This is the lecturn that Powell’s Books provides for guest speakers. Cool, isn’t it? I love the book stack and the faux shelf of books at the top. Just below the faux book shelf is a place where books (I guess most frequently written by the guest speaker) can be displayed during an event. Like Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off, for example.

This lectern is large enough to almost entirely hide Stephanie, except for her head from the chin up.

I’ve missed The Yarn Harlot the last couple of times she traveled to Stumptown. I almost missed her this time.

I looked online to see if there was a bus or something that runs from where I work to Powell’s, because I knew that finding a place to park would be nearly impossible. Portland has this wonderful invention called fareless square. You can ride any of the mass-transit options for free, as long as you stay within this area. I work at one end. Powell’s is at the other. Free ride — how often does that happen? And, it turns out that the Portland Streetcar, which stops only a block from work, would drop me off and pick me up right next to Powell’s. How perfect is that?

Then the only issue was to get out of work early enough that I could ride the incredibly slow charming streetcar and still get to Powell’s in time to get a seat. I did kinda have a clue what was going to happen. 😆

When I arrived at 5:30, there were already a goodly number of knitters in attendance, but I managed to get a great seat.

Powell’s main store is so large (an entire block), and so maze-like that the different areas of the store are painted different colors so it’s easier to find your way around. I’m sure that it’s much simpler for employees, when asked for directions, to answer go through the Blue Room, then down the stairs and through the Gold Room. Stephanie would be speaking in the (I am not making this up) Pearl Room.

But now perhaps they will rename the Pearl Room the Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Room.

As I arrived, the intrepid Powell’s employees were cramming as many folding chairs as they could into the open area in front of and to either side of the lectern. Apparently they partially learned their lesson after last year, when they booked her into the tiny Powell’s Home & Garden store and did not even provide a microphone.

By 7:15, Powell’s looked like this. Powell’s tried to limit the audience to a number reasonable for the area provide, and closed the door when the limit was reached. I’m not sure of the truth to the rumors that a few knitters simply bypassed the closed door by taking the elevator. Would knitters do that? 😆 At any rate, by the time Stephanie arrived, it was standing room only, and the aisles were crammed.

I saw so many people! Nurse Knitter was there, T, Lori – she had her socks with her and they look great. I sat right behind Monica, who has cards for her blog! And I saw several people who I met at the Magical Moebius Festival and I love you all and I know I’m forgetting bunches of people and I’m sorry. I’m a dork. Next time I will take better notes. But I kept trying to finish the little baby socks, which were barely past the toe increases when I left work.

Everyone was knitting. I tell you, you’ve never seen so many knitters in one place. And we all had a bunch of fun showing each other what we were knitting. And I, being a dork, just had a lot of fun listening to the snippets of conversation around me:

It was the perfect gray cashmere, so I had to buy it.

This is the third sock I’ve started.

(said very earnestly) Sometimes, when you frog something out, you just need to let the yarn rest a little while and then it almost seems like it’s brand new when you start to knit with it again. It’s almost as good as actually buying new yarn. But not quite.

Stephanie was funny and witty and earnest. I loved her talk about knitting and knitters and the amazing things we can do when we put our minds to it. She started by describing what a worrier she was. Having grown up with a command-performance worrier in the form of my Mama, I laughed and laughed because the description rang so true. Stephanie worried about all of the sheep in the world suddenly losing all of their fleece. She asked us to picture the battles between crocheters and knitters over the last of the yarn. Crochet, you know, is so much faster!

Most of the time, Stephanie had us all in stitches (pun intended). The part about she and Joe attending a swanky cocktail party, and what it meant to admit she was a knitting author, was particularly funny. And there were boos (aimed towards the banks involved) when she mentioned Blue Moon’s problems with their bank over their sock club orders. And the issues another woman had when trying to get a business loan to open an online yarn store. There were cheers when she talked of the amazement from another fund raiser at the speed (72 hours) with which knitters could double the amount donated via Tricoteuses Sans Frontières (Knitters Without Borders). At this writing, an amazing $320,093 has been donated.

There was time for a couple of questions afterwards. Someone asked about the traveling sock taken hostage at BEA by Ann and Kay. Stephanie was pleased to announce that her no negotiation policy had payed after all, and the sock was on its way home.

Then it was time to get in the long, long, long line. And my true dorkiness began to shine.

As I prepared to gather my stuff together, a very nice woman tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was the magic cast-on lady. I admitted that I was. She said some very kind words about the cast-on and how pleased she was to meet me. And I thanked her and asked her name (which I think was Terry? And if it wasn’t or if I’ve spelled it wrong, please let me know right away so I can fix it, because I’m such a dork with names). I picked my stuff up to get it out of the way of all of the knitters who were stumbling over my purse (I’ve driven cars that were smaller) and my other junk. And the lovely lady came back with Melody (who gave me her card, sparing me from totally humiliating myself by forgetting her name, too).

It turns out that they had come all the way from Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, to see the Harlot. So we had Idaho in common, I being born and raised in Idaho Falls and not only knowing where Coeur d’ Alene is but how to pronounce it. Melody owns Harmony Yarn Studio, which looks like such a cool little store. I will definitely visit if I’m ever in the area.

This is so big, for me to meet you, Melody said, can we please take my picture with you? And that rendered me totally speechless and feeling all weirdly cool and embarrassed at the same time, and of course I was happy to oblige. They were both so sweet and kind and fun to meet.

And the picture… it was pretty hot in the Pearl room, and it was pretty humid. Yeah… The incredible expandomatic hair was at it again. When I gasped ohmygod, my hair!, Melody kindly replied, don’t worry. We’ll explain about the hair.

Now… I’ve been trying to explain about my hair for years and years. 🙄 I wish her luck with that. Melody, if you are reading this, maybe you can send me the explanation so I can use it in the future? I’m serious.

And then I went to stand in line. And then I remembered that I had neither taken a picture of the Harmony Yarn ladies or written down the first ones name. And now, of course, it was way too late to do that. And I banged my head against the nearest bookshelf a few times in lieu of kicking my own rear end, because I’m a dork. Harmony Yarn ladies, you were wonderful and I am not usually quite so spacey.

The line went on and on and on and moved very, very slowly. So slowly that I actually finished the baby socks while I stood in line. Babies have such tiny feet, as we’ve already established.

I knit for about 4 hours straight, while waiting for Stephanie, while she spoke, while waiting in line. It was a bit too much for my hands. By the time I got to the head of the line, my hands were hurting and clumsy and my brain was beginning to shut off even more than it already had, if that were possible. Low blood sugar? Yeah… that’s my story for what happened next, and I’m sticking to it.

Stephanie was just as warm up close, in person, as I knew she would be. I said, nice to meet you, and passed over my book calmly, and then gushed can my socks meet your sock? Stephanie giggled and said of course they could, because her tours were really about socks meeting and not about books at all. After some fumbling, I managed to partially untangle the two pairs of socks in my little knitting bag, so Stephanie is holding both the Spanish Lavender Basket Wave socks and the little baby socks, along with her traveling sock.

Book signed and picture taken, Stephanie looked closer at the Basket Wave socks and stroked the yarn a little.

That’s the Rockin’ Sock Club yarn for April — Silkie Socks That Rock in Walking on the Wild Tide. I’m not knitting the club pattern, but I’m pleased with the results. I said.

Or that’s what I meant to say.

Instead I suffered from total brain freeze and said, that’s the… that’s the… that’s the…

Yeah, Stephanie nodded. It’s the Silkie stuff. It looks nicer knitted up than in the skein.

Thank you, I croaked, and began gathering up my stuff because I knew that she was tired and there was still a line of knitters behind me and I couldn’t talk and I needed to disappear quickly into a hole in the ground because I couldn’t make my mouth work along with my brain.

I was carrying my purse (small cars, etc.), my knitting bag containing yarn and various tools, the two pairs of socks on two circs each – now outside the bag, my sweater, Stephanie’s book. My hands were very clumsy, and I kept dropping things. I picked up the bag and dropped the book. I picked up the book and dropped a pair of socks. I picked up the socks and dropped the other socks. I picked up the socks and dropped the bag, and the socks, and my sweater. ohmygod I wanted to just die.

Take your time, Stephanie said. Do you need help?

No, no, no. I’m so sorry. I managed to get out. Then I finally captured all of my errant objects and made my escape.

Ugh. How embarrassing was that? Gentle reader, isn’t that the most extreme case of dorkiness you’ve ever heard of?

I know. It’s the universe’ way of keeping me humble.

P.S. In case anyone wondered, I’m watching the Portland Rose Festival Grand Floral Parade right now. It’s raining. Tradition is preserved.

OK. Contest is over. Winners in a bit. Thank you so much to everyone who commented. You, gentle readers, are so clever!

But first, let me update you on my progress with the lovely sea-camo-weedy socks.

I was knitting at Tangle yesterday. Knitting away on my socks. I was just about ready to turn the heels. There were maybe 3 gusset rows left to go.

I looked down on my sock and I saw it…

There, at the beginning of the gusset, I’d totally messed up the stitch pattern. Yes, it was obvious – now, that I was actually looking at it. No, I couldn’t live with it. In disgust I frogged back to where the seaweed started growing wrongly, and began to reknit the gussets. To my former sock student who was present, I can only say do as I say and not as I do. The other fellow knitster there, V, offered I was told once that you should always check each row right after you knit it.

Yeah… we all do that, don’t we? 🙄

I am knitting away at the gussets again. I can knit along at a fair clip, but my knitting will never win a speed contest. The good news is that I’m still loving these socks. Although the colors have pooled somewhat on the gussets, it still looks all sea-camo-weedy and cool and I can’t wait to see what they do on the ankles.

OK… winners drum roll please

First Prize goes to KT. She was the only one to correctly identify the country of origin of all those new visitors last week: China. I have to admit that the though of my socks running a little underground resistance movement against sock abuse does tickle me.

Whoddathunkit that so many Chinese knitters would all of a sudden want to learn the Magic Cast-on? I wonder how well that page translates?

For second and third prize, I had a terrible time choosing between all of the wonderful comments. Y’all had me laughing hysterically at my socks gallivanting around the world on their many adventures! Next time they go anyplace, I think they’d better take me with them!

I used a random number generator to choose second and third prize, because I just couldn’t pick myself. And the winners were drum roll again, please:

Second prize: Jen, who found my socks visiting Greenland, where all of the socks that get lost in the wash go.

Third prize: yarnyenta. She can’t say where my sock were, for their own protection.

I will be contacting the winners shortly!

Thanks again for playing along, and knit on!

Today Lolly posted a few questions for Socktoberfest participants:

When did you start making socks? Did you teach yourself or were you taught by a friend or relative? or in a class?

I started making socks when #1 Son was learning to drive. I needed a small, portable project that would keep my hands busy. I had recently returned to knitting (from the dark side – crochet), and socks seemed like just the thing. I’ve been knitting off and on for 40 years, but it’s been about 30 since I knit a sock. I picked a free pattern off the web and went for it.

What was your first pair? How have they “held up” over time?

In January, 2005, I finished these bed socks. I still wear them around the house.

What would you have done differently?

I would have made socks that fit! 😆 These are ginormous. And I would have chosen different yarn. My thinking was that acrylic would be washable — this was before I had heard of superwash wool. Actually, my whole sock-making technique has changed since then.

What yarns have you particularly enjoyed?

Socks That Rock and Koigu.

Do you like to crochet your socks? or knit them on DPNs, 2 circulars, or using the Magic Loop method?

Knit two-at-a-time on two circs. Toe up. Magic cast-on. You probably could have guessed that, eh?

Which kind of heel do you prefer? (flap? or short-row?)

Flap and gusset. They just fit my feet better. I have high arches, and short-row heels are too shallow. My favorite flap stitch pattern is Eye Of Partridge, but I try to make the flap fit in with the rest of the sock.

How many pairs have you made?

Sixteen pairs. Eighteen if you count the two sock scarves. 31 if you count all of the teeny tiny sock bookmarks.

And speaking of socks… You’ll note that I’ve added a countdown for the planned Socktober sock timeline over on the right-hand sidebar.

According to the countdown, I have 12 days to finish the first man-sized pair. 12 days. 12. And I’m barely into the toes.

I’m barely into the toes because I’ve frogged the #$@* things out at least three times. For some reason I’m just not happy with how these are turning out. Three times now — three times — I’ve gotten half way up the toe only to look down and see this humongous hole. There is no explanation for this. It’s not like I don’t knit sock toes all the time! But this yarn is a very dark gray, and it’s blasted hard to see what I’m doing. AARRRGGGGHHHHH

I think I finally have a good start going, though. At least I hope so.

12 days.

Yesterday dawned clear and warm – just demanding that the day be spent outdoors. How many more days like this will we get?

And, conveniently, yesterday was the second day of the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival in Canby.

What great timing, eh? So I had a wonderful fiberish day, starting with a whole barn full of fiber-on-the-hoof. And now my city-girl roots will show. (I had horses when I was a kid, but I do not pretend to know anything at all about other kinds of farm animals. I went to the country to ride my horse – she lived in a farmer’s field – and then I went back to the city. OK… the town.)

This happy goat owner was kind enough to let me pet her friend – who apparently really likes both people and cookies. I fantasized about taking this boy home to serve as a bed-warmer on those cold winter nights. Can you imagine running your toes through that lovely cashmere all night? The owner helpfully suggested that the horns would also keep the blankets from weighing down my feet. I doubt that the resident kitties would appreciate a new bed-buddy, though. Alas my fantasy had to be abandoned.

And then there were these lovelies. Look at all that beautiful angora! Doesn’t it make you want to grab your needles and start knitting?

OK… I know there’s a bit of prep work that needs to be done before this fiber is ready for the needles. And since I’m not a spinner I rely on others to do that prep for me. But I am aware of all of the work that goes into it.

Later in the day, as I sat knitting socks and listening to music, one of my fellow fair-goers stopped to chat and ask about my sock techniques. She is a spinner, and has been spinning fingering-weight yarn lately. She hasn’t knit socks for years, but wants to try again. She was interested in my two-socks-on-two-needles knitting. I taught her the Magic Cast-On and asked her about spinning. Oh, she said, If you think you can spend money now…

We both laughed, but she’s right in that I probably don’t really need another money-sucking fun hobby.

And lest you think, gentle reader, that I’m fixated on goats, here are some lovely Jacob sheep. Who wouldn’t fall in love with their spotty beauty and those amazing horns?

It was dark in the barn, and my pictures of the alpaca, the other wonderful kinds of sheep (there was merino, just walking around!), and the bunnies weren’t very successful.

I can report that no living creature so resembles a tribble as an angora rabbit does. With some of them it was hard to tell which end was which! Both ends, though, are covered with amazingly soft fur. They would make good feet warmers, too.

I do think there were fewer animals and more vendors than last year. I hope that’s not a trend, as I really like the animals. Actually, it would be great to have a ton of animals and a ton of vendors.

For those who prefer their fiber a little more processed, there were two buildings crammed to the gills with all things fibery, from bags of fleece to roving to silk to yarn.

Want a new spindle? There were several booths with gorgeous spindles. Organic, natural-color cotton? Nostepinne? Books? Cashmere socks? Lace shawls? It was all here.

And yarn… yarn of every fiber that could possibly be spun. Yarn of every weight from the finest cobweb to the heaviest bulky. Yarn for knitting, yarn for weaving, yarn for crewel, yarn for tatting — yarn just for the sake of yarn. What more could a yarn collector ask for?

I knew I was in heaven.

Of course, one of the first booths I came across was Blue Moon.

Did you know that Sock Candy comes in about a gazillion solid colors? That whole rack in the front is all Sock Candy.

Look, under the windows… that’s all Socks That Rock. All of it. In three different weights. In amazing colors that I’ve never seen before and that aren’t available on their web site. (I don’t belong to the sock club, and some of these colors might have been introduced there.)

I’m sorry for the blurry nature of the picture. My hands may have been shaking. Just a little.

Outside there was sunshine, food, spinners, spinners and more fiber.

A whole circle of spinners – both women and men – sat in the shade under the trees doing cool things with their wheels. There were spinners everywhere. See at the table? Someone spinning with a drop-spindle.

Everywhere I looked there were spinners. I kept thinking I’d really like to know how to do that. It looks so cool! Thus my comments about learning to spin to the fair-goer who asked about my socks.

But one hobby is probably enough.

Music at OFFF this year was provided by The Standing Stones from the Bay Area.

They played songs from their CD Give Fleece A Chance, an international collection of songs about sheep, shearing, wool, spinning, weaving, and all other things sheepy. Shearing songs on harp. It was great!

Unfortunately I missed actually getting the CD. I was busy knitting and talking. Several people came over to ask me about my socks. One woman asked if I was knitting two socks at once in order to make sure they striped the same. I looked at the randomly-striping Trekking and thought to myself that if that were the case I wasn’t succeeding very well. Out loud, to the vast amusement of those around, I told the truth: I do it this way because I would never otherwise knit the second sock.

When I finished chatting, I noticed that the music had stopped. I turned around and the band was gone. I looked for a website for them, but can’t find one. If anyone knows where to get this CD, please pass the info along to me. It would be was great music to knit by!

One more picture from the fair. And sorry that this picture turned out so badly. Forgive my horrible photography, please.

On the left… a sheep. On the right… a dog.

Notice that, although they are the same color and have almost the same length of pelt, the dog is about 10 times bigger than the sheep.

That dog is bigger than some of the alpaca I saw in the barn.

That is easily the biggest dog I have ever seen in real life.

It was a very nice, dog. Very mellow. I was tempted to ask the owner if she shears him yearly, but I restrained myself. And, before you ask, the sheep was being led around on a leash and didn’t seem to mind at all. A most satisfying end to a most satisfying afternoon.

On the way home, I took the opportunity to ride the Canby Ferry.

I’m a sucker for ferries.

It’s only a short ride across the Willamette River. But I still think it’s fun. And at $1.25 per one-way ticket, it’s a pretty cheap amusement. I held the camera out the window of my car to take this picture. I was first in line so I’m right at the front of the ferry. See how beautiful it was on the river?

Now… Last year I didn’t buy anything at OFFF. I was so overwhelmed by all of the yarn, that I couldn’t choose showed admirable restraint by coming home empty handed.

This year…

There might have been just a tiny, tiny, wee amount of stash enhancement.

At the bottom on the left are a hank of cobweb-thin angora lace weight and a hank of merino lace weight. There is about 1300 yards of each, so there’s plenty enough for a couple of really nice shawls.

At the bottom on the right is bulky weight organic, naturally colored cotton. The color washed out in the picture. In real life it’s a bulky strand of something between an ecru mixed with celery wrapped by a thin strand of cream. It’s unbelievably soft. I haven’t decided what to do with this yet. I have about 270 yards. Maybe a hat, or a scarf?

All of the rest is sock yarn, and so doesn’t count. It’s for the yarn collection, y’know. And if it seems like there’s a preponderance of Blue Moon yarns represented… yeah… well…

The Lapis socks (now renamed Tangled Up In Blue) are finished, washed and blocked. And here they are, posing on my Butterfly Bush. Click on the pic for the bigger version so you can see how weirdly fraternal these socks turned out. It’s the same yarn, but you’d hardly know that to look at it. The sock on the left has much more of the lime green color apparent, and it pooled a lot. The sock on the right has more of the turquoise blue, didn’t pool at all, and striped on the ankle. Go figure.

I don’t care. I like them in their fraternalness. If I wanted them to look the same, I wouldn’t have picked hand-dyed yarn!

One other point: If they look skinny for their length it’s because I made them to fit my feet. The pattern is written to fit people that have normal feet!

Pattern: My own, available on the Freebies page or here

The Particulars:

• Yarn: Blue Moon Sock Candy, colorway: Lapis, most of two skeins
• Needles: Inox gray, US#2 (2.75mm)
• knit toe-up, two at a time
• Magic Cast-On
• Picot edging
• drop-stitch lace stitch pattern on ankle
• flap & gusset heel with slipped-stitch heel pattern

I am not a pink person. I’m just not. I can look at pink objects and see how others — you know who you are — would like them. I’ve been known to knit pink objects for friends who are pinkaholics. But I’m just not a pink person myself.

That rule very nearly went out the window today as I, for the bazillionth time, lusted after admired the Socks That Rock in colorway Mist. I picked it up from Tangle’s window this afternoon and fondled it. There’s something about pink and brown together that I really do like. Pink and brown and raspberry and…

And I set the yarn down, backed carefully away, and sat down on the other side of the store to finish the last few rows of the Lapis socks.

I know what you’re thinking. That yarn in the picture was too strong for me and I was forced to buy it and bring it home. Not true! I was saved by the good graces of Lori Rode. Those two skeins went home with her. But isn’t it beautiful? I had to share a picture so you could see why a non-pink person would be so temped!

Yeah, yeah… I know. I have such a dearth of sock yarn. But that doesn’t mean I don’t hear it calling to me…

Sarah Elizabeth asks:

That yarn is BEAUTIFUL, what is it?

Hi, Sarah Elizabeth. The yarn is Blue Moon Fiber Arts Sock Candy in colorway Lapis. It’s the cotton cousin to Socks That Rock. The colors are a lot better in person. I’ll try to get better pics with the finished socks.

I’m known as jabecker on Extreme Tech, but I rarely post there any more.

Adriana opines:

I LOVE those socks! I can’t wait until you post the pattern. I think I’ll do the foot of my sock in 2×2 rib so hopefully I’ll get to the leg around when you post the pattern (no pressure though 😆 )

Thank you, Adriana! The socks are finished, and blocking even as we speak. I plan to have the pattern up tomorrow. Or at least within the next few days. If you start with the 2×2 rib, you should be fine. Just make sure that the total number of stitches is evenly divisible by 8.

Kristie asks:

I love your magic cast-on, but I’m unable to figure out how far up my foot to knit before I start the heel section. I’ve only knit 3 pairs of socks though (I’m a self-taught knitter).

I’m also knitting a pair of socks from Blue Moon Fiber Arts. It has got to be some of the most beautifully dyed yarn I’ve ever seen.

Also, who made your sock forms? I’d love to get some for blocking since I’ve finally decided I like making socks.

Hi, Kristie! If you are knitting a traditional flap-and-gusset heel toe-up, my rule of thumb is that when you are finished with the gusset increases and are ready to turn the heel the sock should be long enough to reach about the back of your ankle bones. To know when to start the gusset increases, measure your row gauge on the foot, figure out the length of the gusset increases, and subtract that from the toe-to-ankle bone measurement. For example, let’s say the length of your foot from toe to the back of your ankle bone is 8″, you are knitting 12 rows/inch, and the pattern calls for 16 gusset rows (that’s 8 increases on each side, worked every other row). The gussets will be about 1-1/3″ long (16 rows divided by 12 rows/inch). So you should start the gussets when your sock is about 6-2/3″ long (8″ minus the length of the gussets). If you finish the gusset increases and the sock is still too short, you can always knit a few extra rows and it won’t look weird.

My sock blockers are made by Fibertrends. I purchased them at a local yarn shop. You can also make some pretty nifty ones out of wire coat hangers. I don’t have the link for it handy, but if you google sock blockers you should find it.

Good on you for being a self-taught knitter! That’s very cool. Have you been knitting long?

A new knitter in the form of a teenager was born today at Tangle. That’s always so fun to watch! Such enthusiasm!

I have a new pair of socks on the needles now. I’m combining STR in Stonewash (a faded denim blue) and Mudslide (shades of brown). I will post a pic when they get further along.