SailingKnitter

So...this is it. The only picture I took (actually somebody else took of me) at the fabulous Sock Summit knitting event in Portland Oregon. Even though I was there a full day and a half, saw and fondled many wonderful objects, my camera stayed in my bag. Why was that? I think it's because I was in sensory overload not only from the woolly goodness of too much beautiful sock yarn, but also from the over-stimulation of seeing old friends and making new ones.

6000 rabid & ravishing sock knitters converged at the Sock Summit for classes, demonstrations, contests and shopping. The classes were taught by knitistas, gurus, authors, and the goddesses of the fiber craft world. I won a class from one of the vendors! So my Saturday morning was spent in the 3-D Embellishments for your socks class which was quite good fun.

On our first day, Carol (who I was visiting in Oregon), Sandi (drove up from Calif) and I headed into the massive Marketplace area which was filled with over 130 vendors. We agreed not to try and stay together so we could browse and buy at our own paces (and not embarrass each other with our squeals and drooling). We also assumed that Carol, who is a novice sock knitter would probably stay just an hour or so and then head out to run some errands in Portland.


The day sped by. When the marketplace closed that evening, I sat myself down at a table to knit and chat with other fiberly folks. Then something caught my eye and I looked up. There was Carol emerging from the market weighted down with 3 bags full. Her glazed eyes met mine and she staggered over to where I was sitting and fell into a chair. The yarn got her. It happens to so many of us. She never even stopped to eat or pee all day. Given the enormous quantity of luxury sock yarns in that hall it really shouldn't have been surprising. It happens to the best of us.

The sock photos here are all little baby socks made from my Tiny Treasures pattern with added embellishments. The pink and blue pairs were sent to the Mittens 4 Akkol program for the baby orphanage in Kazahstan. The little green pair were knit for Carol's friends Joyce and Guy who are expecting a grandbaby soon.  I love how the colors of the sock yarn matched up with some of Carols flowers on her back deck!

Introducing...the August/September sock for the Six Sox Knitalong Yahoo group - SCALLOPED LACE. It is a very simple lace and ribbing patterning on the leg and top of foot with just a touch of scallops on the cuff for that touch of girly-girl. This is my 4th design contribution to the Six Sox group over the past several years. Heck, I'm knitting anyway and need constant change and variety to keep me a happy cruiser so I might as well share what I've come up with, right?

When I first knit these and wrote up the pattern I wasn't really happy with the orange color of the yarn. But suddenly I'm seeing orange everywhere in clothing! I think the fashionistas are calling it "Tangerine", whatever. I just hope a teenage girl in Kazakhstan gets some warmth from them and feels pretty. Yep, these have already been mailed to the collection point for the Motherless Child Foundation.