Camp STITCHES Part Deux

Lets see, what did I not go over yesterday?! Saturday afternoon was a free one. We had class from 9-12pm and the rest of the day up until 7:30 was free. Mom and I did some knitting and some napping. All of the others were busy finding their way around Albuquerque to the knit shops or the Art Fair that was going on down at Expo New Mexico. We spent some time with Rick in the afternoon after he'd returned from the Art Fair. I enjoyed talking to him tremendously. He is funny, witty, and very animated. Never a dull conversation with Rick! That evening we were invited to dine with a few others at the fine dining restaurant on the Tamaya property called The Corn Maiden. We accepted and also extended the invite to another camper named Evelyn. Evelyn was an elderly lady who used a walker and arrived late to Camp STITCHES. We wanted to include Evelyn in as much as we could because, well, we were afraid she was sort of getting left behind simply because she moved slower than everyone else. She was a very kind lady with a funny dry sense of humor. I enjoyed her company. Dinner at The Corn Maiden was one of the best meals I had ever had. It was incredible. Yes, I took pictures of my food. Because I'm crazy like that. I started off with a Caprese salad that was the best I had ever had. Heirloom tomatoes with stuffed mozzarella and a blood orange reduction drizzled over the top of it. OMG...


 Yup. That's a big ole' orange slice in the middle. The whole thing was so refreshing. Best Caprese salad I have ever had.  I ordered the duck for my  main entree. I have no idea what kind of demi glace was on top but it was amazing.It was served with a potato pate which was kind of like potatoes au gratin only in a nice cut out shape. Served along side was broccolini and the whole thing was plated on butternut squash puree. Simply divine...


It was perfect. Mom had a lobster and pasta dish after having the best corn bisque she'd ever had. Lots of good food! The food the Tamaya served us was also really something. They took great care in preparation and presentation and always made sure everyone had what they wanted or needed. Everything was gluten free or had a gluten free or vegetarian option. The staff was remarkable. Everyone was always smiling. They seemed genuinely happy to be there and that's saying something about the company they work for. If we were walking down the halls carrying anything, if we passed a staff member they would always ask us if there was anything they could do, or could carry for us. It truly was a resort. A getaway. Unfortunately, my bestie Dilshani could not getaway with us. I always take lots of pics, not only for my blog, but to make sure she can always feel like she is a part of where ever we are doing whatever it is we are doing. Dilshani's idol Janel Laidman was one of the teachers on the trip and she was heartbroken that she was missing the opportunity to meet her in a more intimate and one on one environment. So, I tried to bring it to Dilshani....


That's Janel wearing a lovely headband of BFL fiber! Very Janel! We also had her sign a book for Dilshani which we left as a surprise for her. She was tickled to pieces to receive it Tuesday evening at knitting! Meanwhile, back in my classroom, I was working away and knitting pieces. Here is a pic of Myra's new book...


I saw my friend Debbie's copy and she had hers spiral bound at Staples or Kinko's or something. I think I'll do the same since it will be far more easier to work with having it spiral bound. At any rate, I had Myra sign it for me...of course...


Saturday evening at 7:30 we had Jeannie Randolph, owner of Fiesta Yarns, come and give a presentation to us about color. Seemed simple enough but there were so many things I didn't know about and found the presentation to be fascinating. I didn't get a picture of her but should have. I spoke with her after she talked to us about possibly doing a program for our Guild. She was very enthusiastic about it and said Yes immediately, gave me a card and said to contact her anytime. I was so thrilled about that because I know everyone in Guild would love to hear about the same things we learned about. Did you know there are 2 organizations, neither of which I can remember, that their job is predicting which colors will be popular 24 months from now. This is heavily influenced by the fashion industry but even still. Wow. This affects the kinds of colors that companies pay attention to when it comes to dyeing yarn. It was really fascinating. Sunday was our last day of classes and I spent a lot of time knitting away and mattress stitching pieces together. Yesterday I talked so much about Myra's class. There really isn't anything else I can say other than GO BUY HER BOOK. You wont be sorry. I imagine you'll be inspired to build a sweater. Meanwhile, back at Moms classroom, she was achieving amazing results from her instruction....


This is one of my favorite pictures of Mom and Janel from the weekend. Mom was so happy! The class she took was titled "Color Tricks in Spinning" so she learned many new ways to incorporate color, how to do it to achieve the affect you want and most of all...she learned how to make a gradient yarn! I am so stinkin' excited about that. When I saw it come off the wheel I put in an order for 900 yds of fingering weight gradient please! I cant wait to have enough to design a shawl with.
Sunday evening we would all be meeting at 7:30 to share what we've learned. I have to give it to the spinners, they were the most creative in what they did. Here's Mom prepping for it...


They all wore BFL braids as headbands...holding their spinning cards fanned out and then started to sing. As soon as the first note hit I understand why she didn't tell me about any of this! They say "Albuquerque Was A Turkey!" Ironically, I grew up singing that song around the Holidays in Ohio. Little did I know that I would eventually end up Albuquerque. Mom taught everyone the lyrics and they practiced and practiced until this came out hilariously!


When they were all done with the song, they turned around and flapped their fanned out spinning cards like turkey feathers!


Rick was so tickled that he came closer to take his own photos...


Patty's class went next, then we were next. It was all in good fun. It was also goodbye for many of the ladies that had early flights out Monday morning. So we all lingered for a few and hugged each other and said good bye to those we had come to know. It was such a special time for me. My very first STITCHES event and it was Camp STITCHES. I felt very blessed to have been able to be a part of it all. Mom and I took Monday morning rather leisurely. Check out wasn't until noon but we still had breakfast to get to at 8am. We did breakfast then after that we packed up and headed out. I took one last pic from our room and then we headed on...


I think it was about 10:30 when we pulled out. Audrey Grace was very pleased to have up home when we got here....


She was all over us when we walked in! We had so much crap between Mom and I...


Remember the yarn bags that we all got when we first arrived?! I wrote about them in yesterdays post. This was what we got....


And a closer look at Moms spinning which is amazing....the color work is spectacular...


Here's an extra close up the gradient that she did which is AMAZING...


Pretty spectacular, right?! I KNOW! Here is what Myra gave us when we first got into class...


And Audrey Grace was very curious...


I know I showed this pic yesterday but I ran right out and bought the necessary equipment to get started on my steam blocking...


And this is what I'm doing with it now...this was last night...


And as of this afternoon I have one side of the border completed...


How cool is that?! I really like it and have a feeling I'll love it when its done and has borders on all four sides. I will continue to post as I go along and share with you what I'm doing with this process. I still haven't decided yet on worsted weight yarn or fingering weight yarn for the sweater. I don't know yet.

Handmade Holiday is coming together just nicely. But the more I do the more I am beginning to think I will not get those 2 shawls done until after the first of the year. This is okay. The only deadline I'm on is one to myself. More Holiday stuff arrived in the mail today and I cannot wait for them to be opened by my friends! I hope they really like them! So I'm continuing on with my knitting and such. Would love to hear what you are all up to and if you are doing Holiday Knitting this season. Until next time...Knit On!

Comments

Popular Posts