Socks and a much belated Stitches West 2022 recap

I've been so busy with both paid and unpaid philatelic society responsibilities that I completely forgot to post a Stitches West 2022 recap.  Recently I've assumed the positions of both NorCal Regional VP and Website Editor of the USPCS (United States Philatelic Classics Society).  

You can view the rest of the video HERE.

Last week I was elected as the Executive Secretary of the Scandinavian Collectors Club and I continue to assist the Collectors Club of New York with social networking and membership outreach.  Sometimes it just feels like there aren't enough hours in the day to stay on top of everything in addition to family life, my Etsy shop, working and teaching at Atelier (photo below left), managing my mail art swaps and correspondence with 30+ worldwide penpals and just life in general.

 

On my way up to Sacramento, I stopped at Fiber Circle Studio in Petaluma for the first time (photo above right).  I've been wanting to visit this store since it opened but it has limited hours of operation that just never meshed with my schedule. It's a delightful shop and I am hoping to eventually take some weaving classes there with my IG buddy, Nicole.  More about her later...!

After attending the Marketplace Preview on Thursday night, my Bay Area buds, Jenise, Kristine and I went for dinner at The Grange, the restaurant connected to our hotel.  It was an AMAZING meal!

We had an absolutely delightful dinner but unfortunately, right as I was about to go to bed, something in my tummy just didn't feel right.  Long story short, after spending hours convulsing on the floor, in the bathroom shuking (simultaneously puking and shitting violent diarrhea), Kristine called 911.  I was transported to the ER in an ambulance, naked (all of my clothes were soiled, gross), totally dehydrated and barely conscious.  After 5 different IV's, having my blood drawn 3x in 4 hours and a CT scan, I was finally released around 5AM.  I was diagnosed with an extremely severe case food poisoning and now, nearly a month later, I still don't feel 100% but I am very thankful to be alive.  Being in the ER at a hospital far from home, during COVID-19 is not something I would even wish upon my worst enemy.  The staff also managed to accidentally throw my phone in a biohazard bin not just once but twice during my stay.

 

Anyway, I did recover enough over the weekend of the show to enjoy what was left of it but unsurprisingly, I still haven't finished my Spark Cardi.  

I had no freaking clue that knitting the belt alone would take nearly as long as it took to knit the entire sweater.  I'm still only about 1/3 finished with the belt.  Then I have only the belt loops left before I am completely finished.

Anyway, the Marketplace and overall vibe of Stitches was extremely subdued this year.  It was a ton of fun and while it satisfied my social fiber festival needs, there just wasn't much of anything that really caught my eye as much as shows of the past.  The purchase that I was most intrigued by was the blue 3-D resin printed yarn bowl pictured above.

Aside from not dying, the real highlight of my weekend was meeting my aforementioned IG buddy, Nicole from Davis, IRL at my friend Jon's record store/cafe, Pressed.  We had such an instantly incredible connection that we hung out at the cafe for an entire day (like 8 hours straight) just talking, knitting and crocheting!  I feel so stoked and honored to have met such a wonderful crafty lady through our mutual appreciation of fiber arts.  Ironically, we were having so much fun that we forgot to take a selfie together to commemorate our meeting but at least I have this hilarious photo of Xena wearing one of the super cool bags that Nicole crocheted for us.

I already posted about these socks on IG but I forgot to document them here.

 

The Silky Sock yarn is from Honey Girl Farms in their Nutcracker: The Magic of Christmas colorway.  I believe this was one of those Rhinebeck OOAK exclusives.

 

Last weekend we flew to St. Louis for their Stamp Expo where Matt exhibit his Danish West Indies postal history exhibit.  He won the highest award possible for his exhibit and we had a terrific time swimming in the hotel pool and catching up with all of our philatelic friends.  All of this flying meant I had plenty of time for knitting and I spent as much time as possible finishing these adorable little socks for Armen's 2nd birthday.

 

 

There's no specific pattern but I posted all of the details on IG.

Now Xena is jealous and she wants more of her own.

But usually her feet get so hot that every time I put her in handknit socks for school, she comes home in bare feet.

In other news, Xena finally wound her first cake of fingering weight yarn all by herself!  If I were a religious person, I would have to admit, my prayers have finally been answered.

What else is happening?  My super adorable Spring Equinox offering and yarn subscription from Ritual Dyes just arrived!

Their annual spring cleaning sale is going on RIGHT NOW, this very day.  Sadly, I spaced out, slept in and totally forgot about it so I missed out on all of the mystery bags but I did manage to grab a few nice things that I will share with my readers as soon as they arrive.

The final big news that I have to share is next month, Matt and I are travelling to Lugano, Switzerland for the Helvetia World Stamp Exhibition.  Matt will be exhibiting his United States 1870-88 Bank Note issue Postal History collection.  We are dropping Xena off with my in-laws in Boston en route to Zurich and using this trip to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary, Xena-free.  I've never been to Switzerland before.  Matt's has been there a few times but never to Lugano.  I can't wait to explore a new European destination but am also feeling some mild trepidation regarding COVID-19.