Looks like you are having a blast! Enjoy your down time.

What a great place to have fun and knit! Have a blast and relax a lot.

Knitters are a good people. And knitters for 5 days are even better.

Maybe I can get sent away to sock camp next year . . . I'm very, very jealous and also happy for you re: the planes!

That's possibly enough to tempt me to make a sock someday.

OMG! The balcony! The view! The deer? No, not the deer, Indianapolis is lousy with deer. They're an infestation, and cute as they are, they really like to eat hostas. Really. The yarn is absolutely luscious. Envy, envy, envy. Enjoy for all of us who can't be there.

Deeelicious colorway on that Rare Gem w/the deep cranberry-ish mix. What a great place to recharge especially at book tour time! Deer? Again? Looks as if he is figuring out if he should take a bit of that sock.

You didn't mention coffee. Generally, in this area there is plenty of the brown elixer. Enjoy the time, enjoy the break from the crazyness. Report fully on the camp games...please?

Huh.

Time was I wasn't going to forgive my parents for not sending me to Hogwarts.

Now I'm mad they didn't send me to Sock Camp.

Bless you Harlot, you need to walk and talk with your people.... not to say that at every knitting event, they are not your people, they are. But somehow I do get it. I was recently at a knitting retreat with other knitting guild people and to just be with 30 or so people who understand what a stash is, how important yarn and fiber is and to be with people who think in stitches per inch and rows per inch... People who can finish a sentence for you... Needless to say... we get it, we "feel" you...

Wow! I wish I could go to sock camp! Socks are my favorite thing to make right now. Stephanie you are so cool! You inspire and entertain me constantly. I have been reading your blog faithfully for a while now, but this is my first comment. I would so love to meet you, but alas, you aren't coming to central Ohio. 8^( Oh well, maybe some other time. Have a great time!!

I'm super jealous. Very, very super jealous.

I have fallen in love with your yarn - how beautiful! Glad you're having fun in a civilized version of nature.

Oh. I'm just so freaking jealous.

It sounds heavenly--and that view is amazing. I'm not sure there is any place more lovely than the Pacific Northwest. I wish I could be there too! I am envious of you all there knitting and fondling yarn and having a great time! I am teaching my first toe up sock class next week--I suppose I should make one this week then, never having actually done one... :-)

Tina, I'm wishing really hard for some of that Rare Gem too, along with the rare gem of the experience there. That deer. That view. Wow.

It's the perfect intermission to your book tour! You have on killer schedule, so you completely deserve some time off with your peeps. Enjoy your intermission...I can only imagine the antics on that island right now. Can't wait to see the next few posts...

Have some great down time...you deserve it. I was glad you chose not to blog during your brief stint at home. Especially as you mentioned to a few people at the Yarnery event that Joe had some special plans/expectations for your time together. I am so envious of your time on that balcony with the view. While the snow has left MN and the temps are about 15C, the winds are still howling!

That yarn is loverly! I'm so wishing I could go to sock camp, but I do have a wonderful knitting retreat that I'm going to in a week and a half and can't wait for that.

I love the deer sniffing on your sock. sniffsniffsniff!

Do they shirts really say, "Camp Crows Feet?"

Oh, so glad you all are having such a great time at my favorite place on earth....I highly recommend a field trip to Doe Bay on Orcas, and hooray for non-flight time for you, Steph:)

Sock camp sounds fabulous!

Sock Camp obviously rocks. Keep dancing........

What a wonderful interlude in the midst of all the crazy. Kind of like the calmness in the eye of a storm. What a great location to stock your sock drawers...(I'm sure you have more than one!) Looking forward to seeing you in Salt Lake City, I'm sure you will be much happier when you get there because of this time away! Maybe you will wear those rare gem socks in Salt Lake so we can see them! Happy sock Knitting!

Oh please, can I go to sock camp?!!! I am slowly weaning the family off my presence so I might be able to escape to sock camp or some other knitting camp!! Love the "rare gem" yarn!!

I cannot believe you got a wild deer to snuffle at the sock! How wonderful! I want that picture for my computer background. :)

Oh I just love the deer photo! (Those deer must get fed regularly by humans. Did he/she attempt to nibble the wool?)

It's just as well that the socks I'm making right now are Tempted yarn in colorway ENVY! (Beautiful greens!) Having gone to Quilt Retreats for several years, I know how much fun it is to be around people just like yourself doing something you all love for several days at a time. And really good timing! Relax, enjoy, de-stress -- you deserve it! (I want to go to Sock Camp, too!!!)

Wow, you sound like one of those Mastercard commercials where they list out the cost of everything and then the best part of it all, free. All 10 of yours sounds like the best part. What I wouldn't pay to go to one of those. Let's see, you've been on the tour for what, 2 weeks now? Ok, then, that sets the standard. Tell Jamie the WP that every 2 weeks of the book tour you need to spend the weekend with knitters away from the rest of the world with an open bar. She's the Wonder Publicist after all, she should be able to arrange that.

Oh yeah, that yarn? VERY nice. I want to see it closer though, maybe you could just mail some to me? I have pretty small feet, for a grown up, I'd probably only need like 220 yards. You know, just to see it better...

So jealous, nothing but knitting and knitting people for 5 WHOLE DAYS!!! Sounds like heaven to me.

Jealouseeee...

I hope Cece remembered to scope STR for me.

OMG! I cannot even tell you how amazingly jealous I am. Sock camp.... the envy is ridiculous. Meanwhile the rest of use (ahem.. me) are stuck here at work, not knitting, not balcony-ing and definitely not deer-ing. More pictures please! At least I can live vicariously through my computer. :)

Wow. It just doesn't get any better than that. Camp. With socks. With knitters. With a lovely balcony and a cup of coffee (I saw that cup of coffee). Heaven on earth. Enjoy!

I want to go to sock camp someday! That sounds awesome!

PS I found your blog when I was searching for an igoogle gadget for knitting. I've really enjoyed reading through the archives, and I love that you knit so many socks! Thank you for writing this wonderful blog!

Camp tee shirts and buffs? What the heck are buffs?

Sooooo pretty. I love the Northwest.

Five days without airports... Will you manage?

I am up to my eyeballs in jealousy. SOCK CAMP? Why am I not at sock camp? Oh yeah, I have young children. WAAAAAAA!

Can we have Sock Camp at Harbourfront?

I wanna go to sock camp! Sounds like my kind of people too - y'know, the ones who carry large purses containing God knows what but you can see a pair of needles poking right through the side of it and are obviously occupied with a portable UFO. No fair... *cries*
Have a great time, sweetie. You've definitely earned this enjoyable downtime.

Ah, I am from Washington and absolutely adore Orcas Island. I took my husband there for the first time last year. It is absolutely one of the most wonderful places on earth, particularly for the deer, and I have seen actual Orcas from the ferry. And the blackberries in the summer are wonderful. I hope to make it to sock camp some day!

If I start swimming now, I might be there by dinnertime...
(Sock project in a Ziploc bag so's it won't get wet in the Straits.)
Cat and Cookie? and you? in my same time zone?
The Left Coast may never be the same again.
Enjoy the no-plane time, and see you on the 21st!
Karen.

OMGOMG! Inexplicable Portland Knitting Fun! OMGOMG! Ok, now to come up with a good enough excuse that my boss will let me have the afternoon off. Can't wait to see you!

At least the dear are friendly here than in the cabin in the snowy woods.

Reminds me of my honeymoon -- a lake, a balcony with a view (the raccoons were adorable, if sneaky, little beggars!) and deer everywhere, including on the resort's golf course.

Sock camp sounds lovely!

Those aren't yarn-eating deer, are they? Because that would be bad. Very, very bad.

I want to be at sock capm and not here in poopy tax day hell!

It sounds just lovely. Oh, man, how I wish I were there. On this beautiful (but a bit cool at 12*C) day, I'm stuck inside working on my plant fiber presentation. And it's the end of the semester which means finals and everything in the world is due. Upside: I now know more about plant fibers than is reasonable for most human persons. Downside: very little time to knit and my butt is numb.

Knit a couple stitches for me, willya?

Oh, my, am I envious! Sock camp!! And I have two different Cookie A. patterns on the needles right now, even!

That deer looks like it's definitely *not* one of the homicidal deer people were warning you about ...

Talk about delightfully divine... enjoy... make good times.

all i can say is : mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm! and ... sighhhhhhhhhhh! is there any chance at all that this event could be offered in the summer time so that knitters who teach school in order to support their yarn habits could participate? please???

First thing is: nobody talks about Sock Camp.

Except knitters!

Love your view.

I'm so happy for you! Having been on a plane all too often myself recently and having been spared sleeping in an airport only to have to sleep (yes, overnight) ON THE BLOODY PLANE . . . GAH! I must tell you my knitting keeps me sane (the airport beer prevented me from going over the edge as well). That and snacks. I will pack more carry-on chocolate (airport chocolate not dark enough & too dear) next time and remember to wear clothes I can do airport-yoga in.

Hint: If you take your glasses off, you start to forget who might be watching. Desperate times, my friends.

Sorry Minneapolis was intense. You know what brutal winters can do to people; one looks for bright spots and you were like a comet swinging through.

Ooh, I hope you were successful in getting BMFA to sell that Rare Gems colorway. It is beautiful.

I'm glad you're getting some time to relax, and that balcony looks like the perfect place! Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy.

I vote we declare this "National Sock Camp Week" and all take off the next three days to celebrate in our own Inexplicable Knitting Behaviour way. Definitely more fun than "Poopy Tax Day" as someone mentioned earlier. In fact, I vote we declare April "Poopy Tax Month" here in the US.

Everyone else has said it -- me too: I'm jealous!

And yah, poopy tax day in the US -- bummer.

i'm glad your happy! now that your not on plane, i'm getting on one!

I just experienced a surge unlike no other...not even the one I got when I saw my sister in law's engagement ring. It sounds divine, and you have definitely earned your break. I can't wait to hear about it.

Wish I were there.

Do the deer appreciate your balcony dances as much as your cat appreciates your 'I've finished the (sock, book, sweater, insert other finished thing here)' dances of joy?

I am looking for a dictionary,
what is skeet?
what is kinnear?

Sounds like a lovely place! I am going to have to look for a knitting camp that is NOT strictly devoted to socks.

I can completely relate to your post on Sock Camp. I feel much the same way about a Clay Camp I attend (also in the Northwest, although inland). It's always refreshing to mind, body & spirit to be in the company of like minded creative folk.

Have fun!!!!!!!!!

I add my voice to the legions of jealous "I want to go to sock camp!!" people. I bet that when you proudly finish a sock and proudly pull it on and proudly walk around in it at sock camp - you do not immediately step in a present your dog left on the floor. Sigh!! In fact, at sock camp, I bet swatches never lie, cats never deposit hairballs on your patterns...and people finish second socks. OH I AM SO JEALOUS.

Ah well...at least I can dream, vividly and in technicolor.

OMG! BE CAREFUL! DON'T YOU KNOW THAT DEER WILL KILL YOU??? they'll headbutt you and chew out your liver sooner than LOOK at you. mean lil bastards.

;)

Orcas is easily among the most beautiful places on earth. I am so jealous. Maybe when my own children are teen agers and I am a famous book author I can go to sock camp with you and Cat and Cookie and everyone who is anyone in the knitting world. Have a nice time and enjoy the coffee there at the hotel. It's the best ever. :-)

The best part is that now you've caught up to yourself...until next week. The blogging about yesterday when today is flying by so you can blog about it tomorrow is wrong on so many levels.

Wow! Look how close that deer got to your sock without eating it! That's awesome (in the original sense of the word). I'm glad to see you're out enjoying nature (and yarn)!

Wow, a few days to rest and knit socks. Sounds almost like you may be in heaven. Sock camp might be a fun way to finally decide to try socks. I've never had an interest in it but I must admit following your blog is tempting me. The balcony view is beautiful. Rest. Knit. Drink.

No fair (well, in fact it is fair after all your hard work), I want to go to knitting camp. I need to reignite my inner capital K Knitter. I've lost my mojo. I need camp!

Invite me next time, would ya'? Surely, you wouldn't mind a mildly eccentric pretend farmer tagging along? I'll bring wine (got ya' there, didn't I?)

Relax. Have Fun. Enjoy.

I have a wonderful daughter who is flying me to Portland for 10 days. First to see the grandkids, but the impetus was I was telling her about you, Stephanie, and how much I wanted to see you and hear you talk again. Wooohoooo....Portland here I come

Good for you! You've earned every minute of joy you can squeeze out of sock camp. Enjoy!!

Whew. Not worried bout you a'tall now;)

Breathe it in- soak it up... rest, have fun--- suck in the knitterly energy n love;)

And- watch out for the deer-- they eat yarn ...oh no- thats squirrels- deer just stare you down.. that's right...;)

What a nice break for you amidst all the insanity. Five days of all out sockiness.

But are you sure that deer wasn't hired by the squirrels to scope your yarn out!?!?

Hope all is well for Rams (I had to read yesterday's blog in bits and pieces due to the fact my kids felt they ought to be fed--go figure).

All of that sounds heavenly. Enjoy the balcony!

Holy Crap! There's a sock camp on Orcas Island? I used to live on Whidbey Island and now live in Seattle and had no idea such a fairyland existed! Will there be a sock camp next yaer?

I am sooooooo green with envy! I am so glad you and others have this opportunity! Please give us all the details and take lots of pictures, please.

Doing some blog walking and came by way of a mutual friend. I think though I remember you from one of the knitting forums, I'm generally schcrochet if that rings a bell for you. Ding Dong! Sock Camp!!! OMG, how cool, how rreally really cool. Love the pics and would love to hear more about it. Your balcony looks wonderful. I was planning on a similar thing...to walk among my own (fabulous way to describe it), the end of next month with some of my on line gravers (some of have met). I've been looking forward to it for months, then hubby through a monkey wrench into my plans. sigh

Anyway, swing over to my blog for a visit. I'm excited about a sweater I FINALLY..finished. One of these days I would love to try my hand with socks.

Do have a wonderful time.
Sandy

deep and abiding jealousy and lust going on here. i oculd have spent my money on s ock camp! instead, it's going to the nebraska dept of revenue. sigh.

I am so jealous...beautiful place, beautiful knitters, beautiful socks...and the balcony looks like the perfect place to enjoy a nice cold microbrew.

So, do you ever have any tour dates in the south? We love you down here too! I'd be there in a heartbeat if you were within about 200 miles. I live in N. Texas, just so you know! =)

Have a great time. And I'm not envious at all.... really. (I'm such a liar).

I am so jealous--and more homesick than ever...that's where I wanna be-for the rest of my life..Say hi to Tina for me...next year..I'm there next year...

I totally want to go to sock camp. In fact, I was whining about it last night.

Have a great time, can't wait to hear all about it.

Orcas Island - so near and yet so far from my desk in the University District in Seattle. Sigh. It looks like all the elements of a wonderful time are present. Glad you are finally getting some relaxation time.

Someday I am going to go to Sock Camp. Is everyone else clicking on the island cams? So lovely and peaceful.

The San Juans are beautiful this time of year. I can't believe you let a deer get that close to your sock after your cabin experience. Although this deer doesn't look too wild. Last year y'all brough hand made chickens... I can only guess at what crazy projects you're all sharing this year. Glad you're taking a break and having fun.

I count my visit to Orcas Island as one of the most gorgeous places I've been in my life. To say I am envious is an understatement. For to be there, surrounded by knitters and yarn and brilliance and wine and sniffy deer? Well, I am a shocking shade of chartreuse. It sounds lovely.

OK, I'm never jealous. Until today. That looks heavenly. All of it!

I hope buff[s] doesn't mean there what it means here...

yay! please enjoy the good-week of no planes and i'd appreciate a little small bit of good-week karma sent here (to last until may 9th). nothing terrible but i'd like a do-over of yesterday and about 30-trillion more hours for today so i can both edit and knit. and i realized that i'm a dork and it's impossible for me to cross paths with webs on the 27th. i should learn to read a calendar ... at least i did stop by borders that night. i got to meet a friend for real. and for that i deeply thank you.

enjoy the str. i'm hoping that if i do indeed get to maryland this year there is a skein for me.

coin toss says next 10 minutes are for knitting. YAY! [yeah, it's a loaded coin. ;) ](sorry to be wordy, all the words i'm cutting have to go somewhere!)

I knit at the pool while my kids swim (we have a pool in our neighborhood) and my neighbor told me last year "You know you can buy those at Wal mart now". How can you compare my fine hand knit socks to imported Chinese cottonpoly socks?

Sock Camp -- how cool is that!!! A whole week of NOT having to explain yourself to anyone, not having to justify time spent knitting, or buying yarn, or touching yarn, or talking about yarn and needles and all the knitting minutia that is never to trivial to be discussed for hours... All so wonderful, except the Deer. Deer are eating my roses and my wisteria.. DO NOT believe the Sunset garden book which states wisteria is a deer resistant plant... it's a lie I tell you, A LIE!!!

I WANT TO BE THERE!!!!(yes, I am yelling) I love socks. I have 30 pair that I have made for myself and 25 for my husband. I make tons for friends and family and I have 20 skeins just waiting. I NEED TO BE THERE (more yelling.) To quote Napoleon Dynamite: "Lucky!!!!" Have a blast and keep us posted so we can all remain SO jealous.

I'm jealous! Sock Camp sounds like such fun. Instead I get to stay at home and do housework. At least Southern Ontario is starting to feel like spring. We're in double digits today! Enjoy your break :)

ooooo dreamy! 5 days with just knitters and sock yarn **sigh**

So the other day in St. Paul you were saying that if you had a little money for every time a non-knitter said something like "I wish I had the patience to knit" or similar things...today someone said those exact words to me. I laughed a little on the inside! I hope you a fantastic time at Sock Camp!

You're killing me... I was signed up to go, and ended up going to the other side of the world instead....

I was waiting for you to tell us a story of how the deer walked off eating your yarn, but I guess yarn theft is limited to the furry grey bandits . . . enjoy and get some relaxation!

Ohhh...this is why it stinks to be a teen knitter. You try to casually broach the topic and your parents look at you like "You want to go halfway across the country so you can listen to people talk about socks?!" Okay, so I haven't brought it up yet, but that's what they would do. You'd think as a fellow crafter my mother would be a little more supportive.

What I wouldn't give to hear the Sock Camp song.

I was just wondering where is sock camp is at and how do we go about getting involved??

Lucky, lucky, lucky...

Cool! I"m getting a contact high off the wool fumes--ex-cellent!

Just the fact that there is a sock camp has boggled the few brain cells that remain in my poor little sleep-deprived head, but it sounds fabulous. Just thinking of all of you there, living and breathing socks, may be the incentive I need to finally finish my socks. (I work on them all through a five month musical, and I can't bring myself to finish the last measly inch of the second one!) Enjoy the view and the knitting for all of us stuck here among the muggles.

Wait a second..... Deer? Deer are one of your favorite things?

It seems to me that you had quite a bit to say about deer in your blog when you were staying in that cabin, and now you're sharing your sock with one?

Sock Camp sounds just heavenly! Deer nonwithstanding.

I don't believe it! I just left Orcas Island yesterday! I drove by Rosario on my way out!! I was visiting my cousin, his wife and their 6-mo old twin baby girls and it was a beautiful weekend. This is too weird to me because the last vacation I took last summer was right when you came to my town for a reading/book signing (Petaluma, CA). BooHoo! I want to go to sock camp with all the cool kids.
No seriously, it just seems a little too 'small world' to me. Orcas is delightful. Sweet little yarn shoppe called Poppies--the gal was wonderfully helpful to me the other day trying to figure out what I'm going to make those little girls. And as you'll probably hear, there are farms on the island that produce their own yarn. Enjoy! And one of these days, I'm going catch you. :> NOT that stalking or anything. No, not at all.

Relax and enjoy!

I'm jealous. What an awesome experience. I'd love to have just a day of knitting! But five! Sweeeeet!

ahhhhhhhhhh. Thanks for sharing - it's a little bit like being there :)

I am at camp in spirit. The water you look at from your balcony is the water I am looking at from my desk. No better way to spend a week than among people who think wet wool should be a perfume.

Sock camp...that sounds like heaven. A place where everyone understands you and no one looks at you strangely if you try to explain why you love making socks. I have a circular sock knitting machine, and I'm contemplating going to one of the CSM weekends, where everyone sits and cranks out socks for 3 days. Try explaining that to people. It gets a worse reaction than telling them you knit the regular way.

De-Lurking long enough to say I moved from Seattle to Colorado a few years ago and I miss it every day. Hope you see some Orca Whales!

Also, would it be entirely inappropriate (i.e. weird) to tell you that I am always mentally composing knitting-related notes to you? I have only been knitting for 6 months, but I enjoy your blog sooo much, that I have knitted a Harlot Poncho for my 16 month old daughter (mini-poncho = super cute!), I signed up for my first sock class, and I am currently trying to self design a hat for my son with a bulldozer on it (in purl stitch relief - got carried away with the concept of the fishbowl baby hat in One Skein Wonders). Also, I am trying to convert everyone within earshot to the wonders of knitting, but from what I understand, that, at least, is perfectly normal knitterly behavior.

Steph, I disagree with you about whose arse is going to get kicked. It is the one from the far North. I hope it won't hurt too much.
Your friend,
Cat

is there a betting pool
ms bordhi looks in pretty
good shape to me

I grew up on Lopez Island...we used to call Orcas "Orcatraz"
;-D
Have fun!

OMG - I am so freakin' jealous! If had a spare moment I would go to Orcas Island right now and just try to get a glimpse of the crazy fun... But oh yeah, reality is 3 kids and too much to do before next Monday when I'll most likely leave them all behind to visit you at Third Place Books. Perhaps I should bring the baby though? I know you appreciate a cute stash weasel, and that's certainly what she is if there ever was one. See you then, and have a blast at sock camp! (How could you not?!!!)

I wanna go to Sock Camp! We were at Rosario for your 25th anniversary weekend last month. It was so nice!

I am so green with envy. I was born and raised in the Puget Sound area.

When we got married I wanted to go to Orcas Island for our honeymoon in the worst way, but Sweet Hubby insisted on Banff, in Canada. A nice place, but it was 17F below zero and we didn't ski, and there's only so much time you can spend in the hotel before you need a break. Brrr, it was cold (though I did get to walk up a waterfall that was frozen solid).

Ok, I just made the mistake of trying to explain what I was giggling at to a non knitter. She just kept saying "Sock camp....?"........
"Sock Camp....?...really?....?" I stopped trying to explain it finally. It became painful.
I am extending a very belated thank you to you Stephanie. The Yarnery event was so wondrous. I sat just grinning like the village idiot for the entire evening. That is when I wasn't laughing until the tears came. In the end I was waaayyy too shy to even have my books signed. I feared dissolving into gibberish and perhaps passing out. So I just admired you cooing at the sweet babies for awhile and toddled home, glowing from the inside out. If I am lucky enough to be that close to you again, I might try to actually say hi.
Glad you are recharging your batteries.
peace, fran

For at least two (maybe 3?) years I have drooled over your description of Sock Camp. I want to go so bad I would give my stash away to go. It sounds like knitting bliss (though I was quite fond of Stitches East and found that to be a yarn mecca of sorts... And I was working...).

Enjoy you're "down time" and being planted firmly on the Earth. :)

Me=jealous

I'm glad you're getting a break from touring. Knit lots of socks, buy more yarn than necessary, and live vicariously for those of us who don't get to go to camp :)

So jealous! I wanna be at Sock Camp :( Have a good time for all of us, Steph.

hmmmm... I was chatting with her today. Is that the face she was making?

You mean there's a camp for people like us??? I'm going to cry for joy

Enjoy yourself! I'll be missing all you guys. Have a great week.

Jealous!!! =)

Okay, A) Jealous! B) Cat! Even more jealous! C) Did that deer eat your sock?

In the balcony picture it looks like you have everything you need to recover from the first and most brutal leg of the book tour. I see coffee, knitting, a wonderful view, and lots of quiet if you want it. No, I'm wrong, there is NO chocolate. Have a lovely week.

I wish we had a sock camp in Colorado. We have all the elements except for the sea. Enjoy your time there.

I'm so thrilled to be going to the Portland event! I'll be the one with the big ole pregnant belly!

If I were Catholic I'd be doing a whole lot of penance this week. Jealousy is an ugly thing. It was the shot off your balcony that did it. That and the deer with the sock. Bliss.

I got to see you in St. Paul. It was a good beginning to a bad patch in my life. Don't ask. Getting there was a nightmare. I got there more than an hour early to go "standby" but there were no places in the ramp to park. I tried the streets. No places. Finally, I drove home (only a couple of miles away) and my DH dropped me off and picked me up. It was worth it even if I did miss the very beginning. I love the Canadian accent. It is charming and you are very funny.

I'm so jealous I could spit! What a neat week you're going to have! I know you work really hard, are away from your family a lot, and writing books (or maybe I should say finishing them) sounds like it should be one of Dante's 9 levels of Hell but man oh man, it sounds like Sock Camp is definitely one of the perks! What fun it would be to hang around with people as talented as Tina,Cat Bordhi and Cookie of the way cool sock patterns. Yep, I'm definitely envious LOL! At least I get to take a 2 day sock class with Cat Bordhi in May. That should be great fun! I hope you have a great time. I can't wait to hear more about it!

Ooh so jealous. Please tell us more when we see you in September in the Uk. So excited about IKnit!

I am so happy for you that for the next few days you'll be surrounded by beauty and not airports. I'd be doing a happy balcony dance too if I were in your socks. That's a gorgeous view! I hope there aren't any squirrels on the island. Enjoy!

Oh yes, it does sound like a good week. Enjoy and keep us posted!

Cookie!!! I love her work. I've knit up more than a couple of pairs of her socks from Knitty.com and they are so beautiful. And I love challenging patterns. I'm a born-again knitter after having thought for years that it was "boring". So I did needlework for years. But now I'm obsessed. And I want to knit EVERYTHING I see. I wish I was at camp too.

I think I may die of envy...

That sounds so very wonderful! Jealous! Jealous! Jealous!

I'm going to my very first knitting retreat in June and I am idiotic with anticipation.

That deer looks like she's wondering if that yarn tail is something yummy.

Enough. I have had enough of you getting to do fun things with your life (yes, I remember about having to get up early; nonetheless...), while I slave away. I wanna go to sock camp, even though I don't like to knit socks. I wanna hang out with crazed knitters. So, it's time for you to share. We need a virtual sock/whatever camp, and you are just the crazed sort to organize it (OK, Tina can help). For a small donation (the price of a skein of sock yarn) to Knitters without Borders, knitters everywhere can log onto a communal blog, starting at 5 PM some Friday night, and then whoop it up till 4:30 Sunday afternoon. Classes and demonstration by world-renowned sock artistes, plus dyers, spinners, and weavers (hey, I've just taken it up, so bear with me). Inspirational/funny kickoff lecture by you at 7 PM Friday night. Midnight pizza parties. Spin-off real-life sock camps scattered across the globe, all linked through the magic of the WWW. All captured digitally. You get the idea. Now make it happen. I can't, I'm a nobody.

You are so lucky to be on that beautiful island with nothing to do but knit. Here in the real world people keep expecting to be fed and taken care of by me-really inibits my knitting time! :)
Your soul will be happy and rested again .
I get to take a class from Cat in August --I start to shiver when I think about it.

Do you see that wicked green glow from waaaaay down south? Do ya? That's me, in Australia, being jealous,big style. I am jealous not only of sock camp but of the fact that you people have knitting camps and stitches events and all sorts of other good stuff and you all get to meet people like Stephanie and have workshops with Cat Bordhi and I know I am beginnig to sound like a whinging toddler but it's not fair! We don't have things like that so much in Oz. Too much space between all the knitting clusters perhaps. I have to go and be bitter and twisted now. Enjoy the good stuff for me.

Looks like a total blast!

Sounds like you are going to have (and are having) an awesome time!!! How I envy you!

Sounds idyllic..
Did that deer make off with your sock though?
Yeah, don't be fooled by those big doe eyes, he'd have your arm off ya know, if you weren't careful.
Oh yeah they may look cute and innocent but I heard of a knitter here who was mauled by a fawn when they tried to protect their jay walkers from being stolen. It wasn't a pretty sight.
The knitter I mean, not the jays. They were lovely.

*the above statement may not have factual content*
Lovely sock though, and that's a fact ;)

damn i wanna be in sock camp toooooooooo *cry*

why is it that all this cool things are going on in the staates and there is none nada nix nothing cool happening in ireland (where i am at the moment)or in germany (where i will be living again in 6 weeks)
i wanna be surrounded by crafty people:-(

i hope you are having a great time!!! and thank you for your blog and your books ( i actually just ordered 2 of them and cant wait for them to arrive) all the best- mara

Ahh. I think Sock Camp must be Heaven. KT assured me a few days ago that one day I would get to go. To Heaven? I hope so.

Heh heh! I was waiting for Cat's rebuttal...

I'm jealous.

Tell Cookie that Sock #4 is done.

Have fun.

Hey! I'm just outside of Vancouver if you've got time for a side trip! There's 2 great yarn shops in Langley to visit. I've just started knitting this month and haven't had the guts to try anything remotely like a sock yet. I've crocheted a few pair, though. Have fun at camp.

Wait, what? Sock Camp? Can I go? My in-laws live on Orcas! I swear I won't take up much space! (Sadly, I've just gotten back from a work-passion related conference, so I don't have energy for a hobby-passion related one just this second. My brain is already full.) Next year, however, if I can find a way to sneak in and be a fly on the wall...

I wanted to go to this camp so bad! But Thursday is my daughter's 13th birthday, and I wanted to spend it with her even more. Maybe next year (heavy sigh)...

I wish I was there with you! Instead I'm moving into a new house and taking care of the shop. My heart is there on Orcas with you, Cat, Cookie, Tina and all those knitters.

Does Tina know yet what the dates for next years camp will be?

Funny- Cat Bordhi doesn't look like an insane genius.. she looks like the rest of us;)

PS- I am coming to Toronto for the MBGK launch at Lettuce Knit and the knitters frolic... YAY!

Wishing you and all there great fun and lots of down time.

See, the deer at the cabin were preparing you for their cousin at sock camp... who looks to be very well behaved.

And Cookie is at Camp with you? Cookie A? I guess she won't be reading the nice pm I sent her through Ravelry. (I just finished my first pair of Mingus socks last night and wanted to tell someone who would really care.)

Dang this job thing. I want to go to sock camp!

I wanna go to sock camp. Have to teach kids how to use a library instead. Can you bring sock camp to the Vancouver region? And why isn't Vancouver on your book tour?

Woo hoo! I am so glad that you get to walk amongst your own and relax and enjoy something that is such a big part of who you are. Whew, that was a loooooooong sentence.

Hey, are you excited that Sockpixie is naming a colorway after you????!!!?????

The view from your balcony makes my heart feel at peace. That sounds so schmaltzy, but it's true. It looks like northern Minnesota where part of my heart lives.

Hmm, I dunno, that deer looks kinds hungry...

I'm so jealous! But in a good way. And you've inspired me to finish the gray sock so I can move on to the fuchsia ones. :)

Looks like so much fun! :)

Mmmmm Sock Camp sounds much better than boot camp!

My dear Harlotta...the envy I have for you has no bounds. I love my elementary school children at work (most all of them). But spring break is two weeks past already with no end in sight until June 19 or something like that. To be amongst the knitterly for that many days in a row, with a view (and the teenagers at home) is to weep.

You do deserve it, however, and we will all wind ourselves back into a neat orderly ball if you continue to send lovely missives (and pictures of the deer and Cookie and yarn).

wow. just wow.

sock camp. what a concept.

maybe if i am very, very good, when my four little darlings are all grown up i will get to go. a week of sock knitting. i can't even begin to imagine, but i'm willing to try!

You are so lucky to be there - I visited Orcas Island for a Quilt Camp in November of last year .... my best HS friend lives in Friday Harbor - so I am way jealous that you are there and I am here! Wave when you ride by on the ferry - BTY, you do know there is an LOVELY ALPACA farm on Friday HArbor don't you ???? ..... and that the nuns on Shaw ISland have sheep and wool .... ???? Do I get a finder fee? HAve fun.

I'm trying not to feel angry at you. Really, I'm not. All this time, I've made a few minutes every few days to sit back with a cup of coffee in the evening and quickly make it through your blog, content in the thought that someone has a crazier schedule than me.

(Although, whenever you go on tour, you do get less sleep than me... Perhaps I shouldn't be so upset)

Regardless of my jealousy, I am glad you went to Orcas Island. Sixth grade in Seattle (Bellevue) required almost necessary attendance to a weeklong camp at Orcas Island. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful.

Just...

Beware of the raccoons. Seriously.

Oh, and the water is too cold for skinny-dipping. But I'm sure you're smart enough to know that.

Portland on Earth Day AND a sale at a great lys, Northwest Wools. Check it out!

I'm glad that you are having a respite from all of the travel! Have fun!

I got jelous by #7.
Hope you have a great time!

This is a bit off topic (though the socks you're working on are scrumptious and I hope you're having the oodles of fun at sock camp that you deserve) but are there any plans for further collaboration between you and Joe? On audiobooks I mean, as I'm sure you and Joe collaborate on many many things on a regular basis. Whenever life gets too busy for actual knitting, I can pop in the audiobooks for At Knits End and Casts Off and it gives me my "fix" for the day. I'd love to see some more, though all us knitters are terribly spoiled now that you read the first two.

Thanks!

I am so insanely jealous of everyone who gets to go to sock camp it's not even funny. I can't think of a lovelier way to spend a week!

So, so jealous of Sock Camp!
That rare gems is pretty nice too!

I'M JEALOUS! My in-laws live on San Juan Island (the neighbor to Orcas), Our DREAM house is on that island... I had no idea they had such a knitting event there... Oh even more reason to move! Hug the islands for me! That area is truly a little piece of heavan!

Hi Stephanie!,
Some info. that you may already know...
Looks like from the light-post in your picture that you are staying at/by Rosario? Or is it at Indralaya? Have you done much sightseeing? If you're at Rosario, you're right next to the park(Moran State) and Cascade Falls are really pretty this time of year. I'm sure if you've had any sunbreaks you've been up on Mt. Constitution(if you haven't been yet, but do go, dress verrry warmly with it's elevation it's super cold up on the tower at the top). If you get a chance to visit the Artworks Co-operative Gallery in Olga(go for fresh cinnamon rolls at the adjoining Cafe Olga or their blackberry or sour cherry pie), there are some knitters there and I turned them on to your blog over the past year or so. Some of them participate in a sheep-to-shawl competition each year at the county fair.
Also Eastsound is the main shopping area of Orcas. I believe Rosario has courtesy vans that shuttle guests all over. Also interesting is Orcas Island Pottery (oldest pottery shop on island)outside of "town"(Eastsound) and Crow Valley Pottery in Eastsound. There is a yarn shop(Poppies) in Eastsound as well - but I'm sure you already know that.
Also Inn at Ship Bay does nice dinner food. (expensivish but high quality). Also surprisingly the little TexMex place Chimayo in Eastsound does nice dinners too. -- Just if you're going out away from the resort for dinner.
I don't knit, but have so much fun reading your blog. I live just outside the park going towards Olga. It's a small world! I thought I may have seen you earlier and thought you looked familiar - but then again you're famous!
Also, San Juan Island has a cool outdoor sculpture park(Westcott Bay), a beautiful mostly deserted stretch of beach next to American Camp and I think a brew-pub in town. So it's a fun place to visit - though not as geographically diverse as Orcas.
Welcome to Orcas!

Ok, I am new to sock knitting, but addicted none the same. Please tell me what is sock camp and how do I get there? Sounds wonderful. Thanks for the help

I was on San Juan Island this week and thanks for brrringgg the snow! We just got home tonight (Sunday April 20). We were on Orcas on Wed. and I thought about you guys having fun! I did a lot of knitting though, while we watched every kind of weather and Coastal Sea Life. See you in Portland Tuesday!

I'm so envious.... a camp devoted to the holiest of holies. Ahhhhh.....Except for the brown bone in the nose sock monkey (that was kinda borderline racist to me, maybe because I'm black), the experience looks absolutely stellar. I hope you stoke up megadoses of relaxation before you resume your book tour.

I am going to knit a monkey for my daughter to take to college in the fall...TOO CUTE