Sock Summit - A Different View

I had a fantastic time a the the Sock Summit in Portland. I don't have near the numbert of pictures that Peggy had, but I did take some fun and instructive classes.

The first was Be Bi-Craftual with Denny McMillan - we learned to combine knitting and crocheting in a sock. Crocheted toes and heels to reinforce them, and even learned to knit and crochet IN THE SAME ROW to make a knitted instep and a crocheted sole. Most of the socks were done in heavier weight yarn to demonstrate, but she passed around a few socks she had made, and the one made from Yak and Silk in a very light fingering weight were absolutely scrumptious, and the crocheted part was as light and comfy as the knitted part. I plan to try doing a pair like that.

Then I went to a lecture called Chroma Zone by Tina Newton. It was mostly about how her company gets the yarn and the process of dying it in large quantities.

Next was Spinning a Painted Sock with Janel Laidman. That was fun and very interesting. She showed how to spin and ply yarns to get different effects in the knitted fabric, from tonals to striping. She showed us some combs that she had for processing fleece, and I found the same combs in the market place for what I thought was quite reasonable. These combs can be used individually or with a base to use as a hackle. The price was just a few dollars more than the cheapest plain combs, and lots less than some of the others. Needless to say I bought them. I look forward to combing some of the fleece she gave me and the alpaca that I bought at SAFF last year. They were somewhat bulky, so I shipped them home together with a jumbo yarn winder that I bought (so I can wind the jumbo balls of yarn that don't fit on the regular winder).

On Sunday, I took a class called Seismic Socks with Lorilee Beltman. Here we learned to add colorwork patterns to socks without having floats or double thickness of yarn. Quite interesting!

And last, I took a class called Don't Knock Knee Socks with Joan Schrouder. We learned about increasing and decreasing for the calf area, and different ways to do it. Neat!

Well, I was going to add photos, but it seems someone walked off with my camera before I was able to download my pictures. Boo Hoo! I had lots of pictures of the rest of the trip - visits with my DH's friends from when he lived in the area and his old Navy buddies. And tons of pictures of the Portland Rose Garden. I've got to stop writing. I'm getting depressed. SIGH!

0 members like this

Comment

You need to be a member of Knitting Community to add comments!

Join Knitting Community

Comment by Katherine Landreneau on August 23, 2011 at 9:44am: Thanks for sharing!! Would love to attend--too far away!

I love the idea of combining crochet and knit socks--any patterns available? I just completed a sweater combining the two.

Katherine

Comment by Beverly Roberts on August 23, 2011 at 9:21am: That's a lot of classes packed into just a few days! The Spinning a Painted Sock class sounds especially interesting. I know I could never hope to retain all of that info given during such a short span of time. Did someone steal your camera?!? At first reading I thought you just meant that a family member or friend just "borrowed" it without asking. My sincere condolences on the loss of your pics and camera...that is just awful!

Comment by KnitWhich? on August 23, 2011 at 8:49am: Cheryl, the camera was stolen from the counter in my shop where I had put it to prepare to download the pictures.

Nutty, I don't know when I will get to do those socks. I'm currently trying to finish up some models for the shop, but the socks are definitely on my list of 'to dos'. And the Babe is fun!

Heather, I know what you mean. I hope I get to practice the things I learned before I forget them!

Thanks, Janice and Camilla.

Wendy, here is a site that sells the combs I got.

Comment by wendy on August 23, 2011 at 7:04am: Jo, what a fascinating time you had at SS! The classes sound very interesting. How fortunate you were to be able to get into so many really different classes. I'm not sure I'd be able to retain all the useful info it sounds you received - lol. BTW, what kind of combs did you get, any links you can share? I'm so glad you had a wonderful time there!

Comment by Janice Aitkens on August 23, 2011 at 12:38am: Sorry you lost your camera but glad you had a good time

Hugs Janice

Comment by cherubhmm on August 22, 2011 at 10:57pm: All that new knowledge to take in and put into practise! Phew! Sounds like you had a great time..can't wait to see the results of all your learning!

Comment by Nutty4Knitting on August 22, 2011 at 5:27pm: Oh, Jo! That's terrible about your camera!

Knitting and crochet in the same sock! Sounds very intriguing! I have so much on my plate right now, though, that I'm not goign to experiment any time soon! =)

I'm so glad you got to go. And that you got a Babe! On our trip to WI we drove past the house of the guy who started that Co.!! It was only about 30 miles from where I used to live there! I think he sold the company a few years ago. He was a fairly up there in years. Then I come home and found out you got one! Wee!

Comment by cherylbwaters on August 22, 2011 at 4:33pm: Except for someone walking off with your camera, it sounds like you had a lovely time. have you checked with the places you went to see if anyone turned it in? Worth a letter or two.

Comment by CamillaInTheDesert on August 22, 2011 at 4:05pm: What wonderful fun you had...thanks for sharing...

geez...I hate a thief ..so sorry...

Hugs,

Camilla