Men's Fall Knitting Retreat 2009 - Second Installment

For all the traveling I do, I didn't realize how much effort it was going to be to get to the West Coast Retreat. But it was SO worth it.

The Trip To Seattle
I had a 6:00 am flight which got me into Seattle around noon. Here's me in my car going to the airport at 4:00 in the morning.



I waited around Seattle/Tacoma airport for a couple of hours...had some lunch and met up with three of the guys I had never met before.





Ray (the car renter of the group, Harry, Brett and I all took the short drive (about 25 minutes) from the airport to Dumas Bay Retreat Center. We were very grateful to have WonderMike and Brian sitting there greeting us as we drove into the parking lot.

The Men In Seattle
The most important part of any of the retreats I've been to are the men who are there. I'm just going to post random pictures of the guys there with captions of who they are.


This was my first view of the room where we all made the magic happen





I had never met Barth or WonderMike...both incredible men who I hope to meet up with again anytime I can.




Can you tell I really like Barth?



This is a bad picture of Franlkin, Keith (kind of) and Joe.


Ahhh...the blush of MWK love...David and Paul.





Daniel is an amazing knitter who has lived in interesting places like Tokyo and has more international knitting stories than Kaffe.


Group photo of John, Kent, Keith, Kerry, Harry, David, Jeff, Bart and Morgan.


Geoff...a popular favorite...late arrival, but worth the wait!




Everyone loved Franklin...he is smart, funny, talented and...


...well, what can I say...look at that ass.



Everyone wanted strolls of the grounds with him...this is Franklin with Brian.


And Franklin with Keith and Joe.



And our favorite Kiwi all the way from Wairarapa New Zeland, speaking Maori for us...James.



We got a surprise visit from HizSis (Stephen's sister)...she's funnier than her older brother, and Troy in the foreground.



A courtyard shot of Harry, Troy, Michael and Ray...amazing grouping of talented, wonderful men.


Harry...just adorable and one of the most delightful guys to just hang out with.



James, Andy (Crafty man!), Chuck, John, Kent, Harry and Kerry...couldn't you just dive into this awesome group?



Three of my many favorites...John, Andy and Jeff...I love them all!



John, in addition to being gorgeous, with better legs than mine, is just one of the most wonderful guys to be around.



Jeff has been to all the East Coast Retreats and has turned into the best friend a person could wish to have.


Keith is just wonderful...I found myself drawn to his openness and energy.



Here's Keith with Ron and Brian (also two amazing men).



Here's Keith with Nigel...who is awesome (are we seeing a trend here?...I seemed to have found myself in love with all of them!)


Keith with Brian...the mighty co-leader...he and Mike outdid themselves with everything they did for the retreat.



And here is the other mighty leader giving a spindling workshop to Michael, Kent and James, with Keith's head and hands in the foreground.



Awesome men milling around - Kerry, Harry (I think), Brett, Jeff, Mike and Morgan.



Kent (much more handsome than I have been able to photograph...sorry Kent!), Franklin and Andy.


Kenny (who requires no description from me...the WORLD knows how great he is), and Chuck who is just incredible in addition to being incredibly creative and interesting.



We LOVE Ray...he says he's shy, but he was a blast to hang out with...unlike Ray Romano...everyone REALLY does love this Raymond.



Just seeing this trio makes me long to be back in Seattle...Nigel, Brett and Harry.



Morgan (of All Points Yarn) is an incredibly generous and wonderful man, shown with new BFF Franklin.



Troy (our hot delivery guy who is nicer than he is handsome, David our favorite grandfather, and the amazing Brian, wearing his Skacel shirt about which we were all envious (until I won one as a prize).



How could a person NOT love this guy? Stephen is the man that brings the guys together in the closest of ways and he's the most entertaining man on the planet.



And paired with John, the hi-jinx just never ends!...Love you both!



And the man I fawned over for the entire retreat...Ron. Sweet, shy and incredibly enjoyable hanging out with...I love this picture of him.


Current Knitting
In addition to the possum/merino sock, I had also started a new Mini Mochi scarf.

The scarf, I have made no progress on, and the sock, I had to rip back to below the heel...but I give you pictures, using some of my newly learned methods from Franklin.





Look at the color, texture and staging of this photograph...isn't Franklin incredible at teaching?

Readers' Comments/Questions
Susan writes, "I find the shorter needle tips on circulars make my hands cramp up after only a small amount of knitting, so I'll pass on those too."

I agree...that's exactly why I won't use them...but even the head of Skacel noted that these would be either loved or hated...not a lot in between. I think she's right.

Liz writes, "I for one am very excited to hear about the new tarnish resistant coating for Addi's"

Just to be clear, this new finish is only being considered for the Addi Lace needles, not the regular Addi Turbos. And they're not sure they will go with the new coating, since it makes them slicker, and some folks like the fact that Addi Lace needles have a soft drag that helps the needles from slipping out of the lace.