I Knitted With the Harlot!

Great knitting day today! I got to knit with the Harlot!

It was a triumph for knitters (and knitting book writers) that among the scores of published authors at the Bluegrass Book Festival, Stephanie had the most loyal following. Sue Grafton and Jane Fonda got some attention, of course, but Stephanie's devotees waited patiently in line to have their books signed and then gathered for an impromptu "knit in" until time for her to speak.

I'm sitting there with my wild Magic Stripes socks and my still unfinished blue sweater sleeve.


I met up with Nancy Reid from Friendship Spinners and she introduced me to a couple of other people. She was working on a pair of green socks in the same Knit Picks yarn that I have waiting in my "to do" basket.


Stephanie was amazing. She took time to speak with each person in line and admire their projects. It must be an odd feeling when you don't actually know anyone but they all feel as if they know you ... dozens of people who know all about your life and you've never seen them before. If we weren't all so charming and lovely, it would be quite intimating.

At 4:00 Stephanie spoke to a packed room, most of whom had knitting in hand. She was so FUNNY! I was a little suprised because a lot of people who are hysterical in print (Dave Barry, for example) don't give good interviews. She has a lot of poise, doesn't take herself too seriously and -- obviously -- has a lightning quick wit.

Even better, after her speech, she agreed to meet some of us (who were hovering around unwilling for the day to be over) for coffee at the local coffee shop. About ten of us sat and drank coffee and knitted with Stephanie for two hours!
Somehow, under Stephanie's magic influence, I began to actually make progress in the unending last sleeve. I think I might actually finish it tonight!

Bless you, Stephanie, and the positive knitting aura that surrounds you. (Note: I did NOT say "Bless your heart.")

I'm Going to See the Harlot

I'm so excited. I'm driving down to Lexington today where the Yarn Harlot, Stephanie Pearl McPhee, is signing books at the Bluegrass Book Festival. I love her books and her blog. I'll report later on the day's events. I hope she's not all tired out -- from her blog it looks like she's been constantly on the move for weeks. Take care of yourself, Stephanie!

A Quick Review for Those of You Who Weren't Paying Attention

Since the old blog is now defunct, I'm going to re-post some of the projects that were on it so they don't get totally forgotten.

My most recent FINISHED project is the illusion scarf I made for the Weaver's Guild spring challenge. The challenge was entitled "Black and White and Red All Over," so I made a black and white illusion scarf with the word "red" repeated three times down the length.

If you see the scarf straight on, you just see a black and white striped scarf (and a sleepy black and white dog under it).

However, if you look at an angle, the magic starts and the word "red" pops out at you. This project was such a hoot -- I just kept looking at it from different angles sort of like a native with a butane lighter. I'm easily amused.

The Sweater is Mocking Me

I'm almost done with Mom's dachshund sweater -- only half of one sleeve remains -- but I never seem to make any progress on it. I think I'm just sick of knitting stockinette. Instead, this morning I've been spinning some of that luscious merino and silk roving that Jeff -- wonderful and understanding man that he is -- got me for Christmas.

It's like spinning a cloud. And you can see from the picture how lovely and lustrous the silk makes it.

I've already spun up one skein of about 400 yards, but at sport weight it will probably take quite a lot to make a sweater -- especially for a generously sized person like me.

Strangely, Pat and Bonita at the Guild are both spinning this very same roving. We discovered it when we were all spinning together the other day. We're interested in seeing how each of us uses the same material in different ways. I can already see that Bonita is spinning hers much thicker than I am.

Hey, this is kinda fun!

This blogging thing is catching on with me. It's sort of fun to pretend that someone else is reading it. I just have to be careful not to say anything bad about anyone ... except, of course, my sister. I TOLD her I was going to write bad stuff so she'd be sure to look at it.

Now for all the bad stuff: My sister is probably the strongest and most self-reliant person I know. She's met unspeakable challenges with a backbone of steel and no discernable self-pity. Where I would be huddled in a corner moaning my fate and cursing the gods, she simply does what needs doing with good humor and optimism. If I had one criticism it would be that she doesn't lean on others enough. We like to feel included.

I finished the back of Mom's sweater last night. Hurray!!! Now I'm down to the last sleeve and I'm halfway through with that. After finishing the back, I gathered up all my stray skeins of blue yarn and I THINK I may have enough to finish the rest of the sleeve without ordering another skein. It's going to be close.

I need a project to take on the road to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival. I'm really looking forward to the trip. I'm taking a Novelty Yarn class on Sunday from Judith McKinsey-McCuin that should be good. Lorain, my spinning buddy and roommate for the weekend, goes every year and she says it's fantastic. I'm thinking about either dipping into my sock stash for something to knit in the car or starting on the felted mittens I've had on my to-do list for a while.

This weekend Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is signing books in Lexington and I'm hoping to go. I read her blog religiously. It's such a hoot! She gets it ... she really gets it.

I don't have any new knitting to show off since the dog sweater is sucking up all my time, so I'll display an old project. This is a beret I made for Kate with handspun angora blend yarn. I dyed it with Easter egg dye and it didn't dye evenly, but the result was a lovely varigated pink -- much more interesting than an even pink would have been. Serendipity! As an aside, the dye faded a good bit when exposed to light. The inside of the beret is a lot pinker than the outside. I don't think Easter egg dye is one the best dyes on the market.


Still, Kate really loved the hat and wore it almost continuously for about a month before moving on to newer and better style options.

I guess I'd better get off the computer and get things done around the house. Time flies when you're online!

Welcome to the new blog

Welcome to the new blog. Not much to say today. I don't know how all the other knitting blogs seem to show a new finished item every day. I'm still slogging away on the dachshund sweater for my Mom.

New blog is open for business!

Well, here we are at the new address. I'll have to learn how to do this all over again, but it looks like Blogger has a lot more features than Bloglines did.

Let's try posting some pictures of the lovely cookies I took to dinner over at Lynne's house: Well, I guess it's not placed exactly where I want it, but it's a start.