theraineysisters knitting and so much more

First I want to thank everyone for the lovely comments about my Grandma Lettie and her beautiful picture.  I was touched that all of you appreciated it so much.  And thanks for all of the wonderful comments about Oregon.

Headline: Yarn Harlot Comes to St. Paul for Book Signing;  Bookstore Expects Ten; 400++ Show Up

I just drank the Kool-Aid and I’m feeling fine! I spent the evening with 400 of my closest friends: knitters , knitters and more knitters.  All of whom gathered to listen to the one and only Yarn Harlot (aka Stephanie Pearl-McPhee).  The event was sponsored by The Yarnery — the staff were wonderful and did a great job putting the event together.  Plus they gave us cute canvas knitting totes!  Woo Hoo!  I LUV freebies!

Here is the gathering of the masses:

This is just the beginning — the place was packed!

Two Sunrise Circles found each other (the one on the left is accompanied by Lynne, fellow “Thursdays at Four” knitting peep). 

Stephanie spoke for about an hour and was very funny.  I wish I could remember more of the talk – I DO remember that she mentioned a sweaty, shirtless sheep shearer named Nick.  I’m not sure why that sticks in my mind.  Hmmmmm.  No shirt, you say?

She basically described the rift misunderstanding that exists between the muggle world and the knitting world.  The answer is more wool.  If everyone in the world knitted, many of the world’s most serious problems could be solved (some in 73 hours or less). 

After the formal presentation and Q&A, Stephanie signed books.  Kim (faithful sidekick for the evening!) and I waited in line for 1 hour 45 minutes (and we were in the first wave!).  On the positive side, we got to visit with other knitters.

So, what do you wear to an event that is lousy with knitters?  A Bohus!  I wore my Bohus because I was hoping that YH would wear hers.  And she did not disappoint.  Here is a picture of our overlapping Bohuses (I grabbed hers off the table as I waited to get my book signed):

Hers is from Sweden and is absolutely gorgeous.  Soft, and light as air.  Very nicely knit as well.  Our Bohuses were very happy to meet each other.

Then I got to meet Stephanie — she was very sweet and liked my Bohus as much as I liked hers.  She signed my book and agreed to a photo:

So the Yarn Harlot sock made it into our lil blog — we are at the feet of famous, people!  The topper was that she said she reads our blog! :)  The day could not get any better than that!

Now it’s off to bed I go.  Knitting is tomorrow night so I must be rested!

 

 

THAT was humbling!  I started a project, which shall remain nameless to protect me from humiliation, and it flopped miserably.  Not that I haven’t had my share of flops, but I still don’t like them!  I should have been a good lil do-be (Do be a do-be, don’t be a don’t-be!) and finished Oregon, but the siren call of silk — 100% silk — was too much for me and proved irresistable.  So, today I’m being a good lil do-be and working on Oregon.

This leads to my next stream of consciousness:  I’ve been reading a bit of the Yarn Harlot’s book in preparation for her upcoming visit.  In the book she says all knitters have flops, even if you’ve been knitting for 20 years (or 40+ !!).  There are so many things that I agree with in this book.  I have to admit that I am really enjoying it.  I read it during my frequent “bio-breaks” from knitting and the mundane necessities of life (IOW, bathroom breaks, people!).  Some breaks may be longer than others, but all of them are now a little longer due to the fact that I need to finish a page or two 😉 .  It is fun to see yourself and your fellow knitters described so fondly and knowingly, with just a hint of self deprecating humor. 

The ‘siren’ I referred to above is Laines du Nord Mulberry Silk in color green lilac (4011). I fell for the fiber, the color, and the possibilities.  I am re-thinking my options and will probably go for a summer tank to wear under an over-sized linen shirt (my summer uniform). 

 
It is 100% silk and has ten plies, which makes it scrumptious to knit with.  Many silk yarns are single ply and therefore get kind of fuzzy.  The stitches are very even and it knits at a DK gauge on US 6 needles.  I am going to let it age a while before trying again :(.

Now, I must go be a do-be!!!

We had a great time tonight.  Almost everyone was there.  I got to share my new books with the team and felt even better about them after my peeps read through them and found even more to ohh and ahhh over!  

I am stuck on Eris [sleeve] Island because I have not had time to knit of late.  Last night was spent with friends I have had for over thirty years.  We would get together regularly, but found that the time in between was getting to be 1-2 years (!).  TOO long!  So now we are making an effort to get together every 1-2 months.   It has really worked and is wonderful.  These are people who knew me when: before menopause and chicken necks, before marriage and kids, before we knew what our futures would hold. 

Now I must knit and go watch a rerun of Grey’s — though I hear it is a good one (per Kim!).  😉

I taught the “Inserting a Zipper” class last evening for the third time in a week!  So, “zipperphobia” is NOT a universal ailment, my friends!!  Last night at the Yarnery we had three lively participants: Ruthie, Debbie and Connie.   Sorry I did not list all the participants from all the sessions 🙁 .  I found (thank goodness) that most of the people who took the class were sewers as well as knitters, so they all did a great job.  Thanks to all for making the class so fun.

Bad news, though.  I LOST money last night because I spent more than I earned on books: 🙁 and  :)  !!

First up:

Now why would a person who makes one pair of socks per lifetime need another sock book?  Life is full of unanswered questions.

Second up to bat:

I just really liked this book and, Sally, it has the lace-edged wimple I was telling you about!  Woo Hoo!  I did not know that until I got the book home! I like the sweater on the cover, too, and even if these designs were already in Interweave Knits, it’s still nice to have a nice book.

Third up:

I must confess that I do not read the Yarn Harlot with any regularity.  I do not own any of her previous books.  I did do the Knitting Olympics last year, which was loads of fun, but I am not what you would call a YH groupie.  However, YH will be in St. Paul next week and I am going to hear her speak so I thought I would buy the book and perhaps have her sign it.  The book is an odd assortment of musings (inside jokes so to speak) about knitting. 

PS — they did not have the silk yarn I was looking for so “new project” is not to be — yet.