Clockwise from top left: Jessica, Shawna, Kathie, me, Rebecca, and Debra
This last weekend at OFFF, Rebecca got together a great little group from Seattle and Eugene. (We carpooled down from Seattle, and met up with Jessica and Shawna down in Canby.) They were the sassiest, most awesome people to hang out with! There was lots of good-natured swearing, creative license plate acronym driving games, coffee, and - of course! - knitting.
Rebecca kindly let me stay at her house on the Eastside the night before we left, where I played with her two charming Border Collies and slept under a hand-knit alpaca afghan. Then on Friday, we drove down through Portland, hitting Northwest Wools, Twisted, and Happy Knits before eating ice cream and sandwiches for dinner (in that order) and knitting deep into the night.
Saturday we got up bright and early, grabbed some breakfast and coffee at the hotel, and headed over to the festival.
Rebecca kindly let me stay at her house on the Eastside the night before we left, where I played with her two charming Border Collies and slept under a hand-knit alpaca afghan. Then on Friday, we drove down through Portland, hitting Northwest Wools, Twisted, and Happy Knits before eating ice cream and sandwiches for dinner (in that order) and knitting deep into the night.
Saturday we got up bright and early, grabbed some breakfast and coffee at the hotel, and headed over to the festival.
Knitting and more knitting and llama butts, oh my! We were at the festival all day, so we had a chance to see all the sights with plenty of time to spare. We walked around the market for a while, took breaks for coffee and knitting, went and visited the animals, and generally had a super chill time. We'd split off into groups for a while, then come back together for a bit, then wander off again.
I sometimes worry about burning through all my social energy reserves in group situations, but the thought didn't even cross my mind with these lovely folks - the whole day was stress-free and super fun. It helps to have people who prioritize food, rest, and knitting the same way I do! Hee hee.
It was great to see everyone's finished knits and WIPs during our little knitting time-outs - it's always really inspiring to see what other people are working on and enjoying. Rebecca was knitting an Ecuador sweater with some Lotus yak blend from Abstract Fiber, while Shawna - a new friend from Eugene! - worked on a super-squishy bias wrap out of MountainTop Chalet, a chainette alpaca yarn.
And because I am attempting to be a nice spouse to my endlessly patient and encouraging Lumberjack, I started him a pair of socks to work on during this trip. It's an unknown self-striping sock yarn from my Oberlin LYS (Opal, maybe?), knit on the Signatures that my friend Sparkle got me as a graduation present. I swear that I am doing this to keep his feet warm because I like him, not just to make him stop asking "when are you going to knit my xyz" every time I set foot into a yarn store.
CoughcoughmrphI'mtheworst.
I sometimes worry about burning through all my social energy reserves in group situations, but the thought didn't even cross my mind with these lovely folks - the whole day was stress-free and super fun. It helps to have people who prioritize food, rest, and knitting the same way I do! Hee hee.
It was great to see everyone's finished knits and WIPs during our little knitting time-outs - it's always really inspiring to see what other people are working on and enjoying. Rebecca was knitting an Ecuador sweater with some Lotus yak blend from Abstract Fiber, while Shawna - a new friend from Eugene! - worked on a super-squishy bias wrap out of MountainTop Chalet, a chainette alpaca yarn.
And because I am attempting to be a nice spouse to my endlessly patient and encouraging Lumberjack, I started him a pair of socks to work on during this trip. It's an unknown self-striping sock yarn from my Oberlin LYS (Opal, maybe?), knit on the Signatures that my friend Sparkle got me as a graduation present. I swear that I am doing this to keep his feet warm because I like him, not just to make him stop asking "when are you going to knit my xyz" every time I set foot into a yarn store.
CoughcoughmrphI'mtheworst.
So much love on this trip, and SO MUCH LAUGHING. Kathie (on the right, in red) is definitely mid-sass in this photo.
While we were eating lunch, I spotted a gorgeous two-color shawl a few tables away from us. I went over to say hello and compliment the knitter on her handiwork - turns out, it was the designer herself, Michele Lee Bernstein, aka PDXKnitterati! (Michele is also the designer of Rosaria, the Rose City Yarn Crawl mystery shawl pattern from 2014, and my friend Shawna was wearing her grey & red version all weekend - cool!)
The pattern is called the Aloha Shawlette and Shawl, and it's knit in Pai Mei Sock by Stitchjones. Such a pretty use of a fun, variegated skein.
Michele was super approachable and gracious, and I'm excited to follow her blog and designs more closely!
Michele also introduced me to the lovely Sivia Harding, who was wearing a stunning version of her Jo's Pride Hooded Shawl knit in Abstract Fibers Temptation in the colorway Red. I favorited this pattern back when it was exclusively available through the Victorian Writers Knitting Club, and seeing Sivia's version made me fall in love with it all over again! She's got a knockout sense of style, and was so sweet and friendly to talk to.
It was so cool of these designers to take time out of their lunch breaks to chat with me - just another example of how knitters are the best people ever.
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Overall, I had an awesome weekend with some really wonderful company- from my friends from my Issaquah Tinkers knitting group, to my new friends from Eugene and all the great yarn people at the festival, everyone came together to make an incredibly welcoming and inspiring yarny experience for all.
Still to come next week - vendor highlights from the festival!
Happy Friday!
<3
Cory
A Yarny Weekend at Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival: Part 1 - Animals!
It was so cool of these designers to take time out of their lunch breaks to chat with me - just another example of how knitters are the best people ever.
-------------------------------------------------------
Overall, I had an awesome weekend with some really wonderful company- from my friends from my Issaquah Tinkers knitting group, to my new friends from Eugene and all the great yarn people at the festival, everyone came together to make an incredibly welcoming and inspiring yarny experience for all.
Still to come next week - vendor highlights from the festival!
Happy Friday!
<3
Cory
A Yarny Weekend at Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival: Part 1 - Animals!
2 comments:
What a wonderful weekend with everyone!! Cory these are great pictures and it was so lovely to meet you.
that was such a fun weekend!
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