Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

I am very fortunate that there are several weekends I look forward to each year. One of them is, of course, STITCHES South. The older I get, the more I know the calendar lies, because it can't be possible we've just finished the fifth STITCHES South. I signed up for Almost the Works. I've done The Works once, and while I love taking classes, that is a lot of classes even for me to soak up in one weekend. I'm finding that Almost the Works is the right pace for me. This STITCHES got off to a bit of a bumpy start for the organizers, as some of the nice XRX people were stuck in Sioux Falls SD due to a late-season snow! I know everyone was very grateful to arrive in Atlanta, and not just to see proof that spring does exist. Rick Mondragon was one of those delayed, so Laura Bryant gave the Opening Day talk instead. This did not bother me at all, as I had immediately acquired her new book Artful Color, Mindful Knits . Those of you who have many hand-painted yarns in your...

One of my favorite things about STITCHES is the opportunity to take classes. This year I took three. On Thursday afternoon I took Shannon Okey's "Get Published" class. Shannon is the genius behind Cooperative Press, who have published such great books as Alasdair Post-Quinn's Extreme Double Knitting . Shannon is definitely an extrovert. She gave a thorough handout and explained the pros and cons and options of self-publishing. Very helpful! On Saturday I took Susanna Hansson's "Bohus Stickning" class. Thank you to Pam who advised me to take this class. This is an all-day class and possibly the one for which Susanna is best known. She has an extensive personal collection of garments produced by the Bohus Stickning (1939-1969). This class was a great opportunity to learn not just the techniques but also the social history. If you have any interest in economic history or women's studies, this class is very much worth your time. The class fee of $25 ...

I remember getting to Exit 16, realizing I had forgotten to grab a sandwich out of the refrigerator, and deciding not to worry about it. Thanks to Thursday morning, I knew to expect rush hour traffic and I came prepared. Friday morning the front parking lot of Cobb Galleria Centre was already full by 8 AM. I believe there was another event of some kind -- something business-oriented and not as much fun, to be sure. It was the only day I left the Zippy Sippy in the covered parking underneath the front lot. But I still got off to a lovely morning. Lots of chatting with other knitters and ogling their beautiful finished objects. Registration was going fine and they had everything they needed. I think I passed Fran, who was wearing a different Clapotis from the previous day. I settled myself into Susanna Hansson's Lapland Hand Garment class. A couple people from the Thursday Japanese stitch class were also in this one, so that was nice and I was already feeling at home amongst...