So Hip it Hurts

I’ve been trying to write a post about Sock Summit for the last hour (while drinking coffee and falling asleep sitting up) and I’ve finally decided that there’s too much of it to string into one coherent post – so you’re just getting this and a promise of more later, because I feel like I could sleep for three days straight and honestly, I might just do that.  We leave in a few minutes for Port Ludlow, where Tina and I will begin the process of putting this baby to bed – and I’m sure I’ll have more thoughts and some pictures then – but for now I want to say that Sock Summit 2011 was one of the most amazing things I’ve every done, and today I feel proud, and happy, and amazed with the team I’m on, and grateful to every person who came or helped or was a vendor or an attendee… It couldn’t have come together without you. 

Last night ST-1 and ST-2 went to dinner together, and all I could think of was how much I loved them all, and how incredibly hard they all worked, and how mind bogglingly amazing they all were and are – and I tried to think of one moment I could give you to sum up what sort of a team I’m on, and what sort of magic Sock Summit was, and how incredible things are when knitters all get together, and there’s one moment that summed it all up.

I give you – at least 600 of of the 6000 knitters at Sock Summit – all having the time of their lives.

(PS to my daughters: I was in a flashmob. Am I cool now?)

157 thoughts on “So Hip it Hurts

  1. I WANT TO HAVE BEEN THERE!!!!! Can I time travel? So glad everyone had a great time – of course it went well – it was run by geniuses who can turn a heel. No longer first to post because I watched the video. Next time I’m so-o-o going to be there.

  2. Very patiently waiting with baited breath…
    …flashmob, or no, you are still the coolest knitter I know.

  3. Dear Stephanie, Tina, and the whole Sock Summit team,
    As one of the many knitters who attended (and felt privileged to be there!), please accept my heartfelt thanks for the many, many grueling hours you all put in to making this a wonderful event. I had a marvelous time in the marketplace, in class, in lectures, and am so grateful for all you did to make Sock Summit happen. I’m also very appreciative for the kind and courteous assistance I received from both Steven and Nathalie at the registration booth.
    I have my 2009 and 2011 Sock Summit lanyards and badges pinned up on my wall at work to remind me of what I’m working for (besides subsistence) – yarn money!

  4. Who knew that knitters were so much fun? WE DID! Thanks for the update, wish I could have been there.

  5. Thanks for posting that – it was fun and silly and wonderful. Well done! Now get some sleep.

  6. You look like you were having so much fun up there! I was off to the side snapping photos like a mad woman. Great idea!
    You guys put on a great event. Thanks so much!

  7. And this morning, there’s agreement on the budget crisis. Don’t tell me there’s not a connection.

  8. I was able to attend for just one day, and it was fabulous! Thank you so much for such a great time!!
    When our group went out to dinner that night, we discovered that our waiter was a knitter, and yet somehow he hadn’t heard of Sock Summit. We made him promise to attend on Sunday, which was his day off – I hope he did make it out!
    Sock Summit: Where you find knitters are everywhere!

  9. song choice was epic! well done, all of you! it sounds like it was a blast and i can’t wait to hear more about it. enjoy your nap. 🙂

  10. Aw, you ARE SO AWESOME! I’m proud to have been able to sponsor again, even though I wasn’t able to attend this one because of the move to the new store. Looking forward to reading all about it.

  11. First of all thanks for your hard work, and inspiration that something this cool and huge can happen. ST-1 and ST-2 did a fantastic job and can you guys bust a move!! It was fun, inspirational, I had an “Aha” moment in your lecture on Saturday night, and am glad to know that my constant state of distraction is merely my brain at the theta level!! I think the comment about the “emergancy knitting” should be made into a bumper sticker.

  12. An absolutely wonderful, wonderful time. Thank you again Stephanie for the most fun I have had in years! GO SOCK KNITTERS!

  13. It was so nice to meet you and field all those questions about my partner David’s and my stash – and honestly, we never thought about a pre-nup!
    It was a wonderful event! Now get some rest and have some poutine!!!

  14. Sounds like you enjoyed yourself more this time, and that you actually had a chance to eat. You just sound so much happier than last time, yay!

  15. oh man! that gave me chills of joy! rejoice and know you are LOVED yarn harlot~! 🙂

  16. I’m impressed that you are conscious and coherent enough to write a blog post after this past awesome weekend! It was the most fun I’ve ever had with knitters. There was always something fun going down at just about anytime day or night. I was totally blown away by how hard you had all worked, and I hope that all of you get some sleep and that Stephen has got his voice back by now. (I was in his manly socks class, and he manfully carried on despite being totally wounded in the voice.)

  17. So awesome. Wish I could have been there. Even though I don’t knit socks.
    Now please take to your bed with smelling salts and aspirin and hot compresses.
    Then I will be able to breathe easier.

  18. Love it so much I’m crying, and dancing, all alone but for my computer and my knitting and you know what …
    I’m having the time of my life, and I never felt this way before
    xxx

  19. I needed to get back to the hotel to coordinate dinner with my family, so I was actually across the way at the MAX station while the flash mob was going on. Although it must have been wonderful to watch, it was at least as interesting to watch the faces on the regular Portland folk waiting to catch their train when the music and cheers started up from the Convention Center. A few of them braved the oddness of it all and went to check it out. I dare say they looked even more confused when they returned!
    Well done to all of you. I’m so glad I was able to attend!

  20. I watched the video yesterday and pointed you out to my son saying that I’d met that lady there. He watched for a bit until he spotted that there was wool being waved around at which point he ran off with cries of “Oh no, mad knitting ladies”. You were all totally fine without the yarn.
    Do you fancy a holiday, maybe at home getting acquainted with the stash again. No planes, no post its, reasonable amounts of coffee and some time to re-establish “normal”.

  21. Have been watching this for several days (chased it down on YouTube the day it went up) and what finally convinces me of the euphoria you all felt is the sight of skein after skein of primo yarn being thrown HIGH into the air, presumably in the total faith either that you’d get it back or the knowledge that there was more where that came from.
    Well done at becoming legends.

  22. OMG this is great!!! LOVED it! A flash mob did NOT make knitters cool; knitters made the flash mob cooler!!!! We were already cool!

  23. Smiled, laughed and had tears in my eyes all at the same time. (and saw you, Stephanie, in the front row!)
    Made me wish I was there (not made me wish to knit socks, though – sorry!)
    Have a good rest, and be proud of Sock Summit!

  24. From a participant…it was AMAZING, inspiring, and fantastic. Your talk about the brain and knitting was fantastic and hilarious. I was so delighted to finish my very first pair of socks not only at Sock Summit, but at your talk!
    Thanks for the awesome weekend!

  25. Stephania! I see myself way in the back! (j/k – but we know I was there.)
    Thanks to you, Tina, the ST-2s and the other volunteers for the most awesome weekend ev-ar!

  26. I really did have the time of my life, so that song choice couldn’t have been more perfect. This is the first knitting convention I’ve ever been to, and not only did it meet expectations, it exceeded them 10 times over. Thank you (and Tina, and ST-2) so much for your hard work and dedication to this wonderful event. The friendships that I made, will last for years to come, and that’s worth so much.

  27. God bless Portland’s Muggles and their therapists: I can only imagine how much time it will take for them to process having watched a knitters’ flashmob.

  28. Sorry, cool w/offspring only lasts until the next dorky/embarrassing thing we do. Congrats on success anyway!

  29. Oh my word, but this is AWESOME!! Stephanie, you do have some moves, now don’t you?
    I have to admit that I probably would have found out what kind of yarn my neighbor was holding. She might have found herself with a different skein if it was anything good…during the hand-holding part. teeheehee
    Glad everyone had a great time!!

  30. Watching that sure made me wish I’d been there and a part of it all! Looks like it was a beautiful day and a wonderful time!! 🙂

  31. Sock Summiteers you have been on my Cool List before the flashmob – and you now will have more cred with the offspring.
    This is the stuff dreams are made of. One day I will.

  32. Definitely cool! I got goosebumps watching this! Wish I could someday be there. 🙂

  33. So my 5-year-old and I were watching this video and she asked “what are they doing?” and I replied “they’re dancing with yarn in a flash mob.”
    Her response: “Who is yarn?” hee hee.

  34. SS11 was even better than SS09, if that’s possible. Thanks so much to ST-1 and ST-2 for the incredible job you did! And to the teachers, the vendors, the volunteers… It was a *blast,* and I saw a bunch of friends from all over. I had so much fun that I couldn’t make it Sunday. 😉 Too exhausted from the happy. (And the shopping, heh.) Between going to bed Sat. night and the wee hours of Monday, I slept 17 hours out of 27. *g* Now *that’s* proof of a good time!
    Well done, all of you!

  35. Dude, that was FREAKING AWESOME!
    (You weren’t really braless, were you? Maybe you ought to invest in a spare.)

  36. Don’t know how many times I’ve watched this, but each time it brings tears to my eyes imagining what everyone felt like to be a part of something so AWESOME!! Wish I could have been there, but maybe next time. The choice of song was perfect and one of my dog’s favorites. (He sings along, and if you’ve never seen a Golden Retriever howl, it’s hysterical.) Looking forward to hearing more about Sock Summit once you’re rested.

  37. wait, you had 6,000 people at a conference on knitting socks? does the world know about this? six thousand??!! Holy cow, that’s a lot of knitters!

  38. Is it weird that that song makes me cry, now that dear Patrick has gone to the mountain resort in the sky? Looks like you guys had more fun than the law allows, though. 🙂 Awesome!

  39. So awesome. I am so honored to have been a part of it.
    Like someone else said: you (and the rest of the ST’s) throw a most awesome party. I loved every minute of it.
    Thank you.
    I hope you get some good rest now. 😉

  40. Looked like you had a great time…however, my 11 year old son was completely underwhelmed…so I’m dying to know what your daughters thought.

  41. I couldn’t make it to prowl the marketplace (and watch Fleece to Foot) until Sunday, but I searched the internet on Saturday night for videos of the flash mob and LOVED IT! It made me laugh and gave me chills.
    You looked understandably tired on Sunday, and I hope you get that three days straight of sleep; you DESERVE IT. Thanks for another great SS!!!

  42. Six THOUSAND Knitters. Sock Summit was WAY bigger than I had thought. Next year….I’M gonna be there, too.

  43. Stephanie,
    Just wanted to say a big thank you to you, Tina and St-2 for a fabulous weekend. I loved your lecture (my husband studies the things you spoke about and has frequently commented on scanning my brain while I’m knitting), the flash mob was incredibly fun (still smiling thinking of it, and yes, I participated!), my workshops and teachers were fabulous! Hope you got the ‘trade children/teenagers for yak yarn’ buttons I left for you with Stephen. Looking forward to next time!

  44. How pathetic am I? I’ll tell you. Having properly rehearsed, as soon as the youtube video of the flashmob was posted, I played it on my computer and danced with my sock yarn all alone in my apartment – but I was there with you all in spirit! BTW, I emailed the video to my daughters but so far I haven’t heard back from them about what a cool hobby my knitting is.

  45. Oh, that was so great! It must’ve been a blast. Thanks for sharing, and maybe someday, I too, will be in a flash mob.

  46. Thank you so much–all of you. Thank you for everything.
    Please say you’ll do this again (I know–wrong time to ask…)
    But whatever you decide to do–thank you all so much! I wanted to stop every member of the STs to say this, but I never did because I figured you were busy enough without me interrupting you. But thank you all!!!!

  47. Also, before I forget, I’m making a donations to Doctors without Borders/MSF. I was too tired to get to the auction, but if I can afford yarn, I can afford a donation–and trust me, I’m not rich.
    If everyone who enjoyed Sock Summit–vicariously or in person–made even a small donation, think how much money we could raise!

  48. Can you die of joy? I almost did. Thanks for all your hard work. I, and I’m sure everyone else there, appreciate it with all our hearts and souls,and fingers. Did you see the shawls, lace and otherwise? Can’t wait until the next one.

  49. Dang, do you always do such fun stuff at Sock Summit? If so, sign me up for 2013!

  50. I have been waiting for this!! Amazingly AWESOME!! Wish I could have been there in person, but my heart was with ya’ll!! You and your teams are smokin’!

  51. Sock Summit was an amazingly awesome and insanely cool weekend. I had so much fun volunteering and I learned so much from the outstanding teachers. Thank you and Tina, and all the ST-2’s for the hours that went into making this happen. I wish you all weeks of blissful sleep, soothing knitting, and all the wine, coffee and chocolate you desire.

  52. Not that I don’t love every lovely Swayze second of it, but that…*technically* isn’t a flashmob. In a flashmob, it’s made to look unco-ordinated & out of nowhere at first. This was clearly “everybody start at the same time.” It was dancing, and it was in public, but it takes more than that for a true flashmob.
    That being said—it looks as though you guys had a blast. I’d be more jealous, but I got to go to a Wine & Wool Festival this weekend in Michigan, and that was pretty fun in a low-key way, too.

  53. Sweet! That was extremely cute. Wish I could be there but hey, in honor of Sock Summit I plied my first teensy skein of handspun! Glad it was awesome. 🙂

  54. SS09 was Great! SS11 was OVER THE TOP GREAT!! Thanks to you and the whole team for a wonderful four days of learning and kibbitzing and knitting and shopping and more learning. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  55. Loved it! You all looked so good and together. So cute when the yarn skeins popped in the air. Were you all singing “I had the Yarn of my life…”?

  56. You are so cool, so hip! You are the bees’ knees! Thank you for everything you do for us and knitters everywhere. Kisses and Hugs!!!

  57. Dear Stephanie, Tina, ST-1 and ST-2:
    This was my first Sock Summit. It was fabulous, educational, incredible, exciting, and rewarding. Thank you so much for all of the work, blood, sweat, tears, knitting time, and post-it notes that you put into this to make it the most awesome knitting event of all time.
    You are all astonishingly wonderful people. You have brought an amazing thing into being. May it long continue.
    For now, though–get some sleep and some beer. You deserve it.
    With Gratitude,
    Amanda
    P.S. Let’s do this again sometime. After I’ve knitted through some of this stash. 😉

  58. Looks like tons of fun and you all did such a good job! Wish I could have been there!

  59. It was an amazing experience to be around so many talented people :). Loved every minute of my time in Portland and at the summit :). I hope you have lots of time now to rest!

  60. How cool is that?! I knew you all would have an awesome time!!! Wish I could have been there 🙂

  61. Oh. My. Word. I’m still grinning so much back at work my customers are smiling at me and asking what’s making me so happy. I simply don’t have the words to describe the incredible time I had over the last 5 days. But several folks I’ve talked with have written down the website and will share it with friends and family for next time – whoo hoo! Thanks so very much for all the hard work, imagination, creativity, joy, stress, loss of sleep, reams of Post-its, gallons of coffee, you all put into this!

  62. Thank you for the best time of my life!! It was too wonderful!! I made friends, learned more about knitting, shopped until I had just enough money to get home, traded stitch markers with lots of people, and started to learn to spin on a drop spindle. I loved the way people would come up to me while spinning and ask if they could give me advice! Absolutely!!!!! Yessss!!! I’m saving my pennies starting today for SS13!

  63. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of yourself that you pored into this awesome spectacle! I loved absolutely everything about Sock Summit (except not getting into some of the more popular classes!). I even dragged my two teenagers with me this time, hoping that they could share some of my enthusiasm. They didn’t, but you were so gracious to introduce yourself to me when I interrupted your conversation with Tina to ask for help with directions for them. This was after Tina had taken the time to give me directions to a favorite restaurant that two teenage vegetarians would enjoy. Have you thought of running for office?!

  64. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many happy people in one place as there were at SS11. It was totally, totally fantastic.
    Being surrounded by fellow addicts is just mind-blowing, and nobody there thinks you’re wierd. Happiness.

  65. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many happy people in one place as there were at SS11. It was totally, totally fantastic.
    It was so great being surrounded by fellow addicts, and knowing nobody there thinks you’re weird. Happiness.

  66. One of my ambitions is to be a good enough knitter to come to sock summit!!!
    As I am a rubbish knitter it may take a few years.
    Love the flash mob – Go Knitters!!!
    Lush x

  67. Oh yes, Steph. YOU always have been cool! THIS is my idea of fun. WTG for sure! Gonna show this to my new Foster Daughter. Yep, within 2 hrs of coming to us, she went to her first ‘Chicks with Sticks’ meeting and learned how to KNIT!

  68. Rams commented on how the throwing of yarn was indicative of the euphoria of the moment–I was giggling by how appropriate throwing the yarn was but how so many people were still clutching theirs. It looks like you all had an amazing time, and makes me happy to be a part of this community (even if I couldn’t make it out there.)

  69. I have to tell you that I sent that youtube to all of my friends and family with mixed responces; some are planning a yarn/knitting intervention, others have decided that we really are the cooler people on the planet and have asked what they must do to gain such awesomeness. To the former, I say “bring it on,” I have a flash mob behind me. To the latter, I say “all are welcome who bring sticks and yarn.”

  70. I am so relieved that it wasn’t just me being really weird to get all teary watching this! At least there are several of us that are weird about the same thing–whatever it was! I am 10 shades of green, but the summit sounds like it was almost more fun than a person could stand at once and not actually explode in the process! I am going to show this to the “knitting ladies” at my LYS today. Maybe I can talk them into coming with next time. (There will be a next time, won’t there? she asks anxiously…)

  71. It can’t be true, can it?
    Were you actually wearing …
    … gasp …
    … CLEAN pants??

  72. Thank you and Tina a million times for Sock Summit. Went in 09 to the market and this year took classes. Loved every minute of it. I was at the opening night practice mob, but couldn’t make it to the flash. Looks like a grand success. I hope to see you in 2 years. Again, many, many thanks.

  73. Does this mean you will not run out of socks anytime soon? I hear Canada gets cold.

  74. I have been to different knitting events in the past and I can honestly say that this was the most fun I have ever had. A heartfelt thanks to you, Tina and your team. Wonderful, wonderful time. I hope when you have sufficient time to recover that there will be plans for SSIII because my two daughters want to come now. Three for III! Yay

  75. My first Sock Summit, my first flash mob. Both truly wonderful experiences. And almost best of all? My teen declared the flashmob “epic.”
    Thank you ST-1 and ST-2. You folks all rock. And are so dang nice.

  76. Just want to echo what everyone else has been saying. The SS11 was a great experience–from registration through the last hour of the last day. I learned a lot in my classes. Am definitely a more skilled knitter as a result of attending and I have so many new ideas about how and what to knit! Participating in the flash mob was a fun and heartwarming. I can’t begin to describe how good it felt to spend four days surrounded by like-minded, friendly, interesting people. Thank you Stephanie and to all of the SS11 crew for making this happen for all of us.

  77. Those of us who were there think that:
    a) we will be stuck with that song in our heads forever and
    b) will never be able to hear the song being played again without bursting into the routine
    …but it won’t be nearly so much doing it alone in a supermarket as it was with 600 of your closest knit friends in Portland.
    We LOVE you guys xxx

  78. Thank you so much for your hard work in putting SSII together. I had a blast. Perhaps I spent too much at the Marketplace but what’s a girl to do?

  79. Awesome job!! Even more awesome than last time, which shouldn’t have been possible. Thank you!!!!!!

  80. Was that you in the front row? Looks like I missed something special (again) I posted pics of my beaded socks on FB in honor of you and the SS knitters

  81. You set a high bar for fun – now we’ve gotta get into a flash mob to be cool -what a riot!!!

  82. I was having a crap day at work until I checked your blog…it lifted me up so fast I got dizzy. And made me cry. And made me proud to be a crazy knitter. THANK YOU!!!

  83. I live in Portland and I spent several hours at the Marketplace on Friday. It was amazing being surrounded by the colors, fibers and energy! It was so cool being in a place where everything was interesting!
    I’ll probably be eating a lot of peanut butter at the end of the month because I spent 3 times my budget, but I came away with a tote full of gorgeous yarn and roving and a drop spindle!
    As a crocheter, I didn’t need the knitting classes, but I spent the weekend recovering from the overload of the marketplace. I don’t know how others managed 3 or 4 day of the event. It was really fun – you deserve a big congratulations for pulling it off and making a lot of people happy!
    Thank you!

  84. Sounds like a wonderful time and I’m way jealous. Will never give up home of a Sock Summit East here in NY one day!

  85. I had a wonderful time! Thank you Steph and Tina, and everyone in ST-2, and all the teachers, vendors and fellow attendees for a wonderful time.
    Also, thanks to everyone for NOT stepping on me as I lay on the floor to take portraits of the hand knit socks.

  86. More than a few people attending OSCON (the Open Source Software convention in the other half of the convention center) came over and paid their $5 to visit the SockSummit marketplace. how special is that?

  87. I got home this morning. I felt sick from a week of sleep deprivation, so I took 2 naps and will still go to bed at my regular hour. You guys did an awesome job — I am speaking from a vendor perspective. I am looking forward to the next summit!

  88. This looks like such fun! My big dream is to be in a flash mob.
    I met the nicest women on the airplane from MPS to SLC last week who were going and I thought I recognized them in one of the many youtube videos I saw….I’m so jealous (and happy for everyone who attended).

  89. SS09 was Great! SS11 exceeded in every way–classes, meet ups, marketplace, special events! Thank you to all team members–YOU ROCK!!!

  90. It was so much fun! I can see myself in the video (barely) and I will cherish the yarn I danced with. And all the *rest* of the yarn I bought.
    Thank you so much for a wonderful, wonderful time. See you in 2013!

  91. I was just watching the fabulous video when my 11 year old son walked past and said “flash mob”. I asked, “do you know what it is?” (Because I didn’t.) he said, “yes” – so, yes, Stephanie, it think it means you are cool!
    SS looks like such a good time! Hope to make it there some day!

  92. This is the most awesome of all the youtube videos I have seen! The reason is that even thought I didn’t flashmob (I was vending with Blackthorn Needles, but I make knitting bags) my sister did! She was to the right of the bell, and this version shows her for the longest toime of any others. She lives in Portland, and I was staying with her. She is neither a knitter, crocheter, or spinner, and she doesn’t touch yarn! She came to the marketplace with her knitting friend to see me since I have never vended before, and they came prepared to flash mob. The only problem was the she did this with my newly created, one of only three in the dye lot Abstract Fibers sock yarn! I had bought it to knit Celtic Cable socks for her, and she obviously bonded with it to the point where she felt it was ok to dance with it! Um, I rescued that yarn right after the flshmob, and it only needed a little retwisting of the skein…no tangles, thank heavens! I told her the yarn didn’t officially belong to her til the socks were on her feet! ;)Even though I was vending, I had the time of my life watching everyone have such fun and meeting so many people in the booth. Thanks for a memorable experience, and I hope I can come back for SS3!

  93. You all are amazing! I had the “Time of my Life” at Sock Summit, and being in the flash mob was AWESOME!

  94. Oh that looks like such fun…I am SO jealous! Glad you all had such a great event.

  95. Thank you so much for all your efforts putting together Sock Summit 2013. It was more amazing than the first one!

  96. I was pleased to find this particular web-site.I wanted so that you can thanks for your occasion for this great read!! My partner and i definitely taking pleasure in every little bit of it and i have you saved to check out brand new stuff you writing.

  97. Thanks for posting the flash mob video. Until following your blog (after reading your wonderful books for the first time!) I didn’t even know there was such a thing. The video got me watching other Sock Summit 2011 videos … and now I want to go next time!! I’m so glad that a friend of mine introduced me to your books and blog. You are a delight.

  98. Love, love, love Flashmob knitting-style! Thanks for posting and I’m glad it all went so well.

  99. Was there at Sumit not at flash mob was south of Portland visiting family. Loved the sock classess and marketplace.

  100. Was there at Sumit not at flash mob was south of Portland visiting family. Loved the sock classess and marketplace.

  101. Thank you so much for organizing this event! It was my first Sock Summit but it certainly won’t be my last!

  102. Oh I say, front page of the Sunday Toronto Star for fleece to foot! Maybe next time you should call it from flock to sock like they did and send the knitters out to wrassle down there own personal sheep out of the flock as well 😉

  103. So… what yarn were you dancing with?
    Just wondering.
    Congratulations on getting to the end of Sock Summit in one piece. It sounds like an amazing project. I’m only sorry I was the wrong side of the Atlantic to join in.

  104. To all you readers who weren’t able to Summit this time – the most amazing and wonderful part of the event was the constant presence (and very funny lectures) of Stephanie. I think she watched over us like she would a birth – with so much love and good energy. She has done so much to make us a community – Stephanie, how can we ever thank you enough?

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