Woodsock

It was intense and mind-numbing but both my classes were awesome. I took Bavarian Stockings and Don't Knock Knee Socks. My instructor for both classes was Joan Schrouder. She is a fabulous instructor. Very funny - she didn't wear a poodle skirt to the Sock Hop. She wore a strudel skirt. Ha ha ha! I learned several new cast ons. And my brain truly did hurt after navigating the charts for the twisted stitch cables/motifs (but Gladys' brain hurts more after Cat Bordhi messed it up). It took me over 5 hours of knitting to make this tiny little sample (front then back):



Here are all our samples together:


In Don't Knock Knee Socks, we learned how to measure our legs and we learned about gauge and the different ways to create extra fabric for my *ahem* shapely calves. And we knit a sample with a simple ribbing increase/decrease. I walked away from the class with a bunch of black dots on my right leg. Call it my new sock tattoos.

On Fri and Sat nights, I ditched my sock knitting pals and hung out with my cousin and her family. I hadn't seen her in about 30 years. It was great to catch up.

I met so many people, made new friends, connected with people from home, and got to see people that I only 'talk' to via email/Ravelry/online. I was in awe to be in the same room building city with such knitting icons as Barbara Walker (super long line-ups for her at the book signing), Cat Bordhi, Cookie A, Meg Swansen (and the legacy that Elizabeth Zimmerman leaves in her), plus many others. The amount of knitting intelligence in one place at the same time was mind-boggling.

I was very sad when the Luminary event ended because it marked the end of 4 days of fun, craziness, and socks. I am energized (despite the lack of sleep) and inspired by everything I saw & heard. It was an experience that I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life.

Woodsock: A sock knitting conference first held on Aug 6-9th 2009 in Portland, Oregon. It was billed as "Taking Sock Knitting Almost Too Far". This conference brought together thousands of knitters, instructors, and knitting vendors from all over the globe under one roof. An attempt to set a knitting world record was made (results still to be verified by Guiness officials). Despite the intense concentration of sharp pointy needles, only one needle inflicted injury was reported that required a quick trip to the ER. The area surrounding the Oregon Convention Center was reportedly covered with scraps of yarn and wooly lint while the faint odour of sheep hung in the air.

That about sums up Sock Summit for me. Sock on people, sock on.