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Knitting in the Heartland…the short version « »
I’m back home, feeling totally inspired and maybe even a little bit gung ho, and knitting SOCKS! We JUST stepped through the door and I had to sit down and write about my weekend before I sit down to knit and review Glam Knits.
FIRST…let me tell you that the Sunflower Knitters Guild can organize a
convention! Everything was so wonderfully put together. Events ran on schedule, people and things were where they were supposed to be when they were supposed to be there…and if not…someone made sure that that changed QUICKLY. And the vendor market was EXCELLENT. I went over budget by a healthy 50%. So much variety and lots of things that I’d heard of but hadn’t seen in person before.
Oh! And I started knitting a pair of SOCKS (in happy-feet!) How long since I’ve knit socks? The last pair I finished was probably 2003. Seriously. I’m knitting them toe up with a short-row heel. And so far, I’m not using any instructions, just trying to knit from memory…we’ll see how that goes when I get to the heel!
I’m SO glad that I was invited to go!!
(This is Jo. We’ve known each other online for a LONG time and FINALLY got to meet this weekend. Well, this is Jo after several very hectic days and a few nights of no sleep!)
On Friday, Jo and Teri met Me, Mom and Mazie at the airport. They were nice enough to take us all the way to the hotel to hand Mazie off to her eagerly awaiting Japel grandparents (who had decided that we were just too close to them in Sioux City not to drive down and visit us) before taking us to the cutest and best-stocked yarn shop I’ve seen in a WHILE. Amber has done a really great thing in opening Miskints! I picked up a couple hanks of Happy Feet ( colorway 8 ) and a T-shirt (that I’m wearing right now!)
We went to dinner with most of the organizing committee (Me, Mom, Jo, Teri, Jo, Sandra) at Blue Koi. I got the shrimp with Chinese Curry…YUM. After that, it was back to the hotel to hang out with M&M (Marv and Mary) a while, knit, and get ready for Saturday.
I taught “Fitted Knits Techniques” first and “Airy Wrap” second. We figured out how to custom size the airy wrap for these who are in-between sizes. It was such a genuine pleasure to teach these knitters! I’m STILL in awe as to how knowledgeable they are and REALLY in awe as to how gung ho they are! They were such a treat!
Saturday night, we went to dinner with 20 KC area knitters! How cool is THAT!? There were bacon jokes, tales of *another* (more famous) teen-author-Stefanie, and some truly crazy camping stories. Did you know that you can send all the ticks to the other end of the campground by letting off a bug bomb outside? Did you know that the older girl scouts know how to catch rabbits and prepare them to eat?? Or that major purchases by husbands justify the purchase of MORE YARN? I don’t hang out with enough knitters.
On Sunday, “Drop Stitch Tank” class went really well. The last time I taught that, we spent like an hour and a half getting our swatches under control…but these ladies just came in with their perfect swatches and went to town. We custom-fit everyone’s DSTs! The second class “Converting Flat Patterns to Circular” didn’t start out as smoothly as I would have liked. Advice: don’t put your most math-intensive class LAST on a big weekend! The Sunflowers were so awesome, though, that it ended up warm and fuzzy.
After class, the girls (Jo, Gwen, Carmen, Teri, Christine, Jo) invited me out to dinner to recap the weekend and give ourselves small backpats and hugs and a little bit of mutual admiration over a job well done.
(Photo courtesy of me…stealing it from Gwen!…Jo and Jo are missing…Teri, Carmen, me, and Gwen are all there.)
If you’re in the area next time…or if they ask you to teach, GO!
(I’ll get pics of my haul tomorrow in the daylight!)
This entry was posted on Monday, April 7th, 2008 at 11:31 pm and is filed under Trips, events, press. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
5 Responses to “Knitting in the Heartland…the short version”
I’m bummed I didn’t get over to the event to meet you & do all the fun stuff! (BUT! Carmen called from the market and left a message that you were buying my handmade DPN holders, and that :totally: made my entire weekend!) I’m glad you had such a good visit to KC, and got to experience what a friendly, great place it is….and I hope to meet you next time you’re out this way!
It was WONDERFUL to meet you and take your class and see adorable Mazie! I’m glad you had a good weekend, with some dangerous shopping and husband stories. Best of luck - can’t wait to read the new book!
I’ve been a fan of your blog for a long time and I thought well I should try a long shot here. I just opened a website… I mean just (today) www.darngoodyarn.com. I’m trying to spread the word because I import 100%child labor free & free trade recycled silk yarn from Nepal for $37 for 500g with free shipping always.
Thanks for any feedback.
Respectfully,
Nicole
I was so excited to come to the vendor room - if only to get my book signed by you! It was wonderful to meet you in person - your blog is one of the first I started to regularly read when I took up knitting again a few years back. Ken, my hubby, was happy to oblige his knitting obsessed wife - and the older ladies loved him. My daughter, Casey, was even a joy at the event - when we saw a lady with a baby outside the room we asked if it was Maize and Casey repeated the name back - pretty good for a two year old i thought. Thanks for being a highlight on our K.C. trip (we’re the ones from New Jersey).
Hey Stefanie! Thanks so much for coming out to KC! It was great to meet you and take your “Fitted Knits Techniques” class!
…and you’ll never look at bacon the same way again…
Sarah