MeezieGirl

my excuse to talk about knitting, cats and life in general

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Olympian Success and Stitches

Well, it certainly took up most of my time, didn't it? I dropped off the face of blogdom during the Olympics, more importantly during the Knitting Olympics. I'd like to say that all my time was taken up in knitting, but of course that isn't true. I did knit *a lot* to finish my one fair isle mitten. I needed the pressure of the Olympics to go beyond my comfort level and actually undertake the fair isle, then to do the thumb. The mitten would probably be a UFO now if it hadn't been for that. I found myself very reluctant to attempt anything new. I wouldn't have guessed that about myself, but so it was.

In addition to the "pressure" of the Olympics, there was Stitches West in Santa Clara, CA. Luckily, I'm close enough to drive there, but not close enough to "commute" from home. That necessitated staying down there for 2 nights. Peg and I shared a hotel room and we were really lucky. We looked in the AAA guide and on line for a cheap hotel, but one that was clean, safe, and close to the Convention Center. We chose Quality Inn Sunnyvale, and it was really nice. A decent sized room with 2 queen beds, a fridge and a microwave, and only 1.25 miles away. They have the usual breakfast in the lobby - cold cereal, milk, juice, bagels, muffins, you know the drill - but in addition, they have a WAFFLE IRON and waffle batter so you can make yourself a fresh waffle. And they have fruit and whipped cream, to boot. Pretty neat. I've never heard of a hotel with that! Next year, we don't have to look around for a place to stay. And it was $80 a night for both of us. Not bad, at all. And to top it off even more, I was given a cup of freshly made Indian chai by the Indian manager; it was fabulous chai, about the best I've ever had. Yum.

Stitches was fabulous, as it always is. We went to the Market on Thursday evening when it's open to students only. It was even bigger than last year, and they set it up with wider aisles. Not so much crowding. I had all day Friday to spend in the Market and knitting on my mitten. Peg had 2 classes. There were a bunch of folks that I know. The downer was that my leg was giving me trouble, again. Seems like sciatica has returned, dammit. I brought a folding 3-legged stool and used it often. I couldn't make it down an aisle without having to stop and rest a little. Mumble mumble drat. So I made very slow progress through the Market.

On Saturday, I took a class on Bohus Stickning. I've been in love with Bohus for a long time. It started with a Bohus sweater that I bought at a rummage sale years ago. I can't even remember where I bought it, how much I paid (knowing me, very little) or even WHY I bought it. I guess something about it called out to me. It's a sorry looking thing, pre-felted and pre-chewed by moths, but it's still amazing. Gradually, I learned about Bohus and now I realize I have a real treasure. I have "Poems of Color", the book about Bohus, and the Threads article about Bohus. But now, I'm in the throes of passion. I loved the class. Susanna Hansson is a great teacher and she has a fine collection of Bohus sweaters. Of the 32 people in the class (including a 70something man) about half knew about Bohus and the others signed up because of the colorwork, or the fine gauge, or the ethnic designs (or so they thought). Little did they know what they were getting into.

More next time. There's lots to come. Maybe I'll even figure out how to post pictures and get that Knitting Olympic gold medal onto the site! If anyone can help me with that, I'm never too proud to receive help.

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