Man o Man Tina and the Sockateers are Awesome! They sure know how to throw a party!
But I am getting ahead of myself, so lets back up and start at the beginning shall we...
I arrived at Seatac and waited patiently working on my May Day sock while the rest of the ladies destined to ride on the Notorious Knitters Express buss arrived. At about noonish our wheels rolled in:
The site of Stariel and Nederlass was the best! They were so darn excited to see us and they were thoroughly prepared: They had icy cold coca colas, sprite, root beer, beer, water, snacks, etc. Dude's they even had Bus Passes -the kind that you drape over your head that also said Notorious Sock Knitters Express!
If you look carefully, the reflection in the window is that of Samro my Kitchen Knits Swap Buddy! I actually rode with her to the Anacortes Ferry and then later into Orcas. Thanks Sam for the lovely ride! I had a great time chatting with you and getting to know you:)
The Ferry was pretty cool. I had never driven a car onto a boat so this was a a novelty. Once we parked, we went upstairs and met quite a few knitters:
Look at all these knitters! I felt right at home amongst my people:) Sock Lovers United!
Of course, the view from inside the Ferry was quite lovely too:
After about what seemed like an hour.... We arrived on the Island, drove down to the Resort and eventrually ended up at the Rosario Mansion to Check In: Hotel and Sock Camp
Look there is Samro again Looking Back he he.. She must have heard the click from the camera:) As you can see Monday Afternoon was a lovely day at Orcas Island!
After checking inn, getting our group assignments, picking up our goody bags and Tshirts, we headed over to our rooms. (picture below is from Tuesday or Thursday...can't remember)
Anyhow, the rooms were quite nice... Fairly large bathroom with 2 sinks and a nice balcony.
Later that evening we headed over back to the Discovery House - Conference Center where the festivities were being held through out the week.
We then stepped through a room filled with all our TP projects on display. Some of these were amazing! The talent that some of these people have!!!
This first one was my favorite! The House of Flusher: Edgar Allen Poo:
Tina and the gang kicked things off with a nice Welcome Reception: Hors d'oeuvres, cookies introductions and announcements.
Stephanie and Cat Bordhi made us laugh histerically for a good long while explaining their crazy antics from last year when they jointly worked on last years project --the Infamous Chicken:
At one point Cat said something so hysterical the Harlot dropped to the floor laughing:)
Look even Tina was in histerics:
After this they opened up the store for about an hour.
Oh My God! I have never seen soooooo many crazed Rockin' Sock shoppers before! It was a sight to see --Sock knitters gone mad! I could not believe the frenzy---everywhere I looked, I saw people walking around with their arms filled with yarn! It was a mad house I tell you! Tina through down the gauntlet though, and told us that we were not allowed to purchase multiple rare gems and mill ends. We could purchase anything else but only one of each of those categories. Apparently, last year a few greedy campers amassed all the rare gems and many campers were left high and dry!
Tuesday morning came about and the store was opening again at 8:30---Now you know everyone had a speedy breakfast --it was round two of BMFA yarn... We were totally mad --like Knitters on Sock Yarn Fumes/Crack:)
I tell you the truth! By Noon half or more than half of the total yarn Tina had brought was gone!
Later that morning I had class with Cookie A for Traveling Stitches ---lots of swatching and observation.
Then we met with Tina and Stephanie aka The Yarn Harlot. This was a Socks That Rock Session filled with Tips and Tricks and plenty of Q&A.
I have a list of Purls of Wisdom from the Harlot written down in my notebook (at home of course!). I will make sure to pass these along. But for now I leave you with a few that come to mind:
- Socks should be knitted at a tight gauge! A tight knit sock will not only fit better, but also last longer! Tight Sock Knitters are the Best Sock Knitters! Who knew???
- The length of a sock from toe to ankle is the length of your hand. You should start on the heal when you reach this length.
- The same goes for when you are knitting a hat. From your forehead to the where the decreases should begin. (Of course you should measure the hand of the recipient:))
There are more... I will have to read up and jog my memory...
More tomorrow.... Day II Happenings: The TP Gallery/Contest and other Camp Antics
