We are a little bit famous this week – Sarah and Pelagia
Fiber Arts and I.  Sarah was interviewed
by a reporter from our Tacoma paper, The
News Tribune, and was part of a feature called “Mompreneurs” which told
about five local mothers of young children who have their own businesses.  We felt the reporter, Debbie Cafazzo, caught
the essence of Pelagia Fiber Arts and were pleased that we came off sounding
kind of cool!

In the course of the interview, Sarah mentioned the upcoming
Madrona Fiber Arts Retreat (to be held in Tacoma next month).  The reporter, who had not been familiar with
the event, became interested and said she may do a piece on it.  Sarah told her there would be “knitting rock
stars” there. 

For example:  Nancy
Bush, Cat Bordhi, Sally Melville, Elsepeth Lavold, Lucy Neatby, Stephanie
Pearl-McPhee (the Yarn Harlot herself) – all internationally know knitting
designers, teachers, authors.  Wow!

The first time Sarah and I encountered knitting rock stars
in the flesh was a few years ago at Stitches West.   We knew, going into it, that it was a big
event and we must have recognized names in the class listings, but we were
unabashedly star-struck when we started seeing them:  the knitting rock stars themselves (Lily
Chin, Nicky Epstein…we actually had a class with Maggie Jackson that first
year).

 I will never forget
my first glimpse of Eugene Bourgeois of Philosopher’s Wool (he is a remarkably wooly
man himself – I recognized him from quite a distance!). 

We will be attending Stitches West for the fourth time in
February and do not get quite as fluttery over the knitting rock stars (though
we still whisper:  look! There’s
so-and-so! to each other).  Taking their
classes is always a bit of a thrill, though – and I gain new respect for them
when I hear them talk about knitting! 
They really are that good!

Thinking about Sarah’s comment to the reporter, though, I
began to wonder if Ms Cafazzo (who is not, I understand, very familiar with
knitting) understood what Sarah was saying. 
I mean, maybe she thought “knitting rock stars” meant Rod Stewart
casting on a sweater or Keith Richards cabling a sock on double-pointed needles
between sets….