Sock Summit 2009

Whoa! What an overwhelming experience. I didn't attend any classes, lectures, or social functions and I won't be able to see the Luminary panel that is being held today. All I did was go to the Marketplace, but that was enough to completely over-stimulate me. But oh, the stimulation. It was yarn love!

And to start off the day, the YarnLove booth by Sharon (of Three Irish Girls fame) and her partner, whose name I unfortunately did not catch. They co-own the YarnLove company. They also had Three Irish Girls yarn in the booth and it was the most dazzling display for me as it is completely my aesthetic. There are lots and lots of booths full of yarn in the Marketplace of course, and many of them I was able to walk right by without being drawn in for one reason or another and alot of it has to do with aesthetic. The ladies of YarnLove definitley have my aesthetic. I introduced myself to Sharon and told her how happy I was to be part of her sock club and she was just the nicest Yarnista you could imagine. She cares about her club and making it happy. I also told her how much I adore the photography on her website and she said she's glad to hear that since she works very hard on it. My rock-star moment of the day was talking to Sharon.


Here is the Frog Creek Fibers booth where I also bought a skein of yarn and told the owners how much I like their yarn and how nice it was that they are local. They were very sweet!



The next happy skein I bought came from Miss Babs Hand-dyed yarn from Mountain City, TN.


The photo really does not do their booth justice. They had ALOT of yarn. I bought the sweetest green-y, light blue-y, yellow-ish color called Bluegrass, mostly for the name and in honor of Bluegrass music which I love, but it is also a beautiful colorway. Can you imagine shipping all that yarn from Tennesee to Oregon? Hope they sell most of it so the shipping home is cheaper.


Dye Dreams from the Boston area:

beautiful yarns, fun kits, and fantastic, fabric project-bags with the most fun little beaded zipper pulls. Had to have one! Also got a kit with a skein and a sock pattern from their club. (I wonder if I can get away with joining another sock club? Would I be able to knit two pair a month, or would it just be gratuitous stash enhancement?) The patterns and yarn were beautiful!



Another rock-star moment was when I spied Kathy and Steve from Webs, America's yarn store

at their booth. I listen to these two every week on their podcast and its so cool to see them in the flesh. I did not introduce myself, by that time I was pretty beat but thought I should at least take a photo. Its blurry because Steve was looking right at me and I felt a little like a hay-seed in the big city taking pictures of famous people, although they're probably used to it. I did see the Yarn Harlot walking around the place as well, but restrained myself from taking a photo of her. I bet she'd be immune to cameras by this time.

I stopped myself from buying a circular needle from a man who makes glass needles. His work was gorgeous and I had a really difficult time tearing myself away, I was this close to buying them, but I persevered and will save that purchase for another day. He's from Drain, Oregon which is almost reason in itself to make the purchase!!

I met Wendy from HazelKnits in Seattle who had deals going with her yarn and pottery from a potter here in Bend. He makes 'yarn bowls', a bowl with a little notch in the top edge. Yarn sits in the bowl and as you knit, you pull the yarn through the notch. I REALLY want one, its a decorative way to store your work in progress and functional as well. I will check out her etsy store at a later date, she was a sweet and friendly girl.

There were so many booths worth noting but I could not mention them all here. It was a full, fun, and overwhelming day and I had a lovely time. I'm so glad we, as Oregonians, got to be so close to the excitement and be able to join in. It was worth the drive and a great opportunity to buy directly from the vendors in person. I had lots of great conversations with kniterati and strangers alike and feel like part of the larger community.

I will leave you with the official yarn bootie from the day:


Three Irish Girls Devon on Finley, Frog Creek Fibers Trix are for kids on Ebullient, Miss Babs Hand Dyed Bluegrass on Yummy, and Dye Dreams Wisteria on Twinkle Toes. A pattern called Cables Undone by Dye Dreams, and a pattern called Urban Strollers by Aurora Yarn.

Thank you, Stephanie and Tina, for a fantastic show!