In which I sound like a total fangirl.

After all the work, preparation, and sleepless nights, Stitches South arrived.



I had a great time meeting people at Stitches South. When I signed up to do Stitches, way back when in August, I had my trepidations. I've worked for Gale of Gale's Art at several shows, but this one would be all on me. What if after all my work I totally failed? Yikes! (In all honesty, I'd do what I'm doing with some of the yarns that were never glanced at and overdye them, either in the dyepot or painting them to see just what will happen.) It turns out that it was a wonderful experience, and if I didn't feel so danged tired this morning, I wouldn't have known that it was hard work.



I got to meet so many knitters, crocheters, weavers and other fibery folks. I got to meet some of the spouses who really have no interest at all, but they were willing to attend. I didn't expect to have as much fun as I did, and all the folks I met are what made it so fun. The only times Stitches felt like work was the set up and the tear down.



So, on to name dropping and feeling awestruck. I got to meet Tobias, the man behind Malabrigo. Let me see if I have a good sci-fi analogy. Meeting Tobias is to the knit world what meeting Nathan Fillion is to a Firefly fan. Awesome! Tobias is just the nicest person. My husband took a picture of the two of us, and in it I did my best Earl Hickey imitation. My eyes were closed, but I didn't want to hold up Tobias any longer as he had a plane to catch, and he'd been nice enough to take a second and pose with me.



Let me say a word about Malabrigo. If you've seen my projects on Ravelry, I use a lot of Malabrigo Merino Worsted. It is the catalyst that got me into dyeing. Back when I was working at the LYS, I'd open a bag of Malabrigo and wonder just how they could all be the same dyelot when every skein was different. I took Gale's beginning dye classes to gain a better understanding of it, and you see where I am now.



I got to meet the Knit Girllls. I'll be on one of their podcasts! Any illusions you may have that I'm articulate, smooth or slightly sophisticated will be dashed when you see my goofy, somewhat klutzy self. I suppose most people get a little nervous when they are being filmed for a podcast that has quite a following. In real life, I have a tendency towards being slightly hermitish. You know, hide in my cave (kitchen) all day long, and some days I don't talk to anyone but my husband and pets. Yes, I know how that makes me sound. Knowing that I'll be seen by lots of knitters is for me both humbling and babble-inducing. However, who in their right mind would say no to the Knit Girllls? While I'll admit that "right mind" is one of those things that depends on your own personal definition, like "normal" does, I said yes and blundered right through it. I hope you'll laugh with me and enjoy it!



I also got to see Allen, the creative brain behind numma numma. I've known her for several years now (ooh, I get to say I knew her before she was famous! I never thought I'd get to say that!) She's always a delightful person to be around. I've not seen her much lately as she and her family got to live in Mexico for about 6 months this past year. I'm hoping I can run into her soon and hear about her adventures, but she's getting numma numma back and running after her hiatus.



Over the past couple of years when I've travelled with Gale and of course at the previous two Stitches South, I've seen Gryphon of The Sanguine Gryphon. I know you other knitters and crocheters understand, but I've been intimidated by her. After all, she's one of the dyers that we all want to be. She posts an update, and you'd better stand back and just watch the yarn fly out of her shop. She's one of the rock stars of the yarn world. It turns out that she is a very sweet and nice person.



I also got a chance to talk with Dianne of Creatively Dyed. She's working on putting together another fiber fest, one for June 2012 in Charlotte, NC. Wheels are turning.



While I was there I did sign up for the Friends and Fiberworks Summer Retreat. It's in Asheville, NC, July 15-17, 2011. I really had fun at Stitches. I'll be at the Carolina Fiber Fest next month, but it seemed like an awfully long time between that and SAFF. The Summer Retreat will give me another festival in between those two, and it's not so close that I'll feel like I have to dye yarn from dawn to dusk. (That starts again on Wednesday. Today I really have to catch up on laundry, scrub the kitchen and do some grocery shopping so I don't have to live off yogurt and canned soups!)



I will have a few shop updates between now and Carolina Fiber Fest. I got panicky about Stitches and ended up hoarding yarns, but I feel more relaxed now that I've got one show under my belt.

I know I haven't mentioned everyone I saw this past weekend, and any oversight is due to lack of sleep. I'll update more when my brain cells are back in better working order.