Thursday, my Babilicious wife Karol, ol Diplohookticus Jimbosei (Dippy), and I drove down from Spokane to Portland, a fairly uneventful trip but for my speeding just a little. Maybe a little anxious? Dippy rode well and hardly complained. Karol was very helpful in keeping me from a speeding ticket.
About 8pm, we arrived at our son and daughter in law,Lance and Crystal's home where Lance had a gourmet meal waiting, along with Karol's sis Trish and friend Peggy (who not only is good lookin but taught me how to crochet.. kind of). Got acquainted with some REALLY excellent Zinfandel (Seghesio 05).
Next day (Friday... International Crochet Day) was the first time I've ever gone to a for real Crochet event... the CGOA conference (Knit and Crochet Show) at the Portland Convention Center. Lots of folks there who I knew OF but have never met in person. Had a fantastic time! Some folks there even knew about International Crochet Day (it's only in it's second year, but GROWING... it'll be HUGE next year).
Got to meet Bonnie Pierce there. Bonnie is also known as Queen of the Bullion and VERY well known freeform Crochetier. Bonnie graciously tried out a few hooks that I made especially for bullion making. And she liked them (well there was one that had some features that missed the boat). Anyways, thanks to Bonnie, I have a much better idea of what makes a good bullion hook and I'm hoping to incorporate them into a bullion hook line. I also got to meet the ultra talented Jorel, and even shook hands with Margaret Hubert. Holey Cow!!
And later that evening... I finally got to meet live and in person, none other than Lady Linoleum and Jenna! In fact, we snatched them up from the convention and whisked them away to my son Lance's house where he had another even bigger gourmet meal waiting. Lady L and Jenna also met Diplohooktius Jimbosei, and although Dippy is still a WIP (work in progress), they fell for the old fella....
Maybe some day we can coax Dippy into actually crocheting..
Had a FANTASTIC time with Our Lady of the Linoleum, Good Lookin Jenna, great food, friends and relatives... and ANOTHER knockout Zinfandel... The Pines 1852 '06.
Next day, Saturday was another great time for meeting amazing talented folks at the conference. I managed to get through the crowd of groupies long enough to have a picture took with........ THE DUDE
Interesting how the PR folks are. They made me stand behind him, and had him up on a short ladder so he'd look taller than me. They even doctored the photo to make him look younger and more handsome than me.
Just kidding. Drew is just an incredible guy and as down to earth as they come. Ultra Famous Hooker Rock Stardom hasn't gone to his head at all. I'm still grateful for him helping me get off my feet with my hook making and this blog (he made up the link button). The Dude, I think, is destined for even more great things.
Here's hoping the Dude got home to a dry house.... Ike paid his house a visit while he was in Portland.
Also on Saturday, I got to meet Ed and Wanda Jenkens! Ed's been a HERO of mine for some time now. He makes extraordinary crochet hooks, knitting needles, drop spindles and other fiber tools of just pristine quality. What a warm, friendly couple they are... I felt, walking away from our meeting that I had just met some new friends and folks that I sincerely wished I could have met sooner. Hoping to visit them at their home someday, and they have a standing invitation to stop by up here.
Here are Wanda, Goofy, and the incomparable Ed...
And right around the corner from Ed and Wanda's booth was none other than the CLF (Crochet Liberation Front) founder and Fearless Leader, Laurie. Laurie has one of the most populated forums in Ravelry, a fiber arts forum on the Web. I was surprised how easy it was to approach Her Highness.
Here she is with a friend's invention... a yarn ball holder that hangs from your clothing. Clever idea! And clever Fearless Leader! Laurie is at the fore in bringing crochet to the front.
Phew!! So you can see a VERY good time was had at least by me and certainly by Dippy.. and Karol was a VERY good sport about it all...
and then to top it all off... Sunday morning early, Lance took me to the river (Columbia) near the beautiful Multnomah Falls where we went fishing for sturgeon. I caught oh maybe 9 "shakers" that were maybe three feet long each but under the size limit, when Lance's pole bends over and after an hour's chase up and down the river, he lands this.....
A six foot six White Sturgeon! Probably went well over a hundred pounds! Alas, this fish was OVER the size limit, so he went back swearing not to be nibbling at strange looking chad at the end of a long line.
After a great morning fishing, Karol came by and picked me up for the trip back home.
An Amazing Week-end!!
Next up... a new hook auction!
Thanks for dropping by!
Jimbo
3 comments:
Looks like you had an awesome time. That is one impressive hook!
Wow, you got to meet a lot of fantastic people. Sounds like a great time, too.
Your Diplohookticus Jimbosei (sp?) is WOW!!! LOL
That fish is something else, too. I like fishing quite a bit. I caught a big rock fish one time. Wasn't anywhere near what that white sturgeon was. I knew that was a size limit for fish that were too small, but didn't know there was one on the other end of that. I guess you learn something new every day.
Can't wait to see your next hook auction!!! You make such fabulous hooks.
Thanks for sharing.
Dear Jimbo,
thank you very much for commenting in my blog.
Yes, I was very sad to learn about the ICD two days to late. I would have liked to crochet in public with a friend or organise some other event had I known.
I spread the news about ICD in several German crochet bulletin boards and in my blog.
Next year, I'll be one of those who know. ;)
Many greetings from Germany!
Ciaran
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