Knitterly weekend

This weekend I went to the Purl Jam knitting retreat in Blacksburg, VA. Gina, the owner of Mosaic Yarn Shop, organized a wonderful weekend full of shopping, knitting, and taking classes. The instructors were Annie Modesitt, Cornelia Tuttle-Hamilton, and Jared. I, of course, am a big fan of Jared's, so I had picked 2 of his classes as my first choice and 2 as my second choice. When I got my class assignments, I found out that I was in ALL of his classes. Ack! What was he going to think of me? Would we become friends, or would he think I was some nerdy Brooklyn Tweed groupie?? It was all good, though. He didn't think I was weird (or at least didn't let on that he did). After spending the weekend with him, I feel obligated to design an aran sweater knit in the round then steeked (!!!) to become a cardigan. I think I'll do this for Hayden for the fall - smaller scale, plus his McTavish cardigan is getting a wee bit small.

Yesterday morning Annie did a Tips and Tricks class for everyone. She's great - she teaches you the most amazing things so thoroughly that there's no way you won't catch on before you leave the room, and she does it in a very funny, entertaining way. Be forewarned, though: if you're in one of her classes, DON'T TALK. She's very clear that she is the only one to be talking.

In addition to taking classes from these incredible designers, I also did some shopping. 15 skeins of tweedy grey Kathmandu Aran for a Cobblestone Pullover for Mike. (I'm not providing a link to the sweater. If you're a knitter, you know which one I'm talking about. If you're not a knitter, you probably really don't care what it looks like. You can wait for the FO.) 10 skeins of Claudia's Handpainted wet spun linen for the Sasha skirt. 2 books - Cornelia's Noro Revisited and Yahaira Ferreira's Sensual Knits, which has a Jared design in it. I almost bought some more yarn for a Norah Gaughan cardi that I've been coveting for a while, but there were only 2 skeins of a color that I needed 3 of. Mike probably went in there before me and hid it so I couldn't buy it.

Here are some pictures from the weekend:

Is Jared really about to cut his knitting? In front of EVERYONE??? Yikes!

I suggested that he do a shot of tequila before picking up the scissors, but he declined. What a brave man.

Jared wearing the infamous Cobblestone.

Me with Jared and Cornelia. Although I didn't take any of her classes, I did get to spend some time with her. She's really funny and very super-cool.

Jared, Cornelia, Gina and Annie. Gina is kick-ass. I'd totally hang out in her shop if I lived in Blackburg. Go to her shop blog to see more Purl Jam pics, including one of me flipping her the bird.

I got quite a bit of knitting done in the car. I'm almost done with my Babydoll Top - a picture of it should be coming within the next several days. I must get it done soon so I can cast on for my new skirt and also for my Katharine Vest that I keep blogging about. And I also have to start designing Hayden's Aran cardigan. And I have some socks to make for him. And I bought the Rusted Root pattern last week. And Mike's Cobblestone. And I'm going to do a second Cobblestone for Hayden. And I'm going to join Mosaic's knitalong for a Central Park Hoodie. Good thing I'm an injured triathlete this summer and have more time on my hands!!!