Toronto Spiders

ghostsandrobots is in Toronto for a surgery convention. Work is putting her up at the Fairmont Royal York, so I had the opportunity to see inside. Swanky! The lobby is fabulous, and can easily be accessed from the underground concourse. Looking out her room window, I was surprised by the view, which brought back a memory. My parents stayed there for my eldest brother's first wedding when I was eight years old.

Yesterday we went with djjo to Black Creek Pioneer Village to see the back-to-back competition. The objective is to make a sweater, from shearing to spinning to knitting, in under six hours. Last year the Toronto Spiders won the international competition and set the Canadian record. This year they were competing against their own best time and the world record.

Now here is the "small world" element. Several weeks ago at my Mom's memorial celebration, Danny met my cousin Doug's partner, Brenda. When she learned that he was a spinner from Toronto, Brenda asked whether Danny knew her sister, Karen. He did, of course. In the photograph of the three spinners, Karen is the woman on the right.

Wannietta, the knitter in the foreground, is the fastest knitter in North America (2005 & 2006). The two knitters in the bottom picture worked on the front and back of the sweater, while two other women (not shown) worked on the sleeves.