If you give a moose a muffin

I packed all three yarns in my suitcase and left this morning, at what can only be described as too damn early (or that hour of the day I like to refer to as “not-enough-coffee-in-the-world-o’clock”) and I started the bleeding heart yarn ends of the stole on the plane…

Bhystar2905

Pretty, pretty, pretty. I’m not usually a pink sort of gal, in fact, normally if you asked me what sort of colours I prefer, I’d be slamming the sorts right there down on a table as perfect evidence of what I don’t care for, but this has me charmed. Utterly charmed. I got to the hotel and my room wasn’t ready yet, so I went and stomped around downtown LA waiting for it to be time. I bought a shirt, I got lost, I got rescued by a very nice cab driver and I saw the rather unbelievable sight of an OUTDOOR ESCALATOR.

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I took a picture so there would be proof. Seriously. An outdoor escalator. I stood there and tried to understand how it could exist. (It wasn’t the only one either. They’re all over.) I couldn’t figure out what was so boggling about it until I realized that it was a Canadian moment. I was standing there all confounded, and I realized that what I was thinking was that this escalator was going to be a disaster when the snow came. (Tip: If you are standing in the shade of a palm tree while you are thinking that? The snow isn’t coming.) Back in the room I fought a battle to achieve internet access (turns out that you have to stand just outside the door of my room to get it) and standing there in the hall, laptop held aloft, gleaning what little signal there was to be had from the air…. I downloaded your 1200 comments about what yarn I should use… then I laughed. Laughed and laughed. Right there in the hall in a hotel bathrobe (Key in the pocket, I can be taught) I laughed till tears ran down my face.

You knitters are an opinionated bunch!

Since I’m the only one who’s ever going to read 1200 comments, I thought I would pull out a couple that were representative.

Sarah’s comment makes me want to look in her underwear drawer:

I’m a sucker for the whore’s panties. C all the way.



Several people voted for an option “D”. (You people write stuff in the margins on tests too, don’t you?)

Rams said:

Mixing handspun and machinespun? Grain and grape.

And you know what that leads to.

(Do the ends on the trip, come home and spin a complementary middle. You know I’m right. And back.)



Gillian said:

I looked at the stole. I don’t think that two colors will work unless you do a neutral cream. The pattern flows and is drapey and two distinctly different colors will look, in my opinion, just plain odd and maybe even bad. I also agree about mixing hand and mill spun, creates texture issues. Back to the wheel.



Even Denny had another idea… (but I did give her that alpaca)

I know you have white lace wight in alpaca, or did you give that to me??? So I say “D”. I know, I know. There was no “D”. O.K. then “A”.

Finally, Carolyn in NH summed the whole thing up.

“The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is

no good evidence either way.” – Bertrand Russell (British author,

mathematician, & philosopher, 1872-1970). There’s apparently a corollary

for blog comments.

She’s exactly right.

(PS. Cat Bordhi said to use A. What with the way I’m continuing to disappoint her with my persistent belief that double pointed needles are the one true path…. I think I have to throw her a bone.)

(PPS. I’m going to go stand in the hall to post this.)

173 thoughts on “If you give a moose a muffin

  1. Well, I still say the green would work better on you, but I expect you’ll work whichever colour you choose just fine.

  2. And Happy Birthdaty to your daughter – because if it’s my birthday here in Australia, where it’s already Friday, it must be hers, right?

  3. My husband was disbelieving when I showed him the comments when they number around 900. He thinks “you people” are crazy. He was looking at me when he said that.

  4. that is so sweet about the snow and outdoor escalators. and how they’re all over california. i was reading this thinking, what’s the big deal? but i understand now. oh i love it. sorry, worst comment ever.

  5. I trust you – but I still say C would have been nice.
    The wonderful thing about standards is that there are so many of them to choose from. ~ Grace Hopper

  6. Hi Stephanie!
    I did not know you were in town – – where will you be? Tour schedule does not show you in Los Angeles in May – – what’s going on I need to make sure I go see you ! Rosalia

  7. Oh My Goodness, you ARE in LA!!! I recognize the escalator! Will you be appearing at the Downtown Library? I would love to come and see you this year! I hope it isn’t too late and I’ve already missed it.
    Thanks,
    Melissa
    p.s. I was hoping to bring my first sock in progress along for the ride and buy your new book. Enjoy LA!

  8. There are lot of outdoor escalators in Vegas too. I have to admit I thought they were strange when I first saw them, too. You are a fast post-woman. I was commenting on the last post, refreshed and you had a new blog posting! You blog as fast as you knit.

  9. I liked them all but after reading much fewer than 1200 comments I figured you had more data than necessary.
    Love the escalator. From a Michiganian…
    LynnH (hope to give you a hug at TNNA)

  10. I cannot wait to see how this lace turns out. I have such trouble making these decisions. I rarely venture out like this. It is lovely so far. Maybe on my next lace. Wait, I think I have two planned lace gifts next. Perhaps the lace after that.

  11. Now that I see a bit of that beauty knit I’ve changed my mind about the colour and go with A. What a fickle knitter I am eh ? Outdoor escalators IMAGINE !!! Yep I’m Canadian too and that just blows my mind.

  12. to comment #12 Marita “If you give a moose a muffin” is one in a collection of children’s books. The story goes around and around in a circle, ending where it begins. They are great books. So when you cant decide on what color yarn to choose you just go around and around and end up back where you start. Packing 3 different yarns.

  13. I lived in L.A. for 21 years. The escalators are because we don’t like to walk, much less climb stairs. PLEASE!
    …and please don’t bring up the number of gym’s… with stair climbers… just sayin’…

  14. I would have simply asked myself, “How lazy are these people”? No wonder they all need plastic surgery.
    I’m glad you learned your lesson. Robe and room key! Just one more thing and you will have a triple system for leaving your room.

  15. Wow! I can’t believe I’m in the first 20 to comment!!
    I agree, more homespun.

  16. There are now 1320 comments on yesterday’s blog!
    We’re all nutz.
    And I don’t care what Cat says; now that I’ve seen a little of the handspun knit? It needs ivory. And lavendar.

  17. The gorgeous knitting almost distracted me from fantasizing about yummy chocolate muffins, inspired from your title.
    Almost.

  18. Funny that, about the outdoor escalator. They have them in Hong Kong, too. SERIOUS hills there, though. : )

  19. I have to tell you … I decided to tally the votes … and I was just about done too – when your site updated and pop me out of your blog —UUUUGGGGGHHHHHH!
    I felt like I did when I was getting ready to cast off my sock when I suddenly noticed I had somehow managed to stitch the ribbing to the heel!
    All that work!
    Still — you have to laugh!

  20. Wow. I thought the thing about the stairs (escalator) was how well it matched your knitting. Because, really, doesn’t it?

  21. He he, you just gave me a very good smile as the start of my day with the picture of you trying to catch a connection with your labtob in the hallway (all hail the queen of inexplicable knitters behaviour) 😉
    My (all too Danish) thought about the escalator was “what a waste, no wonder they aren’t fit…” (very prejudice of me, I know)…
    By the way, I smiled at the comment count on last post when I wrote this (1320)…

  22. I felt the same way about the outdoor escalators when I first moved here. I was your typical gawking Canadian tourist.

  23. So, I can’t really tell which one you’ve decided on. Is it Cat bordi’s recomendation? How long are we going to be in suspense? Enquiring minds want to know.

  24. Did you notice how the pix of the building with the escalator color-coordinates with the pix of the bleeding heart yarn (which is loverly, by the way)? Since it’s LA and all, I’ll bet the escalator leads to a gym or health club. 🙂 It’s a west-coast thing to ride to the gym (and then get on a tread mill, stationary bike, or stair stepper).

  25. LOL! You have some clever commenters! It never occurred to me to suggest spinning something else…this is what I get for not really being a spinner…should work on that. Anyways, I can’t wait to see what you decide to do – I’m sure it will be lovely! =)

  26. I like the way it looks, with all three colours:-)
    We don’t have many outdoor escalators here either(in Norway), but I would have liked one now to put the sheep on and bring them to summer pastures…(because they don’t want to go where I want them to go!They go ten meters and run in all directions! An esc. would have been perfect from the barn and up the hills!!!)
    Have fun in LA!

  27. If you give The Harlot some fiber,
    She will spin it into yarn.
    When she has made yarn, she will want to find a pattern.
    When she has the pattern, she will realize that she needs more yarn.
    When she has more yarn she will start to knit.
    If she knits, she will use the yarn up.
    If she uses the yarn, she will want to blog about it.
    If she blogs about it, she will get more fiber….

  28. There is an outdoor escalator where I live – sort of, it has a tunnel round it. Not for snow, for rain 😉
    But still, it is far more outdoors than anyother escalator I have seen here in the UK

  29. Oh, we have lots of outdoor escalators here. You should see the newscast when we, gasp!, get water that falls right out of the sky on us! Then we all rush around like panicked lemmings and decide to take a “sick day” from work because we can’t handle the traffic.
    I actually like the swatch you’re making with the stripes, but perhaps that’s not the look you’re going for. I liked the green choice most, but I have to say I would go with white or cream now that it’s been suggested. I also would go for more handspun. Or perhaps, if you’re going to spin anyway, you could work your magic and get another bit of roving in the same colorway that you already spun!

  30. It’s not just a Canadian thing with the outdoor escalators. There was one at work in Boston MA that they finally wised up and took out. I had never seen it actually function. You are dead right, they are a bad idea where there is actual weather.
    I think you would have made any of those color choices work (but there are some very ingenious suggestions). What you have so far is lovely.

  31. You have so many things to comment on, but I choose this battle:
    (PS. Cat Bordhi said to use A. What with the way I’m continuing to disappoint her with my persistent belief that double pointed needles are the one true path…. I think I have to throw her a bone.)
    I’ve done “Sock’s Soar” and “Magic Loop” whilest wearing a grin and thinking “Neaner on YOU” smugness.
    When all the sock knitting is done though? I loathe any knitting that is not tried and true DPNS.
    Double Points and that’s all there is to say about that.
    Kat? If you really think you can convert an average run-of-the-mill DPN’r to something else? Just say’n. I’m game.
    Overall knitting comfortable-ness? Dee Pee Enners.
    It just feels right. How is that wrong?

  32. Who would argue with Cat Bordhi? Not me that’s for sure. That woman is brilliant (and too nice to argue with anyway LOL!) The pink is beautiful and the the stole/scarf is absolutely lovely. How did you ply the gorgeous yarn you spun? Inquiring minds want to know. Can you tell I’m a spinner at heart?
    Thanks for sharing picts of the outdoor escalator. Who would have thought. Like you I grew up in serious snow country (Lake effect snow anyone?) and when I saw that I was thinking “How do they shovel that !?!” You’re not the only one LOL!

  33. Not just an outdoor escalator, it’s also colour coordinated with you knitting!

  34. No wonder I woke at 2 and couldn’t go back to sleep — the Bat-signal (sorry, Philadelphia) was up.
    Silly everyone who suggested different colored ends to the scarf — that would have meant postponing seeing how the handspun knits up. Have a lovely time doing the ends, lamb. Once you’re home you can spin a lovely ivory for the middle and use the remaining bleeding-heart to stripe the transition.

  35. *swoon* at the start of the stole. What beautimous yarn! I want to spin, too, *waaaah*

  36. There used to be a practically identical escalator from the street to the World Trade Center Plaza, back when there was one. I’m pretty sure it ran in the snow.

  37. I was visualizing the escalator full of dirt and tumbleweeds. I suppose it depends on where you’re from. You have to understand that the only buildings here over 2 stories (and there are only about 3 of those, including houses) are the grain elevators. They have “man lifts.” I suppose it would be confusing to talk about an elevator in an elevator.

  38. Having recently moved to Boston, I agree it is damn strange seeing an outdoor escalator, especially in a place that gets snow. It is covered by a building, and the last few days has been out of commission, but it’s there, outside. Weird!

  39. I looked at the yarns, I looked at the pattern, I looked in the mirror and thought about what it would look like on me (I’m a ladylike pink most days–unless of course I am yelling at the kids when I turn bright red) and I voted for A.
    So glad you went this route! It’ll look great on me when you decide it is way too girly for you.
    Jane, exits snickering but not before wishing Dear Harlot a good Internet connection the whole trip

  40. The handspun is gorgeous.
    Who is Cat Bordhi?
    We have outdoor escalators in Wisconsin – we call them tow ropes.

  41. Come to Florida. We have outdoor showers, too.
    The yarn is beautiful. I think knitters should do exactly what they want to do. If I can combine water colors and parakeet feathers …
    You’ve inspired me to buy a “Learn to Spin” kit from Golding. We’ll see how it goes – there’s a shop with lovely spinning wheels less than 200 miles from here.
    Enjoy California and stay away from the freeways! I mean it!

  42. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE share the source of that roving – that fiber would be PERFECT spun up for a sweater for my pink junkie 4-year-old daughter!

  43. I clicked on this entry expecting to read something about the “If you give a moose a muffin” book. I Love that book, very cute.
    My vote was for A, but I wholeheartedly agree with just doing the ends on the trip and spinning more of something when you get home. 🙂

  44. You just make me laugh every day! I am a new knitter and just love reading you blog. Please come to TExas!!!!!!!!!
    Wanda

  45. The technical term for “too damn early” is “oh-dark-hundred”.
    Goes right along with dates, from, say, the first decade of the 20th C: “nineteen-oh-small”
    Just thought you’d like to know 😉

  46. The escalator moment has a San Francisco corollary – my aunt Kay cracks up when her east coast family members ask her how she manages the hills when it gets icy.

  47. I was going to vote A, because as much as I like the darker pink I think the lighter one will offer less competition to the subtle colors of the handspun. Don’t I sound like I know what I’m talking about?? Now that I know Cat said the same thing I’m brave enough to vote – and also, there are not already 500 comments.

  48. The comment about cream is spot on-although downtown LA is (yawn) boring and the nearest yarn shops are like miles away-even by bus- i visited 3 when i was there in 05, the weather is verrrry condusive to an outdoor escalator- if you can get over the smog and filth. however the LA library is the only one i’ve been in that has a gift shop?! enjoy at least you can say you’ve been!

  49. Outdoor escalators!!! I’m Canadian and I’ve never seen one. I’m thinking rain would cause similar problems to snow, no?

  50. That’s the same reaction I had when I saw an outside escalator in Las Vegas. “Snow is going to kill this thing. Oh wait…”
    Not being a spinner, I hadn’t thought of the issues of combining handspun with mill spun, Rams has a point. You may have to spin something to match.

  51. Doh, Kathleen’s comment about San Francisco’s hills got me! “How do you handles those hills in ice? Scary!” lol Granted most of the Midwest USA doesn’t receive as much snow as Canada but I have the same mindset. And I also don’t plan anything for the out of doors (unless it’s suppose to involve snow) from November to March. It would be very weird to move somewhere where an outdoor wedding would be possible and comfortable in January.

  52. Oi harlot, did you even notice the photo of the outdoor escalator was the same colour tones as the great yarn debate itself…you DO have a thing for those colours at them moment don’t you…. 🙂

  53. Right. I’m always worrying about things like ice in SF and snow in LA, having deliberately spent all my life (save one winter-out-of-time in India and one very peculiar year in Oregon) in places with four robust seasons. I’m terribly disoriented by places with palm trees–so it’s not just Canadian and it’s certainly not just you!
    As for the yarn: had I voted yesterday I would have voted “A”. Having seen the striping in the handspun, though, I’m realizing that the green might work…but I still think “A” is the best answer.

  54. On my computer the two photos have matching colors.
    I love it when bloggers match their projects with their surounding. Often time I believe we don’t even see the similarites before it hits the screen.

  55. Just me again … not sure if anyone pointed it out, by my daughter did ….
    you are in California right?
    Health Fanatic Central?
    The place where the Exercise craze started?
    Where they elected a Body Builder as Governor?
    And they have an outdoor EXCULATOR?
    Does anyone else see the irony here?

  56. I love the book If you give a moose a muffin! Being from Maine I also wondered about the safety of the escalator if not snow, then what happens if it rains and the thing short circuits won’t everyone on it get fried?
    Now that I see the bleeding Heart knit up a bit I think the light pink would be best. You don’t want anything distracting the eye from the beautifulness of the handspun, except maybe more handspun.

  57. lol! My first thought about the escalator was Wow, that will be a bugger when all the maple keys jam up the works! (litte seed thingies that fall off the maple trees in late spring). Then I thought…nevermind!
    Another tip. If your car breaks down on a road trip in the states, don’t go looking for a Canadian Tire OR ask anyone for directions to CT. They will look at you like your an idiot until you finally catch on…

  58. While I was sharing the colour coordinating rules I did forget about the hand spun vs. mill spun…
    Wait till you’re home and then spin some more, ie. I’m with Rams and Gillian (obviously superior beings in our knitting-world)
    Safe trip.

  59. Indeed very very pretty. And I love the outdoor escalators. There was one in Spain, in Toledo that took you from the place where tourists parked their way-too-big vehicles to the top of the walled city. Which is a good thing. Because that walk is a killer.
    We did it without the escalator. Once.

  60. At the Sitka Hotel in Alaska last year, I had to walk down the hall from my room (old part of hotel) to the top landing of the back staircase (just into new part of hotel) to get online. Fortunately, the landing was about 4 feet by 6 feet (approx. 1.5 x 2m; I didn’t measure, so the conversion’s good enough) and half of it was out of the traffic path for people actually using the stairs. I got to know a lot of my fellow travelers that way. They all were amused, and one actually brought me coffee in my “office.”

  61. Yup…saw your photo of the escalator and also wondered how such a thing could be. It would SO not work here in Northeast Ohio! I also can’t wrap my mind around the fact that in Hawaii, the airport terminal has no walls (wish I could say I’d witnessed this myself…story comes from mum who’s been there.)

  62. So… looks like you went with option D? 😉
    (And a “Hei! Hvordan du har?” til Marit fra Kait! My family is from Norway and I have many relatives there.)

  63. Here in the Pacific Northwest the escalator thingy would need to be wrapped in plastic to keep it from shorting out from the rain. I know it rains in California too, but not as much. It is rather amusing to think that people pay money to go the gym for workouts and then take a ride up the hill. It wouldn’t work for people in wheelchairs or with walkers either, so the argument about it being there for people with special needs doesn’t hold water. Crud, I really need some caffeine, this has me so confused!
    Oh, and your Bleeding Hearts looks fabulous!

  64. What does it mean that I can’t help but make a comment after you have made your choice? I think A will be lovely but you need some green too! It needs 3 yarns. (I feel better now)
    Linda

  65. Re: mixing handspun and millspun, didja see Jared’s (brooklyntweed) Striped Vest in Handspun and Recycled Tweed : http://brooklyntweed.blogspot.com/
    I dunno. Maybe it does indeed work sometimes. We care so carefully for our handknits (we handwash most of them the majority of the time anyway) – seriously what’s the big problem with mixing handspun and millspun? It may not work some of the time, but that means that it DOES work some of the time.

  66. I wondered for some time how the hell they were going to shovel that thing….but then you mentioned the palm tree.
    I think Ken needs to give you a polling option of some sort for your birthday, along with yarn of course.

  67. In our house, “not-enough-coffee-in-the-world-o’clock” is called “O-dark-thirty”. 🙂
    Loving the bleeding heart so far, it’s just lovely yarn.
    Glad to hear you remembered your key – and I’m hoping that bathrobe was not only closed, but did not hide any cowgirl undies.

  68. Pain, such pain. You were within throwing distance of my office and I can’t go see you because I’m not a book seller or teacher. I’m a book buyer, isn’t that enough?!
    Have a great time here in LA LA land and enjoy the unusually moderate weather! Maybe I’ll just go stand in front of the Convention Center waving my sock in hopes of seeing you emerge!
    Didn’t get to put in my two cents yesterday (although it looks like you got several dollars out of the day anyway, Canadian or US 😉 but of the 3 options, I pick A. Absolutely lovely yarn.

  69. I remember the first time I saw an outdoor escalator. It was in 1985, in Hamburg, Germany. I don’t know if it’s still there though because I haven’t been back since, although I would love to return because it is a beautiful city.

  70. I like the light pink with the handspun beautiful… I love Kathy from San Jose’s comment “If you give the Harlot some fiber”. You truly have a crazy following.

  71. Mmmm, yeah, that’s sweeeet. I’m still with Rams though…. but.. if you MUST go ahead and knit it, A,B,or C, I’m stickin’ with A.
    Have fun! (the outdoor escalator boggled me too)

  72. As another knitter who would have denied any attraction to pink, and is now spinning the most gorgeous fuschia (not pink, right?) silk roving, I gotta say definitely NOT A. I think the results would be kinda blah. I liked both B and C but today, would choose C. Tomorrow, who knows.

  73. They have those escalators all over the place in Vegas too. You go up one, cross a bridge over the strip and go down on the other side. Very convenient!!

  74. I know! They have outdoor escalators in Denver too. I was SO dumbfounded (says the Minnesotan).
    I will say they probably are more practical in LA than even in Denver…

  75. I have to agree with Rams and Gillian, though I have great respect for Cat! (But I’m a die hard dpn sock knitter too.) I did think A would work the best so as not to “stick out like a sore thumb” but going back to the wheel with a complimentary/blending type color would work the best if that is an option you are open to. What you’ve done so far is lovely.
    Whoa! And outside escalator? Holy Tin Man, how can that work in the rain?? Do they even get rain in LA??

  76. Steph, I am amazed that you would actually read 1200 comments!! It has inspired me to write one! Since I always show up when there are an amazing number of comments, I usually figure you must be sick of reading by the time you would get to mine! 😉 I personally liked the green–but as another who normally dislikes pink—Sometimes you just have to go with it!
    Susan P., Look up the book “A Treasury of Magical Knitting”. Cat Bordhi is an amazing yarn artist!! I just recently found her stuff, and I am so hooked. Of course, I am always looking for cool ways to knit without seams. 😉

  77. Oh lord, what hotel are you at? I’m laughing so hard right now, picturing dozens of businesspeople following your lead and standing in the hall, ties loosened, shoes off, laptops aloft like lighters at a concert as they worship the gods of the internet!

  78. With you on the outside escalator mind-boggledness.
    Because snow, ice and rain just happen. Don’t they? What a concept.
    The handspun is looking bee-yoo-ti-mus knit up. I’m curious to see option A, which looks like it will have very good points even if it wasn’t my ‘vote’. Those are beautiful flower colors.

  79. Being a bit of a color-inside-the-lines kind of gal when it comes to academics (multiple choice? I’m back in school in a blink!), I stayed with the choices you gave, but my first thought was the same as Rams…spin something for the middle.
    Oh, and “he’ll want some jam to put on it!” though we are more a mouse a cookie household.

  80. Seriously, Stephanie, are you still on book tour? Where? I freaking *work* in downtown LA, and would love to hear you.
    janet

  81. Oh, you know what ever choice you make you will like. (mostly) Is there some unwritten rule that says you can’t mix hand spun with machine spun? I guess I don’t know that one. (Let’s keep it that way.)
    Moose. There is a subject I can understand. I designed a tatted moose motif once. Told a little story that conjured a picture of an old sour dough sitting on the front porch in a rocker telling of his/her exploits in days gone way by.
    I remember the winter of ’94 when the snow was so high that the moose were found on the roof tops of houses eating the tops of the trees. No fooling.

  82. Did you notice how the bleeding heart yarn matches the outside of the building with the outside escalator???
    Prescient I would say, just another of your talents HMMMM

  83. Great colours they show up the handspun beautifully. I didn’t even think to try all three together.
    Talking about outdoor escalators, they have a huge one in Osaka Japan, I’m talking like 12 stories here. It’s massive.

  84. I’ve not used it on my blog, but another one of my fav blogs uses http://www.twiigs.com/ to post polls to their website to get feedback.
    There are a lot of free polling tools like twiigs online that might help you with your future yarn choices.
    Of course, you should still expect the 900+ comments with write-in answers. : )

  85. I am so utterly and totally not a pink person! But I have to agree with Cat on A.
    Come to think of it, I do tend to agree with Cat on many things. 🙂
    I was struck by the way that the colors in the picture of your knitting match the colors in the building by the outside escalator. How very cool!

  86. Do you know that the military version of “not-enough-coffee-in-the-world-o’clock” is “oh-dark-hundred”! Hope your travel schedule gets lighter soon.

  87. lol. i can picture you in the hall with your hair all afluff in the humidity of LA, trying to hold your laptop above your head while simultaneously trying to hit the correct keys to post a blog update.
    steph i love reading of your adventures. and the colorway is very pretty.

  88. Tokyo is filled with outdoor escalators–even in the dead of winter. I assume they must be heated or something, ’cause I don’t remember them being particularly slippery in winter……

  89. I LOVE “If You Give a Moose a Muffin”!
    If you give a Yarn Harlot some yarn to choose from, she will ask her opinionated readers. If she asks her opinionated readers, they will inevitably give their opinion. Their opinions will lead to eleventy billion more options, and we all know what happens when you give a Yarn Harlot some yarn to choose from…. 😉
    Love the outdoor escalator story 😀
    (Please come to Arizona!)

  90. Why! Oh Why! Isn’t LA listed on your appearance calendar? When you kept writing LA I couldn’t tell if you mean’t Louisiana (LA) or Los Angeles (L.A.), but that photo sure looks like Los Angeles. If you are in Los Angeles is it a closed event (to the trade only?) if not why didn’t I see that you were going to be here so I could plan to attend? I’m so disappointed to have missed seeing you yet again.

  91. I had a moment like that at the San Jose airport, where there was a nice little sunshade for people waiting for the bus. The legs of it were set into little plastic ends that were then screwed into the concrete, presumably so they could take it down or replace it and I kept thinking “man those little plastic ends will get destroyed by shovels in the snow” and then realized that they most likely never had to deal with that problem.

  92. So pretty!! Love it! I don’t really have an opinion, because I love all those colors, but I think the handspun vs millspun might be the main question. Not being a spinner, mind you.
    And Katie at 8:13 – former Midwesterner here 😉 – it took me exactly 13 seconds to adjust to the California climate, especially the dry air. For awhile I missed “real winter” at least for Christmas, but then I spent 2 winters in Illinois for grad school. Not so much missing it anymore.

  93. BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) has had outdoor escalators in downtown San Francisco ever since the system was built in the early seventies. In fact, the escalators require a lot of repairs, because they are exposed to the elements during the rainy (winter) season. I believe that there are plans afoot to build covers for them.

  94. Is it too late to vote? H. For handspun.
    I’m not a pink person but those colors are so delicate they’re irresistable.

  95. And apropos of the BART comment above, I do remember, quite vividly, one December when it “snowed” in the Bay Area (and by “snow”, I mean little flurries of frozen white stuff that landed and immediately melted)(you may laugh now). Enjoy the palm trees!

  96. When I first moved from Scotland to San Diego I was afraid to use outdoor escalators, I was convinced they’d short out and electrocute me, what with all the rain water that must be sloshing around inside them…Oh, right, it’s a desert.

  97. “Since I’m the only one who’s ever going to read 1200 comments”
    Ahem. Hello?

  98. I live in California, we have tons of outdoor escalators. It was definitely a Californian moment when I looked at your post and thought “why is so perplexed by this?”
    I didn’t comment in the previous post because I just didn’t like that pattern. I liked the Bleeding Hearts one better!

  99. (Tip: If you are standing in the shade of a palm tree while you are thinking that? The snow isn’t coming.)
    Hey, now, we did once get an inch of snow in the Valley back in 1988 and it lasted for a whole half-hour!
    I can tell most people commenting about the silliness having the escalator haven’t actually been out here. Downtown Los Angeles rivals San Francisco for the size of its hills and getting from one end of the street to the other can involve some pretty steep walking. If all you’re doing is going to the office, you’re not going to want to go up those four flights of stairs every single day, twice a day (and four times if you go out to lunch).

  100. I was reading your blog, saw the picture of the elevator, and was seriously thinking: wouldn’t the rain and snow um…break the thing?
    And then I read the rest of your post. I really have to work on reading the entire thing first.

  101. Mnemosyne at 12:37 has it right. And by the way, many people with limited mobility can manage to walk (to remain as mobile as possible) but not to climb stairs.
    The escalator goes beautifully with the scarf.
    Enjoy your tour!

  102. I’m not only boggled that there were 1200 comments, but that you managed to read them all. That they were strong comments, not boggled at all.

  103. Yeah. California is weird. My husband is from Northern California and showed me his elementary school. The rooms open to the outside and there are outside doors leading to the restrooms. Lockers are outside. It’s a magical place.
    There is a spiral escalator at a mall in San Francisco. Coolest escalator I have EVER been on!

  104. There’s an outdoor escalator in Calgary and I was completely floored the first time I saw it. I’ve since discovered that even though it’s protected from the snow by an overhang, they turn it off in the winter. So basically it runs for about 2 weeks a year…

  105. I had a “Minnesota” moment when I was visiting a friend in Hawai’i – There was a house on a hill, with beautiful landscaping and a lovely, brick, curvy, and STEEP driveway to the top. I looked at my friend and said, “what idiot could possibly have thought that driveway was a good idea?? who would want drive on THAT in the winter, and BRICK?? -so slippery…” She was just grinning her head off.

  106. Also, reading the post again, I think you *should* do handspun in cream. She’s right – any other color would look wierd.

  107. Another term for way too early is “the butt-crack of dawn”. I’ve also heard it using another term for butt, if you know what I mean.

  108. O dark thirty is how we describe that too early hour.
    Outdoor escalators. We have them in the San Francisco Bay Area in the BART (subway stations). They tend to be out of service pretty often. As a parent whose kids have long since outgrown strollers, but who can still remember the days, I was very grateful for those escalators (when they worked). The elevators (which thankfully all the stations have) are often out of the way.

  109. We call it ‘dark-thirty a.m.’–and I go for Option D–any option D that involves that lovely yarn, I’m all over it. (Although the comment about ‘grain and grape’ is very valid.

  110. Love the idea of “the Canadian moment” realising that you’re wondering how the escalator will work in the snow.
    Even here in the temperate UK, I don’t think an outdoor escalator would be a good idea; someone will probably now tell me that they’re all over the place in London or something!
    I liked the tart’s drawers colour, BTW.

  111. I totally get the outside escalator issues. Did you know the airports in Hawaii DON’T HAVE WALLS? They are OPEN AIR?! What about all that snow and rain? What about those very cold nights? WTF?
    Oh. Hawaii. Right. Never mind.
    I’m from the midwest AND pacific northwest and I just don’t get open air things.
    Oh, and the kids’ schools in SouthernCA also are open air. Shocking. Absolutely shocking.

  112. Remember that movie “Play Misty for Me”? Clint Eastwood had to go OUTSIDE to get from the living room to the bedroom in his house in Carmel, CA. Took me a while to figure that one out, too.
    Also. You know how to tell the northerners in California in April? They are the only ones in the pool. The water is *too cold* for the natives.

  113. I am highly amused at the escalator.
    On the other side of the coin, next time you come to San Diego, try going to a mall/shopping center. 🙂
    They are all outdoors here.

  114. You know, after seeing the Bleeding Heart knit up a bit, I have to say “A” is the better choice. My original thought was “C” because I liked the contrast between them. However,after seeing the pattern…I would recast my vote for “A”.

  115. The yarn is even lovelier knit up & I still think option A is the best. There is at least one outdoor escalator in the Chicago area which has weather a bit like Toronto’s although our winter is usually shorter & less snowy. Actually it is in Oakbrook Center, the outdoor mall across the street from the Borders where you signed books last summer. It is sheltered by a building however (ie it has a roof that is part of one building) so it is not completely exposed to the elements.

  116. I’ve taken this escalator hundreds of times, but never in the rain… not sure if it runs in the rain? I can’t believe you are so close to me, and yet I am not invited to participate.
    I also have an option D: knit every other row (not every two rows) in A, and every other row in handspun. This will blend the color and the texture seamlessly. However, you will have to work from four balls. Maybe Cat would approve?

  117. If you’ve never seen it, here’s a great web site where you can join for free and set up an easy survey to collate your responses (no, I don’t work for them, I’m a teacher and use it for my class evaluations)!
    http://www.surveymonkey.com/

  118. Oh, yes, the Water Court escalator (I work down the street from it). You don’t want to walk up, really you don’t. The stairs are for coming down. (Better to take Grand Avenue – ‘Cardiac Hill’ – though. Or go up the Library Steps, which has nice stairs *and* a series of escalators.)

  119. I’m still thinking Green…otherwise all that pink would end up being way too precious…but that’s just me, a very anti-pink person.
    I go running past that escalator almost every weekday! When I’m feeling really zesty, I stop and run up and down the stairs a few times…the folks riding the escalator always seem amused.
    PS…there’s a good whiskey bar at Seventh and Grand, if the book people get to be too much for you.

  120. In my humble (very humble) opinion the pink (Choice A) was best, so I side with Cat here. But yesterday I did not vote. You were going to do what pleases you and I didn’t think you needed 1201 comments. Enjoy your scarf. It will be lovely, no matter what you choose.

  121. I am in California, so the outdoor doesn’t strike me as odd (although it would be here). But the weirdest Escalator thing I saw was in January I took a vacation in Anguilla (tiny island in the Carribean). We went to the “Mall” which was a very small shopping center, two stories. They had an “up” escalator, with detailed instructions on how to use. No down, had to use stairs. My guess its probably the only one on the island.

  122. Oh please, throw caution to the wind! the rose color is beautiful, at least use a little of it! And double points rock. Plus, if you spill a little wine on it, it wont show.

  123. DC has semi-outdoor escalators on most of the metro/subway system. They’re not working a large chunk of time, owing to snow, ice, rain, etc. We just pretend to be a southern city. Or maybe someone was planning for global warming to catch up to us one day.
    Dang, I was leaning toward option D – spin some more too, but wimped out and picked C.
    Have fun in La La land!

  124. Having been raised in Los Angeles, an outdoor elevator is common. Uncommon: open kitchen cupboards and heavy art over the bed (earthquakes).

  125. I live in suburban Chicago and one of our malls (open air) has several outdoor escalators, believe it or not! They’re in the newer section which has three levels. It’s an older mall, built in the early 60s, so no roof and the original section is all on ground level so of course there was no need for escalators! Indoor malls have escalators so. . .

  126. ps. how come nobody mentioned the famous Calgary Incident when you said you’re posting from the hall? Is everyone more polite than me (again)?

  127. Thanks Step. You just made this Canadian snort and laugh about the outdoor escalators and your thought about them. Even though I’m am a westcoaster I understood and had similar thoughts; however mine where wow it’s not covered I wonder who deals with all the rust when it rains (as well as the occasional snow)!
    Tell your daughter happy birthday and you must be happy that now she is 19 you don’t have to worry about drunken trips to Quebec!

  128. I would have done the same thing with the escalator. And then I would have gone looking for stairs. I can be loaded down with about a hundred pounds and I’ll still go looking for the stairs.
    That probably isn’t very healthy of me.

  129. I totally understand your surprise at the outdoor escalator!! Being from Scotland myself, I was most surprised to come across an outdoor escalator in Barcelona as I never knew such a thing existed! Since my Barcelona discovery I have also travelled on one in San Diego Zoo (which is, of course, in California!).
    And congratulations on making your way through 1200 comments!

  130. I live in LA and I think I recognize that escalator. Actually those escalators usually break down when it rains! When I first moved here, I used to look at homes on steep roads in the hills and wonder how the people who lived there would get in and out when it snowed.

  131. Stephanie — Have you ever been to Las Vegas? Hugely long escalators all over the place, outdoors as well as indoors. On a family trip there some years ago, I sent my husband and older daughter off to Cirque du Soleil with the probably-at-that-time-only-$50-apiece tickets and spent the evening entertaining the 4-year-old by riding escalators in and out of hotels all evening.

  132. “Also. You know how to tell the northerners in California in April? They are the only ones in the pool. The water is *too cold* for the natives.”
    When my brother came out from the midwest for Christmas one year, he insisted on leaving the window open so he could enjoy the balmy 50-degree night air.

  133. I must comment that the beginning of the bleeding heart is so very exquisite and delicate looking; I do hope your second color choice is the pale pink or even white to keep the mood. Please post more progress pix; this one truly speaks to me. Thanks as always for sharing.

  134. Driving around southern Calif on my first visit, I came to a stop sign that was about 2′ tall. I thought… no one will be able to see that after the snow plow comes by… (duh!)

  135. How wonderful to see that particular escalator in your blog. I took it everyday to get to the office, back when I was a full-time worker.
    For those who commented about lazy Angelenos, let me tell you, you’re looking at the last bit of a steep hill. When you get off the metro at the bottom, you’ve got three very steep sections to climb to get to the offices on Bunker Hill. They’d amount to about four hundred stairs. Now, I’m all for exercise, but hiking UP the equivalent of four hundred stairs does not leave one looking fresh at the start of one’s work day.
    On the way home, that’s a different matter. Bring on the stairs!

  136. Thank you for the small chuckles and the guffaws packed in one post on a day I needed it–I turned on the computer to check your blog and mine before dashing out the door to help set up for my son’s wedding openhouse. Thank you for starting my too-easily-too-pressurized day with so many laughs!

  137. I had that reaction to outdoor escalators the first time I went to Las Vegas(I’m from Wisconsin). Love your blog. I almost fell off my chair laughing at your post the day the clocks reset themselves for Daylight Savings Time. Your description of the deskclerk’s statement was priceless. Hope you’re over the adrenaline rush!

  138. There are outdoor escalators in Las Vegas too. Should you ever decide to visit here, I would love to make you up a map of both the knit shops here and the outdoor escalators.
    Also, I secretly voted A, but didn’t voice my opinion.

  139. LOL I didn’t vote as I am playing blog catch up and there looked to be more than enough votes from which to chose! 🙂
    Funny thing, though, before you knitted up, I would have said green, but now as I’m looking at what you’ve done and at the pattern, I have to agree with the pale pink or cream option. This project screams for subtleness (sleep depravation due to ungodly travel schedule tends to juxtapose oxymoronic words, you know? Time for another nap…)

  140. Actually, you were suffering from a “places where they have winter” moment. I live in Massachusetts (and before that, upstate New York and Ohio) and an outer escalator would not work in any of those places either. Although I expect some clever engineer could design one that would. Of course, no one would want to use it unless it was nice out anyway.
    I would think the one in LA would need an awning.

  141. Well, maybe it’s my monitor, but it looks like there’s some violet in the handspun. I vote for more of that color — and handspun would probably let your stash recover from the latest shrinking indignity you imposed on it. And outdoor escalators? Lots of them in Washingon DC and environs. They lead from far under the earth (Metro subway caves) to the surface. And yes, it snows. And oh boy yes are they broken a lot.

  142. Well, I didn’t give my opinion yesterday, but I’m going with Cat on this one. I think the light pink would be best, because I think the others would be too jarring in that particular pattern. They are gorgeous though. Really, I like them all.

  143. I say eliminate the whore, she will steal the show from the delicate beauty of the bleeding heart. I vote for A. It lends a soft background to showcase your BH yarn’s beauty. If you just can’t go with A, then use the cream, previously suggested. Now close you eyes and think A,A,A,A…

  144. Double pointed needles are the one true path. If one more person tries to convince me otherwise I will have to stab them with one.

  145. For a moment there, I thought the picture of the building was to compliment the colours of your knitting!! But reading on, it all about how to use an escalator in the winter! Perhaps it is used for skiing practise, cos you can make escalators go flat with a switch of a button, well maybe :o)

  146. You can afford a house keeper! Come on, your time is worth money so why not pay someone to do it for your household. JDI! Give yourself a small break. Start with 2x per month if it’s too much of a cultural switch. A family the size of yours needs at least 1x per week.

  147. My first (and only) outdoor, non-covered escalator sighting was at the San Diego Zoo. I was a little stunned to see it as well, but then it dawned on me how little rain they get out there. I’m from Chicago, so it’s not just a Canadian thing.

  148. Wow, that book thingy sounds fun and a little on the “off kilter side” with all of the Sci Fi writers. (the ones you met are some of my favorites.) The kintting projects are wonderful. The bleeding heart is loverly….nice springy colors. If I were closer, I would come do your laundry for you. Have fun settling in…..

  149. The outdoor escalators would have been too much for me too. I live in Wisconsin…

  150. Am I the only one who had to google “If you give a moose a muffin…”?

  151. Beaver Creek, Colo. has outdoor escalators (with canopies) so you don’t have to climb the stairs in your ski boots. How’s that for crazy?

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