Since last we chatted...

...more has happened than I can possibly blog. Let's go to the bullet points!

• the magical Sock Summit
• a lovely vacation trip with my mom and sister
• the fall issue of Knitty, celebrating 7 years of Knitty goodness and a gentle redesign
• a trip to The Knitting Nest in a really comfy, not-hot Austin, TX [I didn't think the not-hot was possible!]
• a trip to WEBS -- New England in early fall [heaven!]
  

You already know about Sock Summit [see the post below for wrap-up links all over the web], and the vacation was much needed.

The fall issue of Knitty was the result of months of planning, work and not a little fretting. We're all glad you like it, very! It was a huge relief to go live...a redesign of any sort is always a bigger undertaking than you envision until you're right in the mucky middle of it. I learned a lot, that's for sure.

The Knitting Nest was just a lovely, warm place full of great yarn and nice people. You know the reputations Texans have for hospitality -- well, Stacy and her crew [and her charming husband and daughter!] took more than excellent care of me. We had a great class and a lovely party to celebrate their anniversary and poof, I was home before I knew it!

I've been traveling mostly camera-less lately. Too much to shlep with the uke, I guess. But I did take a few pics with the iPhone on my last trip -- to WEBS -- and you've gotta see them.

WEBS itself is really indescribable. It has nearly everything from every company that makes yarn, and even the work of some smaller hand-dyers. Bags, tools, spinning things, weaving things. And then there's the back room where the bags of discounted yarnish goodies reside, and it's hard not to walk around with your mouth open. For a long time. Just wow. I was so stunned by it all, I took not a single picture inside the shop. But here's their highway billboard:



I had a great Plug & Play shawl design class with really excited and motivated students, and a lovely No Sheep lecture the night before. I bought a sweater's worth of, not kidding, Berroco Comfort worsted, to make this [rav link], and a little yarn for a few friends. On my last afternoon, it was decided that I needed to see a little of the surrounding area

My tour guides, Karen [the lovely shop manager] and Melissa Morgan-Oakes [who I'd never met before this trip, despite us being in the same places more than once over the years] made sure I got a little infusion of New England before I went home. Yankee Candle? Sure! A quick stop at Scandihoovians, yup! But here was the highlight of our spontaneous road trip:


I know that logo. No way. Lexie Barnes' showroom is within driving distance of WEBS? I freaked out.


Here's Lexie with samples from her brand-new line. And I finally got to put my hands on it...folks, the fabric we all know and love is BACK! The nearly bulletproof fabric that is the friend of knitting and the enemy of spills. It feels so solid and smooooth, and look at her new prints!

The little shiny thing in her hand? That's her brand-new circular needle case. It's brilliant! The page on her website doesn't give a hint at the insides, so this is your sneak peek! Lots and lots of pages to hold your needles and way more, plus it zips closed so nothing escapes. Wow.


Another [slightly blurry, sorry] pic of the new goodies. The Kiri print looks bright red on her site, but it really is this deep burgundy color, so I wanted you to see.

One of the other things I've been excited to see is Lexie's new bag shape, the McCoy.


Now, this print is called Lotus and it's not on her site because the factory screwed up and the color isn't what she'd ordered. I personally love the color as is, but Lexie is the designer, and what she says goes! Meanwhile, if you like this pattern, you can grab it if you move fast. Lexie is having a sample sale, this coming Saturday (Oct 3) from 10-5. She'll have bags in this Lotus fabric (limited quantity of course), special deals on sample Classic Lexie totes, and other surprises.

Anyway, back to the McCoy -- yup, she gave me one of them to take home with me and you'll never guess what fits inside this bag:


That's my sopranino ukulele. Fits in perfectly, with tons of room to spare for yarn and everything else a traveling knitter might want. My full review of the bag will be in the winter issue of Knitty, but I just couldn't keep my lips zipped about this one, especially for those who are close enough to grab a sample at the sale this weekend.

---

So that's a very spotty, very shwag-oriented catch-up post. I'm home for a two-month stretch now and you may see a little more action on the blog than you're used to.