I stayed out way too late for a school night last Tuesday. Deborah and her husband invited me over for dinner and knitting to celebrate her Birthday! Her husband made Mac and Cheese, roasted broccoli and chicken satay! I’d never tried satay before and it was delicious. Bring on the peanut sauce, I say! The Mac and Cheese was so good I had a second helping for “dessert” and then asked for the recipe.

I may or may not have accidentally dripped peanut sauce on my Nain sock, then licked it off because that seemed like the quickest way to remedy the situation. I was not wrong.

This couple acted like people spreading knitting around their plates and licking sauce off a sock is an everyday occurrence.

I managed to only huff the tiny bundt cakes that were dessert. Yay me!!! No desserts til my jeans fit! I so appreciate them being supportive and not trying to peer pressure me into sugar!

Deborah and I each managed to cast on Silk Road Socks. Overachiever that she is, she managed to cast on more projects after I left! I started Usak and Nain. For the record, I knit Nain a size up from my usual because the stitch pattern is not stretchy. It is gorgeous! Yarn is Quince & Co. Tern (75% Wool, 25% Silk) in the Beach Glass colorway. Tern has amazing stitch definition.

Usak appeals because it flies off the needles once you get through the decorative cuff. Yarn is Seven Sisters Arts Meridian (75% Merino, 25% Nylon) in the Curry colorway. I’m terribly impressed with Seven Sisters Arts yarn if you happen to be in the market to enhance your stash.

Deborah cast on Mood socks with Intrepid Otter TWIST! in the Jenny colorway (blue/gray) and
Lycaena virgaureae socks (from Knitters Curiosity Cabinet II) in Wollewien Handgefarbte Sockenwolle (pink).

Deborah is @dcbritter if you stack your Instagram feed with knitters as I do. I look forward to hanging out with these peeps again soon. I’ll try not to spill anything on the wool next time!

I like to think each knitter has moments when they feel like a Knitter. Not when others perceive them as advanced, but when they themselves believe they can handle anything knitting can dish out. It’s different for everyone and for me, this feeling wells up when non-knitters around me speak the language.

Yesterday, I was able to spend some time among my people at Kora Kora. The coffee was delicious and Elisa brought a smashing new knitting friend. As we chatted about the fiber arts, I shared that The Husband is now able to measure time in knitting:
How long until I’m ready to go to dinner? 40 stitches.
When will I be available to go to the grocery store? 3 rows.
What time will I be back from hanging out with knitting friends? Before dark. Probably.


So, if you’re a non-knitter and now know things like how many yards one needs for socks (350-400), I’d like to say thank you for listening. I appreciate you.

After coffee, we adjourned for lunch at The Gruene Door. I had a spinach salad that included strawberries and made more new knitting friends.













Next, we swung into the Lucky Ewe. This was my first visit and from the moment I stepped through the door, it felt like home. It’s a truly warm yarn shop with a vibe that I could not love more. This shop has plenty of indie dyed sock yarn as well as a wall of Malabrigo. The shopkeeper, Linda, was helpful and charming. I will be back.

Summary: It was glorious!

The Rest of the Story:
Thursday evening, Lisa drove us to Dallas while I knit on my sweater sleeve.
We pulled up to the Irving Convention Center at 8:09pm as I said, “I’m going to try the door.” Thankfully, it was unlocked and I was able to register and pick up our lovely bags so we could avoid the Friday morning line. We checked into the hotel, started knitting our homework and strategized for the Fiber Fest Market.

Friday –
Lisa and I ate a healthy breakfast and hit the market (I’m pointing out the healthy breakfast because I didn’t make a ton of healthy choices over the weekend.). The Must Stash booth was first on our list and we scored some lovely yarn. While in line, we each fell in love with a project bag. I’m usually not big on pink, but the coffees and donuts stole my heart.

We continued through the market until Lisa was distracted by Harry Potter socks in the Brazen Stitchery booth. Some baby blue and gray self striping yarn caught my eye while she was paying. We resisted further temptation until we reached White Birch Fiber Arts. Her self striping yarns displayed on clear jars caught our attention and we each left with Tanya’s Rainbow, among other things. A mug that states, “Winter is Coming, Knit Faster” found its way into my bag and then a hank of dark speckles on jewel tones called my name in the Quixotic Fibers booth. It was variegated and they didn’t have a sample at that time, so I promised to try back later. I’m a little OCD about yarn pooling, and have to give myself at least a chance at sanity.

Lisa and I hopped in the car and headed for Sulphur Springs. After a hot mess on I-30 where we ended up having to pull a u-turn in the middle of the main lanes (directed by police), we were on our way again. We swung into Fuzzy’s Tacos for lunch (YUM!) and then Collins Street Bakery (who KNEW fruit cake could be so good?!?). The down side (if it can be called that) is that eating a sample felt like I was mainlining sugar. I bought a couple of brownies and several cookies including the cherry ones (far far better than expected). We continued onto Sulphur Springs where we used the facilities in the square behind one way glass. If you’ve never tried this, I recommend it. Quite the novel experience. We moved on to admire the courthouse and snap a few (hundred) pictures. We encountered a man exiting the courthouse. He indicated that he used to work there and asked if we were from around there. We said no and Lisa volunteered the name of the East Texas town where she grew up. He crossed himself and offered to pray for her. We laughed and he continued on his way.

There are some cute shops in the area that we’d have enjoyed exploring if we’d had the time. Perhaps we’ll be back. We detoured to The Original Fried Pie shop to purchase several for tasting. I found myself slightly disappointed as I grew up eating Hutch’s fried pies. Research has since indicated that the people at Hutch’s know their business and we added a trip to Hutch’s to our bucket list.

We joined some knitting friends for dinner at Underground Indian Cuisine. I will sum up that experience by saying you do not need to add this establishment to your to-eat list.

Clara Park’s talk was informative. If by informative, you understand me to mean I may be trying The Brown Sheep Company yarn for my next sweater. She’s inspiring as always.

Saturday –
I swung by Quixotic and they said the sample was still out of pocket and I committed to swing back by.


As Lisa and I found our Two-faced Knitting Class, a ravelry friend and I happened upon each other and she generously gifted me some of her gorgeous celtic knot stitch markers. Thank you, Sarah!

After settling into our spots, Lisa and I began 3 hours of concentrated learning with Melissa Leapman. We’ve taken classes from her before, but years have passed and we forgot how she likes to stay on track and push her students. I am a fairly experienced knitter. It’s been a long time since my hands have sweated because I’m doing something uncomfortable. During that portion of the class, Melissa said, “This is not easy knitting.” and I wrote that down. Because I expect as I’m knitting a reversible scarf in the future, I’ll need reminding that someone as talented and skilled as Melissa is willing to admit that this is not easy. In addition to being a skilled knitting instructor, Melissa is really nice and was game for a sock in progress photo. I look forward to my next class with her.

Saturday afternoon, I did some shopping consulting with Tasha while knitting on my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sock (walking and knitting turned out not to be my smartest move, but I have no regrets). I also helped Jeanette find cashmere for her tulip shawl. (I’m calling it her tulip shawl because it’s pink, cream and green.) It’s going to be lovely. I tried out the 2.00mm Signature Needle Arts DPN’s. I liked them. They’re smooth but a little too pricey for me as I usually knit socks on 2.25mm DPN’s ($75 for 4 – this is a limited run, so if you want a set, now is the time).

I glanced into the Quixotic booth and they appeared to be sold out of the siren song yarn so I made peace with the fact that it wasn’t meant to be.

Lisa finished her class and we headed back to the hotel to charge our phones, knit on our pretty green/rainbow socks and relax a little bit before dinner. We met a group of vastly entertaining knitters at The Ranch in Las Calinas and proceeded to eat more than was sane. It was a spectacular evening.

Back at the hotel, while chatting and knitting, I was thrilled to be chilly so I could show off my (unblocked) sweater. We stayed up far too late considering my age (somewhere between 1 and 2am).

Sunday –
After a healthy breakfast, Lisa and I were departing for home. I glanced longingly towards Quixotic one last time and spied the bright speckled yarn!…and they had a sock knit up in similar yarn! The pooling was only bad around the heel, so I pulled out my piggy bank and a hammer to take their last hank home with me. As I chatted with the shopkeepers, it turns out they’d just put the last hank out after saving it for me because I’d visited it so many times. This was terribly sweet of them and I appreciate it GREATLY! So, if you’re near Whitesboro, swing into Quixotic, say hi, and please tell them the crazy girl that visited the Guatemalan yarn 5 times before buying it sent you.

My favorite things:
Must Stash Yarn – Perfect Sock – Eeyore’s Rainbow colorway (the hard part is going to be selecting a contrast heel/toe color! Suggestions welcome.)
Brazen Stitchery – Paparazzi Sock – Cyber Baby colorway
Pawley Studios – Gray “Winter is Coming, knit faster” mug
Diana Couture – Tardis Stitch Hoodie
Suburban Stitcher – coffee and donuts bag
White Birch Fiber Arts – Tanya’s Rainbow colorway
Quixotic Fibers – Yarn Rehab – Rockshelter Sock – Guatemalan colorway

On the way home, we stopped in West to get kolaches for lunch and then Lisa knit on her rainbow sock as I drove us through the wildflowers back to Austin.

Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who made DFW Fiber Fest possible! and Thanks my partner in crime, Lisa, for joining me!