nerd knits

Oh. My. GOD.

There are no words.

I don’t even know where to begin.

Of course, it started with a couple minor disasters. A very tearful goodbye to my sweetie that probably had onlookers thinking that I would be gone for years. A pocket knife that I forgot I had in my purse that the very nice security guy took back to Bradon to take home. And, to top it all off, I got to the gate, pulled out my sock, and realized that I’d left the pattern sitting on the coffee table at home. A desperate call to Bradon from the ramp resulted in a quickly sketched out chart.

Good enough.

After a night of sleep so brief it was almost a nap, I dragged myself out of bed and put on the most appropriate shirt ever…

(Imagine a picture here…for some reason, I can’t get the damn thing to load.)

and went to heaven.

It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Knitters, everywhere. Beautiful shawls, sweaters and socks. Knitters delirious with excitement. Knitters admiring each other’s work, sharing ideas, laughing and talking. Everywhere you go, you can just sit down, pull out your knitting, and make friends. It’s beyond my wildest dreams.

And the people you just run into! I stepped outside for a breath of fresh air, and found myself in a conversation with Anne Hanson, Jess and Mary-Heather. I sat down at a random table to knit and found myself sitting next to this incredible woman:

Do you know who this is? This is Sarah Hauschka. She invented the magic loop technique. This woman made it possible for me to knit Donegal’s sleeves without losing my mind. (Yes, I thanked her.)

The marketplace opened at 4:30 to great excitement and applause.

And was followed by a silent auction that, in one hour, made $5700 for Doctors without Borders.

And then the Opening Ceremony.

Oh, the Opening Ceremony.

Stephanie and Tina told us the story of how this all came to be. They introduced all the teachers. Barbara Walker and Anna Zilboorg got standing ovations. There was uprorious laughter and more than a few tears. It was incredible.

There was a table full of famous people.

There was BARBARA WALKER.

I got to meet Amy Singer and admire her new ukulele (and show off Decimal to her.)

It’s all just… oh, so wonderful.

And yes, there’s still some anxiety, but it’s so worth it. I worry, but at the same time I feel so happy and capable, and so very glad I swallowed my fear and did this. Everyone here is so lovely, so gracious, so kind and friendly and open and….

Yeah.