Welcome, everybody, to the year 2011. I hope it turns out to be your best ever. Let the knot gods look kindly on you.
On December 5th - 7th, 2010, I attended the IGKT - NAB mini-meeting held in St. Michaels, Maryland. It turned out to be a wonderful event... large enough for two dozen give or take knotters to display oodles of their wonderful craft, yet small enough so that one could spend quite a bit of one-on-one time with each of the tyers learning how to improve their own craft. Oh, yeah, and spend lots of money on rope and tools, etc. The sun shone through the gigantic windows looking out on the Chesapeake Bay.
This was my third IGKT event, and I loved all of them - i.e., New Bedford, Baltimore and now, St. Michaels. But for me, given my minimal level of skill, I benefited from this particular meeting the most. I learned to make a cross from Marty Combs, coxcombing from Vince Brennan, Turks Heads from Tim Alwine and other things like Matthew Walker knots, wall & crown knots, etc. And I got to drool all over the great tools crafted by P.J. Nelson ("Peejay"). Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy some wonderful rope working tools. Marty, Vince and Peejay are the legendary names you see in knotting forums like KHWW, etc. The schoolbus man, Jim Torbert, was down from Delaware and some people came in from Mississippi, Canada and California. Some great restaurants were a mere 15 minute drive from the hotel most of us stayed in, and the meeting room at the hotel was huge. No big boxes and bags of cord, though, as Bob Dollar was unable to make it down. By the end of the weekend, just about the entire hotel staff were tying sailor's bracelets thanks to Matt Boudain and his wife.
I think there might be a repeat of this meeting in December, 2011, and this time my wife will attend with me. She will enjoy the midnight madness, where all the quaint boutique-typ shops in beautiful downtown St. Michaels, on the Eastern shore of Maryland, remained open for midnight shopping. It was a very festive Christmas atmosphere and most people seemed to enjoy.
I am still going through my Christmas presents which consisted of Lindsey Philpot's book on decorative knots, and J.D. Lenzen's (TIAT) book on decorative fusion knots, plus Don Burrhus' wonderful globe knot and turk's head kits, cook books and tools. Not too bad a cache for a Jewish boy from Brooklyn. I can already see where I will be staying out of my wife's hair, cooped up in my computer room, and tying beautiful professional looking globe, pineapple and turks head knots in very short order. Who would have thunk it?
I ventured from Brooklyn into Manhattan a few weeks ago via subway and found, all within a few blocks of each other, a number of fairly huge stores that carried all kinds of beads, jewelry findings, tools and cord that interested me. I ran out of browsing time, but I plan go back there soon with money in my pocket. A credit card would pose a serious danger to me; my card limits could creep up on me quite quickly. Hmm. I wonder which will run out first... my money or my browsing time.
I will post website addresses and information so that you all can see for yourselves what these places carry. If they don't do mail order, I will be happy to take your order and payment, and I will buy the stuff and ship it out to you. I was particularly interested in magnetic cord-ends for necklaces and posts to make earrings with, as well as some unique pendants. As you can tell, there are lots of girls and women in my family to whom lots of necklaces, bracelets and earrings will go.
Cap't. Walter M. Seltzer
The Knot Knut
