Monday: I flew home from a pretty wonderful retreat in Texas with Hill Country Weavers. It was run by some pretty awesome people, and some of my favourite colleagues were there, and my students were uniformly charming and clever, and I had a super big accident in the marketplace involving Woolfolk and MustStash Yarns. I’m not sorry. I knit all the way home on the flight, and finished the third of three projects in three days. (They were all small. More about that later.) I didn’t take very many pictures, but here’s a few snaps to show you what all went on. Rapid fire.
1. Julie Weisenberger, Ann Budd, Clara Parkes and I all showed up to do a podcast with Stacy from MustStash Yarns and Dianne from Suburban Stitcher.
Because the four of us rock it a little old school, we didn’t know it was video. This should explain why we’re dressed in the most boring clothes of all time, and my hair is funny. (Well, we can pretend my hair is funny for that reason.)
2. It was hot in Texas, or… I thought it was hot in Texas, but it turns out that it’s all perspective. While Clara (she’s from Maine) and I were the only people at the pool –
I saw a Texan knitter wearing gloves, and dinner was moved indoors because of the “cold”. (Every single time someone mentioned how chilly it was I giggled out loud.)
3. I am so charmed by cactus that I can’t even talk about it. It was everywhere. Just… growing. Outside. Like a real plant instead of something you coddle on your desk.
4. The marketplace let knitters run a tab. (Smart, and dangerous.)
Tuesday: I thought I was jet-lagged, but it turns out I was just lagging. I tidied up, didn’t unpack, made some attempt to bring order to my universe, and went out to a meeting to plan the training rides for the Bike Rally and get organized for a big meeting the next day. I also fixed my Co-Lead’s knitting – Cameron got a little mixed up with purling, but he’s doing really well – churning out a ribbed toque that he can wear so that he can say “yes” when people ask him if he made it.
As I walked home I reflected on the actual meaning of the word “cold.”
Wednesday: I looked longingly at my knitting, went back and forth with Cameron about nine-hundred and eighty seven times to come up with a schedule for Team Leads to sweep all the years rides, and went to a big Team Leader meeting. I knit on the streetcar.
Thursday: Ken’s 50th Birthday – and a nod to Samantha’s 22nd. (She was away when it was her day, we’re all playing catch up.) We had a big family dinner here, and I put 50 candles on Ken’s cake and almost burned the house down. (Not really, but it was totally amazing how much heat that thing put out.)
Sam got a hat I knit her for her birthday (she’s on a roll, having lost two Wurms in a row. This one was a simple slouchy hat to keep her ears warm. No pattern, I just faked it.)
While I was on my way home from Texas, I knit a little cowl that was in the gift bags everyone got. A simple, fast knit – done in a day. Everything Nice by Suzanne Middlebrooks, knit out of two half skeins of Shibui Silk Cloud.
I didn’t know who I’d knit it for, so that evening I put it up for grabs. It was instantly claimed by our young friend Keanu
after he checked to see how it looked on him.
Sam made sure he didn’t get carried away. There’s only one top knitwear model in these parts.
Friday: I’m making pizza for Luis.
You?