The Crochet Dude: Who Needs a Nap?

Oh. So. Nice. To. Be. Home. I'm still exhausted even after a good night's sleep in my own bed. (Chandler was very happy to have me home. She likes to sleep next to my pillow with me. That may be TMI for some, but I'll take my chances. Cleo is a calico, I don't think her elevator goes all the way to the top floor, if you know what I'm saying...I seriously doubt she even noticed I was gone. I missed her though and I guess that's all that matters.)

Anywho, Friday through Sunday was crazy. Pandamonium y'all. So much so that I found myself many times without my camera, or so busy that the camera stayed in its case. But I'll do my best to describe what happened. Also, I'm so tired that I apologize in advance for the following rambling that most likely will include many a type-OH...

Friday

After breakfast it was a non-stop schmooze-fest. I met some more people in the industry and was able to show them some of my completed designs (like the twinset, Dawn, Julia, Jennifer, some of my vests and a peasant top) which allowed them to see not only the design but also the quality of my work. This is a professional industry and they want to see professional results, right? There was seam tugging, and stitch spreading, and they tried on the cardi from the twinset so they could see that it does indeed fit a bi-armed humanoid, etc. It seemed they liked what they saw, and I anticipate that I could get some work out of the experience.

I also helped out at the CGOA booth putting together afghans for Warm Up America. During the professional development day presentations there were piles and piles of yarn for us to make afghan squares:

Then the rest of the week anyone who wanted to could take a break and sit at the CGOA booth and help join some squares together. We were able to present Warm Up America with multiple completed ghans by the end of the conference!

In the afternoon the CGOA had its annual member meeting, then I had a class with Marty Miller (Look on page 28 of the September 2006 issue of Crochet! magazine...so. much. talent.) Anywho, the class was about foundation stitches (no need for a beginning chain! this has changed my life forever!) and also linked stitches (where you link the next stitch to the previous stitch changing the drape and look of the fabric. No more holes at the beginning of dc rows!). Marty did such a fantastic job helping us (hey, a 6pm to 9pm class on a Friday has to be a tough gig) and I learned so much more about crochet!!! If you ever have the chance to take a class with Marty don't miss it. It's a life altering experience!!

That evening. Well, what happens in King of Prussia stays in King of Prussia. I'm just saying.

Saturday

Wow, I took another incredible class, this one from a teacher called Beth Brown-Reinsel and we learned the Norwegian Purl, along with working with two colors of yarn utilizing the Norwegian Purl. What's this intriguing stitch you may ask? Well, any knitter knows that in order to do a purl stitch they have to bring the yarn forward and then to do a knit stitch they have to return the yarn to the back. Over thousands of stitches that a lot of extra movement! And the Norwegian Purl is worked leaving the yarn in the back! It's magic. It's scary even (well not really scary, but it's scary how easily we all learned it, but the key to that is dynamite....teachers...lol you thought I meant you knit with sticks of dynamite didn't you...anywho, I'm sleeped deprived so slide me some slack....) Between learning celtic cabling and now Norwegian Purling, I may have to start designing in knit too. But don't quote me on that just yet.

My friends Connie & Kevin drove down from Jersey with their adorable daughter Jerrah, and we met at noon and had lunch in the Knit & Crochet Cafe. It was so nice to spend some time with them (they once-upon-a-time lived in Houston and ever since they moved it's been so quiet around here). Jerrah (you've seen pictures of her. Search the archives, she's very cute) has grown so much it's amazing. They bought me this amazing birthday gift:

I've never worked with roving before, but Linda of Grafton Fibers (the booth where we found it) had a some samples of crochet items that had been felted and they were incredible. Connie also bought herself a handmade hook there too.

After spending a couple of hours with them, I had to excuse myself to do some more schmoozing, which I don't even know if that's a word or not, but in my noggin it sounds like it is. Anywho, then I had to go back to my room which was no longer Cleopatra's Tent because y'all. Too. Many. Mirrors. It's just too disturbing. So I ended up in a room ten floors down and while it didn't have more than just the one mirror over the sink, it also didn't have a plug so that I could power my laptop and I ended up using my manly muscles to pull the t.v. cabinet away from the wall and had to sacrifice the lamp for the laptop. Light is overrated anyways...) I got back to my room and changed for the evening's festivities which included the Chic Street Dinner and Fashion Show and Bra-vo Auction. (I tried my best to ignore all the crocheted brazzieres lined up in a row because I seriously blush very easily, and lets just say that one of the artists placed dark blue in an unfortunate location on each cup and I swear that it was looking at me and no matter where I stood it followed me. Don't you hate when that happens?)

The twinset didn't end up making her debut after all, but Dawn, Julia and Jennifer strutted their stuff on the runway and the crowd seemed to react positively. There were so many amazing examples of crochet and knit designs on the runway. What a great experience.

Here are some photos from those two days: