| woot (wuːt) | |
| — interj | |
| slang Also written: w00t (esp used by players in online games) a shout of joy, victory, etc | |
So, WOOT! I had an awesome trip to Washington, DC!
I had a super fun time making new friends and keeping the old. One is silver, and the other gold. (Thanks, Girl Scouts, for making it impossible not to think of that song whenever I talk about my friends.)
I feel like I use the phrase super fun all the time. I've given it some thought, and decided that rather than trying to come up with alternative phrases like "most fantastic" or "extraordinarily lovely," I'm just going to keep super fun. I think that if your life is such that you need to use the phrase super fun all the time, then you have no phraseology horse from which to dismount.
I have a super fun job. I get to play with pretty colors and fly around the country and meet awesome people and harass Boy Aaron and wear grubby fleece jackets all day.
Yeah, there's a lot of hard work involved. But show me something worth doing that doesn't involve elbow grease and Advil.
Every so often, I get to truly enjoy the fruits of my labors when I travel to one of our Awesome Retailers, do a workshop for some Awesome Knitters and have an Awesome Trunk Show. It's decadent. To see your beautiful yarns piled high, cascading from baskets, overflowing their containers? It's really lovely.
The moment that someone picks up one of your colorways and makes an emotional connection with it? That lightbulb moment, where they're holding nothing but gorgeous, unfettered potential in their hands? Love it.
I love to make stuff. I've always loved to make stuff. I have a very deep-seated make stuff gene that drives me to paint and knit and twist and label. I can't escape it.
Someday I hope this is me and my daughter, making stuff.
So, I taught this class. I've taught thousands of classes in my lifetime. Most of them involve my silliness and something about the government. Supreme Court cases. The structure of the legislative branch. The difference between substantive and procedural due process.
One year I was forced to teach a health class. That involved a lot of "don't do drugs and smoking will kill you" lessons.
This class was different, though. It involved a room full of smiling people.
Shiny, happy people holding hands.
A room full of lovely people at the lovely Yarn Spot in Wheaton, Maryland.
I would like to take a moment to extol the virtues of this group of students. Permit me.
1. This class did not throw recycling bins.
2. No one in the class hit anyone else in the class.
3. No one yelled obscenities.
4. I did not have my tires slashed while I was teaching the class.
5. I did not have to call security during the class.
All of which has actually happened to me before, so I was grateful for the absence of what high school girls call drama.
Not only was this class well behaved, they were also friendly, funny, attentive, and delightful. Several brought me presents (woot!).
That is, until the end. As the three hour mark approached, I could feel this group of attractive and winsome women getting restless. I kept trying to gab. Here's what the group heard for the last fifteen minutes of the class:
"Yadda yadda yarn yadda yaddayadda blah blah yarn blah blah hrmpurhchmph yarn yarn blah blah yadda yarn."
This is what they really wanted to be doing.
They sat facing those huge tables of yarn for three hours, exercising Herculean self control, and when it was time, it was time. I did not get a picture of the tables after the trunk show, but let's just say there was considerably less yarn.
And I got to hang out for two decadent, child-and-Boy-Aaron-free hours, visiting with my yarny peeps.
Like Jennfer, who graduated from the Naval Academy and has two adorable children.
This is what happens when you try and take a picture of yourselves with a 35mm lens. Megan, who came up from Houston, is absolutely adorable and works in a library. I have a thing for libraries. Maybe in my elder years I shall volunteer at a library.
Viv, who works just blocks from my old studio (every time I send her a package, I'm reminded of my years there). Viv is the kind of girl who sits in the front row and smiles at you the whole time, so you feel less nervous and more like you're chatting with a group of friends.
These amazing girls totally rocked my suitcase. They brought me bag full of treats and books their book club had been reading. I cannot wait to make myself a cup of tea and sit down with a stack of kindred spirit-endorsed stories. Thank you so much for thinking of me! I really will read the books!
Tola, who drove from New Jersey with her good natured husband (who took many of these pictures). Tola brought me a sweet gift of a little emerald green bear with a shamrock on his chest and a zipper in the back for hiding treasures.
And then there's this person. This person, who revolutionized my way of thinking by sidling up and saying, "Did you know you're really tall?"
No Kurt, no I did not. Not before October 17th, 2010.
But really, Kurt, ME? Tall? No.
I'll forgive him, though. He drove a long way and had been awake for something like 36 hours. Plus he knits, and he's rather affable.
Jenn here has four small children, including eight week old twins. Sweet little babies who smell good and have fuzzy heads. And they already have their own colorways, Nora and Liam.
Doesn't she look great?
Allison, who has a world-traveling sock puppet made in her likeness. She came from Ohio, bearing the gift of an embroidered 3IG tote bag and rocking her mulberry and lime sweater. Allison is quietly hilarious and highly creative. She's a knitting machine, too.
Ingrid, who drove from Pennsylvania. Ebullient.
The sweet sweet Jessica, wearing her gorgeous cardi made from Father Time. And Victoria, the owner of the adorable yarn Spot, who's expecting her third child in February.
The help at The Yarn Spot could not have been nicer. They have a beautiful selection of yarn and a knowledgable, friendly staff. They're perfectly situated with free parking right outside (a big deal in the DC area), and within walking distance of the Metro. Having been to nearly every yarn shop in the DC area, I can highly recommend The Yarn Spot.
There are many pictures I would have loved to have posted that did not turn out. I would love to see your pictures of the trunk show and workshop. Please feel free to link to your blog and/or picture galleries in the comments section.
Woot! for the super fun day at The Yarn Spot! Thank you all for coming!