Rested, Sort Of

I was up for 33 hours, so you'd think I'd need at least 11 or 12 hours' sleep. After 8 hours, though, my body decided it was time for me to get up. I guess it wants a Spa report, too.

I didn't see anyone I knew when I first got there, but it wasn't long before I spied Julianne Moore Cheryl and her new 'do,



who, of course, had her Seraphim shawl for all to see (a small piece of which is in that collage, but it's her baby to show off in all its glory). Peeking out from behind Cheryl in the photo is Carole, and behind Cheryl's hands is Laurie.



I was also very excited to see Debbie, who was there with Kellee and who will hopefully manage to swing by here on their way home today. Juno was also there, as were PumpkinMama, with her very cute and surprisingly quiet little pumpkin in tow, and Monica, whose lovely handspun shawl also made it into the collage. I know there were others, too, but adding lack of sleep on top of an already poor memory is a bad combination when it comes to accurate journalism.

I even had a couple people come up to me and tell me they read this little blog. Had I been more coherent, I'm sure I would have blushed. I even remember (I think) April's name, but I will just tell you now that the next time you see me you'll have to remind me all over again (or is that you sitting next to Laurie?). My brain, as usual, is hellbent on causing me embarassment.




One of the neatest things there was all the circular sock knitting machines. These machines are antiques from the early 20th century and can crank out socks like nobody's business. They basically make long tubes of stockinette, but they can do short row heels and toes. The owner of this machine had made about 4 pairs of socks during the course of the day, connecting them with lengths of waste yarn. All that needed to be done to finish them was to knit ribbing at the top by hand (some machines can even do the ribbing) and graft the short-rowed toes. It made me want one ( even more), but there's going to have to be some serious destashing and getting rid of other clutter before I can even consider it.



My haul from this event is quite modest. I really showed admirable restraint, as the vendors really had some nice items. The wensleydale is from Grafton Fibers and will hopefully someday be turned into something light and lacy. The skein of superwash/mohair is from Pogo & Marsha at Friends' Folly Farm and may turn into a hat for Dulaan. And the 'Favorite Mittens' book I bought from Betsy at Quiltessentials. I also stopped by on my way out to see Dave Paul of The Merlin tree, and he fixed me up with a fresh peg for the Scotch tension on my Hitchhiker, since the original one has shrunk down in the dry air and hasn't been gripping well lately.

I did actually do a bit of knitting in the midst of all the socializing. I got a bit more done on the sweater sleeve. Only about 15 more rounds to go and I'll be able to join it to the body and start the second one. I took the Hitchhiker but didn't do any spinning while I was there. Cheryl and I did try showing Kate, whom I had not met previously, how to spin, and Carole imparted a truly precious piece of advice she'd heard given once on drafting ("Pretend you're giving the fiber a hand job.").

That's pretty much all I have to report. Laritza asked about the woman in the sheep cardigan. I really don't know. She just happened to be there when I snapped the photo of the room. Something in the back of my brain tells me that I've seen that or a similar design somewhere before, but whether it's a handknit or commercially-produced I couldn't say. And then there's the matter of my unreliable brain. I would welcome comment from anyone who might know, though.