I socked the Summit

and it was 4 days of fiber high inducing goodness. I can't say enough about this event, but I will say a lot.

I had a class on sock darning. It was exactly what I needed to save all of the hand knit goodness that has been stashed in the bottom of my sock drawer for far to long, not because of the unsightly holes, but because I have feared that I would cause more damage to the precious little guys.

I watched as the fastest knitter was found. The fastest! I dreamed that it could be me. It can't, because I am not so fast, but I will be practicing for next sock summit. FIFTY-SEVEN stitches per minute. You hear that? That is some fast knitting.

I watched as fleece became foot wear. They had the dear sheep right there watching as their beloved wool became something to keep humans warm, instead of something that kept them warm in the middle of summer, and held all of their little droppings a bit too close to home.

I drooled over several different vendors. I am proud, or maybe ashamed actually, to say that I stuck to my budget. I wanted to buy every little thing in White Lies Design. Really bad. I also wanted a set of Signature needles. Really, really bad. I stuck to my guns though. No peer pressure was going to take me out.

I plan to order off of their websites now that I am home and can say that I made it through sock summit on a budget.

I went on a tour of Lantern Moon. It wasn't really part of Sock Summit, but it is all rolled into one perfect little fiber high package for me. I set up a dealership, and will now be rolling in all that is good and kind at Lantern Moon. I am proud to say that I am a dealer. A dealer of the good stuff.

We found out that we can still party like it is 1989 at the 1980's sock hop. Can, not should. And I can still hula hoop. Again, Can, not should. I am telling myself that it is talent, and not just very large hips.



My handsome date for the evening. He will probably disown me for this in a few years.



I met Lucy Neatby. OH MY GOSH! She is crazy amazing. And she has a rooster purse named Earnest. What isn't to love???

I also met THE Yarn Harlot. THE very one that I have been stalking and dreaming of for ages. AND we talked about breasts. I think that means we are like **THIS** now.

But the best part? That part that still makes my heart race, and makes me feel a little dizzy??

I MET THE GENIUS THAT IS COOKIE A!!!! I met her FACE to FACE! I touched her hand. (If I didn't have two toddlers I totally would never wash my hands again) I spoke to her OUT LOUD!! Granted, I did not make sense to myself let alone those not living in my head, but still... I totally met Cookie A. I have pictures. And a book. A book that says my name. In Cookie A's hand writing. I have it right here. Right here in this very room.

So now let's talk about the ugly. It is called the Rodeway Inn. We were going to stay with a friend, but at the last minute we decided to book a hotel on line. Not something I suggest when there are about 8,000 people coming to the same city for the same thing. We were rather surprised when we got such an awesome deal on out hotel. $240 for 5 nights. How fabulous! And it was. In theory. Reality? Not so great. We pulled up to the hotel, and before we could notice how incredibly frightening the hotel itself was the strip joint in the parking lot reached out and slapped us. Really? A strip joint? Maybe, just maybe I won't have to stick to such a tight budget at sock summit. YAY! So we checked in. Why? Not sure. Thirty minutes later we checked out. Yes, it was THAT bad. No locks on the doors. No sprinklers over head. Something large and black in the bathtub. Hair in the sink. Smoke so thick it hurt to breathe. The final straw?? An over-whelming smell of human body odor in one corner of the room. No thanks, I think we will camp out under the stars.


So we got lucky. Not at the strip joint, no. We got lucky after calling about ten other hotels. I spoke to a man who became my hero at "Yes, we actually have one room. It is the honeymoon suite, but better than nothing." Yes. Much better than nothing. We checked into our lovely Jacuzzi Suite room. It was oh so very nice. I smelled no dead bodies. The doors locked. There was nothing dead in the bath tub. This was home. Or home for the next week anyway. All went well until Jeannette went to make up the sofa bed. It was 11:00 PM by now. We are old people, so this is very late. We were dog tired (what does that even mean??) and as the couch cushions were tossed to the floor, and our bodies were ready to hit the beds we see a glimmer. A bright glimmer. What is that? Well let me tell you. Drugs. Am I kidding? No, no I am not. A pipe, a thing of Meth, and a lighter. Awesome. Another way to blow off that Sock Summit budget. If only we were not good, up-standing citizens. And if we didn't have my 15 month old staying in the room with us. And as stated above, if we weren't old. Ahhh, to be young and stupid again. Honestly, we were laughing so hard at how great our luck had been that evening that I did not even think to get our room free. Curse my sense of humor.
But here are pictures for your enjoyment. Or education.
Yes, at first we thought it was something else you just might find in a honeymoon suite...



Other things I learned?
Portlanders do it differently. Go green!


Stephanie Pearl Mcphee is a nerd. I love her just a little more now.



Oh, and Walgreens still carries blue eye liner, and very blue eye shadow. (See 80's pictures above for proof) I also lost my knitting necklace there, so if anyone happens to go into a really scary Walgreens with no decent street entrance and finds it, please return it ASAP. It is missed dearly. Enough that I may have to go buy another one tomorrow.

All in all though? I give it 10 stars. Only because I can't legally give it 11.