Socks on a Train!

Yesterday I rode the Stitch ' Ride train from Sacramento to Stitches West. What a riot! There were over 400 knitters on a special train just for us. I had a ball. We all got a tote bag with goodies and there were snacks and prize drawings too. The only thing missing was yarn to buy--but there was plenty at Stitches! It was my first time to the show and it was a sensory overload. I overheard a knitter say, "I feel like a one-eyed dog in a weenie factory!"

My first stop was the Ravelry booth. I got to meet the actual people behind Ravelry and they were so friendly and fun (in my excitement, I forgot to take a picture of them). They had a contest for Ravelers. We were issued a "Stitches Passport" (Bob was on the cover, of course) with pages for a number of vendors we had to visit and get a stamp. Once the pages were all stamped, we turned them in for a prize drawing. It was really fun meeting all the vendors and chatting while we got our stamps.

It took me a while, but I finally worked my way over to Blue Moon Fiber Arts and chatted it up with the famous (infamous?) Sockateers, Hot Flash, Cockeyed, and Etta Mae. They are a delight! The monkeys were behaving themselves (one of them was napping), which was a bit dissapointing.

I tried to resist buying any STR since I'm going to sock camp in April, but resistance is futile. I showed enormous restraint though, and only bought two skeins. I found a few other yarns I couldn't live without (what's with all the green?).

On the way home on the train my friends and I (accidentally, I assure you) stole someone's table who had gone to the dining car to get a snack. When she came back she let us stay and we had a lot of fun getting to know Jody! She admitted at the end of the ride that she was glad we stole her table.

Now I have a week to catch up with my real life before I leave for Asilomar with my quilting friends. 20 quilters. 5 days. Nothing but sewing (and knitting in my case), eating, drinking and laughing. I can't wait!