In spite of the teaching being done, I still didn't sleep all that well on Saturday night. The convention is just so much fun, and my head is racing with ideas that all need to be worked out now, dang it!
For Sunday morning I took Carson Demers "Ergonomics for Knitters" class. I believe I had asked for a class like this on last year's feedback form. Alas, I don't recall the name of the knitter, but I sat next to someone who was wearing a beautiful blue, purple, and green Ann Feitelson Fair Isle cardigan. Hmmm, maybe it really is a good idea for the air conditioning to be turned up. Seeing a sweater like that in person makes you want to throw everything else aside and give Fair Isle a try.
Carson's class was exactly what you would expect. He did a wonderful job explaining what ergonomics is and what risk factors to watch. I got a little lost with some of the anatomy lesson, but it was fascinating none the less. And he had several videos of people knitting. It was amazing to see how many ways different people do this. There was one lady who knit super fast English style. There was another whose movements were so restful and soothing and thoroughly zen. I also felt very fortunate as most of the people in the class were there because they already had a problem with their hands or arms. Whit Robbins was in the class and she was one of the few who was there just to be sure she didn't develop issues. I was there because I need to be able to knit 40 hours a week if I want to accomplish my career goals. And I need to be sure I don't ruin my hands. So this class was definitely worth it.
At lunch time I went over to the market just to hang out. I saw local Gale Evans of Gale's Art whose work is always a colorful pleasure to spin. I finally met Jen Hagan of Figheadh Designs in person. She is such a delight! She comes to the Atlanta area about once a year to see family, so I hope one of the guilds will be able to snag her for a program sometime. I went over to the Trendsetter booth to thank Barry Klein for the student banquet goodies.
On my way to find his booth, I passed Windy Valley Musk Ox and a fabulous sample sweater with very interesting cables and tucks. I failed my will save against that very interesting pattern. Like much of the crowd, I eventually ended up over near the stage to await the drawing of the grand prize. This is the part where XRX gives out money. While waiting, I bumped into Gro, Amy, and Dana. It was so good to see Dana, who is a new bride only a month! I had put a card with a gift card in my purse for the weekend just in case I ran into her. So that worked out perfectly. The winning names weren't people I knew, but all that standing near the Yarn Place booth caused me to fail my will save against Herbert Niebling's Lyra pattern. I bought the kit with a dark violet lace yarn. Ahhhh.
My last class for the convention was "3-2-1: Three 2-color patterns, one color at a time" with Merike Saarniit. I took her Estonian Patent stitch class last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were several familiar faces in this class again. I got to sit between local amazing knitter Pam Cornutt and somebunnyslove. People take classes with Merike again and again. The Estonian knitting tradition is so rich and so interesting. The manipulations that have been invented are clever and fascinating. We started with an interesting double-stranded cast-on that produced a firm and decorative edge. Merike showed us a faux entrelac that is very stretchy and swirly. It could be used to make basic swirl socks, which somehow don't require heel turns because of the swirl construction. And that pattern made the cast-on edge scallop just a bit. She also showed us an embraced stitch and two patent stitch patterns. A number of people left early because they needed to catch flights home. And many, many people asked Merike about her book. It is going to be lovely when it comes out. And I'm not pestering her about the timing because I know it all takes much longer than it ought.
After class, I went over to the AKG booth which was already mostly broken down. Thank you to everyone who helped with that! I basically just took the balloons away. I do not know how a dozen mylar balloons and all my STITCHES stuff fit in the back of the Zippy Sippy, but somehow it all did. I still had blankets and shawls, so I was able to weight down the balloons so I could see out the rear view mirror. I was home by about 5:15 PM. It will take me the week to put everything away. Once again, a truly awesome weekend!
For Sunday morning I took Carson Demers "Ergonomics for Knitters" class. I believe I had asked for a class like this on last year's feedback form. Alas, I don't recall the name of the knitter, but I sat next to someone who was wearing a beautiful blue, purple, and green Ann Feitelson Fair Isle cardigan. Hmmm, maybe it really is a good idea for the air conditioning to be turned up. Seeing a sweater like that in person makes you want to throw everything else aside and give Fair Isle a try.
Carson's class was exactly what you would expect. He did a wonderful job explaining what ergonomics is and what risk factors to watch. I got a little lost with some of the anatomy lesson, but it was fascinating none the less. And he had several videos of people knitting. It was amazing to see how many ways different people do this. There was one lady who knit super fast English style. There was another whose movements were so restful and soothing and thoroughly zen. I also felt very fortunate as most of the people in the class were there because they already had a problem with their hands or arms. Whit Robbins was in the class and she was one of the few who was there just to be sure she didn't develop issues. I was there because I need to be able to knit 40 hours a week if I want to accomplish my career goals. And I need to be sure I don't ruin my hands. So this class was definitely worth it.
At lunch time I went over to the market just to hang out. I saw local Gale Evans of Gale's Art whose work is always a colorful pleasure to spin. I finally met Jen Hagan of Figheadh Designs in person. She is such a delight! She comes to the Atlanta area about once a year to see family, so I hope one of the guilds will be able to snag her for a program sometime. I went over to the Trendsetter booth to thank Barry Klein for the student banquet goodies.
On my way to find his booth, I passed Windy Valley Musk Ox and a fabulous sample sweater with very interesting cables and tucks. I failed my will save against that very interesting pattern. Like much of the crowd, I eventually ended up over near the stage to await the drawing of the grand prize. This is the part where XRX gives out money. While waiting, I bumped into Gro, Amy, and Dana. It was so good to see Dana, who is a new bride only a month! I had put a card with a gift card in my purse for the weekend just in case I ran into her. So that worked out perfectly. The winning names weren't people I knew, but all that standing near the Yarn Place booth caused me to fail my will save against Herbert Niebling's Lyra pattern. I bought the kit with a dark violet lace yarn. Ahhhh.
My last class for the convention was "3-2-1: Three 2-color patterns, one color at a time" with Merike Saarniit. I took her Estonian Patent stitch class last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. There were several familiar faces in this class again. I got to sit between local amazing knitter Pam Cornutt and somebunnyslove. People take classes with Merike again and again. The Estonian knitting tradition is so rich and so interesting. The manipulations that have been invented are clever and fascinating. We started with an interesting double-stranded cast-on that produced a firm and decorative edge. Merike showed us a faux entrelac that is very stretchy and swirly. It could be used to make basic swirl socks, which somehow don't require heel turns because of the swirl construction. And that pattern made the cast-on edge scallop just a bit. She also showed us an embraced stitch and two patent stitch patterns. A number of people left early because they needed to catch flights home. And many, many people asked Merike about her book. It is going to be lovely when it comes out. And I'm not pestering her about the timing because I know it all takes much longer than it ought.After class, I went over to the AKG booth which was already mostly broken down. Thank you to everyone who helped with that! I basically just took the balloons away. I do not know how a dozen mylar balloons and all my STITCHES stuff fit in the back of the Zippy Sippy, but somehow it all did. I still had blankets and shawls, so I was able to weight down the balloons so I could see out the rear view mirror. I was home by about 5:15 PM. It will take me the week to put everything away. Once again, a truly awesome weekend!
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