Now I wasn't afraid about staying up late because I had nothing planned for Saturday morning. This was done purposefully. I left myself time if I had needed to do anything last-minute for my class. Since I was already prepared, my plan was to sleep in, then teach. Well, between the Earl Grey, the thrill of the party, and the excitement of teaching, I just couldn't sleep. I did a lot of lying in bed pretending I was asleep, and maybe a little light dozing. Eventually I got up and went in to the convention, figuring that I might as well sit and knit since sleeping clearly wasn't happening.
That was okay, because it gave me a chance to go spend that Knit Witch gift certificate. I picked out some beautiful light blue lace weight yarn. The yarn bowls were also tempting, but I just don't trust Brûlée and Vincent when it comes to pottery within reach of their paws. Thank you, Brittany, for the door prize!
I think class went well. For some reason, it took longer than it did the last time I taught it. I'll have to decide if I want to drop a sweater from the group or not. A big thank you to the fourteen ladies who took my class! I hope you all had a very good time and learned something new. I'll see the feedback forms in a couple months. I hope all of you gave honest feedback so I can teach better and so Rick knows if it is worth bringing me back. It was truly a pleasure to meet you all.
I should note here that Karen from Clicks and Sticks took my class. And she had a The Whole Nine Yarns button! Somehow I didn't get one of those buttons. And by the time I went to the shop on Monday for spin night, all the buttons were gone. Maybe Debi will do it again next year? Also, during the coffee break, I bumped into Jean Frost. Her daughter had failed to get one of the limited edition Ravelry at STITCHES South buttons, so I gave her mine. Perhaps we'll need a place for button trading at STITCHES?
At this point I need to mention a big thank you to the local folks who have been so supportive. I lost track of the number of people who came up to ask me how it went or to offer their support. North Georgia Knitting Guild had a nice tri-fold backdrop of various events, and one of them had a picture of me. They also had the Monkey Wrench square hanging up. Atlanta Knitting Guild let me put the Felted Southwestern Bowl out on their table. And I suspect that Debi Light and the rest of The Whole Nine Yarns crew have been saying nice things behind my back. Ya'all are why Atlanta is where my home is.
After class I reloaded my car and went to the market. Specifically, I went to knit on the Big Sock some more, but did a bit of chatting on the way. I stopped at the Skacel booth and said hello to Karin Skacel, who is a big fan of sock monkeys. I said hello again to Otto of Strauch fibers who saved me $600 by not bringing the drum carders to the show. I probably won't be so lucky next year. I did get to the Big Sock. I even found a dropped stitch and learned how to pick it up with a latch hook. Cool! I had finished a needle's worth and just moved on to the second when I remembered that teachers are supposed to get to the Student Banquet early. Scurry!
Before the banquet I got to chat with Joan Schrouder and Beth Brown-Reinsel. I've taken classes with both of these ladies and they are wonderful. And Beth's Knitting Ganseys book is an excellent classic! Ideally there should be one teacher at each table during the student banquet, so I moved to an empty table when the doors opened. I got lucky because I got to meet more great ladies, including Lorri who later won the whole fashion show with her handspun vest. I am glad, because this means she'll be back next year. Unfortunately, I didn't actually get to see Lorri on stage because I was out with the other teachers, posing for a group photo. But that was cool, too.
I happen to really like the Student Fashion Show. I love show and tell. I love sharing, but I also love seeing what other people are doing. And part of going to STITCHES is making new friends and meeting them again year after year. Last year Phyllis from Mississippi wowed with a sunrise jacket and matching shoes that were custom made in Italy. This year she showed a beautiful cabled reversible coat that also got her a prize. I think next year we should just start off with Phyllis as a returning champion, sort of like Iron Chef. Nancy the Knitting Gourmet had a whole ensemble of coat, hat, and mitts all with food names. Nancy was in Edie's Friday class, so I like to think we'll be seeing and hearing more from her. Diana Baber showed off a beautiful Candace Eisner-Strick shawl in the colors of the sunrise. Three ladies from Clicks and Sticks had made the Swirl Shawl as a knit along. Hats off to them, as I've heard that those hexagons can be less interesting after the first ten, tiresome after the first twenty, and slogging to the end.
And after the banquet, I found Betty Salpekar. She was able to autograph my sock book. I'll have to catch Charles D. Gandy and Amy Rutter on some other occasion. I was able to wish Betty good-bye before she left for Holland. I know she is working on a sock book. We talked some about the challenges of writing a knitting book. Betty has been knitting exclusively socks for some time now. If you are a creative knitter who likes to try new things, it is a real challenge to knit similar items over and over again. We also both have the good fortune to be able to live off our husband's single incomes. You would think with all this free time, it would be nothing to crank out a knitting book. How is it you have 40 hours a week and yet your work all moves slow as snails? A mystery, indeed.
That was okay, because it gave me a chance to go spend that Knit Witch gift certificate. I picked out some beautiful light blue lace weight yarn. The yarn bowls were also tempting, but I just don't trust Brûlée and Vincent when it comes to pottery within reach of their paws. Thank you, Brittany, for the door prize!I think class went well. For some reason, it took longer than it did the last time I taught it. I'll have to decide if I want to drop a sweater from the group or not. A big thank you to the fourteen ladies who took my class! I hope you all had a very good time and learned something new. I'll see the feedback forms in a couple months. I hope all of you gave honest feedback so I can teach better and so Rick knows if it is worth bringing me back. It was truly a pleasure to meet you all.
I should note here that Karen from Clicks and Sticks took my class. And she had a The Whole Nine Yarns button! Somehow I didn't get one of those buttons. And by the time I went to the shop on Monday for spin night, all the buttons were gone. Maybe Debi will do it again next year? Also, during the coffee break, I bumped into Jean Frost. Her daughter had failed to get one of the limited edition Ravelry at STITCHES South buttons, so I gave her mine. Perhaps we'll need a place for button trading at STITCHES?
At this point I need to mention a big thank you to the local folks who have been so supportive. I lost track of the number of people who came up to ask me how it went or to offer their support. North Georgia Knitting Guild had a nice tri-fold backdrop of various events, and one of them had a picture of me. They also had the Monkey Wrench square hanging up. Atlanta Knitting Guild let me put the Felted Southwestern Bowl out on their table. And I suspect that Debi Light and the rest of The Whole Nine Yarns crew have been saying nice things behind my back. Ya'all are why Atlanta is where my home is.
After class I reloaded my car and went to the market. Specifically, I went to knit on the Big Sock some more, but did a bit of chatting on the way. I stopped at the Skacel booth and said hello to Karin Skacel, who is a big fan of sock monkeys. I said hello again to Otto of Strauch fibers who saved me $600 by not bringing the drum carders to the show. I probably won't be so lucky next year. I did get to the Big Sock. I even found a dropped stitch and learned how to pick it up with a latch hook. Cool! I had finished a needle's worth and just moved on to the second when I remembered that teachers are supposed to get to the Student Banquet early. Scurry!
Before the banquet I got to chat with Joan Schrouder and Beth Brown-Reinsel. I've taken classes with both of these ladies and they are wonderful. And Beth's Knitting Ganseys book is an excellent classic! Ideally there should be one teacher at each table during the student banquet, so I moved to an empty table when the doors opened. I got lucky because I got to meet more great ladies, including Lorri who later won the whole fashion show with her handspun vest. I am glad, because this means she'll be back next year. Unfortunately, I didn't actually get to see Lorri on stage because I was out with the other teachers, posing for a group photo. But that was cool, too.
I happen to really like the Student Fashion Show. I love show and tell. I love sharing, but I also love seeing what other people are doing. And part of going to STITCHES is making new friends and meeting them again year after year. Last year Phyllis from Mississippi wowed with a sunrise jacket and matching shoes that were custom made in Italy. This year she showed a beautiful cabled reversible coat that also got her a prize. I think next year we should just start off with Phyllis as a returning champion, sort of like Iron Chef. Nancy the Knitting Gourmet had a whole ensemble of coat, hat, and mitts all with food names. Nancy was in Edie's Friday class, so I like to think we'll be seeing and hearing more from her. Diana Baber showed off a beautiful Candace Eisner-Strick shawl in the colors of the sunrise. Three ladies from Clicks and Sticks had made the Swirl Shawl as a knit along. Hats off to them, as I've heard that those hexagons can be less interesting after the first ten, tiresome after the first twenty, and slogging to the end.
And after the banquet, I found Betty Salpekar. She was able to autograph my sock book. I'll have to catch Charles D. Gandy and Amy Rutter on some other occasion. I was able to wish Betty good-bye before she left for Holland. I know she is working on a sock book. We talked some about the challenges of writing a knitting book. Betty has been knitting exclusively socks for some time now. If you are a creative knitter who likes to try new things, it is a real challenge to knit similar items over and over again. We also both have the good fortune to be able to live off our husband's single incomes. You would think with all this free time, it would be nothing to crank out a knitting book. How is it you have 40 hours a week and yet your work all moves slow as snails? A mystery, indeed.
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