At the beginning of 2011, I’d mentioned to Robert that I’d like to attend Sock Summit this year, as I didn’t get to go in 2009. We already had our vacation to Colorado planned, and I had my ticket booked for Rhinebeck in October, and it just didn’t seem practical. As the date approached, though, the more I wished I could go, and Robert said, “Let’s make this happen for you.” I have the best husband ever!
So last Wednesday my sister, niece, and great-nephew took me to the Branson airport for my flight to Portland. If you’ve never been to the Branson airport, just picture Bass Pro with airplanes.


My flight to Denver was uneventful, but the second leg to Portland was delayed by about 2 hours. I finally made it, got checked into the hotel, and eagerly awaited the next three days.
Thursday, I took “Photographing your Fiber” with Franklin Habit, which was an excellent class, in spite of it being a little crowded.

I also took “Two at a Time Socks – the War and Peace Method” with Kate Atherley. I was really intrigued by this technique going in, but after about an hour, I knew I didn’t want to do it again. The method is just too fiddly to be enjoyable.
The market preview opened at 4:30 and people were lining up about two hours ahead of time, so that was not exactly an enjoyable experience. I did get a few things on my list, but saved the rest for other times that weren’t so chaotic.

Thursday night was the opening night ceremony with Stephanie, Tina, and ST-2. Even when completely exhausted and not feeling well, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is one of the funniest people on the planet. And it was awesome with Tina presented her with a gift of the “Sock Gate.”

There was also a quick rehearsal of the upcoming flash mob.

Friday morning I made it to the market early and made a few purchases, and also was first in line to get Stephanie to sign my books she’d written. I spent the afternoon with Amy Singer, editor of Knitty, in her design class. That night was the Sock Hop, but I skipped it to try and catch up on rest for the rest of the Summit.
Saturday morning I was at the Convention Center bright and early for Anna Zilboorg’s lecture, “The Deeper Meaning of Sock Knitting.” It was just a humbling experience to be near her – the woman is quite simply brilliant.

That afternoon I took JC Briar’s design class, and although it was good, I was so tired that I don’t think I got everything out of it that I could. If I get to go back, I’ll ease up on the classes and not overdo it.
Saturday night was Stephanie’s lecture, “This is Your Brain on Knitting.” Only she could take the subject of many scientific studies about the brain and tie it to knitting, and have the audience falling out of their chairs laughing. She even cracked herself up once – I wish I could hear it again.
Throughout the weekend, I got to see many friends, most of whom I met at various Spring Flings: Megann/CraftyPancakes, Denise/Deknits, Kathy/kknitterkc, Ellen/kinelle, and I spent a lot of time with Jessica/Showmeyourknits. I also saw Lynda, and met a few Plurkers, in addition to being recognized by some of my podcast viewers, which was awesome.


A 6:15 a.m. flight meant getting up at 3:30 a.m. to get dressed, finish packing, catch the train, get to the airport, through security, and finally headed home. I was completely wiped out, but it was worth it.
If you’d like to see video of Sock Summit, Episode 34 of my podcast, The Proverbial Knitter, is all about it. Enjoy – I know I did!
