This entry brought to you courtesy of the wireless on board the train from Ottawa to Montréal. Seriously. Wireless on a train. I think it’s just about the slickest thing I’ve ever seen.
Note: This turned out to be a red herring. The wireless on the train is present, but apparently signing onto it was an intelligence test that I failed. I kept getting a very apologetic screen. This actually comest to you from my Montréal hotel, days later than I intended.
When last seen, I was taking my lotion head down to the Kingston Chapters where I was going to actually let people see me. It turns out that lotion hair is the exact opposite of what you think it’s going to be. It’s massive. Each hair curls and frizzes independently of every other hair and it’s just….well. Unforgettably huge. Dolly Parton dreams of this kind of volume. Behold the knitters of Kingston!
Well, not all of the knitters of Kingston, but it’s not a huge city and I didn’t give them a lot of notice, but I think that I got most of them in this picture. (You will note that Kingston is not a blurry city at all.)
This is Joan H. from the comments.
She is wearing her first lace ever (the Branching Out scarf) pretty, non? Meeting Joan was a lovely surprise, since I know her from the comments here but I had no idea…NONE, that she lived in Kingston. That’s the miracle of the internet. Anybody can be anywhere. (I imagine that I picture you all living far more exciting and exotic places than you actually do.)
Here’s Molly Wolf, Writer, Editor, co-mother of the Knitlit series of books…I did know Molly lived in Kingston, but I’m surprised she could leave the house, since she’s gone over to the dark side and is still in the honeymoon phase with a new loom. (I didn’t ask her the details. I know how these weavers work. You ask them a couple of questions, you let them tell you stuff, next thing you know there’s a warping board in your kitchen, you use the word “weft” in normal conversation and you don’t think there’s anything wrong with sleeping on a fold out couch because you gave up your bed space for a floor loom. Not this girl. I’m wise to it.)
Faye and Sheila, dream team.
Deb….
and Randi. See what they’ve got? Entrelac. There was more too…there was a lady with an entrelac scarf who got away from me, (She was really quick actually.) and another lady who I think was doing a bag. Since Entrelac (especially well executed entrelac) is quite rare, spotting four incidences in a group this size represents a substantial outbreak. Maybe something in the water? I have notified the CDC of this, and I have hope for Randi as well as the bag and scarf ladies…but Deb….Deb is too far gone. That’s a whole sweater she’s got there, and interestingly, she seems very normal. All we can do for Deb is send her to NASA where her gift/illness may serve her and humanity best.
Overall, Kingston was a treat. It’s really, really nice to do this in my own country and to talk to Canadian knitters. Special thanks to that little boy (I bet he’s a friend of Hanks) who turned the squeaky bookrack to my left while I was talking. It wasn’t distracting at all.
Thursday I did Ottawa and Kanata, (I’ll tell you about that soon. It was seriously fun.) and last night was here in Montréal. Serious knitter infestation. I’ll get it all posted….
I took a moment to remember today. Did you?
Awesome to meet you in Montreal yesterday!!!
I saw some really gorgeous-looking entrelac on Eunny’s blog and was sorely tempted to run out and try some myself. The feeling was compounded by a sighting of a Lady Eleanor scarf-thing in Silk Garden. Oooooooh.
And then I read about the horrors of entrelac here and I get so confused! An entrelac sock in Trekking sounds so appealing, but at the same time like an experiment in madness. Then again, I play with pointy sticks in my spare time. I suppose we’re all a little mad, right?
Entrelac? Mais non! I’ve seen it, I’ve peeked at instructions. Sent me packing right back to my Mindless Toques, they are not for the faint heart within me. Everyone in Kingston was smiling – it’s either because it’s Canada or because they were with the Yarn Harlot, probably both. We’ve had a snow here, and my cats are cuddly and my stash is whispering softly to me from the safe rubbermaids in the basement. I’ve been accused of being a Bear and it’s true. I’m about to hibernate and knit, wake me in March. :o)
PS: Joan, if that’s your first lace, that beautiful scarf, I APPLAUD you! Huzzah x 3!
Looks like a great time! And yes, I remembered today. http://www.ttownknitiot.blogspot.com
I was knitting when I saw the entrelac sweater and I put down my knitting, zoomed in on the picture and carefully analyzed Deb to see if there are any outward signs of insanity. I think I need a closer look.
You need to come down to San Diego. We knitters in the west coast are slightly abandoned! Just because we don’t have cool yarn fairs and stuff and such, but we’ve got… we’ve got… pandas?
There’s also another Joan H who comments and she’s from Pennsylvania!!! Sometime wireless capabilities in a train! (shakes head in awe)
But entrelac is not difficult! Knitters! If you can knit lace, if you can knit Aran, you can knit entrelac. Or more to the point, if I can knit entrelac, anyone can. I am currently knitting the garter stitch entrelac throw from Debbie Bliss’s Noro Collection, which uses both knit and purl gst. It is a breeze, and so much fun to see the colors change in Kureyon. So fear not, try entrelac! I’ll have to put Deb’s beautiful sweater on my to-do list, if I can find the pattern.
I remember how touched I was by your Lt. Col. James Alexander McPhee entry a couple of years ago. So, naturally, every Rememberance/Veterans Day from now on, I’ll think of your Grampa when I think of my own Dad, who’s a WWII vet and retired from the USAF.
Ya know, I’ve been wanting to try entrelac. Think it could make me cool or trendy or something?
That …. sweater! Oh… wow…. I am so unbelievably jealous of and in love with that sweater that it doesn’t quite make me want to knit entrelac enough to try it. WOW. Deb is my hero.
P.S. I should have said, if you can knit and purl, you can knit entrelac. Never mind all that other fancy lace and cable stuff.
I just tried entrelac for the first time and loved it. It is so much fun to see it work itself out!!! And I recently met Molly Wolf and I so appreciate her writings, both her knitting books (as editor) and her spiritual musings. She is a gem – so much fun to see her on your blog!
everytime i read that, i get all teary. and i remember my grandpa (wwI) and my da (wwII) and my uncle (korea) and my first husband (vietnam) and my nephew (gulf1) and my neighbor (right freaking now). Lord help us.
I did remember today — because of a good friend who died recently for whom it was practically a religious holiday. But I clicked back to read your story about your grandfather and was greatly moved. He would not like the times we live in (any more than so many of us do). Thank you.
I did an entrelac felted backpack as my first entrelac project and it was so FUN! Plus the felting covers up many mistakes. I highly recommend something felted as your first entrelac project.
My husband comes poking in and saw Randi’s picture. Blinked. Said, “she has a stitch marker stuck in her nose.”
Yes. He no longer sees nose rings. It’s all about the knitting.
I long for a day when there is no reason for this day to be special because there are no veterans any more. Sigh.
I think that lotion only works that way in your crazy hair, Steph. If I had lotion in my hair, I would look like I hadn’t bathed in a week and it would be matted to my head. Only you… Did you wear a hat? 😉
I love your stories about your tour. When will you come to Germany?
LORDY , Deb’s sweater is beautful but the enterlac is not tempting me,. I thought lace was scary enough for this old brain, and Randi’s enterlac sock gave me good bumps sitting beside her watching her needles fly. Brave people these are and talented. Thanks again for the visit, enjoyed every minute .
Sorry that should have been “goose bumps”
You know, I love the fact that when I read your blog I can envision you as a totally normal, knit-obsessed human being, instead of a knitting celebrity.
And I’m glad that I checked to make sure the shampoo and conditioner were what they appeared to be. I can’t see with my glasses of either.
I did remember today. I will stop at 11:00a, local time, to remember again.
My friend Peg in Kensington, of the comments, sent me this yesterday –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYlrrAWCTRg
It may be “old hat” to our friends north of the border, but it’s new to me and I think it’s quite wonderful.
Enjoy it and remember all veterans, no matter what your view of the military. They’re not the same thing.
I just wanted to tell you that I hadn’t read you post about your grandfather before and I was very moved. I grew up on my parents’ stories of fleeing Berlin and Vienna just ahead of the Nazis. It is thanks to your grandfather and others like him, that I am alive today.
Can I say, I want to throw the stranded glove I am working on across the room. First the gauge was too tight and now it is too lose. I have already frogged and restarted it. This is the 2nd of the pair, I didn’t have this much trouble with the first one, what gives?
Remembering your grandfather, and those who did, and didn’t, come back.
We really do need more peace in this world. And it shouldn’t take wars to get it.
That is so funny because I just printed out an entrelac pattern that I’m searching for yarn for right now. I didn’t realize I was an unsuspecting victim of an outbreak.
Wow, I’ve never even considered the idea of being the first commentor, but I am feeling pretty hot to be in the top 50. That enterlac thing. Wow, there’s been a minor outbreak here in NC. Hasn’t gotten me yet, I’m still working on my first lacy thing. Happy travels!
Gorgeous sweater, not ready to try that yet, though I have a friend who has done a blanket, so when I do & disaster strikes I can ask for help.
Never would have guessed lotion gives body. Did you check if Dolly has a blog? Someone needs to have the world’s biggest hair & I think it’s a title she might actually crave, even if you don’t!
Took the boys to the Remebrance Day Ceremony in London, ON today. It was damp but stopped raining just as the veterans marched in. It was very well attended and as usual I cried my way through it.
Are you sure you were using lotion and not Lorretta Lynn-brand Big Hair cream? I use lotion on my hair in the winter, when the static electricity makes me look like a science experiment.
I can confirm outbreaks of entrelac in Chicago as well. So far I remain immune, but that’s probably because I am so absorbed with the Christmas knitting. Its too early to tell if I will experience “IT”, but things are moving in that direction.
We few, we happy few, we band of knitters who check even on Saturday. Good save, blaming your low posting this week on putative railroad-wireless-absence. Who could contradict? It is juuuuuuuuust barely possible, though, that the honeymoon is winding down, at least as far as your obligation exemptions go. Just a shot over your bow to remind you that Tuesdays are for Spinning has never been formally repealed. Hope you loaded up on poutine to carry you through. I’d hate to have to call in the enforcer (Delores is no doubt recovering from the Dulaan knit-in, but I’m not above placing that call.)
Stephanie,
I went to your link and read again the story of your wonderful grandfather. When I finished reading it, I looked at the clock. It was Nov 11, 11:10 AM. I then stopped to think about my dad, gone now just over 3 years, his BD was Wednesday – he would have been 78. He was a veteran of Korea and signed up before he was even a US citizen (emigrated from Ireland just the year before he went overseas). He very rarely talked about his experiences either. I don’t think I ever heard more than 15 minutes total from him. Yes, we need to never forget.
You know, the ABQ city bus system supposedly has wireless too. But it never works for me. So I feel your pain about the train wireless being lame.
I think Entrelac is making some sort of resurgence in the knitting world, because I keep seeing it mentioned on blogs! I can’t hold out forever…
Look at all that entrelac. And Molly Wolf! (Hi, Molly!) Who got me my first story published. Cool! But I have a 45″ four harness countermarch Leclerc floor loom, and it’s shipping out to my sister in law in New Jersey. I just so much prefer the texture of knitted things than woven that I’ll never learn how to weave. Having had that loom 20 years now, never seems quite a safe thing to say.
thanks for sharing your grandaddy’s story stephanie. my grandad, the most wonderful man i have ever known, also fought in the war. i will make sure i talk with all of my children about him today.
i loved deb’s entrelac sweater! man oh man do we need a harlot visit down here in alabama!
I see you’ve cleverly not linked us to anyone with photographic evidence of the Lotion Hair of which you speak.
So c’mon – Kingston knitters out there, any of you with a blog with photos of the event please shout out in the comments!
We’ve had an interesting experience of Remembering this week, talking to Matthew about the meaning of the poppies and why we wear them. He told me that when he grows up he’s going to be Batman and will fly over to where the wars are and stop them. I hope, as has every mother before me, that there will be no war for him to need to stop when he grows up.
Stephanie, it was great hearing you speak in Montreal yesterday. I wish I could have stayed and actually say hi, but I had to leave before you were done speaking. Hopefully there will be a next time.
My father died when his plane was shot down over Germany in WWII and he is buried in an American Cemetary in the Ardennes in Belgium. I was the first in the family to get there and visit the grave about ten years ago. Not on November 11, but close. It was an awesome experience to see that place…hope I get the opportunity to return. (A hint about your blurry issues….it’s the light. These digital cameras need gobs of it. See if there is a “night” setting on your camera’s menu….that might help. Or, if you have a manual setting, open up the aperture.)
It has been brought to my attention that I misspelled Dolores’s (http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/2006/03/meet-dolores.html) name. I would spend a longer time apologizing, but I’m off to throw all my worldly belongings into the car and to try to dispatch a phalanx of cabana boys in the general direction of Chicago to distract her. Under the direction of Stephen Fry.
Not that I expect it to help. Oh dear.
You imagine us in exciting places, huh? Funny. I often imagine myself in exotic places too. Heck, ANYWHERE is more exotic than Milton (we have nice knitters and a great yarn shop though).
My almost 2-year-old asked about my poppy this week and I did my best to explain at her level but I’m afraid it still went over her head. I’ll remember for both of us this year.
Thank you Stephanie for your words about your Grandfather. My mother & father served in WWII. In the few months before her death I asked my mother why she served. She said ‘Why honey, I wanted to serve my country – that is what we did’. If only the majority of human beings could learn another way to serve humanity. I know my dad could never get downwind of brussel sprouts again, as that was their mainstay in England. He died about 18 years after the end of the war due to accelerated bad health from injuries. Thank you for your principles, I simply find your life choices an inspiration to read, thank you for sharing your life…and KNITTING 🙂 I’m on my first set of cables…I didn’t know it was this easy…it is absolutely thrilling to watch them appear – like watching bread rise or something.
Veterans’ Day used to be called Armistice Day (for the WWI armistice) and was later changed to Veterans’ Day because (sadly) wars continued to waged. I know about that because Nov 11 was my mother’s birthday. We used to have the day off from school until they changed to Monday holidays. She remembered rationing and knitting for soldiers during WWII. Knitters are still doing the same thing today. (Another example of how knitters are blessed. Some people today barely notice that a war is happening. As knitters we can feel like we are making some small effort to support our troups regardless of how we feel about the war itself.)
ENTRELAC POST FROM NEW ENGLAND: Besides my own entrelac knitting I’ve only seen two other examples, one right here in Marblehead. I couldn’t be bothered with all that turning AND THEN . . . I got a brainstorm. I taught myself to knit backwards (which is the same as purling, only on the other side) and now I love it. No turning!!! Quite a good parlor trick too, although only other knitters are wowed. Happy knitting all!
Yes, I remembered today, and I’m so glad you asked all of us if we did. I even kind of blogged it! Can’t wait to hear about the rest of the trip!
Oh yes, I remembered today….I am the wife of a Viet Nam Vet who did 2 tours of duty…and the daugher of a US Marine who was in WWII…you bet I remember! Now…as to the “dark side”….what is a couple of looms, warping boards,warping wheels and assorted weaving tools? You don’t need that couch or that bed…It is a opportunity to have things to keep the spinning wheels, drop spindles and knitting needles company!! Oh come on, if we are going to get obsessive about something DO IT RIGHT!!! You still use or make yarn for it all..and that is a good thing, right?…right?…(that is what I keep telling Hubby any how)
Hey – great photos! I’d like to compliment Kingston on it’s blur-less-ness. Also, please note that St. Louis was blur-less as well (4/28/06). Good, blur-less knitters must stick together. I’m sure it will come in handy for something, someday.
Wow, a Canadian Joan H? How neat since I’m half Canadian anyway on my mother’s side. And did you get the source of the entrelac sweater or did Deb design it herself? Inquiring minds need to know these things.
I’ve tried to start that “branching out” scarf several times in the last week or so and I just can’t get it to work…or any other lace pattern for that matter. I’ve now decided that the solution is to move to Canada…I think living there just makes you able to knit stuff. Stuff you can’t knit other places. lol.
Love that entrelac sweater…bet that took ages!
Hey Stephanie-just so ya know and all-that sweater was my SECOND major entrelac project-the first was a Noro coat -all entrelac-that I traded for another 20 balls of Noro!!!! Yes, the craziness continues………
I did remember today. Thank you for putting the link about your grandfather at the bottom of your blog entry–I got teary when I read it, and wouldn’t have been able to read the rest of the blog had it been at the beginning
I’m glad I wasn’t drinking coffee when I read your post today. I laughed till I cried. Perhaps I’ll try lotion on my extra-fine, curly hair. It would certainly cause a sensation at school. For some reason, this brings to mind my grade 8 teacher, who inexplicably came to school one day with his usually-normal hair done in Elvis style, with tons of grease. We snorted quietly into our desks the whole day. He never did it again. Yes, I remembered the soldiers today.
I succumbed to the entrelac illness. I may have even contributed to the spread since I designed a pattern for a mitten that looks like a fish using entrelac. I’m happy to say that it has sold quite well.
And have you seen Dave’s entrelac dish cloth? (http://criminyjickets.blogspot.com/) Even after all the fish craziness, I made four dish cloths too! I really don’t know what came over me.
Dave’s instructions are an excellent introduction in case anyone is interested in trying it.
Today I am thinking of my WWII veteran Dad, who we lost right before Katrina … and my grandpas who served in WW1 … and all my uncles who served in WWII, only one of whom is still with us … and everyone else in my family … and all the young people who have died in this horrible thing in Iraq. Your post is so touching, please don’t ever take it down.
On a lighter note, the entrelac virus is pandemic. I’ve got about three inches going on an entrelac sweater in Koigu. It should be finished about in time for me to wear it to my retirement party (I wll schedule it for January). I am optimistic, if we can get rid of the Republicans, maybe we will actually still have pensions and stuff like that when I’m 65, so I actually CAN retire.
Veteran’s Day…it was my first thought upon awaking this morning (well…right after thinking I don’t want to be awake yet!). My mom was a veteran of WWII. She was a surgical nurse in a MASH unit in the European Theater. So yes, I remembered, was grateful, and most of all, I still miss her.
Those darn weavers, almost as bad as the spinners that infected me. I’m going to stay far away, I DO love hobbies that require furniture to be re-arranged.
The dark side…..Dear Harlot it is just a matter of time til you venture forth. After all we have now brainwashed, I mean converted…no enlightened Brenda Dayne…can it be much longer until you join us pod people ooops I meant us fiber loving in all manner people?
Char
just wondering if the camera thing has anything to do with the camera trying to focus on two things, sock up close and people far away?? like it doesn’t know which to focus on…. I don’t know, just wondering!
Entrelac is really fun and quite addictive. My first stab at it was for the Lady Eleanor stole from Scarf Style. I had so much fun making it that I started fantasizing about it being done with different yarns and went on to make 4 more. I’ve since started a sweater and the snowdrift stole that involve entrelac but I always refer back to the directions in Scarf Style because they were so clear and easy to follow.
One day I will take a trip on a train.
Sounds like you have been busy as always! Take some relaxing time!
No,no,no. CROCHET is the Dark Side. Weaving is good and great. And *my* weaving instructors would actually complain that knitting took over my life and away from constant treadling, so I think it’s a two-way street ;D
Rams, if you’re sending Stephen Fry to Chicago along with the cabana boys, Franklin will be so far beyond happy he will allow Dolores many heretofore forbidden things in the home, resulting in the happy fact that you won’t have to worry about any sort of reprisal from The Divine Miss D.
I too have experienced the joy of wireless internet when I went to the middle of nowhere also known as Shaniko Oregon. No phone, no clocks, no TV, no restaurant after 4 pm but…..Ta Da……wireless internet.
Ain’t it wonderful?
Both of my grandfather’s were WWII vets, & they are the first ones I think of on Veteran’s Day.
I’ve spotted some entrelac in Maryland, so it does seem to be contagious.
I feel for your hair troubles, I really do as someone who took many years to get her curly hair in order. I try to spread the gospel of how to take care of it, so you’re really tempting me to come up to Toronto for a lesson. Or better yet, have you come here to DC and see my stylist.
You know what they say in the American South, don’t you? “The higher the hair, the closer to God.”
I see you’ve decided to give my girlfriend Lisa and I a brief respite before you out us as (gasp!) crocheters that came to your Kanata signing. I think there was something in the brownies there that night; I dreamed about knitting socks for the next two days (honestly!) and now I have a burning desire to figure the whole business out. Perhaps by the time you out us as non-knitters, it won’t be strictly true anymore… I have, after all, learned how to cast on already. 🙂
I took my remembrance in Manotick, marching with 29 others in the cold November rain, standing there in our less-than-waterproof-or-warm formal dress uniform. I’m glad it was raining; I always cry at these ceremonies and the immediacy of losing my fellow brothers-in-arms brings it much closer to home.
Thank you for remembering, too.
Concord, MA, has the New England states’ Boots Memorial, a pair of empty, labeled, boots for each soldier who died (and signs about number of Iraqi civilians killed) up right now (I think that it comes down late Sat night). We took the kids to see it. Sobering.
And our children are in a Fife and Drum corps that always plays at our town’s Veterans’ day Flag Burning Ceremony (of old and worn out flags…weird that the same thing is both respectful and disrectful, depending…).
We’re doing our best to remember…and teach our children to help them prevent futures wars…
Sadly, for many of us in that country south of you today is a day to remember wars that we had, you know, a *reason* to fight. Sometimes even a good one.
That entrelac is amazing. I can do lace and cables, intarsia ones even, but entrelac remains a mystery to me.
What a treat to see a post on Saturday! We should let you spend more time closer to home. Hope you’re having a great weekend!
There really must be something in the water or is it in the air? I’ve just completed a pair of entrelac socks. I’m in love!
about the weaving thing…. Just imagine a grandma who is a former weaver….. She just told me at the art show I’m selling at today that she’d like the “big loom” out of her house. (it’s a folding floor loom my grandpa built, I think about 4 feet wide….) I already have her table loom, her 8 harness leclerc minerva, a warping board my grandpa built and a warping reel I bought…… (not to mention the table loom stored at my parent’s house given to us by other relatives….
Yes, it takes over and the equipment is bigger than spinning wheels and knitting needles. I can see that she threw a bag of yarn in the back of my car when I gave my sister my keys too.
I did remember today, as a matter of fact, even though the U.S. doesn’t really do much for Armistice Day, as we call it here. OK, not that you or your readers really care, but a year ago I took a grad seminar in the music of the Great War, and it was completely enlightening…not to mention the eery similarities between the attitudes regarding war then and now. We had some real moments in that class.
P.S. Entrelac scares me.
Steph – just read your wonderful Remembrance Day story. It’s late in the day now but I DID pause to remember. My father-in-law was one of the first to liberate a concentration camp in Germany and I have his flag; my first husband (a black man from Selma, AL) went to Viet Nam in spite of my urging that we just move to Canada. In spite of a thoroughly dreadful upbringing in the bitterest times of racial tension in the American South of the 1950s, he said “I am American and my country has called.” Yes, it is desperately important that we remember and honor our soldiers and veterans, past and present — and pray that the day will come when there WILL be peace and no new veterans or soldiers to remember (I am optimistic, yet sad……as a Living History Interpreter my research doesn’t offer much hope). Thank you for your Remembrance.
I’m swooning over that gorgeous entrelac sweater. Very beautiful. I’m on my second entrelac project now, with more planned for the future, and have “infected” two other knitters in my knitting group.
I suspect that no commercial knitting machine could handle entrelac, and that makes me love the technique even more. You can’t buy an entrelac anything at the mall.
I remembered.
And said a little prayer that we will learn a new way of being. A less warring, less fear-driven, less violent way. (my country especially…)
I always remember. My dad is a Vietnam Vet and I am the only one (besides my mom) who acknowledges him on this day every year..despite the fact I have two sisters. Sigh.
I was thinking today about your post, and soon got way past thinking about weaving looms re my earlier comment, to remembering one of my earliest road-trip memories when I would have been five or six. We were driving through the Virginia countryside, past a Civil War battlefield, and I sitting between my parents in the front seat asked my dad about the place as he turned off the main road and towards it. What were all those things in the grass for. He, a WWII vet, sadly explained the concept of war to me. I remember still the moment when it sank in.
OK seriously. I was in IN OTTAWA on Thursday at 2pm, sitting in a parking lot, picking my nose (figuratively; in reality, I was knitting), while I waited for my husband to get out of a meeting. Darn my inability to check your tour schedule in a timely manner!
i remembered. my brother & his wife were both army, and both served in the first iraqi war. i sent them both e-cards. all my uncles are gone, but they’re remembered, too.
I was so hoping that the lotion hair was going to be some sort of curly-hair breakthrough. My hair doesn’t need any help with big and frizzy.
As promised, my Mom called me as soon as she got home from Chapters and here is a sampling over our conversation:
Mom: She was so funny. I didn’t know knitting could be funny.
Me: I told you she’s funny. What did she say?
Mom: She said something about how there’s four things to say when someone finds your wool.
Me: Your stash.
MOm: Right, stash. Do you have one of those?
Me: Um.
—
Mom: She reminds me of Meg Ryan.
Me: Fishlips Meg Ryan or cute Meg Ryan?
Mom: Cute. She does that thing with her nose.
Me: The wrinkly nose.
Mom: Yes.
Me: Aw!
—
Mom: Everyone there was knitting except me. It was like stumbling on a …
Me: You want to say cult, don’t you?
Mom: Yes.
—
Mom; I got you a book and she signed it. She wrote ‘Obession is normal.’ How does she know you’re obsessed?
Me: You mean other than that I sent my mom to hear her and demanded a play by play? Because I’m a knitter, that’s how she knows.
a red herring? i’m actually in a play right now by the same name and just finished the first Red Herring sock from knitty… so if you’ll be in Albion Michigan between november 15th throught the 18th i highly recoment seeing the play. i spent 9.5 hours in a tech rehearsal today for the show, so it was the perfect place to finish the sock. happy knitting!
I think that we are everywhere. Maybe you should get some sort of interactive map so we could show you where we all are. Yesterday and the Saturday before that, I sat and knitted with three of your fans in Beirut, Lebanon. They have a really beautiful shop here called y.knot, and a healthy selection of dreamy yarns and they serve guests coffee.
Then, in January when I move to Ecuador, maybe I’ll send you some vicuna… Or you could come to visit…
Now I feel a little dumb, because I looked on your main blog page and saw that you have a frapper map. Cool!
Reading the post that you dedicated to your grandfather just made me cry. You are a beautiful woman Stephanie.
Reading the post that you dedicated to your grandfather just made me cry. You are a beautiful woman Stephanie.
Reading the post that you dedicated to your grandfather just made me cry. You are a beautiful woman Stephanie.
Go on, Steph, I triple dare you:
http://tinyurl.com/yzj9yw
You have my absolute guarantee this is nothing bad.
OK, here it is in its entirety:
http://www.gotoquiz.com/how_canadian_are_you_1
Another thing I miss about my Canadian girlhood is poppies. Americans don’t do poppies like Canadians do.
But the entrelac? Eunny’s been entrelacing too. It might be an entire movement (like Arlo said).
In Fort Collins, Colorado–a knitting and spinning town if ever there was one–entrelac is flourishing, in the hands of a skilled teacher whose guidance on color and yarn selection gives her students a terrific start. The first project in her classes is often a felted knitting tote, and she does teach the knitting-backwards method (also useful for bobbles). But I haven’t yet seen anything like that incredible sweater!
I’ve caught the entrelac bug too. Probably my rebellious reaction to people telling me how hard it was. Fact is, it’s not hard at all once you get the hang of it.
My entrelac creation? A scarf made from some hand-dyed yarn that my boyfriend bought for me. It turned out much better than I expected:
http://knitpicking.blogspot.com/2006/09/escape-from-area-51.html
Too bad it rarely gets cold enough in North Carolina to wear a wool scarf. But I’m not letting that stop me!
I’m intrigued by entrelac, but haven’t been brave (stupid?) enough to try it yet.
So…are you going to post pics of yourself with lotion hair? 😀
Embrace the loom. Resistance is futile.
Pictures!!!! We want pictures of the lotionhead!!!!
I’m working on an entrelac blanket out of left-over sock yarn. (Yes – I’m crazy) Picture on my blog – 9/9/06 entry.
Public wireless seems to get the better of many people. At least it was sorry.
Glad you are still having fun even if it is punctuated with squeaky bookracks.
The entrelac bug has infected the Atlanta area, too.
Actually, I think that Entrelac is The Next Big Thing. In my little circle of the Blogosphere, everyone’s doing it. =) I’m pretty sure that it’s catching…
Thanks for linking to that post about your grandpa. It’s amazing how WWII veterans have bred a lot of objectors to war. I just attended the funeral of my husband’s grandpa green–this guy served from ’39-’45 and ended up in Berlin before it was all over. We found out that GG’s son Ed was drafted for Vietnam and went to GG to tell him he didn’t wanna go, expecting to be disinherited. Instead GG looked at him and said, “I support your decision and I’m on your side.” The first time we’d ever heard of that story, and it spoke volumes.
Do you have any idea how many people who daily read your blog? Seems to me if one is a knitter than one MUST know of the Yarn Harlot.
(Ok, long one here, but I babble.) Wow, the knitters of Kingston are obviously on a roll, with both lace and entrelac. Beautiful things, ladies! As to the weaving thing…Now, Stephanie. Doesn’t all that sound just a *wee* bittie like what knitters and spinners say? (Hey, y’know, a Navajo loom can be very space-saving, and you can weave more than rugs and wall-hangings on it! Plus you can build one yourself. [eg])
Rams – you’re threatening Steph with *Dolores*?! Oh man. Now that is truly evil. I think that opportunity would make up for the goof on her name. Although the cabana boys and Stephen Fry couldn’t hurt. Add in a gallon or two of tequila…
Stephanie E., no link made it in your comment, so I hope you check back. *Loved* the excerpts of the conversation with you and your mother. Many giggles, thanks for sharing.
Yesterday – WW2: My dad, Vencel, 607th Tank Destroyer Battalion – D-Day, then with Patton through France and Germany; Uncle Frank, USAAF – South Pacific, and the Occupation in Japan; Uncle Joe, Army paratrooper – invasion of Normandy prior to D-Day, and liberation of Auschwitz. Today: visiting my mother’s grave at Willamette National Cemetary for veterans…where she is in the best of company. To all the soldiers, everywhere.
*sighs* That sweater is beautiful. Entrelac. Another thing I will have to try.
And yes, remembered the day. The friends I know over there now, the relatives I’ve met only through stories because they are buried over there. All, I hope, in a better place without war.
After seeing that knitting I am moving up north when we are down here down South West. I will even bring my book rack spinners with me. I think I want to move in on your block. I would be oh so happy to have someone to share my weirdness with.
You are a lucky gal!
Funny…I lived in Kingston for 4 years…I remember it as being a little blurry at times 🙂
At 11 a.m. on Saturday, I brought my son out to the back porch and said, “Listen.” And then the local fire station began to sound their signal 11 times. I told my son to stand up. “Why?” he asked. “To honor the fallen.” So we stood there. Thank you for generously sharing the picture and story about your grandfather. My son, my only child, is 14, and I’ve been very worried that if this war in Iraq doesn’t end, there will be a draft and they will take him from me. I’ve been opposed to this war from the get-go, and am doing everything I can think of to ecourage the politicians to end the war. Wish us luck.
When are you coming down east…past Montreal and into the Maritimes (particularly Moncton)?????
I found your book on Amazon, and your book lead me to your blog.
After reading the latest entries in your blog I went back and read the entire thing.
Your blog inspired me to start my own.
I’ve been knitting for 3 weeks and have just finished my first project.
I just wanted to say thank you for your moving, honest, and highly entertaining approach to knitting, life, and everything.
I was reticent about posting a journal (although I’d done many in the past) because learning to knit for me has all of a sudden become a very personal process. But your post about your grampa helped to remind me how important it is to talk about things and to remember them.
I’m going through a particularly hard time right now…and I just wanted to say thank you…because…you helped remind me of what is important.
Oh..and I forgot to say…I think you’re great and I hope one day I could be half as talented and gifted as you are!
Yes – I remembered.
Thank you for the link to your post about your grandfather. It was moving to read it again. I have the cavalry whistle that was my Great Uncle Gord’s from WWI. I keep it to remind me, and others…..
Ooooo…in Montreal for the Eastern final! Just remember Steph, the Argos still suck. Gush on a bit about how wonderful the Arcade Fire are and hopefully no one will notice you’re from Toronto.
Ooooo…in Montreal for the Eastern final! Just remember Steph, the Argos still suck. Gush on a bit about how wonderful the Arcade Fire are and hopefully no one will notice you’re from Toronto.
I think I can help you with your camera fuzziness. It has to do with what you focus on. I hate to tell you this but it’s all the sock’s fault. You can’t ask your camera to focus on an up-close sock and far away people. You need to pick one or the other. Right now, your camera picks the middle, so both are blurry.
Or, hank put his sticky fingers on the lens.
Signed up for your class in January at the Madrona event, can’t wait to hear you again. I may have found a solution to your knitted hat dilemna. I also have naturally curly hair and know the importance of conditioner.
I visited your heavenly city made it to knit night at Lettuce Knit, but I guess it was a quiet week with you and others all out of town and stuff. I went to the Textile Museum and saw a work of art that reminded me of a certain stash weasel you posted earlier. Here’s a picture:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/knit_cookie/294238114/
I think that instead of one day plus Memorial Day we should really have an entire month for remembering “those that have gone before us.” Thanks for making note of it. cecilia
Your remember post about your Grandfather made me weep. Thank you. I think I needed it.
Oh Stephanie of the Lotion Hair, why do all your socks seem to be blue? I’m actually quite curious about that.
(I live in a place that is neither exotic nor exciting, just to be clear.)
Oh, so many things to comment on in your post. Yes, entrelac looks pretty. No, I don’t want to do it. I’d rather focus on lace, cables or something else. BUT, I did Lucy Neatby’s mermaid socks with a wide self striping yarn and the results LOOKED LIKE ENTRELAC without doing entrelac!!! Amazing.
Yes, I remembered my dad (who enlisted at age 17 and was sent to the Aleutian Islands as a SeaBee and avoided combat. This saved his life, I’m sure). I also remembered by cousin who committed suicide in early September. He was a Lt. Col. in the Airforce, a flight surgeon, who rescued and saved countless soldiers. Some say it was survival guilt that made him so depressed. I count him as a war tragedy.
I read the post about your grandfather and it is as affecting as it was the first time I read it. Thank you for all the beautiful writing you do.
My father was in WWII. He had a large area of scar tissue on one thigh. My mother told my sister and I that he was in a tank that caught fire. That’s all she knew and all we know. He’s 91 now and has never talked about it – which is why all of US should.
My camera is broken (it’s taking pictures that look like half of the photo was in Kingston), but I can attest that Stephanie’s hair was totally fine in Montréal. I can also attest that CBC Radio will never be the same. They think knitting is cool now. She rocked.
I had a blast with you, dude. And I am SO going to tell Brainylady Alison that she’s wearing a stitchmarker in her nose.
On the subject of lotion hair – one time after I had gotten out of the shower (after successfully washing my hair with shampoo and conditioner) I grabbed the tube of what I thought was hair styling stuff and proceeded to work a nice glob of Clinique SPF 15 facial moisturizer through my hair. My hair is super thick and frizz prone too, so I hear you sister.
You never fail to amaze me. Thanks for the good gentle knock in the head about Veterans Day. Your entire tribute to your grandfather was beautifully worded.
Read this post late because I had gone home to place a flag and flowers on my father’s grave. A WWII veteran with a bronze star who did not talk about the war until I had married (he talked to my husband while I listened) or when the granddaughters needed him for school reports. His service has been a very important part of all our lives. Sadly, he never saw his granddaughters participate in the ceremonies, one as drum major with the HS band, the other playing Taps on her trumpet.
well, it is always nice to fantasize. (refering to you imagining the people visiting your blog actually living in far away and exotic places)and i know most hard core downtown toronto-living-types think that the farthest, most outer limits of the GTA IS far away and exotic BUT let me tell you from one who inhabits said area: IT’S NOT! 🙂
Remembrance day here in Australia too.
My Aussie uncle also served as a pilot with the RAF in England and sadly died in his plane shot down over Dortmund in Germany at the ripe old age of 21!
What a waste of a generation of fine young men.
One day we won’t have any more wars?
Read your 11 Nov 2004 comments on your grandfather and was really touched. My father also refused to talk about WWII. The truly wise never swagger. Anyway, I though I’d recommend a song to go with all your sock-knitting this month that I find very touching. By Robb Johnson (a hard-to-find UK folkie, but maybe in Canada..). “I Closed My Eyes.” Would make a pacifist out of any sensible human being. Hope you can find it. In the meantime — leave off the e-mail! Back to the socks! –Melissa–