I was just typing this big thing about how I know I hardly ever post on Saturdays, but this week I'm doing it because I can't really tell what day of the week it is, when I realized that it's actually Friday, and proved my point entirely. I think I might be a little stunned.
I arrived in Seattle for Madrona Wednesday pretty late, and yesterday all I had to do was prep for my classes and pull together the Teacher Talent Night for Charity - which I would say went off without a hitch last night, but there's always hitches, and it's a great deal of its charm. I'd tell you all about it, but there is a strict media ban in place, and that means that what happens at Madrona, stays at Madrona, and you shouldn't be hearing anything about what the teachers did last night, other than that they were fabulous, brave and lovely. It's a really fun fundraiser, and I'm as honoured as always that Suzanne lets me have my way with it.
Since I can't tell you anything about that (and oh, how I wish I could. You should really come next year) I had the time yesterday to go on a little walk through the marketplace. This is sort of a rare treat for me, ususally I can't find the time to really poke around, and I'd forgotten both how much I like it, and how much it costs me. I snapped a few shots as I wandered through, there's a ton to see, but here's a few things I noticed as I went.
(Tracy, making new weavers out of thin air.) 
A bison puppet, charming vintage look patterns from Blue Sky Alpacas, and Andrea's absolutely incredible recycled cashmere all found at the Fiber Gallery.)
(Dyed silk cocoons from Chameleon Colorworks. I might have bought these I don't even know for what, just yet.)
An ocean of Kid Silk Haze at Churchmouse Yarns and Teas. Traditionally, this yarn has been a weekness for me, but my resistance was good here, although the weekend is young.)
(Glass Flower top knitting needles from Ernst Finely Crafted Glass. My picture doesn't do these justice.).jpg)
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The amazing colours at Opulent Fibers. I think I'm going back for the hemp.
Jennie the Potter. Sigh. Go look at the buttons..jpg)
Spindlewood Spindles. All lovely, every one.
Amazing marketplace. For today, big plans. I have a date with a great wheel, I'm teaching a class this afternoon, and if you'd like a visit and you're in the area, I'll be part of a great lineup of teachers doing a book signing from 5 to 6 (or until nobody comes and we all get hungry.) Come and say hi if you like. I'm going to try and sit next to Clara
I'm jealous. Wish I could be there. It looks like so much fun. Maybe next year!
One of these days I am totally going to be there! The cocoons look like fiber skittles...me want!
Posted by: Erin Cathcart at February 15, 2013 12:28 PMSigh, 45 minutes away and I still I can't get there. However a trip to Toronto is in the making :)
i hope you enjoy your stay in our fair state. Im about a half hour away in Port Orchard, so i know all of the fun youre having. Enjoy!
Posted by: jennifer at February 15, 2013 12:29 PMhave fun... always wanted to go to Madrona, and not sure what my excuse is...I live in Portland, yes, the one just down the road...
OH that's right, Sock Summit...that is my excuse!! enjoy yerself!
Thanks for the preview. I will be coming down tomorrow with friends to visit the market and sit around and knit. Hope you rest extremely well at night because your schedule is always overwhelming to me.
Love the photos! Kid Silk Haze is quite different from the Opulent Fibers! Enjoy your time there.
Posted by: Robin at February 15, 2013 12:47 PMSo wish I were there. Any chance of your coming on a side trip to Stitches next weekend?
Posted by: AlisonH at February 15, 2013 1:02 PMOkay, you got me drooling. The Madrona market is simply the best. You are so lucky to be there every year--enjoy!
Posted by: Jo at February 15, 2013 1:08 PMyearn
Posted by: rams at February 15, 2013 1:12 PMI go to university in Tacoma and will definitely be going despite two exams and a paper due next week.
Posted by: Zoe at February 15, 2013 1:14 PMClara is not only fun...she has a wicked sense of dry humor.
Posted by: Leslie F at February 15, 2013 1:21 PMOh, I may have to pop down to Tacoma just to look at the buttons!
Posted by: Ki at February 15, 2013 1:26 PMWoohoo! Can't wait to go to Madrona tomorrow! Looks like so much fun.
Posted by: Freshy at February 15, 2013 1:35 PMI'm in your speed and efficiency class tomorrow afternoon; I'm so excited!
Posted by: Connie at February 15, 2013 1:38 PMI'm so jealous! Jennie the potter is amazing. I bought a yarn bowl of hers which met an untimely end at the hands of a three year old, a small running chihuahua, and a WIP that got tangled up. The wound is still too fresh. I've not seen her at any local shows though and she never has stock online. Have a lovely time-thanks for sharing the wool fumes!
Posted by: Nina at February 15, 2013 1:44 PMThanks for the Window into Madrona!
Posted by: katie metzroth at February 15, 2013 1:49 PMAbout silk cocoons - I made up bundles of 5 fave colours and gave them as gifts. So far, no one has used them except to admire, but they look great!
Posted by: betty gerow at February 15, 2013 1:54 PMSomeday I'll get to go to this and the other events that aren't local to Boston. Of course, that might be because my locale changed. The marketplace looks gorgeous and those were just the things that caught your eye, so I am sure there are tons more treasures there (including possibly things that you just didn't want to share)!
Posted by: Seanna Lea at February 15, 2013 2:06 PMWow - I'd love to know more about recycled cashmere and earth friendly yarns. Alas, their link (the one from their store, not your link TO their store) appears not to be working.
Posted by: Su1282 at February 15, 2013 2:06 PMo.o I want everything...
Posted by: Charlotte at February 15, 2013 3:36 PM". . . all I had to do was prep for my classes and pull together the Teacher Talent Night for Charity". That's all, eh? You're hilarious. ;)
Posted by: Patricia at February 15, 2013 3:59 PMI'll take one of everything please!!! I'll send you my credit card info via email ;)
Posted by: Jocelyn at February 15, 2013 4:37 PMThose vintage look patterns from Blue Sky Alpacas look great.
I have a mug and stitch markers from Jennie the Potter and love them.
Really wish I could attend Madrona.
I love the blog but if you're a vegetarian how can you stand silk cocoons?
swoon. But I get to take your sock class at Yarnover, so...see you in April!
Posted by: JodyO at February 15, 2013 5:55 PMI'm with Jocelyn (4:37 pm), but I'm pretty sure I'll need two... Wish I could be there. Wish I could be at every fiber event. Alas, it is not to be, but I do get to go to Stitches next week! WooHoo - YARN!
Posted by: uptownknitting at February 15, 2013 6:07 PMOh my, such lovely things! Thank you so much for posting these photos. I don't often comment, but I love this blog, and this is one of many reasons why - living out in the isolated sticks, it's a means of voyeristically (that is SO a word, spellcheck!) checking out all the wonderful things happening out in more happening parts of the world.
(I think I need dyed silk cocoons in my life now, but I have NO IDEA why. I don't even spin. Or whatever one does with a silk cocoon.)
Posted by: Alverdine at February 15, 2013 6:30 PMNote to self: you really need to be at Madrona next year.
Posted by: StrongCat at February 15, 2013 7:45 PMOh, be still my heart! Opulent Fiber just Knocks Me Out, every single time.
Pick me up a couple pounds of the scarlet superfine merino. I'm good for it, I swear!
Posted by: GeekKnitter at February 15, 2013 7:51 PMOooh Spindlewood. I've never met a spindle maker that wasn't incredibly nice, but the good folks at Spindlewood have a special place in my heart, as they made the very first spindle I bought. :) I got a custom one - square, Olivewood - from them years later which is still one of my very favorites.
Posted by: Mary-Heather at February 15, 2013 8:20 PMMust be something in the air. Yesterday morning I reminded my son that it was Ash Wednesday. In the afternoon I rushed home to listen to Science Friday on NPR. As I said, this all happened yesterday, Thursday, not Wednesday (Ash or otherwise) and not Friday (that would be today). Weird :-)
Posted by: Lisa C. at February 15, 2013 9:05 PMHave you ever knit anything out of Kid Silk Haze? I don't remember seeing a F.O. of that type on the blog.
Posted by: Gwyneth at February 15, 2013 9:15 PMYay for Spindlewood spindles! I absolutely adore Connie, and own three Spindlewoods myself. I just can't stop buying them whenever I see her!
Posted by: Sarah Keller at February 15, 2013 9:17 PMOh my. First the vacation and now the Madrona Marketplace. To steal a term from Blondie, you're "walking on designer air" right now. But when you get back to the everyday humdrum, you're going to make Oscar the Grouch look cheerful!
(Note to Joe: Prepare an emergency cheer-up kit, just in case -- two skeins or balls of her favorite yarn (ask her favorite LYS), a six-pack of really good craft beer, a small box of chocolates, the DVD of her favorite romantic movie, and a gift certificate for lots of hugs and the washing of at least a couple loads of laundry. Adding a kitten or a few hours with Lou wouldn't hurt.)
Posted by: Anonymous, too at February 15, 2013 10:11 PMYes ma'am - I will need to get to Madrona. Even the name is lovely. Next week-end is Stitches and my eyes can't wait to view the wool and my heart is ready for the vibe :) Thank you for sharing Madrona.
Posted by: cecelia at February 16, 2013 2:02 AMResistance is futile where KSH is concerned ...!
Posted by: Carie at February 16, 2013 4:12 AMOh, those pictures take me right back to Madrona! I am living vicariously through them. In the meantime, I will enjoy my Spindlewood spindle which came home with me from Madrona as well as a few other assorted things -- the best market of its size I've ever been to.
Posted by: Cathy-Cate at February 16, 2013 7:40 AMCould I get some help with socks, please? I made one sock which came out a little big, but MUCH TOO BIG in the ankle area. I have started a new sock with four fewer stitches, and I am half way down the leg. In the book "Knitting Rules" on Page 133, it says "If you knit sock tops that measure the same distance...this is a good idea." It's talking about calf shaping, but I don't understand what it means. From the bottom of the calf muscle to the top of the heel is not a lot of length, is it? Does it mean that I would be making short socks? Please help me to understand. For example, how much distance is it from the bottom of the average calf muscle to the top of the average heel? On page 144, in the cheat sheet for socks, it says to knit till the leg is 7" long. Is 7" the same length as the length you should get if one follows the paragraph on Page 133? Thank you very much.
Posted by: Jeanette at February 16, 2013 7:53 AMOne of these days I will get to take one of your classes.
I HAVE TO TAKE ONE OF YOUR CLASSES!
It's 1st on my bucket list. Srsly!
So much for hating Marketing...
Posted by: mememe at February 16, 2013 10:09 AMWish I were there. . . but the barn calls. If you get a chance, try one of those Spindlewood square drop spindles. They are my favorites, & come in such beautiful woods. The balance on those puppies is *perfect*. No wobbles. Each is a work of art. Have fun!
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Posted by: David Guetta Interview at February 16, 2013 4:58 PMWhere did the bison puppet come from? I NEED it!
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Posted by: italexpress at February 16, 2013 9:15 PMLoved the talent show-you are the best MC ever! And I especially loved-oh wait-STRICT MEDIA BAN.
Marketplace was grand, classes sweet, meeting up with friends and my sis over the weekend-priceless.
The bison puppets are made by Folkmanis -- our store carries the fiber animal ones when they have them.
Posted by: Cathy at February 16, 2013 11:18 PMI went to Madrona today - first time! Glad you wrote about it because, once again, I completely forgot. It was freakin awesome!
Posted by: capsize at February 17, 2013 2:19 AMYet another reason to wish I lived in the Seattle area... *sigh* ;)
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Posted by: クロエ at February 17, 2013 3:18 PMCathy, thank you for the info for the puppet!
Posted by: Ruth F in Pgh at February 17, 2013 7:26 PMSo many beautiful things in the marketplace! I must admit to being a little disappointed three beautiful pygora sharing space with Spindlewood didn't get a mention. Pygora is an amazing fibre to work with.
Posted by: BeckyJ at February 18, 2013 12:28 AMSure wish I was in your class. I know it will go wonderfully well. What fun to have puppets again!
Posted by: Bonnie at February 18, 2013 12:54 PMI saw Opulent Fibers at Convergence last summer. I did not resist the hemp, didn't even try. Maybe a little, since I didn't get one of every color ;-)
"Making weavers out of thin air" - fantastic.
You are a very talented photojournalist as well as knitter. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Angela at February 18, 2013 2:04 PMThis looks like so much fun! It's my dream to someday attend an event like this. Thank you for sharing your pictures.
Posted by: Paula Bannon at February 18, 2013 3:12 PMAh, so nice to see the photos as I suffer re-entry into the working world. I especially am glad to see Lisa peeking out there and Tracy, too. And I did have a bit of an accident in the Opulent Fiber booth, and though it was a merino accident, it was the hemp colors that drew me in.
Thanks for your part in all that makes Madrona wonderful!
Posted by: twinsetellen at February 18, 2013 7:31 PMHello lispector
Posted by: lispector at February 18, 2013 11:23 PMLovely photos from the Madrona marketplace. I took woefully bad photos, so I will show yours to my friends -- particularly the non-knitters who wonder why I traveled all the way from Wyoming for a "knitting conference." We have one little LYS here which makes a heroic effort, but 700 square feet of mostly Plymouth, Berroco and Brown Sheep compares with the Madrona Marketplace like meat loaf compares with filet mignon. It was really nice to be there this year. LOVED the talent show. My lips are sealed. ;-)
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