Knitters do it in airports

Today, unless you hadn’t heard, is a High Holy Day in the land of knitting. Yes Poppets, unbeknownst to the rest of the world, today is International World Wide Knit In Public Day, and no…I didn’t make it up. (Some non-knitters read this blog, and I didn’t want them thinking that I just nominated a day myself.) Get out there and do your part. I am making a good show of it, and have already knit in two cabs, three airports, two airplanes and two countries. (A great big Hi! to the knitter I saw making something blue and in the round on dpns (maybe a big hat?) in the Portland Airport and another big Hi to the knitter making a fluffy yellow something (maybe a blanket?) in the Seattle airport. I was too shy to speak to you, but I saw you, and sent warm vibes your way. Covering the airports is difficult work, but it’s good to know I am not alone in my mission this day.)

Last night I did my thing in Portland, (whatever my thing is…) and after they had a difficult time integrating knitters last year, Powells got a way better grip on their knitterly reality last night. I do admit (a little bit) that the knitterness can be a little odd to the uninitiated.

For example, here’s Auntiemichal with an Oregon Washcloth for my collection.

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Comment from a bystander – “What’s up with the State Cloths? Is it like spoons?” (Like spoons? Sometimes I don’t know what non-knitters are thinking.)

This is Peggy and Nikolai.

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Nicolai brought his book for me to sign. I advised him that typically, I do only sign books that I write…but “The Magic School Bus” series is darned good, and the young gentleman was adamant…..

This here is Jodi…

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It’s her birthday!

I met Fyberduck (my pictures of her are unflattering and do not do her justice. I shall not post them. You can visit her blog, she has a nicer one) who seemed stunned that I “knew” her. (Remember people, you read blogs, I read blogs. Two way street. Nothing stunning about it.) Next up was Kathy…

This is Kathy. Kathy makes the best samosas in the world.

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Now, I know this because she brings them to me when I am in her part of the world. (I am a very, very lucky knitter.) Last night when I saw her, I felt a rush of excitement, but Kathy (who I like very much, even were she to bring me nothing but her smile) did not even Smell Like Samosas. Turns out that she brought me a new treat. Scones made with special Oregon cherries. Very, very yummy. I ate them last night, this morning and on the plane. Totally as good as samosas. (Almost as good as her smile.)

Rodger, Abundant Yarns blogger and the host of their Mens Knitting Night.

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Representing for the less-often knitting gender, who brought along a (slightly reluctant but charming) model wearing a sweater he made using screen shots from the movie Tristan and Isolde. (I love knitters who don’t let something as trivial as a lack of a pattern stop them.)

Now this…This here is Christy.

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She is part of the single sock liberation movement, bravely struggling on in the face of the two sock hegemony. (Socks that come only in pairs are LIMITED THINKING.)

Meet Sarah and her first sock…

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Chris….

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Chris is high enthusiasm. I assure you.

Shaina took my picture with a Polaroid camera,

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and something about that dissolved me into a fit of giggles that took moments to recover from. (It was the noise. It was some strange flashback.)

Chrissy (who gave me a great breastfeeding slogan tee shirt the last time I saw her, has only upped her cool by becoming Gardiner Yarnworks.

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It warmed my heart to see her friends were encouraging her in her business. Stick together ladies, it’s a big world out there.

This is a rare photo of Monica pdx in the wild.

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(I can’t believe that I just got the pdx thing.)

Meet Jane, who came to the signing to remind me what to aspire to.

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Jane is holding the lace shawl that she is knitting,

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out of her own handspun laceweight. There is nothing wrong with Jane’s skills, let me tell you. I am just grateful that Jane is not 22 years old, because I like to believe it takes some time to be that good, and if she had just taken up knitting and spinning mere months ago I would have had to mar our lovely meeting by smacking her. (Jane…if you just took up knitting and spinning? Don’t tell me.)

This the charming lady Tammy….

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was Portlands hat lady. (In a very charming note of symmetry, Tammy collects…you guessed it. Spoons.) She is a delight and a wonder, as is all of Portland. I love it there.

Finally for today, since I keep forgetting to get one of these nice knitters to take a photo of my finished sweater, I did it myself this morning in ….well. The place I was in when I saw a full length mirror.

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The ladies washroom at the Seattle Airport. Sigh. I do what I can.

This is a bit of a mess

I’ve started this about 20 times, trying to launch into a fantastic accounting of a wonderful evening, but the truth is that I might be too tired and delirious to pull it together in a way that tells accurately about how wonderful it was. Since I’ve already shown you the palm trees, let’s just let’er rip.

Petaluma is an hour from San Francisco…two and a half hours in traffic (which it was ) across the bridge (which it was.) Big thanks to the Tiny Tyrant (seen here looking totally smug about getting me there on time) who told me to get a move on if I wanted to get across the bridge with time to spare.

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I arrived with about 45 minutes to spare. (Good call on the leaving early.) I went and sat in the basement where I pre-signed books, had a lovely cup of tea and enjoyed the fine company of the ladies from Knitterly, who made me feel very welcome indeed. They admired my reward sweater, which is indeed (as Margaret guessed Ruth’s Kauni Cardigan. (There’s a brilliant one happening here at Purlwise) Margaret gets no points for guessing though, since it was spotting her sweater in progress when I was in NYC a while ago that got me sending emails to fetch the yarn from Denmark in the first place. She’s an enabler of the highest order.)

More on the sweater later, since I actually knit 10 cm of the body before noticing I had made an enormous error (I blame lack of sleep, rather than my stupidity) and ripping the beast back.

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Sweater seen here in a coffeeshop a few centimetres before its entirely appropriate demise.

Updates on that one as I rebuild. Where was I? Right.

Petaluma.

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I think a lovely time was had by all, certainly by me. It could be the sunshine, it could be the lack of real cold, perhaps it is the wine or the ocean…but the Petaluma knitters were a darned good bunch. Generous, funny….They were great. My good time looked like this.

Babies (this guy is Nolan. See how he’s reaching for the sock? The force is in him.)

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Baby Hannah.

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(Homebirthed babies always have a nice look about them)

There were lots of first socks….

Elizabeth

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Baraka

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Mindy (Actually a crocheter…but we take all kinds.)

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And Makaela….

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Who I have got to tell you, restored my faith in real first sock knitting. None of these beautiful, no issue first socks for Makeala, NO SIR. Those two socks she’s holding? Those two Very Different socks?

They are her first PAIR. (Atta girl. Three cheers for first socks that suck. You’re my sort of knitter darlin’, my sort entirely. )

There were birthday knitters…

Amy

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Julie (from Atlanta) and Katie (from Philly) are here for Julie’s birthday

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Katherine

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There were knitters with special talents….

Alison Hyde (holding her author copy of her brand, spanking new, soon to be out book. I tried to steal it sort of accidentally.)

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Phil and Kristine.

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Curators of Curious Creek Fibres. (Beautiful stuff.) Phil won some sock yarn from me a while back (he came up with the best scrabble word) and he now has a stash of 1 (one) skein, but Kristine is helping him out. He’s clutching his practice piece there…and swears he’s going to knit socks.

There was Romi

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From Designs by Romi.

Laura made a California washcloth

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Kelly made a California washcloth too (with the bay knit in.)

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Christine, Traci and Pat drove from Half Moon Bay (I don’t know where that is, but it sounds beautiful)

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Jane fulfilled a brilliant function…

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Lending me a pair of scissors to trim the ends off my new sweater, which is smashing, and does fit, and was totally forgotten in the rush. I’ll try to remember pictures tomorrow.

Laura was our Petaluma hat lady…

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and she collected a great many beautiful hats.

Now, if you’ll forgive me the lack of poetry, wit and finesse…I’m off to bed. I’m in a bit of a time warp, writing about Petaluma when I’ve just had a good time in Portland as I pack for Victoria…

and if I don’t lie down I’ll fall down. More tomorrow.

PS. A deep and personal thank you to Sylvia and Silvia….Who’s chocolate covered coffee beans are the only reason I made the 4:30 airport call the next morning. You are blessed women.