Philadelphia and a scarf

I’m Canadian, and I’ve always lived here, and I’m a product of the Canadian school system. This means that most of the history I learned in school was Canadian history, and there is much that I don’t know about American history. (I have forgiven myself for not knowing much American history, because I think that after all this travel I have likely got more American information under my belt than most Americans have Canadian history.) What I do have, or what I did learn, is all of the Big Things. The American Revolution, The Declaration of Independence, the Liberty Bell, Betsey Ross… and so much of all of that, my tiny vault of American History, is housed in Philadelphia that just being in this city makes me feel like I’m in a really historic and interesting place…which, of course, I am.

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I love city hall. (I especially love the clock tower and the way it looks like the source of the Batsignal.)

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I really, really love the way that every time I say how much I love that bat, that Juno exclaims “IT’S AN EAGLE”. (For the record, I know it’s an eagle, but you can’t deny it’s very bat-esque from that angle.) I was in town to go to the Philadelphia Book Fair, and despite the rain (that was a total bummer) and the difficulty getting to the event (a bunch of roads were closed) Philly knitters showed up with glowing enthusiasm.

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It was actually sort of fun to watch, which is always is when knitters mix with the non-knitting in droves. The talk was in this space, but the signing was upstairs in a hall, and as knitters do have a flocking instinct, they gathered en masse. I can’t be the only knitter there who loved people wandering by and looking at us and trying to figure out what was going on. Here’s what was going on. Knitters filling the lobby, hoisting socks aloft, taking pictures, showing each other sweaters and shawls, publicly squeezing balls and skeins…we were inexplicable in the face of the rest of the book fair. Young knitters, William (11) and Diana, who was double qualifying at 9 years of age by also bringing her first socks, and Brianna, who showed up without her sidekick Leah.

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Knitters with babies, like Stacy with Zane, Amy with Abigail (but that’s her daddy) and Katie with wee Aoife.

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There was the first sock brigade: Julie, Laura, Jennifer, Maryanne, Carly and (although I sense a certain shame) Juno.

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For those who follow her blog, the picture of Juno knitting a sock is going to be particularly vindicating, as she has always claimed not to be a sock knitter. Doesn’t enjoy socks, doesn’t like knitting on small needles, doesn’t think its fun and doesn’t want to discuss (again) how it would grow on her to knit something that fussy that you just then shove in your shoes. Ms. Too Much Wool and I have been working on her for some time, and it was indeed Ms. TMW that I emailed on Saturday night with the date and time that our little Juno finally turned her first heel and uttered the words “Okay. I can see why people might enjoy this.” Sniff. It was touching. (Note to Ms. TMW. She has been assimilated. Resistance was indeed futile, admittedly took longer than expected, but futile.)

This here is Amy, who popped by to hold the sock and talk knitting before graduating from Penn in the afternoon.

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Sue came. You might remember Sue from last year, when she showed up with her yellow and red striped “sock of shame”…. and this year felt compelled to bring me a sock with human dimensions, just to prove she’d gotten the hang.

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It was a glorious day (rain notwithstanding) and I had a wonderful time. Philadelphia is awesome.

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All the time I was there, and for a little while last week, I’ve been working on a little project to sub in for socks. I needed something easy to carry around, small and simple…something that was as fun to work as a sock without being a sock (since I was sick of socks) and a quick and pretty scarf fit the bill. I wanted to use this gorgeous yarn I got from Posh in Denver, and though the yarn came with a pattern, it wasn’t quit what I had in mind.

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This was. This is 180 yards (179, really, since I had about a yard left when I was done) of Ivy silky fingering weight 50/50 wool/silk, from Caya Colour Yarn in Colorado. (I can’t find a link for them…anyone?)

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It’s a very pretty colour called “sandstone sage” and I worked a really simple feather and fan pattern over it. I was going to write up the pattern, but discovered that except for the addition of three selvedge stitches on each side, I have managed to invent the “Two Weeknights With Warrick” scarf from Karin’s blog.

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Pretty, pretty. It’s unblocked here, and that’s how I’m leaving it. Very nice, and Karin named the pursuit aptly, since it did work up in just a few sessions and a plane ride. I might just make another one.