Sitting here at 8am, before showering for work, I’m already missing the weekend. How can I cram more fun into 2 days than I do all week? If only they all could be this much fun!

Since I have to run and get ready, I’ll try to make this brief:

• Knitting chez WonderMike morphed into a surprise pre-birthday celebration! Thank you, Mike, KnitSonya, SpeedyNeedleFreeman, Knit Ya Ya!, Kim-Chi Crafts and PuNk rAwK pUrL. You guys are too sweet!
• Courtesy of the Netflix, I finally saw RIZE, a glimpse into the LA crump and clown dance scene, as filmed by photographer David La Chapelle (NSFW: artistic nudity).
• And, 12 years after moving to the Bay Area, at long last I went to the Alameda Point Antiques and Collectibles Faire. Deadslow photographed Tammy fingering the needles, while Carrie scoured the crochet hooks and I leafed through a 1950s Columbia Men’s Book of patterns.

The only thing to look forward to this week at work is its brevity. Only four days, if I take Friday off.

This time next week? I’ll be flying through the air to Seattle for BMFA sock knitting camp.

Lace in Your Face, the 5th episode of Y KNIT just went up yesterday. We barely scrape the surface of the holy, hole-y world of lace knitting with guys from across the country (including Monday’s visitor Mel).

Lacy Knitters Guild members Gene and Lew share their thoughts from over 150 years of knitting experience (combined).

The ImagiKnit blog has a photo of our two other podcast guests, Doug and Troy, and store owner Allison, from their visit to San Francisco.

Photo of me by my lovely co-hostess with the most-est, WonderMike. It’s gang violence against my first lace project, the beautiful of Hanami stole.

Be sure to listen to the very end, for something even more embarrassing than this photo!

My boss passed on this case study to us today about a soup company in England, named Nusa Kitchen.

Check out their brilliant design solution that pumped up the brand equity, offered a visual and emotional connection to the product and uses knitting as a means to an end.

Although it’s missing the tactile elements of Innocent Drink’s The Big Knit, it’s proof that some old-fashioned wool can go a long way to make our modern world a little better, or warmer (intellectually, at least).

Perhaps it’s just a sign that I need to stop reading about UK food companies… Anyone seen either of these knitting marketing tactics?

Imagine my surprise yesterday, when I was wandering by the lobby between meetings at work and I saw this handsome fellow!

“I’m actually here to see him,” he told the receptionist, pointing at me.

My brain clicked and whirred for a moment, lagging as my body reached out to hug him. Up until this point Mel was just picture on the web, some kind words in a comment, on the other end of an email and an enjoyable read.

I knew he was coming to the Bay Area, but was away from my desk when he called to say he was on his way down from Davis. After a quick tour of the office and a very friendly meet-and-greet with Janie Sparkles (he’s a father to the adorable Tuck), I sent him off to an even more delicious destination (in Berkeley, but I’ll let him describe) and did the bare minimum rearranged my schedule to play hooky take the afternoon off.

Ladies and gentlemen, he’s even more charming in person, knows his textiles (we visited Lacis), and knits some darn impressive colorwork! I’m looking forward to spending more time with him in May.

What’s not to love about Austin? For the past two years, I’ve headed to Texas for South by Southwest. People’s eyes light up when I say that until I qualify it with, “the nerd one, not the music part.” Last year, I met Jenny of Stash and Burn there, but, alas, she wasn’t there this year.

Julia, of yarnmaven.com to the rescue! I also met her last year, but this year she took me under her wing and we ran all over town and the conference. Thank you, Julia! (and happy birthday, one day late) It’s sad that I don’t have a picture of us together!

Conference-wise, the first few days weren’t impressive. Maybe I picked the wrong panels, but by the end, I was glad work sent me. The most interesting thing I saw was GetSatisfaction.com. Go forth, knitters, and let’s take it over!

Sadly, the High-Tech Craft: Why Sewing and Knitting Still Matter panel, moderated by Natalie Zee Drieu from CRAFT magazine was a disappointment. At least on the knitting front. It was more about sewing technology onto garments or toys, not how technology is changing knitting and sewing or how knitting and sewing hold their own in this modern age. Hear for yourself: .mp3 of the panel.

It just so happened a good friend from high school was presenting at the conference. Mike Essl was a year behind me, and I used to mock him for wanting to be a graphic designer, only we called it commercial artist back then. Who knew copying heavy metal album covers would result in becoming a ? When I wasn’t with Julia, I pal’ed around with him and his girlfriend, the lovely Mia.

This is getting long, but I couldn’t recap the trip without mentioning eating. If you’re ever headed there, be sure to snack on queso, try migas for breakfast, drink Lone Star, and get your vegan on at Veggie Heaven.

Finally, there was knitting. A lot more knitting than I get done at home. I was working on a secret sock the entire time, test knitting an INSANELY handsome design. I dropped in to the Sunday morning Hill Country Weavers where I met all the Texas knit bloggers last year. However, on Monday, Julia and I went to the Knitting Nest, my new favorite Austin LYS. Stacy has a fabulous shop. Her talented daughter Amanda took the photo of me above (Thanks for the shirt!). And I met some cool kids, MissKate (on Rav), pickardhuff (on Rav) and TwistedString. Next time, I’ll bring something easier to knit, so I’m more chatty.

Phew! That’s it. If you want more, check out a few more photos.

Finally getting around to cleaning out my camera. Pictures for Austin are up at Flickr, as are photos of this hat drying. I finished knitting it long ago, but it sat unblocked, ends not sewn in, for months. Finally, it’s been given to its intended recipient, the very talented Jeff.

I highly recommend this for a first time stranded/color knitting project: Hello Yarn’s We Call Them Pirates.

But, heck, I’d pretty much knit anything she puts out there!

It was a super-duper yarn-filled weekend, thanks to Stitches West.

I need to take time to compose my thoughts and detail what happened, but I wanted to give you a little bit of this yumminess: me making out with Cookie.

Y Knit was out and about recording and talking with our knitting brethren (and sister-ren).

More later.

The second episode of Y KNIT was posted today, but the RSS feed has a bit fiddle-y. It hasn’t shown up in iTunes yet, but after a visit to Feedburner and poking around, the second episode suddenly appeared on our feed page. So, it’s probably just a matter of time until it’s on its way to your poddy-doodle.

If I may brag, due to how we’re listed in iTunes’ Design category (as opposed to Arts or Games & Hobbies), and perhaps a dearth of Design podcasts today, we were today’s #3 podcast! Let’s hear it for meaningless rankings in obscure sub-categories. Look for a screenshot when we hit #1.

In episode 2, we talk about art vs. craft, inspired by an interview with Sabrina Gschwandter, artist and founder/curator/publisher of KNITKNIT. And to thank you for listening, there’s another contest!

Tomorrow, I’m venturing off to STITCHES West. I’m not sure what to expect other than being overwhelmed by long before I’m ready to leave. I’d like to keep up my embargo on buying new yarn. I have more than enough to last me for years (like many of you, I assume). However, I am interested in seeing what’s out there in natural colors… pure animal fiber, no dyeing, minimal chemical processing. Is anyone make sock yarn like that?

We’re hoping to grab audio from whomever will be kind enough to chat, especially the fellows! I’m going to focus on having a good time with the people, friends new and old, and not let the buy-buy-buy-sell-sell-sell trade show aspect get me down.

I won’t be naked in a tub, as in my Ravatar, but imagine a guy like that, with more clothes on and better lighting. I’ll be the one with the bouffy hair and a microphone.

It’s not often that I get stopped on the street, but when you’re wearing one of the most popular patterns on the Interwebs, it could happen. Especially if you’re walking in Mission district where many a knitter lurkers, specifically, Ms, Mission Knit, RosaLux.

I had just finished grafting the pits and weaving the few ends that weren’t worked in as I knit (thanks, Aija!), not ten minutes before we went out for coffee and a Janie Sparkles stroll/dragging. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the sweater, saving my judgment until post-blocking.

“Excuse me, but did you make your sweater?”

And that led to a nice conversation on the sidewalk and realization that we were already friends on Ravelry. My favorite part was laughing at the group-think on interknitters.

In addition to my embarrassment of not only wearing said unblocked sweater, the Moo card I gave her had my Jaywalker socks on it.

“What? Do you have a pair of Fetching in your back pocket?”

No. But my Knucks were at home.

’cause it’s genetic!

What’ I’ve been cryptically complaining about in my past few posts was setting up the website for Y Knit, a knitting podcast—genetically speaking. WonderMike and I have been tossing around the idea of creating our own podcast, offereing a male point of view times two!

You can find it at yknit.com. Our first episode is an interview with Debbie Stoller, Ms. Stitch & Bitch herself about her book of men’s patterns, Son of Stitch & Bitch. Go have a listen!

There’s much more to come. Watch for us trolling Stitches West with a microphone. We may just want to talk to you!