Inspiration 2007

Whew! Just back from Cleveland, Ohio, where the first Inspiration machine knitting seminar happened this weekend. Fabulous!

I guess I’m saying Whew because I taught two days worth off classes one week after my third chemo treatment and was so energized I flew through until I ran out of fumes somewhere during the last class. However I got that energy and enthusiasm back in spades from the women in those classes and I had a ball!

I had wonderful help and support from my dear friends and traveling companions Sonja and Rose who took care of and watched out for me.

Here are a couple of photos of the Button Making classes which ran two hours each day and eventually got just about everyone absorbed and many being amazingly creative when I had heard ‘ I can’t do this!’

My teaching room eventually looked like my studio, a total tip! But that’s when your mind runs free and you just go to town with whatever creativity you have …. or might have had back when you ten and were not afraid of mixing weird colours and making odd shapes.

I was also pleased to be able to visit with a woman I admire, Susan Lazear, who runs Cochenille.com where I get my Garment Designer software. She’s well travelled and brought to the seminar the world of colour, design in knitting, and (though I couldn’t attend) fashion trends forecasting from her trip to Italy.

Here we have an after fashion show shot late on Friday night. Rachelle Moffat is examining one of my cardis as she wants to make her own buttons, her knitting is so beautiful and different from mine I cannot wait see what she creates. Then there is Carol Scott, Susan Lazear and my friend Judith and Rose with her back to the camera. My friend Sonja is behind but I have this super picture of us. Sonja knit me a hat using soft thick yarn and some needle felting. It is my first really warm hat and with a little cotton cap with keep me cozy through the Winter. I even wore it during the seminar when the AC in the hotel got to be too much!

Sonja also took a bunch of picture which I will post when I get them.

I was told to eat, sleep, nap and my bunk mate Rose put up with my gorging myself on healthy snacks late in the evening in bed while we watched What Not to Wear!!! I find that during my chemo if I feel like eating and can find something healthy to pig out on I just go ahead as I know there will be endless days of no appetite, so thanks Rose with putting up with my munching…. even though we had had a good dinner!!!

I also thank the girls for packing light as I had to cram a lot of stuff into my little car…. but we did it… including a couple of bottles of wine though we were just too pooped to do them any justice!

Here are Sonja and Rose in front of our baggage!!!!! just before we squeezed it into my car. I thank them and my friend Judith soooo much for their help and support. I thank Sue Jalowiec for putting on this great conference, I thank the other instructors for being their own wonderful selves though I only got to chat them briefly.

I also thank the great women who stretched themselves to create and to listen to me in my classes, who came up to me with words of encouragement for both my teaching and my health.

Now I feel great about coming back and holing up in my studio to knuckle down work!