Cruised Out

Hi all. Sorry for the long absence. I am now back from my cruise. You'd think I'd be all rested and relaxed. Not! I am exhausted. Remember the 7th grade slumber parties? Like that. Only imagine that it goes on for a week. The fun, the food, the people, the knitting. Paradise. I guess in paradise, there is not much time for sleeping.

Where do I begin? I had the most wonderful roomates, Mary Jane (MJ) and Rose. We were all squished together in a little closet of a room, but they couldn't have been nicer. Patricia, the cruise planner did such a wonderful job. We had goody bags waiting for us upon our arrival -- tote bags filled with patterns, tchotchkes, and of course, yarn! We each got a skein of Meilenweit in shades of red, and a hand dyed skein from Mama E of C*eye*ber Fibers. She's got some beautiful stuff, let me tell you.

We had a wonderful time with classes taught by Amie of Rose by Any, Mama E, and of course the legendary but charmingly unassuming Eunny. By the way, knitsters, her name is pronounced "Ooony," (more like the sea urchin egg sushi), not "You-nee."
So here we are on this cruise and everyone is saying Oony this and Oony that. I'm thinking don't these bozos know how to read?! They're saying her name wrong for God's sake! I started catching a clue right about the time I realized her buddies were pronouncing her name the same way. Doh! Like an old dog, this here girl don't learn me so fast. Eunny however, was kind enough to overlook my mispronounciations.
In some ways, being on a cruise was hard for me. I wore a patch and still got seasick on the third day. Many of us did. It was rather rough. By the fourth day, when we stopped in Victoria, all the sickness was gone and the sailin' was smooth.

But the people were wonderful and there was always a place to plop down, knit and share, laugh and knit some more. On day two we stopped in San Francisco and hopped a bus to Marin Fiber Arts. We were welcomed with more goodies and even a snack bag filled with fruit, nuts, water and the like. So thoughtful! We shopped till we dropped then boarded the ship again. In Victoria, some of us took the Butchart Garden tour. In a word, breathtaking. The tulips were in bloom in what seemed to be every shade possible. Then it was on to Beehive Wool Shop. Can you say Fleece Artist? It was a dream come true!

In my classes, I learned how to make a reverse heel flap which is perfect because I prefer going toe-up and only know the short-row heel. Amie later taught me the turkish cast-on and Eunny then taught me the magic cast-on. The classes were wonderful, Mama E taught color theory and Eunny expanded on custom sock design.

I'm going to have to cut this post short. My daughter is pulling the guilt card out (rightfully so) accusing me of spending more time updating my blog than spending "quality time" with her. When a kid plays the "quality time" card on you, you know that they know too much and that they are probably right. I am off to ride a bike with her.

I will leave you with some pictures. Being a Flickr newbie, I am flummoxed as to why the pictures loaded up in the exact reverse order than I wanted.

One other thing I just HAVE to leave you with: That Eunny is ONE FAST KNITTER!!

Up Next: yarn pics

Sea Sock Not Seasick

I am so excited I can hardly stand it. Last week, while perusing my weekly edition of the Knitter's Review, I came across this article. Intrigued, I clicked on the article about the Sea Socks Cruise. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I tried to find someone to go with. No one could (or would). Kevin offered to watch the kids. My parents encouraged me to go. I prayed. And guess what? I'M GOING!!! I can hardly believe it!

I talked to the nicest lady, Patricia, who set this whole thing up. OK, I love her already. She is very funny and enthusiastic and she got me so worked up about this and now, here I am, going on a cruise to Vancouver with no one I know and I am so dang excited! There were two generous souls (much more accommodating than I'd ever be) who offered to let me bunk with them.

I am seeing myself laid out on a deck chair in the sun with a tall fruity cool drink, sunglasses, a straw hat and a sock on the needles. Sigh. What could be better?

I feel like I'm in a dream. If you know me, you know I am not a very adventurous sort. I am so thrilled at the idea of going on this adventure. And I feel so secure knowing that I will be with fellow knitters. I just know it is going to be a blast! I just can't even believe I am doing this. But I am!

So if that wasn't enough, I arrived home from work to find this on my porch swing. It's Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. Somewhere I had heard this one was the best and I had this Amazon certificate that had been hanging around since Christmas. Wow.

In my little universe, it just doesn't get much better than that. I am ecstatic.