1. I am at Port Ludlow, and the knitters arrive today. I’m pretty excited about that. 
2. I admit that at least part of the fun comes from the staff at the resort trying to act like a whole hotel full of knitters is absolutely normal and they aren’t flipped by it at all. It’s charming.
3. There is not a single room in this hotel rented to anyone but a knitter.
4. It’s like the world of my dreams.
5. I can’t wait until the store is open to the public on Saturday afternoon and even more knitters come.
6. It is not often that we outnumber them this way.
7. I can’t wait to see how they feel about the spinners.
8. I was so excited on the plane that I prematurely ended a sock. Now it’s too short and I have to rip it back. 
(Yarn, STR mediumweight, colour is a trial run of "blue Lagoon", which isn’t for sale yet but will be Nov. 28th.) pattern "Holidazed" by Anne Hanson.)
9. I hear that’s a common problem that happens to all knitters sooner or later and I shouldn’t feel badly about it.
Ooo, pretty colour!!
Pretty color! I wish I was in Port Ludlow. But maybe not; I’m in the Dominican Republic on vacation with my DH. 🙂 Some knitting is being done, but not as much as I had thought.
Enjoy all of the knitters and spinners.
Spinners at a knitting retreat? Heck yeah! Tell everyone where the yarn comes from, yo!
In a world in which everybody knits and the muggles are the weird ones…..
(said in movie preview voice)
Couldn’t even make it to 10, eh?
Have fun at the retreat. It sounds like a whole bunch of wonderful. I am sooo glad to hear about the too-short sock, I just did the same thing last weekend and have yet to rip it back. Hearing that this is common makes me feel loads better!
In a hotel full of knitters, might you find someone with short toes? OR auction the sock off!
I’d buy it and hang it in a frame to remind me that *incidents* are not catastrophic!
Enjoy! Have fun!
Don’t worry. You can find many cures on the internet for that premature problem. It doesn’t mean you love the sock any less.
A whole hotel of knitters – heavenly! Have fun confusing the hotel staff.
I totally love that colorway and will order some ASAP. I will probably have to wait until Christmas gifting is over, though, in order to avoid the guilt that erupts when I spend money on myself instead of my family. I’m spending money on them because I, as usual, totally underestimated my knitting for Christmas time and since I really don’t want to give boxes of yarn with a pattern taped to the top instead of completed gifts…. You know this song, right?
Anyway, on another note…. What’s up with all these great retreats on the opposite end of the universe???? Detroit is a great town. We have loads of convention centers. We are a train ride from Toronto (I know this, I’ve taken that train ride.) and you have at lease 10 zillion fans who can’t afford to travel that far but would love to spend a weekend knitting with you. Myself included. C’mon…. Do something fun in Michigan, will ya, please? Will ya, huh? Please????
Sounds like lots of fun. Sorry to hear about your sock being too short, love the yarn though.
Filling the hotel with your people – priceless.
I speak as one who has many times been among the few amid the muggles in the hotel, in a literary and costuming context. Maybe you will find that some of the staff there are secret yarn-users in one way or another.
It is exactly like one of my dreams, too! But I have to keep dreaming. Thank you for writing. It makes my day.
I lurve the colours of those socks!
have fun this weekend; sounds like heaven . . . no one but knitters for miles?? coolio!
oooh, i love your new socks; i was just thinking this week that i should cast on a pair of holidazed in a rare gems i have to take on my trip home for thanksgiving.
Wow, I agree with Sharon In Michigan. There are loads of around here who’d love to have a retreat with you. Some day, huh, please? Somewhere this side of the country.
I absolutely love the color of your yarn. Doesn’t Anne write great patterns? The combination is terrific.
And here I thought premature Kitchenering was a male problem…
Oh, I do wish I were in Port Ludlow! And I don’t even know where that is. But I’m sure it’s more interesting at this time than Missouri. I’m excited too! I just got my first skeins of Noro, which I’m going to use to learn double knitting! Only, I have to wait for the class, an entire week! Aaaagh!
I know, I’m being overly dramatic. Sorry. I had my first Irish Coffee of the fall earlier, and it tends to get me hyped up and happy. And overdramatic! Woo!
Have a grand time at the retreat! Send me a goodie bag if you have extras! And somebody take away my supply of exclamation points!
Maybe in my next life I’ll have one of those expensive phones that Twitter, and I’ll find out about the workshops first off, instead of hours later when they are full…
Sorry about the premature e-sock-ulation. 🙁
I was binding off a sock cuff last weekend (toe-up knitting), and cut the yarn before I did the last needle full of stitches.
Now I have two extra ends to deal with.
We all do it at least once.
That colorway is soooo beautiful! I’m absolutely jealous. (btw, don’t feel bad, the yarn knows you were just really excited :-P)
1-7: How very exciting for you!
8: Opps.
9: So true.
PS – I’m wearing SRK medium weight socks right now. I love them so.
I’m hiding in someone’s suitcase. I’ll sneak out when they leave the room and hide in the classrooms. I’m very used to sleeping in odd locations after 11+ days with Craig in ICU. #imaginaryknothysterical knitters are invading Port Ludlow. We are using cloaks of invisibility and managing mischief. “I solemnly promise I am up to no good.” Well maybe some good. I’ll need to ask for that colourway come Christmas.
Just remember we’ll be doing this again in April. You get to have it for 2 whole weeks instead of one weekend.
Have an absolutely fabulous time. Wish I could be there in real life. Enjoy it all and raise a glass for me. Hugs to all, Alice
Ha ha, I just started the heel flap on a second sock, right after I finished the 1 1/2 inch top ribbing! And the first sock was right in front of me, a good um 9″ longer! Oops, indeed!
I’m so bummed! We are less than an hour from all that knitterly mojo and can’t even come up to shop tomorrow:( Please come back soon, sniff, sniff….
Does this problem become increasingly common with age?
Premature sock endage? So many bad comments, so little time!
Oh! I’m so bummed I’m not there! Have a great time at the retreat everyone. Thanks for putting this together Steph, and I hope it is TERRIFIC!
Oh how I wish I could come up to buy things! Sadly, even if I could go, I have no money. I spent all my yarn allowance for a veeerrry long time at the BMFA booth at OFFF =D
Please tell me that you didn’t need alternate #8. I gave that spot up.
Can’t wait to see more!
OMG – I wish I was there! Just thinking about it gives me the heebie-jeebies, which I think comes from Harry Potter… someday… when I have a job again….have fun everybody!!
Is that a circular needle I see lurking behind those beautiful socks?!
Sock at a time on two circs, or two socks on two circus?
It’s a very beautiful, if short, sock. 🙂 Enjoy yourself! I would love to be there too.
re: #9 – LOL! Love it! My very first pair of socks went to my Mom, who is two full sizes smaller than I am, because I ended not one but two socks prematurely. I was just so darned excited to be knitting socks!
Hope you’re having a fabulous time.
I tried to post this before so if it posts twice, I’m very sorry.
re: #9 – LOL! Very funny. At least you get to continue knitting that gorgeous colorway. And I ended up with a pair that was a full two sizes too small when I ended prematurely on my first pair of socks.
Hope you’re having a great time.
maybe next time there is a retreat, you could have an essay competition for an all expense paid excursion for us poor sods. I’ll just have to live vicariously through your posts!
Love the color of the socks, really beautiful! I have small feet…. if you don’t want to reknit them 🙂
That colourway Blue Lagoon kind of reminds me of the Provincial Tartan of Alberta. It’s pretty.
I am so envious of all who will be there. I hope this is a recurring event and I am able to attend in the future.
Oooh, shiny news sock yarn colour! Loves it!
Ha! I heard #4 in my head before I read it. I read #3 and thought, that must be like living in a dreamland for her.
Well, its pretty, even if it is short.
Whoa, gorgeous colorway, short-socked that it is…
I just had a very up and down (literally) day, and this post made me laugh and smile. Every room has a knitter? Amazing! Kudos to the hotel staff for rolling with the changes. Maybe some of them can be converted over the weekend!
I had a supervisor exclaim with glee this week that she’s learning to knit. Apparently, I’m the knitter in residence at work. I was appropriately excited to bring one more over to our dark side!
oh that’s funny. took me a minute, ’cause it’s getting late.
That sounds like so much fun. I envy you, but I’ll try to struggle along here in LA, where it’s 70 degrees F, and partly cloudy with no chance of rain.
That was me two nights ago! I would have sworn the first sock fit me (some beautiful Cherry Hill yarn I’d been saving). Ready to sew up the toe on the second one (just like the first) and lo and behold, neither sock is long enough. All I can figure is my feet must have grown last week. What else could it be? I haven’t ripped yet. I’m emailing my best friend who used to wear the same size and asking her to measure her foot length – carefully – a centimeter shorter than mine and she may inherit some gorgeous socks!
Lucky you at Port Ludlow! Lucky me, I live where wool socks and jackets are still a month away. I have time to knit a new pair!
That was me two nights ago! I would have sworn the first sock fit me (some beautiful Cherry Hill yarn I’d been saving). Ready to sew up the toe on the second one (just like the first) and lo and behold, neither sock is long enough. All I can figure is my feet must have grown last week. What else could it be? I haven’t ripped yet. I’m emailing my best friend, who used to wear the same size and who lives in the snowbelt, and asking her to measure her foot length – carefully – a centimeter shorter than mine and she may inherit some gorgeous socks!
Lucky you at Port Ludlow! Lucky me, I live where wool socks and jackets are still a month away. I have time to knit a new pair!
Bwahahaa! They’ll never know what hit them.
I want that sock yarn very, very badly.
That’s why I like to do socks toe up. If they are a little too short, you can still wear them.
Premature toe finish is more likely when drinking alcohol. I would guess it might happen to you from time to time. If you feel it is imminent STOP and breathe deeply.
Sounds like great fun. It’s interesting going to Stitches in a big city like Baltimore or Atlantic City, where people look like they’re trying their best to “get” why all these knitter people are banding together, but I can’t imagine the feeling you must be experienceing there. Enjoy it!
:O)
Premature Sock-u-lation! Your readers totally RULE!!! hahahahaha! K.U.I. knitting under the influence!!! hahahahha! And sock envy!!!
ROFLOL! Aren’t knitters just GRAND! Good humour…and generous….ahem…
now about those short sock…I have short feet!
Enjoy your knitting time with fellow knitters!
Love the colorway of the new socks. And I’m sure the next time you knit socks, all will go just as planned!
Ahh! I wish I were there..love the chance to be with just knitters..enjoy, it is great for the sole..Laughter, stories and all..
Would #8 be an example of “premature end-sock-ulation”? 😉
Hope you have a wonderful time. I love the sock color.
I hear they have a pill for that now. Next thing you know, they’ll have commercials of attractive and friendly knitters with socks discussing the little problem of premature sock ending.
It’s like living in a knitter’s version of paradise…that is until it is time to go home.
And the staff always seems a bit mildly amused! Ah, Port Ludlow-wish I were there now with you guys! I know you are enjoying the time and fun. I just have to keep myself amused on Twitter with Imaginary Knot Hysterical-at least Nathania, Celia, Alice, Marcy, Debbi and Dianne are with me there!
PS-luckily our spy-network has infiltrated and are reporting back to us on all happenings!
The immortal song tip-toe through the two…leaps to mind.
That’s my dream too. I have no near knitters so the web is my sister knitter fix. You’ve got me knitting more than ever, want to tell you how much I enjoy you writing. Seeing a post makes my day.
I turned a heel too fast last year (first of a pair, decreased every row instead of every other) and didn’t notice till got to the toe of the second sock.
Actually, it was a year ago this week. How would I remember that? A baby was born around then 🙂
Hope Port Ludlow is everything you need! You certainly deserve it.
Another good reason for dpns! Prematurely ending a sock should only happen with one sock, at a time! I’ve done that but because I ended two socks, I just wear them with shoes.
Have grand fun in knitter’s paradise. Enjoy it for all of us who have to be satisfied with our knitting groups that only last hours at a time.
Sockus interruptus! Seriously, I love that colorway- -I have some Malabrigo merino in a similar hue and pattern that was given me as a b’day present and your sock makes me want to get it out and knit. Too bad I’ve got umpty jillion things to do for grad school! Enoy the retreat.
I suggest an east coast convention… we Massachusetts folk feel neglected, especially considering the, um, unpredictable weather in New England, which is usually conducive to good sock knitting. Love the colors and hope you have fun. Silly hotel-administration muggles 😀
I hope you had a good time today! You must have been busy; I haven’t seen a single tweet!
9 – take it as a sign that youre still in your knitter youth!
I double strand my heels. There was the time I finished the flap and cut the second strand before I discovered I’d forgotten to turn the heel. Whoops. (Actually I said a great many things other than whoops at the time).
Well… you know… these things happen. It was a sign of love, really… the atmosphere, the wool fumes… you can’t let it affect you! (Lovely color!)
Very nice colorway. You’ve done a lot of traveling recently to some lovely places. Best wishes for happy knitting!
Hee! Maybe it would help to think about baseball?
You mean you haven’t taught the hotel staff to knit yet?
I really enjoyed knitting the Holidazed sock pattern. I should knit another pair.
Too short for whom? I’ll take them. All of my socks end up too small for the phantom recipients and end up in my drawer. Little feet rule!!
Hmm, I wonder what the fire department thought of our spinning weekend? The oven set off the fire alarm at 8 am this morning. They were good sports…took pictures of us gathered around the fire truck.
I usually have some kind of length problem when knitting toe-up. There are so many people who are fond of this sock-knitting technique, I’m almost afraid to say I don’t really like it.
Sounds like so much fun! One day I too shall attend these massive knitter events.
Regarding #9: *snicker*
I did that on a car trip with my mom last month..i was knitting up a pot holder and i cut the yarn before i bound it off, so i ended up with a knot right in the middle of the very last row because i had to bind it off!
Sock = Mmmmmm!
I wish I worked at that hotel! It would have been a blasty blast.
How many of the hotel staff have come out of the woodwork with their knitting……???
How many of the hotel staff have come out of the woodwork with their knitting…..????
But if it lasts more than four hours, you should see a doctor…
It sounds like a blast. I hope you have a great time (which you should, because a gaggle of knitters is like a guaranteed great time for all).
Obviously, just about every knitter with internet access is there since there are so few comments here!
Hope you all have a wonderful time. Wishing I were there rather than here. Sigh.
When you plan one in the eastern parts, you could consider this: http://www.fingerlakeswinecountry.com/.
There is beautiful country, good places to stay, lots to see and do, and, most importantly, WINE!
Yeah I guess I am one of your dirtier minded readers. I was also going to say that premature sock knitting it just a natural sign of aging – nothing to worry about. 🙂
Is it acceptable to tip your wait staff with yarn?
Have a blast!!!
It’s the same way with anime conventions. An entire hotel full of cosplayers baffles the hell out of anyone there on business.
The fact that the group coming in AFTER the con was an entire convention of lacrosse players just added to the fun. Imagine a group of neon-clad girls in cat and bunny ears walking off an elevator into a crowd of 80 lacross players with piles of gear. Good times.
i’m glad you are having fun! that yarn is BEAUTIFUL, please make sure it becomes a reality!
Have fun at your knitting retreat. It sounds like fun. The sock machine…uh, my 17yo daughter… who whips out pair after pair of socks, always tries on her socks and asks my opinion about starting the toe! So far, I haven’t been wrong, about “another row or two” or “start the toe decreases now!”
The STR yarn is pretty, by the way! Emily got some STR yarn for Christmas last year.
The only problem with reattaching the yarn and working it to the correct length is that there is now a weak place where the yarns were joined. If you use the dreaded knot, there will be a little bump, which can be uncomfortable under shoes, or when walking (if it is on the bottom of the sock). If you graft the yarn (I am not sure of the correct term for unraveling the yarns and twisting the two pieces together), that is a weak place. You have my sympathy.
I know that you like to do these sock retreats, but have you ever considered doing one near your home? I assume that you do them at Port Ludlow because it is near Tina’s home and you are comfortable working with this resort. Have you considered starting an east coast equivalent, but near YOUR house, not Tina’s? It sounds like it would be very popular. Then you could switch between the coasts.
I guess by now the knitting event is winding down. Wish I could have been there — I’m sure it was a blast.
I’ll have to tell Tina how much I love the new STR colorway. Mrrrow.
Premature e-sock-ulation! (he-he)
I hate baggy socks, and in my concern over making sure they’re not too long, I regularly turn the heel too soon (knitting toe up) and have to rip back. You’re definitely not the only one.
lol I knit a sock too short yesterday because I’d run out of clean normal socks and I needed a pair of nice big thick ones so I could ride my bike down to craft night. It’s good to know that I’m not being crazy ripping back the toe and adding a few more rows to it.
Totally off topic, but check out this article about Doctors sans Borders: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/11/19/positive.ladies.football.zimbabwe/index.html?eref=rss_latest&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_latest+%28RSS%3A+Most+Recent%29
Am reading Free-Range Knitter. Just want you to be aware that cross stitchers suffer from an abundance of projects started – needle parked, fabric chosen and stitching started, with pattern set with it. How right you are about different locales needing different patterns. I take several projects on plane flights. i can’t stitch in the movies, however. Maybe I will take up knitting.