A hometown crowd

When I was flipping out on Friday, thinking about how it was that if I arsed it up in my hometown I wouldn't ever be able to live it down, I forgot to look at the flipside. If I didn't arse it up, speaking in front of friends and family was going to be awesome. At 7:00 on Friday, I found out what everyone else knew. There ain't nothing like a hometown crowd. The requisite sock pictures....

Dudes. There were so many knitters.

We all know that Toronto is a mecca for the kniterati, but wow. Seeing it is pretty wonderful thing.

(Actually, I think whether or not a bookstore full of hundreds of knitters is a good thing depends on who you are. If you are the knitters, who keep warning bookstores how many of you there are, and what a significant portion of their business you represent and asking for chairs, you might find this sort of thing very, very satisfying. If you are the bookstore that just figured it out the hard way...perhaps you would think otherwise.)

Martha has a fantastic recounting ( love the labels on her pictures. There's a few I would add to if I could) and Meredith's husband played brilliant paparazzi for her story here. It was a blast, and once I realized I wasn't going to die, it was sort of fun looking out there and seeing my mum and Joe's mum and dad, my kids, Joe, my nieces and brother-in-law, my friends, my knitter buddies, Yarn shop owners....all people I knew, although there were really lots of new faces too. I didn't take a lot of pictures because it was all happening sort of fast (and the panic thing the Indigo people had going on was really contagious...I hear that they were really fun to watch over the course of the evening.) and if I told you everything we would be here all day...but here are some highlights.
This is Jamie's beautiful baby. (A beautiful baby wearing wool soakers.)

Aven brought me one too.

Adrienne,

and Cathy

both brought their first sock mojo. (Have you ever noticed that these first socks people bring always look way better than your first sock looked? I mean, are the people with the sucky fist socks just not showing me, or was my first sock especially horrendous)

A thousand thanks to Chris and Marsha, who still have me laughing by supplying not just this years bacopa basket, but all the proof I needed that I'm not the only one who thinks it's freakin hilarious. Bacopa Cabana. Snork.

This is Jasmine and Derek from Edmonton...

Holidaying after renewing their vows and taking a little time out for knit-action.

Danny donated a wonderful hat to the hat collection...

and the hat collection was incredible. Since I was the hat lady for Toronto I got to have a really good long look at them before I donated them to Streetknit, and I was really impressed.

They are all really, really good hats. When we were done messing with Indigo, (Post in the comments if you have a story about Friday) I sallied down to The Spotted Dick (stop that giggling) and I have to tell you. Filling a whole pub up with knitters?

Bigtime fun. Bigtime.

Megan stayed long enough to get called home...

Rachel H, Joe and Ken (aka: The Dream Team who make all things possible.)

Partied it desperately hard.
Joe thanked Ken for his perpetual support.

(I said I wouldn't post that, but it's too damn cute.)

And me? I had a wonderful time. I'll say it again. Ain't nothing like a hometown crowd....

and a finished baby sweater.

Tomorrow we answer that burning question:
How many knitters can you fit in a bus shelter?

(PS. I should have known you would ask. Justin and Colin had an estimated 30 attendees. I think that counts as a trouncing.)