I took friday off, and went up on both Friday and Saturday. Before we even got to the convention center, we were chatting up fellow knitters at the MAX stop, and once there, we walked right past The Yarn Harlot, pretty much the most famous and favorite knitter of all--and the organizer and creator of Sock Summit. The marketplace was a major draw, hundreds of vendors selling extremely yummy hand dyed yarns, fibers, needles, notions, project bags, pottery, books, pretty much anything even remotely related to knitting. My good friend and former coworker, Lisa, of Dicentra Designs, had a booth in a really prime location, so I stopped by to say hi as often as I could. I bought only slightly more than I should have (9 skeins and a project bag), but it was worth it. Fellow Salem knitter Karen, on her knitting blog, Hissy Stitch, did a great write up of the marketplace with tons of great photos, including one of me.
I also got to take a great class by a really well known sock designer, Ann Budd. She was beyond wonderful. Friendly, helpful, and funny. It's exactly how I felt at the last Sock Summit, taking a class from Deb Barnhill. Knitters are just great people. Also, Saturday night, my friends and I sat in the third row (thanks Steph!!) for a lecture by the Harlot herself. Which was hilarious and awesome. At one point, we were cracking up about something she said, and we were laughing enough that she commented on us as an example. It was beyond great.
There was a flash mob, too! Well, only sort of a flash mob. It was pretty obvious something was up, there were hundreds of knitters just "milling around" a very small area, plus hundreds of others "milling around" to watch. Suddenly the music started, and all the knitters started dancing--with skeins of yarn--to "Time of My Life" (you know, the song from Dirty Dancing). I took a video from off to the side, but I won't post it, since you can hear me cackling and laughing the whole time. It was so hilarious and wonderful. Sort of overwhelming to see that many knitters in one place like that. In the marketplace, and in the Harlot's lecture, it seemed like a smaller group. Everyone all together, doing a goofy dance in synch like that, was just beyond awesome. Look!
It was a really great weekend. I hung out each day with people I really like but don't get to see nearly as often as I'd like. I bought delicious yarns that I'm thrilled to get to knit with. I met amazing knitters and vendors that I wish I could have put in my purse and taken home with me. Every single person I met was super open and friendly. I had great conversations with vendors, felt like lifelong friends with knitters I'd met only 5 minutes before, and saw hand-knitted things that were nothing short of art.
The weekend made me proud to call myself a knitter. Proud to be a part of such a caring, friendly, and creative community.
No comments:
Post a Comment