographic shapes and the color combinations.  I really loved the golds, blues and browns.  I think it reminded me of a fall day in the midwest with golden crops in the field, brown earth and bright blue skies.  

It was a great show and I hope others had the chance to see it, too.  I know I'll plan on being a regular visitor.  It was such a treat.

    
 

CraftWestport

This weekend is the Westport Young Woman's League's annual craft fair at Staples High School.  This is our big fundraiser where all the proceeds go to local charities.  It's the perfect way to get your holiday shopping done early, see some amazing crafts, and do a good deed all in one stop.  What could be better?

I went last night to help the vendors set up and got my own little sneak preview.  There were many amazing new vendors and lots of favorites, too.  

• Saturday, November 21 - 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday, November 22 - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Staples High School
• 70 North Avenue
• Westport, CT 06880

Hope you'll come shop with us today and tomorrow.

Wild Woman Socks

I just got back from my first visit to Knitting Central's trunk show for Trish of Tanglewood Fiber Creations.  Such fun!  Such fiber!  So many choices.

I realized that my Wild Woman Socks weren't providing enough contrast between the two yarns to see the design.  Trish came to the rescue by recommending that I pair one of her sock weight yarns with a commercial solid color.  That was just the ticket.  I purchased three more skeins of Trish's gorgeous yarn and paired with with some Spud and Chloe in a light aquamarine blue.  Then I picked up a golden tan and a pumpkin orange to use as contrast yarn for the Merino/Silk Tanglewood Fiber Creations I bought at the Sock Summit and started to knit yesterday.  

Now I can't wait to knit up a bit of the Wild Woman Sock in these new combos.  Such fun.  Such bliss.

Tanglewood Fiber Creations Comes to Westport

Trish of Tanglewood Fiber Creations is coming to Knitting Central today and tomorrow.  You'll remember Trish from my recent trip to Portland, OR and the Sock Summit.  She mentioned that if I bring something I've knit with my Tanglewood purchase to her Trunk Show, I'll get a discount on my next purchase.  So last night, I was busy casting on for the Wild Woman Socks (in the link above).  I did pretty well for one evening's knitting.  I might even finish an entire sock before this morning's visit to Knitting Central.

I hope to see you there.  You'll love Trish's handspun fibers and color combinations.  They're really wonderful.

A Fair Thee Well to the Sock Summit

After my final class at the Sock Summit, I took part in the World Record attempt for most knitters knitting at one time.  This was an unexpected treat and I couldn't resist taking part in it.  Unfortunately, it made me late for my meet-up with Rebecca.  Thankfully, she's a very patient person.  After the World Record Attempt, I went back to the SS09 Market Place and headed straight for the Abstract Fiber booth.  

Major Knitter (me) and Good Fruit (Rebecca) at the SS09 Market Place.

Rebecca and I have been virtual friends for nearly a year. We read each other's blogs.  We exchanged miniature stockings at Christmas.  We're both on the Ravelry Group Finish or Frog it Friday.  But this was our first meeting in person.  

After meeting and greeting, we headed out for a bite to eat at the Rose and Thistle - a Scottish Pub conveniently located next to Twisted - a very cool LYS that Rebecca likes to frequent.  This LYS has an amazing tea bar with a vast array of soothing teas to choose from.  Combine that with the two sinkable sofas and you've got a great recipe for knitting with a friend.

I actually came with nothing to knit so I bought a lovely skein of Trekking XXL in a blue/green colorway and some US Size 1 dpns.  I cast on 68 sts and started a K2, P2 cuff for some new school socks for Secundogeniture.  It's the first pair of socks I've actually started in many months as I've been trying to be diligent about finishing projects this year and not starting any new ones.  But I think my little guy needs some new socks.  So I cast on for him.  Rebecca is working on the Kimono design for some Abstract Fiber super sock yarn in the Asia colorway.  It's really gorgeous.

A final note about this great LYS is that it has the coolest swift and ball winder set up I've ever seen.  Period.  Get ready for this.

"Mr. Roboto" the Lego Mindstorm creation does all the work for you.  Just set up the swift and Mr. Roboto, turn a switch and watch it whirl.  I think I know a certain 15-year old who might like to make one for his mother.  Wouldn't that be swell?

Anyway, it was a great ending to a perfect Sock Summit.  I really enjoyed meeting Rebecca and all my new friends at SS09.  Happy Birthday Rebecca.  I hope you had a great week of celebrations.  Hope we'll get to meet and knit again soon!

A Walk Through the Sock Summit Market Place

On Friday, my second and last day at the Sock Summit, I managed to stroll through the Sock Summit Market Place and get some great pictures of the wonderful things to see.

Here's Brian of the Skacel team, taking a wild 'n crazy self-portrait.

Here's he is again at the Skacel booth knitting SEVEN pair of socks simultaneously on a special 100" long Turbo Addi needle.  Look at his special soft shoe rack to hold all that yarn straight.  Go Brian Go!  You definitely are the master of the sock universe.

Finally, here's the back of the adorable t-shirt that Brian and Karin gave me as a thank-you gift for helping them unload all their wares for the Skacel booth.  What a fantastic t-shirt.  Skacel totally rocks!  Thanks guys!

After visiting the Skacel booth, I also saw some other noteworthy items.  Check out this lovely lady wearing none other than The Thigh's The Limit stockings

The final thing to catch my eye was this lovely little pocket sock.  I didn't get the name of the knitter/vendor or the pattern, but these were little beauties all right.  

Wonder what she's storing in that little pocket?  

So there you have it.  I wish I had taken pictures of everything there was to see at Sock Summit 2009.  It was truly one of the New and Improved Seven Wonders of the World.  

Thanks Stephanie and Tina for making this magical week of sock knitting happen.  You two (and all your staff - including Debra photographed above) are utterly amazing.  I hope you've caught up on your sleep; done your laundry; seen your family; sat back and relaxed (and patted yourself on the back).  You all deserve it.  The rest of us really can't thank you enough.

Where I Learn the Fundamentals of Podcasting

Heaven help us.  I've taken a class about podcasting. Mind you - I have never even listened to a podcast; I'm somewhat challenged when it comes to learning new technology on my own; and, oh, did I mention that I don't even own an iPod?

Nevermind all that.  I took a class from Heather Ordover, of CraftLit Podcast, and learned an amazing amount of technology, tricks and insider tips.  

  

Heather has a background in theatre, crafts, (not just knitting), is a mother, and an English teacher.  Her podcasts mix a little bit of all that and more.  Here she is teaching a student how to use garage band and adjust the settings so that they work for her own particular voice (every person needs to find out what works for them as an individual).  It was great fun.  Not only did I learn oodles, but I also discovered a whole new medium.  Hmmm.  This could be interesting.

"Sock Summit" is the #4 Most Searched Item on Yahoo! Today

Tell all your friends this little factoid:

"Sock Summit" was the #4 Most Searched Item on Yahoo! today. Would you like me to repeat that?

SOCK SUMMIT is so hot that it was the NUMBER FOUR MOST SEARCHED ITEM ON YAHOO! TODAY. 

(Why, yes, I am shouting - wouldn't you?)

So go tell all your friends that think you're crazy for heading out to Portland, Oregon for a "little sock knitting convention" that it's hot.  Really hot!

Sock Summit Sensation

Being jetlagged has its advantages.  I woke up at early since I was still on NY time (even though, I honestly slept in longer than usual).

I showered, ate, got my coffee and headed over to the Convention Center to do something I do very well --- volunteer.  I helped vendors unload their cars, vans, trucks, U-hauls from 8:00 - 12:30.  I met wonderful, wonderful people.  Plus I got a super sneak pre-view of everything that came into the marketplace.

Here I am helping Karin Skacel check in.  She was just one of the hundreds of amazing people I met during the morning.

After a quick bite of lunch, I headed off to my afternoon class "Making the Next Monkey" with Knitty Editor Amy Singer.  Amy was a gem.  I learned so much about pattern writing and submitting patterns for publication.  It's all pretty simple stuff... but to hear it straight from Amy's mouth was a very good thing.  The best part of the class was the fact that right there during class Amy selected TWO socks for future publication because they were so amazing.

Here's Lou Bolster (aka HappyStasher on Ravelry) holding her Thank You for Sharing candy necklace from Amy.  Stay tuned for Lou's OUT OF THIS WORLD sock for next year on Knitty.  You will not be disappointed.  That's all I'm saying.  (Congrats Lou!)

That's my first report on the Sock Summit.  There is so much more to tell, but it's already time for me to run back to the convention center, so you'll have to stay tuned for more.  It is great fun.  I really wish you could all be here.  Really.

Sock Summit 2009!!!

Hello my knitting friends.  I'm writing to you from beautiful sunny Portland, Oregon.  Yes.  That's right.  I'm here for the Sock Summit 2009!  But let's not get ahead of ourselves.  Let's start at the beginning of the day when the excitement first became palpable.

I wore my hand-knit Boy Scout sock on my shirt on the flight out from New York this morning and there must have been a dozen or so Sock Summit bound knitters aboard the same plane.  There was lots of oohing and aahing and "Are you going to the Sock Summit?" questioning.  Even BF commented on the number of people knitting on board.

Fast forward six hours later when I've flown over this great country of ours and landed in Portland for the first time ever (That's a new state sister dear!).  I've already been to the Convention Center and have checked in at registration.

There were audible squeals of delight as people picked up their registration packages.  I met so many lovely people already - Jen, JoAnn, Rachel, and Lisa.  The energy is amazing.  The professionalism is nothing less than you'd expect of this talented team of knitters and volunteers.

See my miniature socks with the fantastic program for Sock Summit 2009?  Didn't I say these ladies were amazing?  Anyway, if you're here and checking in Thursday morning... look for me at the SWAG room volunteering from 7-11 a.m.  I hope you're as excited as I am.