Sisterhood of the Travelling Socks

Okay, I didn't go to Sock Summit 2009. I was sad; I felt the loss. I knew that sock knitters from all over the world (okay, maybe not - I don't know) were gathering in Portland, Oregon and I couldn't join them. Some of the most famous, creative and amazing knitting personas were in Portland without me. Me, I was working hard having just acquired a new job and having recently seperated from Yorble. I was knitting socks but I was doing it in Michigan. There was a load of change in my life in 2009 and it took a bit getting used to all of the changes.

Fast forward to 2010 - life is a bit more settled. Sweetpea lives here and we both knit. Me, I knit socks. Her - not so much; at least, not yet. There is no Sock Summit this year. I suffer no loss, no stress or worries knowing it is happening without me. Whew!

Now, there will be one in 2011. It'll be at the same time as the First Harvest (Lammas) sabbat. Maybe next year will be time for me learn more about knitting socks. Maybe it'll be time to head back to the west coast; it has been so long since I've been out that way. I believe that is the case. 2011 will be the year of socks for me.

Okay, some of this enthusiasm and desire for travel a year from now is fueled by the discussion threads on Ravelry. I saw some folks' entries about hotels and restaurants and how amazing the classes were in 2009. I got to thinking about hotels and started to panic when I noted that many people were already making reservations. Oh No! It's only 11 months away! What if no rooms are left!!?!?!?!

I know that sounds crazy and doesn't sound a bit like the calm and cool person that you know me to be - but, there you go. Anyway, I checked a couple of hotels in the area and then just made a reservation. Some of the nearby hotels (near the Oregon Convention Center) were unable to give me a room for the entire stay. Oh no!!! I found one place that had rooms like I wanted and had them available. Also, their rate was reasonable. The reasonableness might be scary because I don't know the quality of the place but my wallet likes the idea. Whew, once again!

Now I've got to figure out how to get there. I checked into the train. Wouldn't that be amazing?!? I'd love to sit and knit as the country sped by. It is a reasonalbe cost to take the Empire Builder from Chicago to Portland. It means, though, 45 hours in a seat. I could get a room on the train but that adds a hefty $600 per ticket (and, hopefully, Sweetpea will want to go). I thought about driving. All told, it is a 35 hour drive. There are two of us to drive and we could see some family along the way. Hmmmmmm.... we could share the driving and each have some time to knit. If gas prices remain stable, it would cost around $600 in fuel plus wear and tear on the car plus hotels (if we stop). All that gets to near the cost of a flight. Right now, some of the airlines have deals on flights. I am hoping that that'll keep up for a while. Fingers crossed!

Anyway, I have a room and I have the motivation to be able to get to Sock Summit 2011. What's next? I've got to convince Sweetpea that we should go, that we can afford it, that it is a good idea and that there are other wonderful things in Portland.

Hmmmm.....maybe I can lure her there with the promise of attending Fairieworlds. I hope it'll work.

Carry on.

The One in which I must decide

Well, I am off camping in a few days. Yepper, the city girl goes country for a bit every year. I head off into the great wild woods or vally or hills or wherever and get my nature groove on. I will spend 12 days enjoying the sounds, smells and sweet air of our Earth.

This year I am headed to the Pagan Spirit Gathering again. For years, it has been in Ohio but, this year it moves to Camp Zoe, MO. I will be enjoying the space with friends. Bunny, Sweetpea and I are camping together. It is the first year in quite a while that I've camped with others. That will sure be fun.

We've got loads of coordinating and packing to do. Who brings what for whom is a big set of questions. Mostly, we are working it out, though. My toughest decision isn't about my clothing or the books but, you guessed it, about my knitting. What projects do I bring??? Yep - projects, not project! I realize that it is a plural reference.

In years past, I haven't done much knitting. One year, I took a lovely skein of sock yarnn to knit. I even worked on the socks but I didn't get far. The yarn, you see, wasn't superwash and it was felting as I knit it in the 90 degree weather. Another year, I had the good sense to bring different yarn but it was fuzzy. Fuzzy and humidity/heat don't mix well. Sigh.

This year I have a multiple-pronged plan. I am taking a sock project. It is a simple set (I am an optimist) of socks in Tofutsies yarn. That might be good to knit. The second project is the Victoria parasol project. No wool or animal fiber to be found in that project. But, I worry it is too complex for those lazy hot days. The last project is going to be some wash cloths from Lily Sugar'n'Cream. One cannot go wrong with basic cotton. That'll be for the days when the sun or the heat addle my brain but my hands must still create.

So, here's to the great outdoors and to knitting in nature!!!

Returned home . . .

Well, I am back. I've been back for a few days. I spent a week in Florida and didn't see much sun. I was in St. Pete's and it was beautiful and warm, by Michigan standards, but we didn't get outside much. I was in a Leadership Development program that was amazing - but, it was inside.

I did take knitting along and got a bit done. I worked on the Marquis Gauntlets and the Noro Striped Scarf - a bit - here and there.

I didn't bring back any souveniers at all. I didn't have a rental car so I was limited to what what within walking distance. There were some wonderful restaurants and touristy places but no fiber fanatic help. I heard about a lovely shop but it was 7 miles away. While I was walking quite a bit - it was just too far.

Today, I finished the Marquis Gauntlets from elann.com. They are wonderful and, of course, photos will follow. Now, of course again, I want to start something new but, I won't. I am dedicated to working on UFOs and I must do that. I will work on the Noro Striped Scarf next. I do plan to do a beret to match - yikes! that would be new! I won't be buying any new yarn, though - so, I think that it still counts towards UFO completion.

Now, to knit.

Travel Souveniers

Well, I am, once again, on a yarn diet. Okay - not really a diet but a life style change. I may still buy yarn but, I won't use it right away. As I may have mentioned, I am trying to finish some UFOs this year. I want to get some projects done so that I can start new with a clear conscience.

Part of this is so that I can knit more for myself. It seems that I end up knitting so much for others that I don't get my projects done. So, I am going to try to avoid taking knitting requests this year. If I knit for others, it will be with Yule gifts in mind.

What does this have to do with travel, you ask? I can understand your confusion so I will explain. Because I am trying to use what I have and to pare down my projects, I probably won't be buying so much yarn that doesn't get knit right away. It seems that I use the purchase of fiber to help to fill my creative urges. When I don't have time to knit (or weave or sew), I buy materials instead. So, I am thinking that if I am actually knitting(or weaving or sewing), then the urges will be sated and I won't need to buy as much. Makes sense, right? Okay - follow me here . . . more knitting and less buying means I don't get to yarn stores much because I'll have less reason to go to my LYS. I won't get to see the new stuff and fondle the new fibers.

But, I travel for work and for play. When I travel, I like to bring back trinkets to remind me of where I was and when. Well, who needs another seashell toilet paper cover or a set of 50 state spoons? My plan is to visit local yarn stores in my travel destinations. I may, if the urge strikes, buy yarn from those foreign LYSs. But, because I will be travelling, I won't be adding to my stash. Oh, no!! Instead, I will be gathering souveniers from my travels. See? I knew you'd get it.

By the way, I am headed to Florida in a couple of weeks. I am traveling for work, really!!

Woohoo!! A finished project!!

Okay, okay - I made it to Manhattan and back without checking out a single yarn shop (she hangs her head in shame and shuffles her feet). I did, though, accomplish a couple of things. Woohoo!! Watch out - I feel a rationalization coming on!

I got to see some amazing sweaters - hand-made and machine made - and they weren't all on skinny models; some were actually being worn outside. Being in the Big Apple, I was near the epicenter of fashion (phooey on Milan and Paris) and saw some wonderfy assymetrical designs. It was inspiring and it gives me a new view of "Vogue Knitting."

Besides that, I finished my red, yellow and purple striped socks. I've been working on these for 2 months. I finished the first in August while with Miss Alabama and Miss Missouri in Tennessee. I started the 2nd sock at a Detroit Tigers game, worked on it in Atlanta (while there for work) and finished it in New York City. That's one well-traveled pair of socks.

I am calling these my 'fraternal socks' since they aren't identical. Well, I don't think any hand knit socks are really identical - but, these are a bit off. I started the first sock from the inside of the skein and the 2nd sock from the outside. Consequently, the stripes go in different directions. I could say this was a design choice, but, alas, no - it was an error. It is, now, though, a design feature. ;-)

There, those are my excuses for not making it to any yarn stores while in NYC!! Maybe next time.

Bad Blogger, Bad!!

Well, I had such great plans for this blog . . . I still do. But, as they say . . . "the best laid plans . . ." Cripes, I cannot even remember the rest of the quotation. Anyway, I still want to use this for knitting and fiber arts info and blogging. My thought is that I can use this exclusively for fiber and my life blog won't interfere.

That being said, here goes.I spent the weekend in Tennessee with some wonderful friends. We try to get together at least once a year to craft. In fact, we've been doing this for nearly 15 year and, since the beginning, called these "stitch and bitch" weekends. That phrase has been co-opted but, that's okay.The weekend was to celebrate my birthday. Alabama girl and Missouri girl paid to fly me from Michigan to Tennessee. Since we are all watching out waistlines, I wanted to do something special that did NOT involve cake. The One Skein has a pattern for knitted cupcakes so, I did that. I used Lion Brand cotton in fuschia for the cupcake 'cups' and two white yarns (one with multicolored, bright, 'sprinkles) for the frosting. This was fun; I packaged the cupcakes with tissue paper in little cake boxes so that they'd look like baked goods. They were fun to do and were well received. I was listening to the Knit Science podcast after I did them and the podcaster was discussing how she was going to knit cupcakes. She described the exact same color combination for her. What a hoot. When I can figure out how, I will post a photo.