All Good Things

This morning I’m travelling home, and I had these big elegant plans to finish up the last of the tour posts, and make everything nice and tidy before boarding the plane, and then I’d arrive home and everything would be beautifully finished.  Sadly, I’m still me and the planet still thinks that’s hysterical, so it would appear that I’m going out with a whimper, rather than a bang.

Two things have gone wrong, more or less.  First, this morning as I packed up my hotel room and got ready to go, I noticed my notebook on the desk, and I thought “don’t forget that Steph” and then I walked away and left it there.  Like it was garbage, like it was dead to me – and I actually wouldn’t care that much about it, except I put the little notes on who’s who from the pictures I took in Exton into that – so you’ll all have to forgive the part where I can’t remember hardly any names.  (Usually I write them down so that I can remember they next day.  If you’re in these pictures, just tell me, I’ll edit the post later and put your name in.  I’m so sorry.) The second thing that seems to have gone wrong is that for reasons that can only be related to the way the universe hates for me to wrap things up nicely – the usually reliable Philadelphia airport won’t let me have any internet. So while this post is being written in Philly, it will be posted from Toronto.  I’m trying not to care. Wanna see the bunch from Exton?

exton4 2014-03-16 exton3 2014-03-16 exton2 2014-03-16 exton1 2014-03-16

You’ll notice that they’re tucked into nooks and crannies this time. The bookstore was a little surprised at the size of the event.  It seemed to me like they did their very best, considering a knitter train hit them.

Wanna see first socks? There were some beauties.
firstandcurrentsocks 2014-03-16
I wish I could remember this lady’s name, because man – she was thinking.  She brought her first and current pair, just to make sure I was up to date.  This lady – her first pair had some very charming problems.
firstsocksnoends 2014-03-16
She was a brand new knitter when she made them, and she didn’t know what to do with the ends. She didn’t let that stop her though. Not even for a minute. She just tied them all in knots.  How about this pair?
firstsocksnotsamesize 2014-03-16
One two inches shorter than the other. Classic! (Hey! That’s Nora!)
firstsocks2 2014-03-16
This pair? Well, they were pretty much perfect. (There’s one in every crowd.)
firstsocksreenactor. 2014-03-16
This pair? This nice mummy made these for her husband, and he’s a re-enactor, so to make them authentic, she didn’t use superwash – which totally explains how he felted them by accident.
weddingshawl 2014-03-16
Look at this shawl – that’s Emily (a name! I remember a name!) and that shawl is her wedding shawl, but what makes it extra special is that it was made for her by her mum and dad together. Or look at this,
renee1styarn 2014-03-16
That’s Jesse and a very, very nice little ball of first handspun. (Look! I remembered a name!)
regularpeople 2014-03-16
These are regular people who came to the signing. Despite this being a book that regular people would enjoy, they haven’t really figured that out yet.  These ones were tipped off by a knitter.  (Bob. I’m pretty darned sure the guy on the right is Bob. I think the gentleman on the right is Chuck, and was the knitter Carol? My mind is a sieve. I bet those are all wrong.)
Hold on now, because I saved the best for last.
littleknitter 2014-03-16
She’s four. She’s a perfectly good knitter, and she’s the cutest thing I’ve seen in a while, and the perfect note to end on.  I’ll see you tomorrow.  From home.

62 thoughts on “All Good Things

  1. Fabulous photos, as usual. The lovely woman with the blue socks, one which is two inches shorter? I would like to know more about the lovely shawl/scarf around her neck!! Shout out if you’re reading these comments! Welcome Home, Steph. Sorry it’s still winter.

  2. Woo! that was a pretty good post, and you did well with the names you remembered. I love seeing all the knitterly joy. You sure did well on the start of the new socks starring in the pictures, congratulations.

    Home at last – and all that it entails, gotta love that washing machine.

  3. Gosh, I’m an old softie. Took one look at the last knitter and my eyes just filled with tears. What a cutie!
    Love the book SO much, SO glad you came out among us (though I wasn’t able to jog over to SF to see you), and SO glad you’re (just about?) home with your beautiful family.
    Glass of wine… nice warm tub… and your own bed.
    Yup.

  4. 4 years old and knitting!! Some ones going to be quite the knitter some day. 🙂 Glad your back home safe and sound.

  5. What a lovely trip, all those smiling faces and wonderful socks! A bummer about the notebook hope there wasn’t any other important stuff in it besides the names, which you will find out, I know. And yes, a perfect note to finish on. Welcome home!

  6. I’m the mom of the four-year-old knitter. 🙂 Thanks for posting her photo! I really enjoyed seeing you and hearing your talk yesterday, and meeting you at the end (though I hope I didn’t put my foot in my mouth about anything. 😉 Glad you made it home safe.

    • I have a 4yo knitter, too.
      With the same hair style! I wonder if there’s some “4yo knitter thing” going on that we moms don’t know about? It really wouldn’t surprise me. 🙂

      • Mine’s a four year old knitter too! She’ll be five in May and is looking for a pen pal (not that she’s reading much yet, but she loves getting mail)

        Either of your girls interested? My email is linked above.

      • It seems my email address isn’t visible. Sorry about that. My ravelry id is renatria if someone’s child would like to pen-friend my daughter (remember she isn’t yet literate of course)

  7. Great tour posts. I missed your Arizona visit by one day, I flew into Phoenix from Atlanta the next day, and looked for you in the airport on the off chance of a sighting before you went to Denver. Next time, better planning on my part.
    My husband says to tell you, there are only two types of hotel rooms: bathroom on the right, or bathroom on the left. He enjoys your posts also. Happy homecoming.

  8. I’m Cherylann. I brought my first and current pair of socks. The first pair is 17 years. Gotta love Regia! I think it’s Regia. It was pre-Ravelry so sometimes things are hard to remember.

  9. Welcome back to Canada! The weather forecast says it’s supposed to warm up soon, so by the time you’re feeling like a normal person (as opposed to a woman on a book tour whirlwind), it should feel okay to walk outside again.

    I really enjoyed all the little bits from your tour, thanks for sharing with us.

  10. I’m Amy, the mum that made the re-enacting socks, and the baby is Judson. We had such a nice time meeting you and we’re glad you made it home safe!

  11. Losing your notebook sucks…. (speaking of lost — did you ever find “Birch”? Here’s hoping!)

    I have a friend who winters in Arizona and during her drive down and back each year, she posts a daily update for her friends. Your personalized accounts of your booktour remind me of that… like a close friend letting us life vicariously through you sharing your adventures!

    While I”m glad you’re back home, I’ll miss the daily stories, and introductions to those special knitters you’ve met along the way. Looking forward to seeing the dates of your Canadian speaking engagements….

  12. Finally got the book from Barnes & Noble and finished it yesterday just as you were finishing the tour. Thank you! I really enjoyed it

  13. I was in the standing room only section of the Exton store yesterday. I really REALLY wanted to stay and meet you and have the new book signed and get you to bless a 3/4s done sock so that I could finally finish it and the other sock and give my husband his 2013 Valentine’s Day gift (I guess he’ll have to wait a little longer). But I couldn’t stay, mostly because my 15-year-old daughter was texting me for a ride somewhere and I was # 57 in line. I thought about shouting over to you, Hey Stephanie, that was fabulous and I really wish I could stay and I hope you have a good trip home and I can’t wait to read your book.” But I thought it might annoy the fans standing in line and the B&N people might think they had a dangerous nutcase in the store. So I am shouting it out here, and adding, nobody makes me laugh like you do.

  14. Aww, my little ball of handspun is internet famous now! The reading and signing was so much fun. I’m glad you made it out towards Philly!

  15. Love the 4yo knitter. My daughter has been knitting since age 4 and has been working on the same scarf for 2 years. She’s 6 now. It might be done when she graduates from high school. She is at least tenacious!

  16. I ordered your new book from Left Banks in St Louis and they are mailing me a signed copy. I had the pleasure of seeing you the last time you were in St Louis. Have since moved. Hope you get your laptop back

  17. Man oh man I am glad you are home in Toronto. I hope tomorrow you sleep in, have coffee, take a long bath, have more coffee, eat a lovely lunch someone else cooks for you, take a nap, talk with Joe, have a great dinner someone else cooks for you, knit some and have a wonderful restful night’s sleep. Your travels make me tired.
    Sylvia

  18. I loved that last little knitter and her pink garter stitch project! Now please enjoy being home, you deserve to relax and unwind. Sorry it’s still winter here in the GTA. Believe me, we would have loved it if spring had arrived in your absence. I hope your house is clean and tidy, with no strange unidentified goop or funky smells in the refrigerator.

  19. Great job remembering the regular people’s names! On the left is Chuck, then me, Lea, the knitter, then my friend Carol, and hubby Bob on the right. Thank you so much Stephanie for such an enjoyable afternoon! My friends and husband haven’t stopped talking about how wonderful you were!

  20. Hey Stephanie – I’m Joe, one of the managers at the Barnes & Noble in Exton. Thanks for coming to our store, we were thrilled that you came! We sold lotsa books and absolutely no one stabbed any of us with knitting needles!
    We posted some pics on our facebook page from your visit.

  21. I really enjoyed reading about your whirlwind travels, and the accompanying photos were wonderful. Were you able to get your notebook back? Hugs.

  22. My son plays baseball at Randolph-Macon College, and my husband and I are his baseball groupies. We have left a number of items in hotel rooms across the state…and most of that was out in plain sight so we “wouldn’t forget it”. But never my knitting!

  23. So glad to hear you made it home safely and won’t have to do a tour like this for a while again. 🙂

    I thoroughly enjoyed hearing you and meeting you in Exton. What a treat!

    As I needed to hurry off to another appointment, I didn’t look at my book until much later in the day. Only then did I discover that I had not purchased your brand new book but one of your older works. You must have thought I was a complete idiot! And I was.

  24. Hi, RIta here – she of the knotty Frankenstein socks. Was wonderful to see you! You know how you talk about “not talking about the book”? I’ve thought about this… we don’t NEED you to talk about the book. We’re going to read it anyway. Did you see all the knitters, with their yarn and their needles and their knitted beauty? We need you to acknowledge this. That we are on a wonderful journey, that sometimes borders on obsession, that in many cases was launched by you. (I knit socks because you did it first.) Only knitters would understand that I paid more than 20 bucks for yarn to make ONE pair of socks (ahem, not my Frankenstein socks, I meant subsequent socks). We gather in camaraderie, and you are our gentle teacher and leader. We pay you homage by showing you our efforts. (For the record, I had a beautiful cabled sweater in the car, but it was too hot to wear it!) Thanks for coming to the US!

    • Stephanie told us why she takes the photos. Apparently Mum’s a bit of a negative Nellie, and Stephanie texts them to her after every visit to prove that people really do come.

  25. Hi, Stephanie:
    Thanks for a wonderful day; I tried to warn the lovely folks @ B&N about the scarcity of chairs, to no avail.

    You were just as warm/funny/kind as I’d expected (tell Mum). I’m the knitter presenting her 1st socks for approval – after 35 years – who was babbling like an idiot brook. Day 4 of a blistering migraine was not going to stop me (missed your last 2 visits to the area when on vacation in Mexico – who knew?!)

    Sorry about the notebook – hopefully hotel will forward – but no worries on forgetting names. Yarn Harlot thinks my socks were just about perfect – excuse me while I attempt to recover – woo hoo!!!!!

    Recipe is yours from Knitting Rules – love the books; love the blog. Glad you made it through PHL to home safe and sound. Thanks for sharing a bit of yourself …. Namaste.

    Bonnie (aka Knitsiam)

  26. Thanks so much for coming to Exton! Your talk/reading had me laughing so hard I was in tears! I so much wanted to say something nice and clever and grateful when you signed my book, but I got all goosey and tongue-tied, so here it is instead…

    Thank you so much for doing the work that you do. It makes my world (and a lot of other people’s) better and happier. You inspired me to pick up a crochet hook again after a long hiatus and learn to read patterns so that I could make pretty and useful things, like you do. And that has also made my world better and happier. There are no words to thank you enough!

  27. Welcome home Steph! I am one of your many loyal readers and truly appreciate you blogging your travels on this whirlwind book tour. I didn’t get to see you on this trip but maybe next time you’ll come closer to my area in Northern California. In spite of the few bumps in the road, it looks like everyone had a great time! Just got your book – can’t wait to start reading it! Have a safe trip – Cheers!

  28. What a wonderful post and pictures of smiling knitters with their projects! For me, it is all about the knitting, no matter what the result is. Thank you for sharing these happy pictures. 🙂

  29. So very very pleased you came to Philly and it was close enough that I could come. I was re-telling stories that you had told all day yesterday, and had my husband in stitches whith the reason you can’t go back to Calgary. And he loved the “bacon” powder.

    The book tours may be hell for you, but they are pure heaven for the rest of us. So many of us have been inspired by your honesty about the awkward things in life, the challenges of parenting, and our mutual love for fiber. Seeing you in person, and hearing the warmth and generosity in your voice, makes us all feel connected to you, like you’re a good friend we haven’t seen in a while. Or a mum whom we want to show our best work. Your chat with that darling 4 yr old was priceless (I was a few people behind her in line), and she’ll probably remember your encouragement forever. Thanks again for enduring a book tour for us – we really do appreciate it.

  30. We would have filled every nook and cranny in a bookstore in Cincinnati. Yessiree, we would have. we would have filled it with crazy sock knitting yarn harlot fans.

  31. oh my – she is a most darling child-knitter. what technique, what fortitude. I am still gob-smacked that stores miss the seating thing…knitter-train. he he

  32. I am so happy that you came to Philadelphia and I would have driven for hours to see you! We met once…for 32 seconds at Rhinebeck this past October. A friend of mine was with me and asked you if you were “…YOU?!?” We were so embarrassed when we walked away; you’ve no idea. Not only had we interrupted the conversation you were having with a friend, we made star-struck fools of ourselves!

    At any rate, I have never, ever had so much fun in a bookstore, and should you ever make it out this way again, you can bet I’ll be there to hear you again.

  33. Hi Stephanie! I’m the one that was wearing the singing toddler who wouldn’t nap on my back. I was so excited for your book signing and when it was my turn, I forgot everything I wanted to say. Just wanted to tell you you did a great job. My husband and I laughed so hard at the cowgirl underwear story. Thanks so much for coming! I know book tours must be grueling, but it was so great to get to see you in person!

  34. I have to thank you so much for your books. I have had many laugh till I cried moments. I am 70 years old. I just started knitting again last year. Thanks to you I have finally made a sock. Well almost done with it. Ten tries to get the toe right – but I finally did it. No second sock syndrome here as I can’t wait to wear a pair of socks that actually fit! I own four of your books now and have budgeted one a month until I get them all.

  35. Oh, how I wanted to be there!
    That young knitter is adorable! Next time you come to the Exton/Philadelphia area, she’ll probably be showing you her first socks!

  36. Pingback: I’m an Accomplished Sock Knitter… but I used to suck at at it | Roving Crafters

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