Camnesia

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I had a wonderful weekend at Yarnover and at StephenBe, if a little exhausting, but really, if that’s how work is going to be? I can think of lots of exhausting jobs I could be doing that wouldn’t be any fun – so I’ll take it, and happily so.  Something shocking happened though – I took no pictures. Wait, that’s not true.  As I look though my phone, I can see that apparently, I took three.
This one, of the very, very pretty Italian tubular cast-on that I did on the plane when I realized I’d left my waste yarn for the provisional tubular cast-on that my pattern suggested right smack on the middle of the coffee table at home:

This one, which is an absolutely horrific shot of Carson Demers, Nancy Bush and what appears to be Carson’s glass of Chardonnay.

(I have no explanation for why this picture is on my phone. Some bizarre kinnearing accident. I don’t know, but there they are.)

… and then there’s this one:

A shot I took on Sunday night when I snuck behind Stephen Be right before I took the stage at the conclusion of Fiber Fest.  I swear, I thought it would be better.
It’s a huge shame that these are the shots that I got – because if my camera juju hadn’t apparently left me at the border, I’d have pictures of things that were a lot more interesting – like the 100% mink yarn at the Grinning Gargoyle booth in the Yarnover marketplace – Like about 20 of the vendors that had amazing stuff, now that I think of it, including one amazing angora yarn that I meant to go back and buy, but ran out of time for. (It’s inspired me to fetch the angora out of the upstairs stash and do a little blending and spinning, actually – does anyone remember the vendor?)  Or – if I had my wits about me, I could show you the Habu trunk show that almost cost me a fortune (I remembered I had some at that last second. Very near miss.) Or – Steven West doing a cartwheel, or knitting teachers emerging from a van like it was a clown car full of the most beautiful knitwear.  Or – I could have taken pictures of the scads of amazing knitted stuff that I saw on the students (sometimes I don’t know why they are taking classes – they are already so clever) or the bizarre but artful arrangement of decaffeinated coffee packets housekeeping left in my hotel room on the second morning. (I think they were trying to tell me something.)

It was great – and I’m sorry I only took a picture of Carson’s wine. 
I’ll try harder next time.  Were you there? Were you somewhere else?  Get any good pictures?

54 thoughts on “Camnesia”

  2. Was at the Connecticut Sheep & Wool Festival. Just enough gorgeous stuff to get reinspired, not overloaded. No photos, though. (Wish I had one of the cutest 24-hour old goat!)

  3. I was there, only 3 pictures also. Front and back of a shrug and a absolutely beautiful zigzag shawl. Both on my to do list now. Enjoyed your talk on Friday. See you there next year???

  4. just to say welcome back! We Torontonians love our harlot. You missed a wonderful DKC frolic, but sounds like you had a smashing good time.
    Mamie

  5. If it makes you feel better, Unraveled in Merrickville carries Habu 😉 You can get some more any old time!

  6. I got that Grinning Gargoyle mink at Rhinebeck! It was wonderful to work with, and I love the shawl I made (California Dreamin’) ALMOST enough to regret the end of winter–not quite, but it’s powerful yarn. You have amazing restraint.

  9. Was there some kind of mass camnesia event this weekend? I was out walking on the seacoast and forgot to bring my camera.
    …however it’s one way to tell you were having a great time, you were having too much fun to take photos!

  10. Hi, this is a great cast-on that I had never seen before. After some quick googling, I could not find any working links of tutorial/instructions for a tubular cast-on that did not require waste yarn. Can you please recommend a resource or link where I can learn this method?
    Thanks!

  12. I snared a skein of that mink yarn in a reddish hue. My father was a mink rancher; I spent my first 18 years surrounded by those nasty, smelly vicious little critters. How could I NOT buy it? It is my heritage. No idea what I will do with it yet, but still. Plus, I broke my yarn fast for it. Totally worth it.

  13. Sorry, forgot my manners. Thank you for coming to Yarnover! Loved your Friday talk; my tablemates and I were exhausted afterward from all the laughing. (I was the one who touched your arm and said, “Thank you for coming” when you walked into the dining room at the Marriott.)

  14. Took the train to the Frolic in TO and had the same camera problem. Actually, there were 2 problems: 1) my camera was zipped into the pocket of my backpack, which inconveniently on my back, and 2) my hands were full of bags of yarn I purchased at the marketplace. Only took one photo–of the lake on my way there. Too exhausted (in a good way) to think on the way home.

  15. Glad you are back home and through customs. Wow! what a treat to see all that yarn goodness! I was home working on…of all things socks! I think I need to get out more. I do have a trip planned to see some alpacas and some goats next weekend with other knitters. I will take my camera and try to take some pictures.

  16. My weekend was full of various activites–finishing a second sock (yay!), a little house cleaning–and it really shows this week that it was very little, laundry and paticipating in a lovely birthday dinner celebrating 3 birthdays–one of them being 80 years old! and just a bit of spinning. no pictures

  17. I bought mink yarn at Vogue Knitting in NY. I am in the process of making a shawl with it (Whippoorwill) in Burgandy and gray. It is a great yarn to work with. I can’t believe you restrained from buying any!

  18. This weekend I studied for an Electromagnetic Waves and Fields exam. I killed it, yay!
    It is such a wonderful feeling to work hard at something and then succeed.
    Molly : )

  19. I loved that mink, too! But I got sucked in by buttons this time. I bought (don’t laugh) 7 sets of them from the button lady just down from the mink. Silly me. But your sock class was great, and I got exactly one picture from Yarnover–you, looking slightly startled, from the sock class. 🙂 All the anatomy stuff from the class was hugely entertaining, helpful, and kept the rest of the Duluthians entertained on our way home for quite some time. Thanks for all the tiring travel, etc, to join us in Minnesota. Did you enjoy our 1 day of spring (and the mounds of snow everywhere)?

  20. Was at the Bookbug in Kalamazoo at the release party for Betsy [Ramsey] Bird’s picture book Giant Dance Party, with twenty-five dancing kids and one dancing giant (Betsy’s legwarmers, which looks like she skinned Cookie Monster, don’t count.)
    Thanks for asking. Film at eleven.

  21. Wow – I need to have more yarn-oriented weekends judging from the above…mine revolved around a non-working fridge, house cleaning and ripping back a baby sweater. Found out a friend is having a girl, so I went stash diving and started a soft strawberry and cream color top-down. No pics either 🙂 but it’s yummy.

  22. Don’t feel bad. I went to visit the grandchildren and completely forgot to even take my camera out of the suitcase!!!!

  23. I was there. The only photo I took was of StevenBe’s shop on Friday- the first time I was there. Minnesotans are such nice people. It is a wonderful event, I bought some roving from a working farm park district- perfect for a beginning spinner at $2 an ounce and in colors…. and only a few other single skeins..I learned a lot. I got to say Hello to Stephanie…. And to hang with my son and his GF who took me to a tattoo parlor – fun time all around.

  24. I’m taking pictures of anything that will hold still in the bluebonnets….but I’ve just learned that I need to be watching out for rattlesnakes. eep!

  26. Wow. I don’t think I’d react well to decaffeinated coffee left…no matter how artful it was.
    Although – there may have been a message there…were you blocking on the spare bed? Had your suitcase exploded yarn?

  31. I once saw a picture in a knitting book of a stunning brown neckwarmer edged in brown mink. I have been dreaming of it ever since.

  34. I’ve learned so much from you, Stephanie! Tubular cast-on is a new technique for me…..I’ve googled it and found a good tutorial on YouTube and now can’t wait to start a pair of socks using it! Thanks again for all you’ve taught me!

  35. I was working in Minneapolis for 6 weeks this year. Sadly, I left 3 weeks ago and so missed you. I did, however, have to ship all of my warm clothes home with the work stuff to make room in my case for all of the yarn I bought! They are really spoiled in Minneapolis for LYS. I also have a cricket loom in the shipping container. Well when the store I went in had one right there, and I had enough cash in my wallet to buy it, how was I supposed to resist?

  36. Thanks for the reminder. I’m going to the Kentucky Sheep and Fiber Festival in May! Note to self- Take pictures!

  37. I still have the vendor map/info sheets – do you remember more or less where the angora was? Otherwise I could scan it to you.
    Loved the talk Friday night. I was one of the tired out folks at KMKat’s table. Haven’t laughed that hard in a long, long time.
    Thank you.

  38. At least the angle of that one shot wasn’t a little more steep. You’d be able to see the brains through the noses!
    Sadly, I was still here in Mass, cleaning like my life depended on it (which was only sort of not true).

  39. It’s too bad two of the pictures didn’t turn out as great as the first. The combination of that yarn with those needles has me trying to think of some king of Christmas decoration that would display the color contrast to best effect! If I come up with one, you may have to sacrifice those needles and any yarn leftover from the sweater ;-)!

  40. Had a good weekend in some ways – saw friends, and it finally stopped raining for a day – but in a funk with knitting.
    I know what it’s about. I just finished a couple of big projects (sweater for me, 1000 yards of sport weight in a shawl that hasn’t told me who it’s for yet,etc.) and I have nothing to start.
    Not that there isn’t any yarn. Of course there is yarn. And there is a sock otn. But that’s all. I spent a lot of the weekend trying to work out why I only have one wip, but not sure what I want to cast on. Unsettling.

  41. If it was the angora in the booth right next to me, it was Shepard’s Bay Farm…and it was LOVELY, as were the couple who owned the booth. LOVED that they had evil angora bunny sisters named Thelma and Louise.
    And, thank you!

  42. When I was a teenager on summer trips with my parents, we would ask dad to take a picture. if the camera was not handy, he would say, “Etch it in your memory”. That has become a family joke – but very handy! Imagine all the things etched in our memories – no wonder we can’t remember a thing!

  43. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and joy of knitting with us at FiberFest 2013! I took your speed knitting class on Friday. I am still VERY slow and still fighting to hold my hands correctly. Sigh… Even if I never master it, I had the joy of learning something new. Now to learn that pretty Italian tubular cast-on.

  44. Mink yarn? Oh, my. That sounds wonderful.
    Very glad to see that the customs official was indeed mistaken and you had not missed your conference. 😉

  45. You can lighten and make a good picture of the dark one. Download Picasca picture editing program it is free and easy! Glad you had such a good time!

  46. I was there! I was sitting at the front table in your Grok the Socks class. What was the name of the book you mention from which the word “grok” and it’s lovely definition came from? It’s something I’d like to add to my reading list.
    And the mink yarn? I picked up some too and am happily fondling it and dreaming what it might become.
    Thank you for your thoughtful and funny opening talk, “This is Your Brain on Knitting” and for explaining sock construction so well. I’m off to trace the hands of those I love.

  47. I take quite a few pictures for StevenBe and missed your event on Sunday evening. However, if you want other pictures from the several days events I can send you a link to DropBox to give you access. Don’t have your email?
    Tom

  48. Mary @ 9:28- I think that “grok” was first used in “Stranger in a Strange Land” by Robert Heinlein. I am not really into sci-fi, so others out there may be able to correct me.
    It’s funny to hear Emily say she can’t figure out what to cast on next- i am in the same boat! I just finished my first ever sweater, for myself, and now I am drifting. I have some great baby yarn waiting, with nobody to knit for, just want to see the yarn knitted into something. I keep looking for the perfect baby sweater pattern. I am lazy enough to want something easy, but still want it to be cute. Not a big fan of garter stitch. So I keep looking…

  49. I was browsing ebooks on my Kindle and found your books are available in electronic versions. Perfect for Kindle reading. I have the current ones in paper, but might go for the e-version next time.
    I’ve been wondering the royalties are for authors on ebooks. Seems it should be higher than the paper version because of much less overhead costs.

  50. I just said the words “100% mink yarn” out loud, and it actually made me drool.

  52. I was there (I took your knitting for efficiency class, which is probably the best knitting class I’ve ever taken, hands down, BEST). I got no photos. I succumbed to the mink yarn, pulled to the booth like there was some sort of tractor beam that had locked in on me, and I completely ignored my vow to purchase only knitting RELATED items (like the “Just let me finish this row” t-shirt I snagged).

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