I’ve told you about the wheel. I’ve told you about the fiber and roving. I haven’t told you about the people — and that was the most amazing part of all!

Blogless Sharon and I arrived on Friday afternoon, checked in, got our warm chocolate chip cookie, and got settled. There were spinners and knitters everywhere. Scattered throughout the lobby, in every nook and cranny and hallway. We felt a little shy at first but bumped into Laurie and Chris right away and that was the end of being shy. We quickly settled into a spinning circle with Laurie and that was our spot for the weekend.

Dinner Friday night was a quest for margaritas for Cate. We wound up at a place called, not surprisingly, Margaritas! And that’s what we drank. I think we ate, too. And I had a brief moment where I actually hauled out the camera!

Back at the hotel there was spinning and knitting until the wee hours. Our cicle of knitters and spinners included Julia, Cate, Juno, Stephanie, Laurie, Judy, Kate, Jackie, Kellee, Wendy, Elisa, and Chris.

Saturday involved more of the same. There was the previously mentioned shopping. There was lunch at a place downtown with Martha and Sharon and Chris and Cate. There were drinks back at the hotel and the fashion show and a hilarious talk from Stephanie. There was dinner in the bar which also included Lisa. I got to meet PumpkinMama and Cheryl and Monica and That Laurie. I chatted with Maggie and Kristen. Once again we found ourselves spinning the late evening/early morning hours away.

It was over all too quickly and Sunday we packed up to head home. We lingered for a while and hung out with our buds. There was talk of religion and parenting and politics. It was probably the most relaxing time of the weekend and then it was time to go.

All in all, I had a fantastic time. New spinners were born (sorry I’m not a better teacher, Wendy, despite my excellent analogies) and experienced spinners got better. I got compliments all weekend on the various shawls that I wore and that’s pretty damn cool. I made new friends and got closer to old ones. I drank martinis and ate good food and tried to learn all I could from the collective knitters and spinners around me. I’d love to see those of you in other parts of the country follow NETA’s example and create regional gatherings like this in your area. You won’t regret it!