Knitting in Pembrokeshire: Life-Saving

This one's for the family members: here I am in my subfusc: tie, robe with streamers, mortarboard in hand, etc.

Well, folks, you probably thought I was in the loony bin, based on my last post. I wasn’t; I was just reading some 18th century women’s poetry, and getting settled, and even – yes, that’s right – buying some furniture. [It arrives a week from today. This means that, on our 5th wedding anniversary, Mr. Trask and I will be testing our marriage via furniture assembly.]

More excitingly, I was in Wales last weekend, knitting with the fabulous Brenda Dayne and the brilliant Amy Singer. They put together a retreat on designing with lace that was inspiring and enlightening, as well as a whole lot of fun. The group was small by design, so that we each got a fair amount of attention from Amy and Brenda, and also got to know each other.

First, of course, I must tell you about Matriculation. This is an ancient required ceremony at the University of Oxford, in which new students dress up in funny clothes and wait for several hours for two Latin phrases to be spoken (and then for a group photo to be taken back at their college). I signed up for Plug+Play Pembrokeshire long before I had heard of Matriculation, and as it turns out one is required to be there. Required. As in, my group of freshers waited 45 minutes at our college while they woke up and dressed the one guy who didn’t show. So I had to arrange with Brenda and Amy to come a bit late. With all that, want to know a secret? I was lucky that slacker they routed out of bed wasn’t me.

Clouds in Wales: is there anything prettier?

You see, I stayed up late the night before Matriculation. No, I was not reveling in Freshers’ Week; nor was I outlining my dissertation like a good girl. No, I was catching up on How I Met Your Mother via iTunes. You know how these things come over you. You’ve been working hard, and you think, in a petulant head-voice, “I deserve to stay up late being irresponsible.” Oh, and throughout the show I was thinking, “I can pack tomorrow before the ceremony. No problem.”

When I woke up at 7:45 a.m. for an 8:15 a.m. kickoff at my college, which is about a 20-minute walk from our flat, I was pretty sure I was done for. The one thing I had done was lay out my insane costume the night before, so I was able to throw on my suit, my shirt, my opaque tights, my robe, my mortarboard, and my flat black shoes and dash out the door, as Mr. Trask (sainted man) yelled after me, “I’ll pack and meet you there!” [I will not mention to you that I had to text him to bring me deodorant.]

Brenda is sympathetic, listening to a knitter's tale of woe during Today's Sweater.

All of this is to explain to you all how I got to Wales with no knitting needles. The goody bag was providing us with everything but needles, and I. Came. Without. Them. So freaking embarrassing. But Brenda and Amy were lovely about this, and of course folks were willing to loan me needles. Even better, I got to borrow one of Amy’s Symfonie Dreamz Interchangeables (Mr. Trask, take note: the 5th wedding anniversary gift is traditionally wood). Still, not a move I want to repeat any time soon. Luckily, Jeni of Fyberspates brought some needles to our teeny-tiny marketplace on Sunday along with her gorgeous yarn.

This brings me to the stash-enhancement portion of the weekend: between the goody bag and the marketplace, I have tripled my stash. Anzula, Alisha Goes Around, and Indigodragonfly all contributed to our goody bags (as did Soak and the amazing Knitifacts). Plus, I might just have bought some yarn both from Jeni and from Nimu Yarns, about whom I hadn’t heard before.

"Beggars Reach: Probably the Best in the Area!"

Other than the continuous humiliation of having arrived late and unprepared, the retreat was glorious. Both Amy and Brenda are excellent teachers, and the group was both friendly and encouraging. People came up with some amazing lace designs. Plus, on Saturday night, we got to see Today’s Sweater live! Brenda did some of her sweater show-and-tell, and encouraged us to do the same. Catherine (who also has much better pictures of the weekend than I do) brought an amazing lace baby shawl that her mother-in-law made when Catherine’s daughter was born (she made one for each of the grandchildren, and three of the great-grandchildren), and then Catherine’s own version of the shawl, which was three-color and gorgeous. Josie showed us her version of double-knitting. Someone (Vandy?) showed us her stunning finished Lalique jacket. And Sally showed us an amazing baby coverall that she designed for a contest (using up several days of vacation time in the process) 20 years ago. I hung back, because I had not packed my Today’s Sweater, either. Sigh.

Amy celebrates after blowing out all the candles on her birthday cake.

Other highlights included incredible food; much discussion of Doctor Who, Torchwood, and everything Joss Whedon has ever written; an early celebration of Amy’s birthday; and a group of us watching Downton Abbey on Sunday night (with Tina explaining to us that Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, was the living image of her grandmother).

Most of all, the retreat helped me feel at home in this country. Knitters are always friendly and kind, no matter what the country, and I had a chance to ask some burning questions about British life (although I forgot the most important one – “On which side of the sidewalk should I be walking?”). Being able to travel all over the UK was one reason Mr. Trask and I were excited about moving here, and the train ride alone was a beautiful reminder of that. When we got back to Oxford, it even felt a little bit like coming home. Once we have furniture, we’ll feel even more that way. Do you guys think I could knit a beanbag chair? [Don’t answer that.]

Finally, if you’re really curious about what went on, below is a fabulous video Laurie made of our time in Wales. Enjoy! And, commenters, do tell me about the most embarrassing “I forgot” moment of your lives, just so I know I’m not alone.