Mack Truck Full of Fun

I’m not sure what happened to the last four days. All I can say is Sock Summit is like a Mack truck full of fun and after having a head on collision with it five days in a row I needed a little recovery time. Plus my husband, kids, dog and house (the dust bunny were attempting a coup) were desperate for a little attention and my butt was in need of a little personal time with the couch. I’m happy to say we’re all recovering nicely and I think I’ve finally got enough brain power to try and put some my Sock Summit experience into words.

Notice how I said “words”? I took my camera, made sure it was charged, and even brought an extra card for all the pictures I was going to take. Then, I took three. Which was really only two, since number two and three are pretty much the same. I took them all on set up day.

Here we have Tina giving me the, “Really, pictures? Kinda busy getting ready here.” look.

Second we have the Blue Moon booth before setup. So, how did I get these two very mediocre photos and nothing else?

Well, after unloading all the yarn we had to wait 10-15 minutes before we could get to the racks. Woo hoo! I’ll get a drink and grab a few shots (the photo kind, I wasn’t quite ready for the booze kind yet). I think that was just about the last 10-15 mins of downtime I had until Sunday night.

I could prattle on for pages about all the events, my classes, my crazy schedule and the wonderful people I saw, but that probably wouldn’t be the best use of time for me or for you. So I will point you to the lovely Clara Parks (nice to finally meet you in person!) and her Sock Summit post for a awesome summary of the event and then I give you …

My Top Ten Sock Summit Moments

1) Having my name called with all the truly amazing teachers at the opening dinner. Mind blowing and terrifying, but boy, did it make me feel cool.

2) Having one of my students come to the booth to tell me my class “changed her knitting life”. Awesome.

3) Meeting and hanging out with all the teachers at the teacher dinner. What’s better than being in a room full of super stars that share your love? Not much.

4) My kids having the chance to spend a whole week with my parents. They made a birdhouse with papa, pickles with nana, floated the river and went camping. I am so lucky to have the time to devote to something I love and know that my kids are not only well taken care of, but having the time of their lives.

5) Seeing people wearing my designs. The first Sock Summit was the first time I saw a knitter in the wild wearing one of my designs. This time I lost track of how many I saw. That, more than anything else, made me feel like maybe I was doing something right. It was like getting a big pat on the back. Makes all those days sitting home by myself wondering if anyone is going to like what I’m doing worth it.

6) Meeting all the students in my classes. Thanks to everyone who signed up. You were awesome!

7) Seeing knitters everywhere. Packed into the convention center, knitting on benches outside, and taking over every restaurant in the area. One muggle man behind me in line at Burgerville asked me, “Um.. What’s going on with all the yarn?”

8) Helping people pick out yarns and colors for patterns in the booth. Especially for Vancouver. I’m now stalking Ravelry to see how all combinations turn out.

9) Getting my teacher swag bag. Holy cow and thank you to all that donated! There was some really awesome stuff in there. I’m especially thrilled with my new Signature Needles and the Stitch Light.

10) Seeing old friends and making new ones. I loved knitting for 10 years before I knew a single other knitter, but it is so very much better is to have smart, funny, wonderful people to share it with.

Comments

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I never ran into you, but I did see lots of Flints walking around this year! Congrats on being a luminary! :)