I met the Harlot! Or...how I was struck dumb in the presence of knitterly greatness.

Yesterday, the Yarn Harlot visited Pittsburgh. She wrote about our fair city on her blog, and said the nicest things.

I waited in anticipation all day for 5 o'clock to arrive, and when it did, I left work and promptly got stuck in the worst traffic. No worries, though. The lovely SJ and her fiance, J, had arrived early and had saved a seat for me. And what a seat - front row!



As we waited for the Harlot to speak, everyone in the audience compared projects, petted yarn, and had a good old time. I knitted on my new traveling sock:



Before long, she was introduced:



She talked about the muggles, and how knitters are underestimated. It was a great, and hilarious talk.



After her talk, there was a signing. SJ and I waited in line (with the ever-patient J), and chatted with Cheryl and Yvonne, who were right behind us. Finally, it was my turn. I wanted to tell Stephanie how much I loved her Bohus. I wanted to tell her how much her posts about renovating her bedroom made me laugh, and how I thought she was superwoman for doing it herself (we're having a new wood floor installed in April, and I laughed at her description of the dust, knowing what I was in for then). I wanted to tell her lots of things, but I was struck utterly dumb. I'm not sure what I said to her, but I am certain that it was neither coherent or intelligent.



Stephanie, if you ever read this, know that I think your knitting is amazing and inspirational, and that what you've been able to accomplish with your writing is phenomenal. Thank you for representing for knitters everywhere. And thanks for making me laugh every time I read your blog. You rock.

Edited 04/01/07 at 10:15pm: Here's proof that I may have said something funny (unless she was, um, humoring me). Thanks for the photo, SJ!

How cool is this?

Several months ago, Mark requested another pair of socks. A pair of red socks. Because he has another pair of them that are holding up really well, and he likes the feel of the yarn, I tried first with some KnitPicks Sock Memories in the colorway Redwood Forest. That yarn just pooled like the dickins, and wasn't half as pretty in person as it was on the KnitPicks website, I thought. I poke in on Jessie's blog and her online shop, A Piece of Vermont, from time to time. I'd never placed an order before, but her colors are beautiful and the yardage in her skeins is amazing, so I looked there and found this lovely yarn, in a colorway Jessie calls Lipstick:



You can't really tell from the photo, but the yarn has some spots of lighter red/pink in it, so the husband vetoed it (more for me!).

A couple of weeks passed, and I looked at several different yarns that I liked. There was Koigu, but the yardage in two skeins just wouldn't be enough for his size 12 feet. Lorna's doesn't appear to make a true red. Ditto for Claudia's.

One day, when looking for other people who'd knitted Lady E in Silk Garden 203, I came across this amazing knitter and her blog. I spent probably an hour or more perusing her blog. Her knits are gorgeous, and everything she knits looks fabulous on her - she should be a knitwear model!

In the process of perusing, I noticed these socks, and I absolutely fell in love with the colorway, from Yarntini. So, I check out Yarntini's web site, and notice colorways called Three Rivers, Steel City, etc., and realize that this person must be in Pittsburgh! I emailed and asked about the colorways, and Jessie at Yarntini told me that she could do a special order for the yarn. I placed my order, and then a light goes off in my head. I asked her if she would custom-dye a man-approved red, and she did!





A color just for Mark! Well, not really just for Mark. Apparently Jessie was pleased with it and dyed a bunch of skeins, which appear to have sold like hotcakes at her Etsy shop. Thanks, Jessie - the husband loves it!!

Lady E is cruising along. We both hope to see you Pittsburgh knitters this Wednesday at the Waterworks Barnes and Noble for knitting night. We start around 7 - see you there!

Oh. My. Goodness.

Can you believe these colors? I think that I spend as much time marvelling at the colors as I do knitting on the thing.