KNITTING CONVENTION - Day Two, in which I make a run for it ...

Continuing my Convention diary....on the official Opening Day of the convention, I made a run for it.

I managed to pry myself out of my Heavenly Bed. Westin Hotels says it has a Heavenly Bed, and they aren't lying! You can buy one for yourself here and it will only cost ya $2,565! This includes all the many pillows, the Heavenly Duvet, the Heavenly sheets and the Heavenly mattress and boxspring. It is the most wonderful bed on earth. I thought I loved the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago best of all, but they don't have Heavenly Beds.

ANYWAY, we started out with Breakfast and a Fashion Show! Pretty neat! We had scrambled eggs on biscuits which was fairly unusual for this Prairie Woman, plus potatoes, OJ, coffee, etc. Did I mention TKGA charged us $25.00 for this event? Our teachers modeled sample sweaters from the vendors in the Fiber Market. Lily Chin is really a doll, and her sample shawl from her new beaded knit/crochet book was a real hit. Nancie Wiseman is a very, very good sport and quite the model! Laura Bryant and Barry Klein did the honors introducing the pieces. There was a sweater from a Twisted Sisters kit, "Building Blocks", that really caught my eye. It was hand-dyed yarns, entrelac at the shoulders and then modular knitting. Up close in the FiberMart it looked messy, but from a distance it was a knock-out! Great Yarns of Everett, WA had the kit.

And then I ran away!

I paid $440 for the 3-day conference pass, plus another $30 for pre-conference seminars on Thursday. I listed six first-choice classes, and six second-choice classes for the regular conference schedule. I paid my money. This was back before Valentine's Day. Guess how many first or second choice classes I actually got into? ONE. I was assigned to the rest. Now, some of these were very, very fortunate assignments. But it is a cautionary tale -- register early. Very early. As soon as you have the money, as soon as you see the schedule posted.

I got assigned to Embellishments for Tote Bags. Not for me. Besides, I had the little monthly Atlanta Arts guide in my hot little hands and they had a real gem to tempt me away.

Anne Truitt at the Michael Carlos Museum of Emory University

How can I explain what Anne Truitt has meant to me over the years? She is a remarkable woman, writer and artist. Her work is very minimalist, with all that the Minimalist school means. Many slender, colorful columns. Think about borders and edges -- she likes you to look at places where context and meaning change. The sharp edges of her columns meeting empty space. The places on the columns where there are color changes -- do the colors at the borders where two colors meet change the way the individual colors look? Go up the column and think about that pure color, then look at where it meets the next color -- both colors look different at the border where they meet. She is very concerned about pure color.

She also has published her diaries. She is now 80 years old, and she has decades of diaries describing her struggle to be a wife, mother, daughter, and artist. She has not had extraordinary advantages and she created her life from no more than most of us have. She made interesting choices along the way, and some of them did not work well. She lived adaptively and tried to make the best life possible while remaining true to her committment to a creative life. Her three diaries are fascinating (Daybook, Turn and Prospect).

Below are pictures of the Michael Carlos Gallery building, designed by architect Michael Graves. Emory has a gorgeous campus, full of notable buildings. The gallery is full of wondrous artwork, but I must admit, I loved the cafeteria. I had a smoked turkey sandwich (on focaccia, with fresh mozzarella, avocado, bacon, and mustard), penne pasta salad, and a luscious fruit tart for $15! Delicious! Go there! See art! Eat great food, cheap!

Left, the Michael Graves design
Right, Michael Carlos Gallery building at Emory University

Comments

[Amanda]

I LOVE the peace fleece potholder set! I did fudge a bit, though :) I tried it the way the directions said to, and I thought the colors looked horrible done that way. So instead I'm doing a double knitted potholder, half in one color, half in another (one is pink and yellow, the other blue and orange). As soon as I have them finished, I'll put up a picture!

I'll have to put up some of the pictures of Ryan and me at the Jolly Green Giant, too :)

[monica]

Thanks for the info. I've always wondered about attending one of the Knitting Guild conventions. I'm going to Stitches Midwest in August because it's very close to where I live.

[Chrisitna]

Your last gift was mailed yesterday, so you should receive it soon.

[Amanda]

I felt SO stupid when I DID remember your name! Good grief--Amanda is close enough to it, you'd think I could remember it! (For what it's worth, I've always been terrible with names :)!)

[Andrea (Prairieknitter)]

Amanda, I was just being silly about remembering my name! I got a good laugh about it! Also, how do you like working with the Peace Fleece? Somebody says it's like working with a handful of thistles, others love it...

[Amanda]

Well, I had mixed feelings about it. It was nice working with wool (I'm normally an acrylics girl, both because of my wallet size and the lack of a real yarn store around here), but it was REALLY scratchy. I had to change how I held the yarn periodically, because it was rubbing the space between my fingers raw! As a pot holder, I think it's fine. I can't imagine making or wearing a whole sweater out of it, though!