CGOA 2010 ChainLink Conference: Monday

Yes, I know, you've all been waiting for the juicy details from the 16th Annual ChainLink CGOA Conference (also known as The Knit and Crochet Show) ...

First my explanation for the delay: last week, in the middle of unpacking & trying to get caught up, my vehicle lost all power ... steering, breaking, you name it ... and I had a tailgater. When I get an inconsiderate driver behind me like that I slow down as a safety precaution, eventually finding a safe place to pull over and let the idiot jerk pain-in-the-yarn pass me. On this particular day, I believe this practice of slowing down saved my daughter and I! ... when my power steering went out it took every fiber of my being to maneuver my van safely off the road -- and in doing so I put tremendous stress on my spine (I have 2 ruptured discs) causing instant pain that required being iced -- A LOT! Sitting at my computer was very uncomfortable. I'm now down to one icing a day, so I am improving.

Service Announcement: Remember folks, that vehicle in front of you can run into trouble at any moment! It is always best to leave a safe distance, just in case!

Then the throat of fire began; I don't recall it ever being this sore, during the summer, since the summer before 9th grade ... sigh.

Did I mention I'm starting to feel better? :)

So, ChainLink 2010. Where do I start??? At the beginning, naturally.

Of all the CGOA ChainLink's I've attended (Chicago, NH, PA, NH, NH, NY, NH), I would say this was the most RELAXED I felt -- PRE-conference. I owe a lot of this first to my great husband, Mr. Dee, who took care of all the auto details (tire pressure, fixing 2 flat tires -- on the same day!, cleaning my van, and removing the rear seating to accomodate all my class supplies and our luggage). And second, to my children, Mini~Dee and Dee Jr. as they worked so diligently in assembling the class supplies & handouts for me. True, they've done this for me in the past, but this year it seemed to run so much smoother. Maybe with the kids being older and more responsible had a lot to do with that, or maybe it is because I bribed them? Also, add to this that having my items for the Fashion Show completed BEFORE actually leaving the house for the conference could have been a big factor too! (lol)

Since we were leaving mid-afternoon we were concerned our commute from Connecticut to New Hampshire would involve hitting 4th of July "going home after the long weekend" traffic. Sweetly, we didn't. It was smooth sailing driving the entire trip!

At the hotel it was like deja vue, only about a foot taller (the kids had grown!), and we were tree-less* -- yep! we were in the same room we were in during the 2007 CGOA Conference ... and we were already star-struck with Mr. Dee having spotted Rita Weiss & Jean Leinhauser! As this was only Monday night, we wondered: Who would we see next?????

We unpacked, and since it was late, we decided to call it a night. Tuesday would be our Family Day.

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*tree-less: in 2007 we were asked to haul a tree to the Conference for a Free Form display. Story is here. In 2009 I brought some tree branches to the Conference to give to Brian of Brainsbarn for some future hooks; you can see one he has made for me thus far here.