When last I wrote, Tiger was about to start radiation therapy. I expected the weeks of radiation to be difficult for all involved, and for things to get easier after. While the radiation was challenging, Tiger came through with flying colors and I thought the hard part was behind us. I was wrong.
Tiger caught a cold. Then our other cat, Puck, started having health issues. Within a week, I thought we would lose both cats. Over the last month, I’ve spent many nights sleeping on the couch so I could provide medicine and food at all hours of the night, without disturbing Chris’s sleep. Tiger recovered and is doing fabulously. Puck passed over the rainbow bridge sometime last night. I will write a more detailed post about all of this, along with a slideshow tribute to Puck, in a couple weeks.
Driving and More Driving
Months before the cats got sick, I had planned an epic trip. I embarked on that trip this past Tuesday. The first leg of the trip was a 14.5 hour drive from Orlando to Greencastle, Indiana to visit my friend Stacy and attend The Fiber Event. My plan was to leave at 6:00 am, so that I could drive through Atlanta in the middle of the day when traffic is more likely to be light, and to drive as long as I remained alert. I expected to stop and stay in a hotel at some point.
I did leave my house at 6:05 am and arrived in Atlanta around 1 pm. I had no traffic slow downs in Atlanta — the first time I’ve had that happen when driving through the area. By 2:30 pm, I was in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and starting to feel too sleepy to drive. It seemed too early to stop for the day, so I pulled into a McDonalds parking lot and took a nap for 1/2 hour. I felt much refreshed, so I got back on the road.
I arrived in Nashville around 5:00 pm. I expected to be caught in rush hour traffic, but only slowed to a crawl once, when the road I was on split into two major roads. Once I was past the split, we were back up to the speed limit. At this point, I called Stacy to find out when she usually goes to bed. I started thinking I might drive all the way through.
I did end up driving all the way through, arriving at Stacy’s house at 10:15 pm. I had ideal driving conditions — a little rain in Georgia, but it wasn’t a deluge; the weather was beautiful for the rest of the trip; no slow downs in the construction zones, no accidents; no rush hour traffic. I couldn’t have asked for more!
Coming Attractions
Stacy and I have been doing some weaving on our rigid heddle looms. Tomorrow and Saturday, we will be at The Fiber Event. Monday, I’m driving to Kansas City, Missouri. I’ll be site seeing and visiting family for a couple days, then attending PLYAway, the first spinning conference put on by PLY Magazine. After PLYAway, I’m driving to Memphis to visit a friend, then driving home to Orlando. I plan to visit The Yarn Barn of Kansas, two Laura Ingalls Wilder sites (The Little House on the Prairie and the home Laura and Almanzo lived in for most of their lives), Graceland, and who knows what else.
I’ll be blogging as often as possible during the trip! I only brought my iPad with me, and I’ve discovered that the WordPress installation does some funky things when I’m using Safari on the iPad. As a result, the formatting of my posts might look a little different than usual. Hopefully, it isn’t too distracting!
Over the Martin Luther King, Junior weekend, five friends and I stayed in a condo right on the beach in Ponce Inlet, Florida. Another friend joined us just for the day on Saturday. It was glorious. We knit, we crocheted, we spun, we wove, we blocked, we discussed dyeing, we watched Marvel movies, we talked, we laughed. It was everything a knitting retreat with friends should be. Rather than give a long-winded description of this perfection, I offer you pictures. With captions, of course.
The view from our balcony.
The building we stayed in. If you look closely at the left hand side of the building, you might be able to pick out the red lounge chairs on our deck.
Lunch on Sunday. l to r: Lorelle, Fredi, Dawn, Nancy, Shellee, me.
Every fiber event should have a ball winding station!
Shellee was the only one of us who didn’t already know how to spin. Nancy gave Shellee her first spinning lesson!
Fredi set up her drum carder on the balcony, so any extra bits of fluff would blow away on the breeze.
Lorelle learned how to use the drum carder, and turned compacted roving into beautiful batts.
Nancy finished knitting this shawl 3 years ago, but wasn’t sure how to block the curved edges. Eight months ago, she gave it to me to block. I hadn’t done it yet, so I brought it to the retreat and we got it blocked!
I promise I actually did weave — the loom wasn’t just a handy fiber holder.
The speck in the water behind the third gull from the left is Lorelle. She was the only one of us brave enough to actually get in the water!
Lorelle’s in this picture also, pretty much smack dab in the middle of the shot.
Fredi, Nancy, and Shellee watching Lorelle swim.
We had a fantastic time, and none of us were quite ready to leave. But our lives called, so Monday we all packed up and headed home. But we’ve decided that this will be an annual event. MLK weekend = local fiber retreat every year!!
This happened when I got home. Apparently my cats missed me.
I’m taking a time out from packing to write a quick post. Last November, I registered attend PlyAway, a spinning conference hosted by PLY Magazine. My friend Lorelle was planning to go too, but by the time registration came around, she knew she wouldn’t be able to attend. “I’d love to go to fiber events with you,” she lamented, “but work and other financial obligations keep me from going. Why aren’t there any local retreats?”
“We can make our own retreat,” I responded. And so we have. This weekend, six of us our staying in a condo on the beach. One or two others are driving in for the day on Saturday. I’m the only one who knows everyone going. Everyone else knows no more than two others and some (including Lorelle) don’t know anyone other than me. We have no firm schedule. Everyone’s bringing their projects. Via e-mail, everyone shared what they are bringing and what they’d like to learn. Fredi’s bringing unwashed fleece and will show us how to wash it. She’s bringing her drum carder and hand combs so we can make rolags if we wish. I’m bringing all my acid dyes and equipment for dyeing, including bare yarn. Dawn’s bringing bare fiber. Dawn, Nancy, and I are all bringing our rigid heddle looms. Shellee and Lorelle have never woven before and want to try it out. Everyone except Shellee spins; she’s going to try the spindles Nancy and Dawn are bringing. Everyone else is also bringing their spinning wheels. Shellee will show us her unique method of knitting. She speeds along so fast, her hands are a blur.
So now I’m packing, and I must consider the first question — the one a fiber crafter always asks before she packs anything else — which projects shall I bring? How many is too many.
I’m definitely bringing the current project on my rigid heddle loom.
I’ll bring yarn to warp the loom again, in case I finish this project. I have at least 3 spinning projects in progress, but I’m only going to bring the Three Feet of Sheep with me.
I really run into trouble with the knitting projects. Shall I bring the Bubble Baby Blanket that I haven’t worked on in months, but is part of my Detention OWL for the Harry Potter Knitting / Crochet House Cup (HPKCHC)?
Or the Begonia Swirl Shawl that I started months ago to replace the one that was accidentally felted?
Of course I’m going to bring the Cloisters Shawl I only started working on a week and a half ago!
I need to bring some crochet. Because I must have all the things, right? I’ll probably just toss some cotton and a hook into my bag so I can whip up some quick dishcloths. Maybe 2, no 3, who am I kidding 4, better make it 5, seriously 6 skeins is the limit.
Am I bringing enough? Better toss in just one more thing — I don’t want to run out of projects.
Oh! Shellee is bringing blocking mats and wires. I need to bring the 3 shawls I have laying about that just need blocking!
While I was at The Knit and Crochet Show, more than one person commented to me that they couldn’t take classes the entire time because it was too much for them to absorb. Wasn’t I totally overwhelmed? Nope, not at all. The entire event was an adrenaline rush and I enjoyed every moment. A week after I got back, after reliving the entire event through writing the blog posts about it, I crashed. This wasn’t all because of the show; August is break month for the Harry Potter Knitting / Crochet House Cup. I push myself hard during the term, achieving feats of crafting that I otherwise wouldn’t attempt, and I appreciate break month! Don’t get me wrong — I still crafted and had fun adventures in August and September to date. Here’s the highlights.
August
S’s 5th Birthday Party
My cousin’s daughter turned 5 and had a birthday party at the zoo. It was the largest kid’s birthday party I’ve ever attended — 28 kids and 30+ adults. I made fondant cupcake toppers (I don’t think I’ve mentioned here that I’ve got mad cake skills? I don’t make cakes as often as in the past). Since I live 2+ hours from my cousin, she bought cupcakes locally and I put the toppers on when I arrived at the party.
Birthday party at the zoo = live animal show and tell!!
And I was the first person in line to get my face painted. I got to the party early so I could get those cupcake toppers on the cupcakes and the few children already there showed no interest in getting their face painted. I figured I’d beat the rush!
I knit the birthday girl a Barbie dress.
Sorting Yarn
A few months ago, my friend Nancy and I went to the home of a member of the weaver’s guild who had passed away (see my blog post). She wanted her yarn to benefit the guild. Nancy and I sorted it to pick out anything that was suitable for demos. We always have a little takeaway for kids and are constantly on the look out for yarn for those. We packed up any project kits or yarns suitable for weaving and brought those to the guild’s annual auction. The money raised from the sale of those yarns is designated for demos and will be used to buy yarn for takeaways once we use up our current stash.
Orlando Shakes Open House
From the Weavers Guild meeting, I went straight to the Orlando Shakespeare theater for their annual open house. I’ve never made it to this event before and had a great time. I went to all three panel discussions — one on lighting and sound production, one on building props, and one with the directors and educators about visioning and producing individual plays and the future of the troop. They also had a small display of props and costumes from previous productions. Here’s a small selection of the spectacular costumes, which are created in house, in conjunction with the theater department of a local university, and with the help of many volunteers.
Akerworks
My order from Akerworks arrived! I got 6 bobbins for my wheel (one in each style) and 3 drop spindles (one in each size). I didn’t take pictures before they got pressed into service, but I’m sure you’ll see pictures in future blog posts. I did take a picture of the lovely hand-written note Adan included in the box.
Ravenclaw Staff
I accepted a position as blog mistress for The Ravenclaw Aerie, the blog for the Ravenclaw Tower in the Harry Potter Knitting / Crochet House Cup. This is a big part of the reason for the neglect of my own blog; planning and executing for that blog has taken the time I had for blogging. Now that we’re on a schedule over there, I expect to be back to my own blog regularly! Most of what’s on The Ravenclaw Aerie is probably only of interest to those in Ravenclaw Tower or the Cup, but one of the first posts is about something else I did in August. Ravenclaw Porcupine Snuggles works at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. She and two of her colleagues drove from Baltimore to New Smyrna Beach, FL to release Cougar, a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle. I met them in New Smyrna Beach so I could witness the release, and Porcupine Snuggles and I wrote a blog post about it for the Aerie.
Disney with Beth
My friend Beth came on vacation for a week and we spent lots of time at Disney! We ate at the Be Our Guest restaurant in the new part of Fantasy Land in the Magic Kingdom. We did not expect to be able to get a reservation because this restaurant, the interior of which is a replica of the castle in Beauty and the Beast, is sold out 6 months in advance. We checked anyway; someone must have cancelled because we got a 1:15 pm reservation! The restaurant is stunning inside and out.
On the day we went to EPCOT, it poured. My mother, Beth, and I walked from The Land to Journey through the Imagination without seeing any one else walking around (everyone else was smarter than us — when we got to Journey through the Imagination, the ride was down because the building was struck by lightning!). It was eerie, and made us think about what the park is like after it closes. We waited for Journey through the Imagination to be back up, and after we got off the ride, the rain had settled down to a normal rain shower rather than a deluge. We headed towards the World Showcase, wading through a calf-deep puddle on our way there.
All the rain made for a beautiful sunset!
Sick
A couple days after Disney, my husband got sick with a very bad cold. I caught it from him and it turned into a sinus infection. Yuck! For the last week of August and the first week of September, we took turns feeling misearable. Not much got accomplished around here. I was coughing so much that fiber crafting wasn’t even viable 🙁
September
L’s Birthday
Fortunately, I felt better in time to fly to New York City for a long weekend celebrating my sister’s 40th birthday. Before she arrived on Friday evening, her friends and I went to the Global Fashion Capitals exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum. Here’s a couple of interesting pieces from that exhibit.
We were trying to decide what to do next when I saw someone walk by with a Mood bag. For those who aren’t familiar with the name, Mood is a fabric store and is the place contestants on Project Runway shop for the fabric used to make their creations. We decided to go to Mood and since it was a lovely day we walked the 10 blocks to the shop. I was totally overwhelmed by Mood. On the ground floor, there’s a two-story section of upholstery and other home decoration fabrics. To get to the main shop, you take this old elevator, operated by an elevator attendant, to the third floor. Once there, you have another 3 stories of every fabric imaginable. I have no idea how the contestants manage to shop for fabric in only 30 minutes!
Yes, I did pet Swatch!
One section of the leather department.
One day, we went to the Tenement Museum (no pix allowed there). Our grandfather grew up in the Depression-era tenements of the Bronx, so this was a poignant visit for us. Afterwards, we wandered around SoHo and I bought my first ever pair of Fluevogs.
Later that evening, my sister and her friends went to a play. They bought tickets before I committed to the trip, and I wasn’t able to get a ticket to the show. Instead, I took a train out to Long Island to visit law school classmates and meet their 4-month-old baby. It was good to see them!
The next day, my sister, her friends, and I went to the Cloisters Museum, and visited their famous room of unicorn tapestries.
We ate fabulous food every day, including the best doughnuts I’ve ever eaten, from The Doughnut Plant. The interior of the shop was adorable, with doughnut pillows on the wall, a doughnut tile backsplash, and donut chairs!
The last night, my sister and I stayed in her friend’s apartment in Brooklyn. The friend was out of town, but gave us a key. The apartment came with bonus kitty, Billie.
Billie was super sweet and reminded me of my Pepper, whom I still miss very much!
Although I lived in the Northeast for nearly 30 years, I had never spent more than an afternoon in New York City before this trip. I had a wonderful time and hope I get to visit again!
Spamalot
For the fifth year in a row, Chris and I have season tickets for the Orlando Shakespeare theater. The first show of the season was Spamalot! It was absolutely spectacular. If you have the opportunity, you should totally see this show.
Orlando Maker Faire
Last weekend was the Orlando Maker Faire. The Drunken Monkey Spinners and Weavers of Orlando shared a booth for the event. Nancy and I spent the entire weekend in the booth; other members of the two groups spent one day or the other.
This was the fourth year of the Orlando Maker Faire. Last year, they expanded from the Science Center and included some exhibits in the park. This year, they expanded further, with arts and crafts exhibits in the Orlando Museum of Art, which is located on the opposite side of the park from the Science Center. The expected attendance at this event was 15,000; I didn’t hear an actual number after the event, but it is by far the highest attendance at any event where I’ve demoed.
The Science Center was wall-to-wall people; the Art Museum, where we were located, was steady but manageable. This was a fantastic event to demo. The people coming to this events are makers themselves. They like to know how things work and ask lots of questions! I spun the 50/50 Camel Down / Silk that I bought from Red Fish Dyeworksat The Knit and Crochet Show. I only got 1 ounce spun, out of 4, in the 17 hours I spent spinning! This is partially because I talked to lots of people, but also because it is spinning very fine.
Hey — there’s one of the Akerworks bobbins I got in August!
Florida Fiber In
This weekend is the Florida Fiber In. I went last night, but won’t make it there the rest of the weekend. I picked up some Black-Faced Valois locks and some Bombyx Silk fiber, and spent a couple hours spinning and chatting!
Fiber Crafting
The new HPKCHC term started on September 1 and I’ve been crafting like a mad woman. I haven’t taken pix of anything yet, but I’m working on that today and tomorrow. I’ll have a Year of Projects update post sometime tomorrow.
Ongoing
I have also been working on improving skills to benefit my blog. I bought my first DSLR camera (a Canon 70D (affiliate link)) and a Pro-Am video camera (Canon XA-10 (affiliate link)). I added Adobe Stock to my Adobe Cloud subscription. I used my Lynda.com subscription to learn how to use Adobe Bridge, then used Bridge to move all my photos out of Apple’s Photos app and into their own folders on my external hard drive. I’m still working on adding metadata and tags to the photos. I had 19,000 photos and videos in Photos and have a very hard time actually finding anything when I’m looking for it! It’s a lot of work to organize, but I believe it will be worth it in the end. I’m just starting the Lynda.com courses on Adobe After Effects and Lightroom, to further improve my photography and videography skills.
So that’s the highlight reel of the last six weeks. What’s your highlights?
I went to TKGA primarily for education, but I signed up for every event I possibly could. Since I was traveling all the way across the country to attend this Conference, I might as well do All The Things! These extra events were the Market Preview, The Breakfast of Brilliance, and The Yarn Tasting. I realize that the title of this blog sounds like it is the last post in this series on TKGA. It is not. These extra events took place on Thursday and Friday. I’m publishing this post today since I’m writing in roughly chronological order. I did attend two classes on Saturday and I will post about them tomorrow.
But before I get to those events, I have to share this license plate, which Heather and I spotted in the hotel parking lot when we were on our way back from lunch on Thursday:
I particularly love how the setting sun looks like a ball of yarn!
The Market Preview
The market did not open to the public until Friday, but anyone attending the conference got to go into the market from 7 to 9 pm on Thursday. When we arrived 20 minutes before the doors opened, the line reached all the way across the lobby!
We’re waiting for those double doors in the distance to open.
The line grew quickly, snaking around the lobby. By the time the doors opened, the back of the line was nearly to the market doors.
First view of the market.
I headed straight to RedFish Dyeworks. I had not heard of these local dyers before, but during the Finishing Course on Thursday, Arenda showed us several Fair Isle sweaters she’d knit with their yarn and raved about their color sense. I bought a package of twelve 50g / 450 yard skeins of 20/2 silk for weaving:
I also bought 4 ounces of 50% silk / 50% baby camel roving. The roving is incredibly soft thanks to the baby camel fiber and has the sheen of silk. I can’t wait to spin it!
Newton’s Yarn Country booth was next door to RedFish Dyeworks. Their booth was standing room only!
They sell weaving yarns at excellent prices. I looked through the booth, but didn’t buy anything. Most of their yarns were cotton or tencel and I already have many cones of those fibers for weaving.
The Yarnover Truck was in the house. Like literally in the house, on the market floor.
Four Purls, a LYS in Lakeland, FL, has a yarn truck, which I’ve seen at various events (e.g. Orlando Distaff Day 2015), but it’s always parked outside. I love the name “Yarnover Truck.” I want to call them and ask them bring that yarn over. Too bad I live on the opposite side of the country. The inside of the truck is lovely, with built-in cubbies full of yarn:
I didn’t buy anything from them during the market preview, but I came back later to pick up some yarn for a baby blanket that I’m making for a friend.
Another booth carried Jelly Yarn.
Remember those jelly shoes every little girl had back in the late 70s and early 80s? This yarn feels just like those shoes. And some of the colors glow in the dark:
I resisted the temptation to buy some during the market preview because what would I actually do with it? While it’s tempting to think that I might knit myself jelly shoes (or slippers, perhaps) I’m certain they’d be too fragile to wear outside during a Florida summer. I was unable to resist its siren call for the entire Conference however. Three skeins came home with me (in Ravenclaw colors, of course).
Unique Market Features
The TKGA / CGOA Market had two unique features: The Brilliance Bar and a Yarn Winding Station.
During posted Office Hours, at least two Master Hand Knitter Committee Members manned the Brilliance Bar. Attendees could make an appointment to ask knitting-related questions. Whether you wanted a little info on the Master Hand Knitter program or you needed help trouble-shooting a current project, this was the place to go! I didn’t personally make an appointment — almost every class I took was taught by a Committee Member, so I had many opportunities to ask questions during the Conference. I’d love to hear comments from people who did visit the Brilliance Bar or people who worked it. What kind of help did you get? What was the craziest problem anyone brought to the Bar?
OMG. Every fiber event should have one of these. I realize it might not be practical for a large event like Maryland Sheep and Wool, but why haven’t I seen this at the smaller events I’ve attended? I could knit my new yarns NOW. I don’t have to wait to get home to my swift and ball winder!
CGOA Member Design Competition
Each year, CGOA (Crochet Guild of America) runs a Member Design Competition. Entrants must submit their work by July 1. Pieces are on display at the Conference Market and prizes are announced at the Saturday night banquet. “Entries must be original designs that have not been previously entered in this competition, previously published in any print or electronic media, or otherwise publicly available before the date of competition (our judges need to have never seen this work before). Entries do not have to be new or recently crocheted, as long as they are your own designs.” (from the Eligibility Guidelines, available on the members-only section of CGOA’s website). This year, crocheters could enter pieces in 7 categories: Fashion, Accessories, Home Decor and Afghans, Thread Crochet, Young Designer (25 years old or younger), and First-Time Entrant / Non-Professional (no designs previously published in any form). CGOA judges awarded prizes in each category. Anyone attending the Market could vote for one piece for the Attendee Favorite. Here’s a few of my favorites:
I though this afghan was knitted, but it is Tunisian Crochet.
I sent my newly engaged friend Stacy a picture of this and suggested she crochet it for her wedding gown. She’s a talented crocheter, but I don’t think she’s convinced that this would be the right thing for her!
My favorite pieces were all by the same person: fiber artist Kayt Ross. Her website (www.vivaciousart.com) is down, but she does have a Facebook page.
This crocheted cat suit probably looks unwearable:
But someone has actually worn it and looked amazing in it. I found this picture on Pinterest; it was pinned from the artist’s website.
Ross’s entry in the Afghan category was only partially visible under the other afghans. I love the color combination and the freeform shape.
Her piece Danikil Depression won Third Place in the Artistic Expression category. This one was so huge that it was difficult to get good pictures. Here’s a couple of angles.
Her piece Cobblestones won Second Place in the Artistic Expression category.
Finally, the piece that I considered the showstopper: “Emily Rose”. I voted for this one for People’s Choice. I don’t know if it won in that category or not, but it did win First Place in the First Time Entrant category and the overall Grand Prize. Yes, this really is crochet. I leaned in as close as I could get to the piece without touching it and even that close it was difficult to see the stitches. It’s beautiful work.
The list of all the winners, except People’s Choice, is on MarlyBird’s website. She was at the show and did book signings. I believe she was also one of the Design Competition Judges.
The Breakfast of Brilliance
The Breakfast of Brilliance started at 7:30 am Friday.
At this event, anyone who finished Master Knitter Level 3 (the final level) since the last Knit & Crochet Show received a pin from current Committee Chair Suzanne Bryan. A total of 13 people finished level 3 in the last year, but only 7 were able to come to San Diego. I asked Arenda if this was the most people to finish level 3 in one year. She didn’t know off the top of her head, but there’s no doubt that Master Knitters are an elite group. (While working on this blog post I ran across a page on TKGA’s website with pictures of each pinning ceremony since 2007. In 2007, 24 people received pins. In 2008 and 2010, 17 graduates received them.) In the 30 years of TKGA’s existence, only 300 people have completed Level 3. TKGA has the complete list of graduates on their website. Congratulations to all the new graduates!
Level 3 requires knitters to design two projects: a hat and a sweater. One must be Aran (that’s one color, with lots of cables, bobbles, and texture) and the other must be Fair Isle (that’s color work). The knitter can decide if he or she wants to make an Aran hat and Fair Isle sweater or vice versa. During breakfast, we had a fashion show of the new graduates’ final pieces. Some graduates modeled their own pieces. Master Hand Knitter Committee members modeled the rest. Each piece was beautiful! I didn’t get everyone’s names to match with the pieces and I didn’t get good pictures of all the pieces. These are the best pictures and information that I got during the event!
I particularly loved the double-helix look of the cables on this sweater and the seed stitch in the center of the cables. Seed stitch with cables is my new obsession.
Graduate (and new Committee Member) Carla Pera modeling her own hat.
Committee Member Joyce Jones modeling Carla Pera’s Sweater. I loved the vine detail at the neckline and the way the way the narrow cables emphasize the waist.
This graduate is modeling her own hat and sweater. She was the only one in the Fashion show to choose a Fair Isle Sweater and Aran Hat.
At the end of the Breakfast, we had a drawing for door prizes. Emma won a bag full of yarn. It was like Mary Poppins magical bag but full of yarn instead of mirrors or hat stands.
I’m not exaggerating — the bag held a wall of yarn!
The Yarn Tasting
The most important thing I have to say about the Yarn Tasting is THANK YOU to Arenda Holladay, Suzanne Bryan, Binka Schwan, and Charles Gandy. One hundred tickets were available for the Yarn Tasting and the event sold out. Each attendee left the event with 40 mini center pull balls of yarn. Arenda, Suzanne, Binka, and Charles hand wound those mini balls. That’s 4,000 mini balls. Arenda makes it sound easy; she’s even got a video on YouTube demonstrating how to wind them. I don’t care how easy they are to wind; it’s got to take a long time to wind 4,000 mini balls. Thank you all!
The Yarn Tasting was spectacular. There’s just no other word for it. I’ve never been to an event like this one and had only the vaguest idea what it would be like. We got to the ballroom 15 minutes before the doors opened, so of course there was a line.
When the doors opened, we all filed into the room. Committee members handed each attendee a goodie bag:
We used the goodie bags to collect our mini yarn balls during the event. When we got the bag, it only had 8 yarn balls in it.
The bag itself is part of our gift — it is moth-proof 4 mil plastic! In addition to the 8 yarn balls, each bag held coupons from several sponsors, a 16″ bamboo Chiao Goo needle in either US size 2 or US size 2.5, and 3 magazines.
As you may have guessed from the “Fiber Fiesta” on the event sign, the Yarn Tasting had a Mexican theme, which was carried throughout the night. Seven or eight varieties of yarn were scattered around the table. There was one mini ball / person of each variety.
The yarns from the table.
Somebody had to do it. Photo by Heather Weber.
Heather and I at the Yarn Tasting. Photo by Emma Anderson.
The placemats listed every yarn we got to sample. Each person got one mini ball of each variety of yarn listed here!
We got 8 mini balls in our bag and 7 or 8 on the table. The remaining samples were set up as a buffet.
Hey — I just realized this is as close as we get to a picture of Emma, Jo, Heather, and I together; we’re reflected in the mirror behind the buffet! Emma in the blue shirt, me to her right snapping the picture, Jo to my right, and Heather to her right.
We walked through the buffet, collecting one of each variety displayed.
The buffet sections were labeled by courses, just like they would be if we were getting food. A swatch of each yarn in that category decorated the tables. I believe Arenda knit all the swatches.
The Appetizer Yarns from the Buffet.
A mix of Comida and Dessert Yarns from the buffet.
Dessert Yarns from the buffet.
After we got our yarn from the buffet, Charles Gandy MCed a fashion show, featuring objects knit from sponsor yarns.
I did not get pattern names, model names, or knitter names for any of these projects — I was lucky just to get pictures! I only have pictures of a small fraction of the beautiful knitwear in this fashion show.
The baby sweater and the model’s cardigan are both part of the fashion show.
I submitted two items for the fashion show, but failed to take pictures of the models! The first was the Sand Tracks Scarf, knit with Swans Island yarn. The second was a Quinn Cabled Bag. In 2013 I knit 9 of these bags, each in a different color of Peace Fleece. I finished 8 of them and gave them as Christmas gifts. The 9th was mine. The knitting has been finished for more than 18 months, but it’s been sitting in my UFO pile, waiting for me to sew in the lining. Since I said I would submit it for the fashion show, I had to get that lining sewn in. I finally finished it during lunch on the day of the Fashion Show!
After the Fashion Show, anyone who submitted objects went to the ballroom next door to pick up their knitting. Everything looked beautiful, folded up in a row on tables!
As if everything we’d gotten already wasn’t enough, we each got a bag with 5 or 6 skeins of yarn as we left the Yarn Tasting, all donated by sponsors. Each person’s bag was a little different. Arenda suggested we head out to the lobby for a “Halloween candy swap” if we wanted to find enough skeins for large projects!
Like I said — a spectacular event!
Bonus: A Visit to Green Mountain Spinnery
Back in May, I went to Burlington, Vermont to attend my cousin’s college graduation. I drove from Burlington down to Northampton, MA to go to WEBS and meet up with some Ravelry friends, then on to Hartford, Connecticut to spend a couple of days visiting my sister. During my trip, I visited a total of 12 yarn shops! I keep threatening to write blog posts about the trip, but haven’t done it yet. One of the places I visited was Green Mountain Spinnery. Since they were one of the Yarn Tasting Sponsors, I thought I’d slip that visit into this post.
Green Mountain Spinnery is a co-op. Most of the people who work there are part owners of the company, and it is run on democratic principles. When I planned to visit the shop, I didn’t realize that it was a tiny retail space in the mill! As soon as I parked, I knew this wasn’t an ordinary yarn shop. This sorting table is right beside the parking area. Yes, that’s a pile of discarded wool, full of tags or debris.
There’s another big pile of discarded wool out back.
Over there by the pallets. It kinda looks like hay from this distance, but that’s all wool.
The entrance to the retail space:
Inside the retail space:
It was late in the day when I got there, and the mill was not operating. I did get a quick peek inside.
