What a weekend! (and contest)

Whew. It's taken me a few days to decompress after the frenzied and wonderful week end we had here at Chez Go-Knit-In-Your-Hat and Loop in Philadelphia. I don't even know where to begin to summarize how much fun it is to hang out with fiber friends, to be surrounded by creativity and yarns and finished projects to ogle, and to have a chance to spend time with dear ones who live far away... so I guess I'll start with a recap of the weekend.

It all began Friday midday, when I picked Franklin up at the airport. Miraculously, his plane was not delayed


and being the savvy traveler that he is, we didn't even have to wait for baggage claim. So I hit him on the head and threw him in the trunk of my car put his bags in the back, and we were off.


After lunch at our local diner,

we headed back to my place to knit, catch up and (in my case) wind yarn. It's always such a pleasure to spend time with Franklin; he always has so many funny and interesting stories to tell, and there is nothing more wonderful than seeing a friend you haven't for a while, and finding that it's all as natural and full of laughter as it ever was.

The afternoon sped by, and soon it was time to haul boxes of yarn into the city

for display at Loop. Craig was waiting for us, and had an entire table cleared off for the Black Bunny Fibers goodies. It was nice to have a chance to take everything out of the boxes and bins, plump it up, and arrange it in baskets on the table.

We also had the chance to display some samples, including my two newest sock designs, Josephine and Lucy, as well as my brand-new scarf pattern and yarn pack (more yarn packs coming later this week on-line). Then it was off to a great dinner with Craig and Laura (of Spool).



The next day, we were ready to go. Franklin taught his Introduction to Lace class,



which by all accounts was a great success. (I heard the knitters who took the class showering Franklin with praise after the class was finished, so I know for a fact it was good.)

From two to five that afternoon is kind of a blur. We were set up with copies of Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarn, and the wonderful It Itches: A Stash of Knitting Cartoons and I immediately snatched up my copy of Franklin's new calendar. Then the real fun began, as we had time to meet new friends and spend time (at least a little) with old friends. We got to sign books (special thanks to all those who brought their copies of my book(s) and/or purchased ones!! I truly appreciate it)



and take lots of photos and get hugs, and it was unbelievably gratifying and fun. I think because I do spend a lot of time on my own, while the kids are at school, working in a hermit-like fashion,


it especially meant a lot for me to get to see my customers in person, and to enjoy their reaction to my yarns, and to have real-world conversations rather than on-line ones.

After the shop closed, it was time for another wonderful dinner with my special pal, Laura Grutzeck. We had great Thai food, gossiped and caught up.


After returning to my place, we retired for the evening, my head still spinning from all the excitement. When the alarm rang the next morning, I couldn't believe it -- I felt like I could have slept ten more hours, but it was time for us to get back into the city and get ready for another exciting day. I taught a class with some wonderful students


eager to master the mysteries of yarn substitution, while Franklin explained lace edging to his class. After lunch was a special treat for me: I got to take Franklin's class on Photographing your Fiber.


If you have any interest in taking photos of your own stash, knitted projects, handspun or whatever, I urge you to take this class. It's incredibly helpful, packed with information, and designed for people like me, who are self-taught with their camera. Franklin explained so much about the way cameras work, why we have different functions on our cameras, how to use light and styling tips, that I felt like so much that confused me before now made sense. Now I can't wait to get practicing with my camera...


We had another chance to see some great folks on Sunday, and then -- as if we hadn't had enough excitement -- it was off to see Liza Lucy, fabric goddess and quilter extraordinaire, for dinner.


We had an amazing time looking at all of Liza's beautiful fabrics, quilts, and other things, and we got a chance to play with her adorable doggies, and spend some time with her awesome husband, and of course we left with fabric....


All too soon, Monday morning was here, and it was time to take dear Franklin to the airport. We were very sad to say good-bye,


but we are hoping to see each other soon, and to do another whirlwind teaching weekend, perhaps in the spring.

P.S. Neither one of us really knows what Dolores was up to all weekend


but I guess what happens in Philly stays in Philly, eh?


P.P.S. Tell you what: Let's do a quickie contest. Send me an email (goknitinyourhat AT att DAHT net) identifying the movies from which these photos came, and I'll draw a winner from the ones with the most correct answers. Winner gets a free BBF sock pattern of his/her choice in PDF form. Entries due by midnight Friday, Nov. 19th EST. I'll announce the winner Friday.

Note to commenters: If you left a contest guess in the comments, I won't publish it (otherwise it'll give away the answers!). But I'll hold on to it for the contest.