WEBS! Part 1

What a day we had at WEBS! The fall fashion show was a huge success, thanks in large part to the amazing staff of Webs and the enthusiastic Northampton knitters! Northampton is about as adorable as a New England town can be. Walking down the cobbled streets reminded me of visiting Smith College as a high school student and then later as a college sophomore. If only I had knitted then! Perhaps I wouldn't have delayed my trip to America's Yarn Store until now. (So cute!)

I arrived there at around 1:30, just in time to miss Betsy taping the podcast. Looks like I'll have to wait until it's released, just like everyone else. I did manage to sneak this grainy, paparazzi-style shot of Betsy though...Sketchy? Maybe.

As a listener of the "Ready, Set, Knit" podcast, I often wondered what the Elkins looked like. Well, here they are! They're usually smiling though...We were lucky enough to have Kathy as a sort of MC for the fashion show, introducing Betsy and Heather, trying on the garments (as you'll see later), and just chatting happily with the attendees, her customers. Seeing her work the garments and crack jokes so comfortably in front of the crowd reminded me of what a good podcaster and LYS owner she is. As Betsy said in the car on the way home, "Yup, she's a pretty remarkable woman." She and Betsy actually worked together before, about 15 years ago, for a shoe company! Talk about a small world...

Anyway, after we left the radio station, off to WEBS we went! And I'll tell you, it definitely met expectations. I posted a picture of their warehouse on our Facebook page, without even a caption, and got twelve responses from people who recognized it right away! Amazing, the power of the Yarn Mecca. Who is the first person I ran into there? Melissa LaBarre of New England Knits and knittingschooldropout.com fame! Turns out she works there part-time! She was also gracious enough to model some of the garments.Then it was off to see the Fall garments laid out after the staff meeting...Its always an interesting experience to look at sample garments, almost like the fascination of seeing someone from TV walking down the street (Oh! You do exist! And you look so different!) They are all gorgeous, and like every knitter, I immediately examined the stitchwork, and of course, the finishing. Flawless! The picture below is our backpack knit in Chesapeake.

Then we began setting up for the show, and unveiled The Magic Sweater...but you'll have to wait until tomorrow for that...