Sock Summit - The Residue

So I've been back a month and still haven't gotten to this last bit that I want to say about the Summit. I was going to call it Knitters and Knitting, but that doesn't seem right. When I went to the local MAA meeting last spring we were asked what we hoped "the residue" was that our classes left in students' minds. In that vein, here's a month-later retrospective.




I finished all my class socks. Picture above is the three class socks and my class spindle. They're on my mantel right now.

In Abby and Denny's Spindle class, Abby said something about needing to be able to do something badly in order to learn to do something well. She was quoting Maggie Casey quoting someone else talking about something Not Spinning, but as I came back to school, that came back with me - if you're so afraid to do it wrong you never start, you'll never get it. It got incorporated into my first-day schtick.

Clara Parkes's class about fiber and yarn construction has been the most fun to find it popping up in my brain. There was a discussion in my house about sheets and fibers and thread counts that ended in a ridiculous display of fiber geekery on my behalf. I still love the term "intimate blend."

I signed up for Sockdown on Ravelry to be in on the Nancy Bush mystery sock. It looks awesome, but too small. I'm going to wait till it's finished and try and size it up a bit. I also bought her Knitting on the Road book, which has some gorgeous techniques.

I'm still very proud of myself for talking to people that whole weekend - starting with Vicki and Carin at the Denver airport.

The thing I want to try that I saw from another student is a pooling stole. That's so seriously cool.

I've been finishing things since I got back. Only started a couple new projects. The full-size socks that went to the summit are still in progress. The handspun ones need more spinning, actually. The giant black one is approaching the first toe at a snail's pace.

But here are my Sock Summit mitts. My hands were cold in Thursday's class, so my first night at the Summit I bought some Socks that Rock heavyweight and cast these on.



They're a simple improvised pattern, but I love them in my office in the mornings. I finished them the first week back to school and they make me happy.

More posts and more pictures coming soon. I've finished a few big things and made progress on others. Sock Summit may be past, but I'm having a good knitting fall so far.