I arrived at the Mason-Dixon Afghan Sewing Bee, last Sunday, kindly organised by Kay and Ann.
and hosted by the wonderful Phyllis. (Phyllis's husband kindly absented himself from the fray while we worked on assembling the various squares and littering his home with bits of yarn)
Of course, there was a wonderful spread. Sufficient food to feed about 50. I tried most of it and when I mentioned it to one of friends, I was asked if this was wise considering that there was a pre-bought bridesmaid dress that I would have to shortly pour myself into. Did you know that Body Shapers makes a bodysuit guaranteed to help you look 10 lbs slimmer...? Can you tell that I'm the kind of girl that does her research prior to tucking into?
It was fabulous to meet so many knitters.
Lis does have the most fabulous hair. Thick and luscious with curls to die for. I went through a phase in the teens when I permed my hair and ended up looking like a brillo pad. To see these curls made me green with envy. Some women have all the luck... and to think that she ever had it cut short. Whoever cut that hair short should spend some time with Martha Stewart over the next few months. It's the kind of hair that I've seen men salivate over (and that is not a pretty sight).
Jenny (also pronounced as Ginny), Katherine, Mary Neal and Ann had the most delicious southern accents. Mary Neal had the most wonderful red hair... long, and glossy.
The fabulous Tish was the best whip stitch stitcher I have ever met. Each stitch was regimentally positioned. Tension was perfect. She worked quickly and neatly throughout the day, despite the many distractions... (like the food). She's also informed us that Birkenstocks are indeed sexy, afterall, she wears them all the time and had S-E-V-E-N children. I was particularly delighted by her bringing her French Market Bag with her.
Rowanette Ben came all the way from Massachusetts in the Chinese Bus. Prettty cool, I'd thought, especially when I found out that the buses go to lots of places and are dirt cheap. Rowanette Ben also had the FMB bag. I wished that I had spent more time speaking to her, but I was wary about being photographed standing next to the tall, slim and very stylish Ben. As Sandra Bulluck once said when someone tried to photograph her standing being Cindy Crawford, "My mama didn't raise me to be a dummy, I'm not going to stand next to her and look short and dumpy".
Heather and her mom, came along and brought a mouth watering peach cobbler. I had two serving and think that I'm going to need to invest in some Body Shapers. The cobbler was perfect and I was tempted to grab it and hide in a dark corned and NOT share. Fortunately, I managed to restrain myself and not disgrace myself too much. Did anyone notice that I had 2 servings?
Poor Kay was sick but still managed to get us in gear on those blankets.
Clearly, I spent far more time gabbing and eating than sewing. A happy day for everyone that made it to the sewing bee. Those gals at MDK can even making sewing (a boring task, that I try fervently to avoid, fun).
Did I mention that my secret pal also arranged for me to get a wonderful gift there? Have a look. She found out that I didn't have dawn, needed some kool-aid and ... cherry life savers.
Unfortunately, when I got to the London end, JFK security must had been a bit hungry and thirsty because somehow, the cherry lifesavers and kool-aid were gone from my bag. Does anyone honestly think that lifesavers and 6 packets of kool-aid could jeopardise the security of the plane ...
Posted by atu at September 19, 2004 11:31 PMThat. IS. Just. WRONG.
This is a job for ... SuperSecretPal!
Oh for Pete's sake, Polly, I'm always three days late to every posting. And to have such an InStyle magazine write-up of the sew-up bee--you're the Edward R. Murrow of knitting reportage. And the pix! Must learn how you managed to get every single picture in focus. What a novelty! I still haven't recovered from all the New York doings--it was fantastic finally to see you in actual living person, and all the stitchers who came, sewed, and yakked.
I've got the spare room ready here in Nashvegas for you. Come on down! October 24!
Posted by: Ann at September 24, 2004 04:31 AMi got your package today!!! thanks so much...but i owe you some money girlfriend!! email me and tell me where to send the money/what format! p.s. glad you had such a fun trip! want me to send over some kool aid? you know i keep a constant supply of it in the house at all times. of course mine is for drinking, not dyeing.
Posted by: carolyn at September 23, 2004 06:30 PMI roared when I read about the Chinese Bus. My son got to NYC on the Chinese Bus. Great price and what an adventure!!! He kept us in stitches for days thereafter about his experiences during the trip, complete with Chinese soaps.
What a great event!
Posted by: Pubah at September 22, 2004 12:38 PMHi Polly ,
What is 'Dawn '
& what are 'Lifesavers '???
Thanks !
I can't believe they took your goodies from your case. If they had opened ours and taken the pop tarts, oreos,big red and jolly ranchers, my boys would have been soooo mad!!
They did threaten to keep my 2 doz krispy kremes last time but didn't actually do it!!
An almost perfect post Polly ! You got the atmosphere, you got the food, you got the hair - now if only you'd shown us pictures of the blankets I'd be a contented woman tonight !
Oh, and the shoes .... I love shoes .... any fabbo ones in evidence ??
Posted by: Heather at September 21, 2004 01:19 AMPoor Polly! Maybe your Secret Pal will hear of your plight and send some more to you directly in London.
On a nother note, Thank You for the butterfly yarns spawned of the caterpillar I sent you.
Worry not, dearest Polly! I shall be on a plane in 2 weeks exactly. Let me know the flavours of koolaid that you require and I shall add that to my shopping list. Was it for drinking or for dying?
A. xx
Posted by: Amelia at September 20, 2004 03:33 PMDear Polly,
Thank you very much for capturing me in all my, ahem, GLORY, i.e., you got both the bare tummy (O.My.God.) and one of my extra chins. C'mon girl, if you had only snapped some cellulite it would have been a Trifecta of Mature Beauty! Anyhoo, my motto/mantra: Be Who You Are. My alternate motto/mantra: It Could Always Be Worse.
Polly, so glad you took time away from Mandatory Attendance Upon The Person Of The Bride to be our Visiting International Knitting Celebrity at the sew-up party. I am here to attest that you did your fair share of sewing in addition to eating and moaning about how you hate sewing and are totally incapable of doing it. We did 3 blankets in an afternoon, from start to near-finish. I'm putting in the last licks as we speak, and gearing up for Sew-upalooza (the Big Stitcheroo) on October 24 in Nashville. ROAD TRIP!!!!! xoxoxox Kay
Posted by: Kay at September 20, 2004 02:06 PMHi - great pictures, would have liked to be there too. I would probably have eaten more, so good I wasnt :-) Cant believe that people would steel candy from your suitcase... that is the cruelest thing one can do.. But what is "Dawn" for - is it a special wool-wash?
IDA
Great photos and report ! Looks like so much fun.
Mean security people.
Great pictures of the MDK sew up. It looks like everyone had such a good time - especially with the peach cobbler!
How annoying to find your kool-aid and life savers were nicked at the airport. Maybe it's like those adverts for Carlsberg on the TV here where Danish people try everything to stop it from leaving the country....
Posted by: Sarah W. at September 20, 2004 09:15 AMIt sounds as if a great time was had by everybody. Peach Cobbler! sigh. Did you actually DO any sewing up, or did you just go for the food? I cannot imagine you with curly hair - photo. please.
The life-savers etc, did they go from hand luggage or suitcase? Stolen? I cannot really believe they were removed for national security.
Posted by: Jill at September 20, 2004 08:44 AMOh I get it. Right now if I went back to the states right now I would be taking both suitcases to fill up with things and you can BET that there would be a trip to the grocery store on my list. (Heck I do that in the UK- repeat after me CRANBERRY JUICE and BAGELS ;)
That said I would put the hunt down on JFK security people. Stealing a girl's lifesavers that is just cruel...
Oh yeah and fun to see the Great Sew Up pictures and run down too :)
Posted by: stinkerbell at September 20, 2004 06:52 AM