I spent the weekend in Lethbridge, Alberta – I was in town for their Word on The Street Festival, and it was great. They did me the honour of asking me to be a featured writer, and I was in really, really excellent company. I was nervous about this. When I say that mostly, I write knitting humour, usually the other authors have their eyes roll right back in their heads. They are polite, of course, but I can always tell that any conversation we might have had about writing, or being a writer stopped right there, before it started. I put the “K” word out there, and it cancels anything else. This time though, things were different. Turns out that this event was filthy with knitters. The evening before there was a reception, and look at this. That’s Kim Thúy, Elisabeth (the Library honcho who got this gig together) and me. Knitters.
It didn’t stop there. Maureen Jennings dropped by my reading (she’s the Murdoch Mysteries writer) and turns out, she’s a knitter.
The library has a huge knitting group, and they yarnbombed the daylights out of the Lethbridge Library…
and overall,
I felt very much at home.
The knitters in Lethbridge, they are everywhere. Last night I took a bus from Lethbridge to Calgary, and that’s where I am now – getting ready to teach at Pudding Yarn. I’ll slip off there shortly, but look what I’ve got.
Another finished pair of socks. (That bus ride is almost three hours. I had time.)
Also, ever wonder how you take a sock picture if you’re alone in a hotel room?
Mirrors. See you tomorrow.
Beautiful socks!
I adore those socks! Any chance they’re for me? 😉
I am glad to know you were in good company. I never fail to be amazed/delighted when I encounter new knitters in non-knitting venues. I met just two knitters over the weekend, which I found to be very invigorating and spirit lifting. Cool socks!
The people who shut down because you use the k word are missing out, in every one of your books I have been reading along for the humor, which is great, but then I am suddenly profoundly touched by some unexpected life truth and end up bawling like a baby. You may mostly write about knitting, but you really right about so much more than that.
WRITE sorry can’t edit!
You are SO right about Steph’s writing!
These were going to be my exact words! So Ditto!!
Linda in VA
I know what you mean. “You don’t leave the broken hearted.” That one gets me every time.
Love the socks, and it sounds like a great Festival. I wish they did something like that here.
Look at you with your dainty feet and little ballet pose! Dare I say you look adorable? Love the picot edge too!
As if it weren’t enough to love writers, I find out there are knitting writers?! Swoooon
LOVE that sock yarn. Ordered some. Mine will have the picot hem, too. Might make mitts instead–we’ll see.
Where did you order? I couldn’t find any on line….thx!
Tried to order online, following the link in the previous post, but cannot find this particular color. Where did you get it?
Go back to that website and use the “contact” portion to send a request to be added to her list of people that want that specific color. She said that she would be doing another dye run in 2 – 4 weeks. I did that and heard back from her quickly.
In case you haven’t noticed, you have awesome biker legs. (I don’t mean to be creepy, just encouraging) Keep up the riding!
That’s the first thing I noticed — all that biking makes for great legs
Lol I was just thinking of a non creepy way to say nice legs! Looking good Stephanie.
I cannot fathom how you knit socks so quickly. I’ve been working on a pair for a month now and while I adore the process, I have Christmas to knit for!
Imagine the looks you’d get if you told people you wrote crochet humor. 🙂
You win the internet today.
Passing big ball of kittens & yarn to Da Winner, Robin Allen!!
Maureen Jennings is a knitter! A whole other reason to love Murdoch Mysteries!
Ooooh, oooh, oooh – I should probably know this already, but what’s the cast-on on those socks?
Thank you for coming out our way! My mom and I were so nervous to meet you. We considered it our practice run and plan on at least telling you a joke or something next time 🙂
Kimberley, BC needs to host an event like this, we have an awesome fibre arts council here, just saying…
Practice run! I love that…
I was so freaked out (in the best way possible) by the time I reached her in the signing line, it was all I could do to splutter out how nice it was she came to Lethbridge. Turns out meeting somebody you really admire and then speaking in complete sentences is HARD.
“Practice run” has a much nicer ring to it than “Whoa, I kinda blew that” Until next time, then!
I love it. Wish I could have been there. Love the socks and the person wearing them!
Ah, you’re out my way. Knitting in public here has brought me quite a few looks (in rinks, coffee shops soccer fields, etc), but there’s a small number that end up along side me with their projects, and we are a crazy fun bunch. Welcome to AB!
I would like to invite you to come talk about wool in Birmingham, UK. England is great! We’ve got good beer and lots of sheep!
Or come to Bristol – home of Shaun the Sheep!
I LOVE Shaun the Sheep! Saw it first in German (such as there is language in it!) and respond to the crazy humour!
You got to meet Maureen Jennings! I’d love that. I think Murdoch should take up knitting as relaxation.
Glad the people in Lethbridge made you feel at home.
No, I think it should be George. He needs a hobby now that he doesn’t have a lady friend. Surely one of his aunts taught him how to knit.
Love those socks with the picot edge. Someday I will get to hear you read in person.
You look like a ballerina in that last picture.
I’m so happy you’re in Calgary (welcome!) so I’m so sad because by the time I found out you were coming, all your classes were sold out 🙁
Pudding Yarn is a great shop, but my Calgary fav. is Stash in Inglewood (and isn’t far from downtown)! You should check it out if you have time.
Gorgeous socks! We’re having 2 days of non-stop rain here in Tucson. Time to knit the heck out of those UFO’s.
Love the yarn and the socks and the pictures and the blog! Hope you have fun traveling, I have fun reading The Blog and all your stories of all the knitters that materialize out of the nooks where they all reside. So wonderful that you keep finding more and more and more knitters!
You are a brilliant writer, and you speak of SO much more than knitting. I hope events like Word on the Street help showcase that, to the non- (perhaps just not-yet) knitters out there.
Love the socks and the fancy footwork animating them!!!
The socks are just delicious! Wish that yarn was still available. Always enjoy picot cuffs, too. they are worth the effort.
Wait… Did I just
Read that you finished a pair of socks in THREE hours? Really.??? Please let me know…. THREE hours?? Feeling slower than an anemic sloth, pattye
If you look at the previous post, you will see that the socks were well under way before the bus ride. Take a deep breath, and tuck your self-esteem back in, and feel better.
I’m thinking the whole Lethbridge adventure made the following 3 hour bus ride completely worth it. (Then again, 3 hours of uninterrupted knitting time would be worth it in and of itself. Feeling the urge to get on a bus……)
If ‘people’ can’t handle the K word then it’s their loss.
Love the yarn bombing!
Lucky you to meet so many wonderful writers – and in turn they got to meet wonderful you!
Girl you have some GREAT calves from all that riding! Haha. I think the worlds best knitwear model is in trouble if you can manage more of those mirror shots! 😀
Totally agree with this post – cycling is great for the calves (and other parts!)
Hearing you speak was the highlight of the weekend – no, the month…. wait, the year! The skunk misadventures are reminiscent of the ones we had last year when a skunk family took up residence under our front step. NOT GOOD…..
So glad you enjoyed your time in our windy town, and come again please 🙂
I saw you speak in Wichita, KS a few years back, and my favorite story was how you were at a fancy party and got cornered by someone asking about your job, and you said knitting humor—it’s a niche market—and the guy wasn’t properly impressed (as one should be), and then his fancy wife came over and fangirled you. Or something like that. That’s how I remember it in my head, and it’s still adorable.
::sigh:: Every time I read your posts, I have one big (HUGE) thought that keeps going through my head: MUST KNIT FASTER!
Always with the faster……I feel like I’m such a slow knitter. Of course, I have two small children at home but still, I feel like I should be able to knit more and faster and……
Renee, you certainly knit at the right speed for you. It’s mostly the process, not the product, that animates the slogan “I knit so I don’t kill people.” As long as you’re not killing people you must be knitting fast enough! (LOL)
You write about people and their passions and their relationships. Knitting gives context. How I love that context. What makes you a great writer is that you observe the human condition with a humorous slant. That’s why my family loves your writing- even the ones who don’t knit. Now ask yourself how many writers of relatively small soteric topics can make that leap? Thanks Stephanie.
Fantastic biker chick gams! Just sayin’!
Too much fun!
Love the picture of you and Maureen Jennings. Two of my favourite authors!
Stephanie,
Great legs, BTW. 😉
That is one nicely lit hotel room! Mine are always dungeon-like, but I also rarely arrive in a hotel during daylight hours. Hmm….
It was a great festival! Lovely to see you in person after following the blog. Thank you again.
Kim Thuy is a knitter? OK I’m having a fangirl moment here…
That picot cast on at the cuff looks so pretty. Do you know where I can find a tutorial for that method?
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/picot-edge-socks-3 This is a link to a good method for picot edge socks and, I believe it’s the method that Steph uses.
Elisabeth was at my house in August and we were talking about knitting. I mentioned your name and she about flew off the couch because she had just booked you to come in to this event. I am so jealous that she got to meet and knit with you…I just didn’t have time to make a 7 hour one way drive to get down that far south.
Obviously, the solution is to start a fibre-and-literary festival in northern Alberta, and recruit Stephanie as one of the guests…
Love your socks!
So the socks are lovely – the picot edge is particularly winsome – but it got me to thinking: what is the christmas knitting looking like? It’s almost October after all!
Winnipeg! PLEASE? Come in summer, when it’s not awful! There are some really amazing yarn and fibre places to visit; and if you really can’t support the idea of Winnipeg itself, heck, there are places outside the city that will just knock your socks off. Winnipeg Not In Winter is pretty nifty, though. I would make the one-hour drive, and so would loads of other fans and knitters, to see you in Winnipeg.
You are a really good writer. I am a beginner when it comes to knitting, but i read a Lot. I started reading your blog for knitting tips but I bought your books and check in daily because I enjoy your writing so much.
“Filthy with knitters” … Cracks me up every time! Cute socks, cuter photographer photo. 🙂
“…filthy with knitters.”
Wish I had your way with words.
PS Love the socks.
I did wonder how you took the picture of you wearing the socks. Mirrors… genius.
Love the socks! I admire your picture taking prowess as well ^^
We were pretty thrilled to have you, Stephanie! Thanks for your kind words. And would it surprise you to hear that there are a lot of knitting librarians, too?
Mwahahaha! Now we know your secret, it’s all “smoke and mirrors”!! Nice socks, BTW.
Knitters+libraries & librarians=perfection
…or trouble as the case may be.
As a writer (primairly) who is also a knitter, I’m sorry you’ve run into writers (primarily) who dissed the K-word. I know other writer/knitters, so we do exist, even far away in Texas. You are a good writer as well as an incredible knitter, so there. Your book KNITTING RULES got me past my fear of socks (“turning the heel”…ooooooh!) and your method worked on the first pair and every pair since (I’m somewhere beyond 45 pairs now. I know some of you are faster and better, but I only started on socks in 2012.) OTOH…Kitchener stitch took me 45 minutes per sock, so now I just purse-string them all.
What is a purse-string closure? Enquiring minds want to know!
Can anyone tell me where to find the pattern for the socks Stephanie knit? It looks like the heel is mitered — I’ve never done a sock with that type of heel, but I think it’s the perfect choice for that beautiful yarn. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!
Did you find out the answer regarding the pattern for these socks, I would love to know, too!
Gorgeous legs there! wonderful yarn in the socks too. remember the quiet part, sounds brilliant… (sound… he he)
Lethbridge is my home town! It sounds like you had a great time, good to hear!
Greetings, all, just found this post and the lovely socks stopped me in my tracks. Does anyone know what pattern they are, or how to find any writeup on how they are constructed? (Clever heel) Thanks in advance for any hoped-for reply!
Love the yarn (and analyzing how it was dyed!) and love your socks! I’ve thought of doing a picot top since it’s so cute, but never have due to sock tops being hidden by pant legs.
Nice legs, Harlot.
Love the socks!
You did it in order to have corfort and warm, when you hold it, right? You will have to clean it periodically..
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Your socks are always so pretty. I love the yarns that you choose. That’s a very nice point tendu to the front. You must have ballet training…