Hey, are you doing a Yarn Crawl in Denver? If so, I have a few places you have to go check out. Let me know and I will give you a list...hell, I will take you if you want :-) Totally would be my pleasure!

Again, cannot wait to see you in The Mile High City!

Marlaina aka Marly
www.knitthing.blogspot.com

Oh MY, I was the first to comment!

GO ME, It's my birthday...Wahoo!

Marly

Thrilled to see you in Denver too! I will be the one there working on socks ;-)

Jill
www.woolcrafting.com

Shh, I'm being silent here! 3AM does deserve a whole lotta no talking.

We drove about 150 miles from Fort Wayne to see you in Ann Arbor. We are so glad that you made it! You rock!

There was something in the air that day...a haze or something that meant that the day COULD NOT go right. But, I think your story topples us all, so can't wait to see you blog about it!

Wow, Steph. I'm thinking of you. Touring is hard, I know -- you start to lose track of where you are and where you came from and what day it is and whether or not you remembered to brush your teeth and where-the-hell-are-my-shoes-anyway and will I ever get home again? (yeah, I've been there)
But the knitters of the world are thrilled that you take the time and trouble to visit. And the rest of us like following the sock.

Love the blog and the pictures, especially those of the fake alps and Lily. But thanks for the link to Anne's blog, first because it's good, but mostly because she has a picture of YOU in the bohos! Steff, IT'S FLIPPING GORGEOUS! It just glows and looks wonderful on you. I am totally going to have to knit one and you don't know what you've started (I'm a smidge above beginner but not yet to intermediate knitter). You will hear me swearing all the way in Toronto! (I'm in Northern CA).

By the way, you come out to Northern CA and you got to PETALUMA????!!! WTF? Not to disparage Petaluma, because people everywhere deserve to see you, but WHY AREN'T YOU COMING TO THE BAY AREA? Petaluma is NOT the BAY AREA, it's not really close and there are TONS of wonderful knitters and knit shops here in the Bay Area. I know Full Thread Ahead would be glad to host you and we would love to see you. You are so missing a huge chunk in your tour! I'm sure your publicist is as wonderful as you say she is, but there are a lot of Bay Area-ites who are not sending nice thoughts her way right now. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reconsider and come out here!

Oh my! You will be exhausted by the time you get to the end of all of this. Hopefully you won't punch me in the face when I meet you and nearly explode with happiness. That would be bad for all parties involved.

Oh, dear, the idea of anyone having to get up at 3 or 3:30 AM is awful. That's when I sleepwalk to let my cat back in. Tomorrow you will actually be in one half of the Twin Cities and I just can't be there. But, I'm having an enjoyable time traveling around the blogasphere and looking on. From all the reports everyone is having a wonderful time. Lovely pix, and LOL at the alps of Cleveland.

Glad to hear you are trying to get some rest, we (and your family of course) need you to stay healthy and able to keep on knitting and writing and sharing with all of us. Thank you.

Wowee! I had no idea Cleveland was such a knitters hotspot!

Sleep, dear knitter, sleep.

ALl that touring, and you still manage to keep a blog going! Thank you! I love seeing what you do everyday. (At first I felt like a voyeur. I'm over it, now.)

As for Petaluma, hooray! I live near Sacramento, and I'm thrilled all to pieces that you're not going to LA, which would definately be too far for me! Two hours, I can do!

You know what else is fun about those blog links? Seeing your photos from the other side -- the pictures people are taking of you taking pictures. It's the next best thing to being there. Looking forward to your visit to WEBS.

The Cleveland Alps are wonderful. As, obviously, are the Cleveland knitters. There's nothing wrong with a little genteel muggle-freaking, either; it's healthy for them, keeps the old tubes open, y'know.

Only ten (or so) comments? I think everybody must be doing their taxes.

ROFL!! "The Alps" photo is priceless! Thanks for sharing.

Hope you've landed somewhere cozy.

Wonderful recap! And you poor thing, such a whirlwind tour! You deserve a relaxing spa vacation, or a few cups of NW coffee. I don't know how you do it, must be the magical yarn energy.

3AM is about an hour before bedtime. 10PM? That's dinnertime.

Challenging? Understatement. of. the. year. Hate that you went through what you did on Sunday, can't wait to read how you write it up. :)

Wait. A. Minute. I grew up in Cleveland. Where the heck did they find fake alps?? My brain hurts thinking about it.

Hope to catch you in Petaluma.

hahaha! that is so hilarious, because when i grow up, i want to be YOU! i hope the rest of your trip is better than "challenging" . . .

Oh, I hope you get some rest. Can't wait to see you tonight in Oak Brook!

If you come to Seattle, I will volunteer to be the Hat Lady here! ;D I am wishing you restful sleep and much energy as you continue ping-ponging all around North America. You know, you should look into Mexico as a market. I'm just sayin'. Or, possibly, parts of the Caribbean?

You should have showed the sock the bridge over the Cayuga River that caught fire when the river burned. Or NASA Glenn Research Center (formerly Lewis Research Center), where they have a great icing chamber and all kinds of jet engine test stands and some very charming research test pilots.

Can you tell what I saw when I was in Cleveland? And who showed them to me?

Yowza, Stephanie! Business travel sucks - too much to do and not enough time to do it all. Plus, you rarely get to actually *see* the place you visit.

I'm sad to say that after days of springlike temps, you will probably be able to show the sock snow (the wet, heavy, icky kind) here in Minnesota. We're crossing our knitting needles that the storm doesn't affect your travel.

All this touring looks like such fun (exhausting, but fun). You should head over here to Seattle again sometime, there are tons of us knitters here!

As another who also most often sees 3 AM from the front side not the back, I empathize with the travel woes. Apparently you got to head into some very frustrating travel snafus with so little sleep.

I'll also ask if Seattle will be on the itinerary this year. I was at your Bumbershoot thing last summer, but I'm still bummed I missed the Madrona retreat yet again. I am now on their e-mail list - I actually wasn't doing anything else that week.

Yes, it's true: Pittsburgh and Cleveland do have a bit of a rivalry thing going on. Though not as bad as the issue Pittsburgh has with all of West Virginia.

I'm glad you are having fun, although I agree that 3:30 AM should only be seen if one is still up. It should not be something one sees after the screech of an alarm clock!

i'd be happy to collect hats in portland (oregon).

Holy carp. That's Lily Chin and Annie Modesditt and someone with my name...

In the cab w/you!!!

Okay, maybe because I'm not you, and you had to have a holy trinity of knitting heroes all in the same place to feel that mojo, but I think that alone would have kept me up til (UGH!) 3:30 in the morning.

I just got _Casts Off_ today and I'm really enjoying it! I'm trying to pace myself and not read it all at once. Luckily, the book doesn't only make me happy, it also makes me want to knit!

Thank you and good luck with the tour!

WOW! Now that is some serious cab company. I am excited to meet you in Anchorage this summer...

Oh man, what a bunch of wonderful pix! And wonderful knitters with wonderful projects. Wonderful reports on the links. (Thanks, everyone, great fun to read.) Bless you, Stephanie, and I'm glad you got some beer. Although only one 'cause of getting UP at 3 a.m.--well, that's major suckage. The pix of Shannon, Annie and Lily - a total hoot. Looking forward to the Ann Arbor story, sounds like you could've used some Screech.

(And, um, sorry for the PDX pack - love that, Pauline - kinda hijacking the comments for conversation last post; should discuss beer runs for your appearance amongst ourselves, I'm thinking. Michelle? Pauline? Email? Plus you may have problems trying to figure out how to get several cases of beer added to your checked luggage without paying for overweight. [g] Now, if we could leave some bottles waiting at your hotel for your arrival w/o seeming like obsessive stalkers...)

3.30 am? That's utterly obscene. Coffee, plenty of coffee. And nerves of steel. That's what you need. All the best!

Dinner with Anne Modesitt and Lily Chin? Blimey. It's like reading you had a play date with Joan of Arc and Catherine the Great.

I don't know what is more ludicrous - you having to get up at 3am or you having to be coherent at 3am. Who on earth wanted to interview you at that hour? Dracula?

Hooray!! It was absolutely wonderful to see you in Cleveland! It was well worth the 5 hour wait to get a front row seat (that's me in the gold and blue Mimbres in the front row of the 3rd picture), and I haven't laughed that hard in a long, long time. Thank you. :-) I hope you come back again!

It's 3 AM on the West Coast. Do you know where your Harlot is?

Well Stephanie, this is the life, heh? Wonderful to see a photo of lovely Anne Hanson. Notice how your camera likes single people more than crowds. And the sock visiting the Alps in Cleveland is beyond priceless. If Lily was lighting up, I am so jealous. I gave it up but still miss it every day. Looking forward to seeing you at Camp Cockamamie.

You were great in Cleveland, Stephanie, and it was great to meet you! Don't feel too bad for the girl at the bookstore...there was a whole *&$load of chairs upstairs. (Not to mention big conference-type rooms that would have been great for your event...just sayin') Cleveland does rock, and you rocked us back! Thanks for a fun afternoon!

I've never had a chance to see Cleveland properly, but did attend a Farscape fan-run convention there - the convention formerly known as Scapercon. What I saw of it was fantastic and I hope to visit again some time, perhaps with a more knitterly focus.

Yeah, I think you scared Lily Chin. That's kinda hysterical. Kinda wicked hysterical.

Three AM - holy crap. That's evil.

So how *exactly* does one luck into just happening to grab Anne and Lily? Sheesh!

You were so worth the wait in Ann Arbor! The fact that you still had your sense of humor after what you endured amazes me. I would have been a crabby woman just standing on the stage shaking my fist.

p.s. hope you didn't mind Tina & I dragging our chairs up to the table when it came to getting our books signed! :)

Love your Cleveland update, Steph! But I really can't wait to read about Ann Arbor. ;-) We had a great time waiting for you! I sure hope you have had a chance to rest.

And wow... Annie and Lily?? I would be speechless. Well, not really. But I'd be a babbling idiot, that's for sure.

Cleveland is awesome - in many ways I wish I still lived there.

I hope the travel to Chicago went OK, as I am hoping to see you tonight! :)

wow--3AM. When I have to get up in the middle of the night like that, I can't get to sleep early, no matter how hard I try. I loved what you wrote about the hats! I had a great time making mine, took the opportunity to play with a couple of new patterns/ideas/constructions, knowing all along that they'd eventually go to strangers in need made it that much more inspiring. You seem to have inspired a lot of beautiful(in every sense) charity knitting!
Now, get some sleep.

Whether or not you find a way to make Sunday/Ann Arbor funny I personally had a marvelous time.
Although next time I'll bring a snack.

I think I will be nice and give Michelle the book. I have only known her since I was 4 so she is a worthy friend.

It was a pleasure to hear you and meet you.

Aspiring Professional Commenter,

We (My mom and husband - "The Geek" - and I) just loved seeing you in Cleveland. Your speech was terrific and so was your hair. :-) I don't know what you mean when you sigh about your hair, it looked fine to us. I almost cried when you went to sign my book, looked up and recognized me from reading my website! Too unbelievably cool! Now, instead of telling everyone that "were going to see the Harlot," I say "We saw the Harlot, AND SHE KNEW ME!!!!" Bragging rights for eternity!

If you still need a Chicago area hat person, I can help. I just came back to Chicagoland for a while (see the blog), but I'd love to help out. I'll be at Borders tonight and am psyched that if I had to come back it was in time to enjoy a visit from the Harlot! Can't wait to see you (and the Bohus? it's supposed to be chilly) tonight.

Ooo... I can see myself in the back of some of the pictures! I'm famous!

Wanted to let you know that I loved seeing you and my little girl was even captivated :-)

Great pics.

Any thoughts of coming east, to Nova Scotia? Or would having you and Lucy Neatby in the same place put the world in jeopardy? =)

Yo Steph! You really are rockin the knitting world! Can't tell you how much we appreciate you losing sleep and missing baths..not to mention limiting yourself to only one beer!!! Hoping you can slow it down a bit for your self. We need you healthy. Beer helps.

Shannon is doing that "The Hills are Alive" bit from the beginning of The Sound of Music.

*grins*

Stephanie! I'm so sad I missed New York, missed Pittsburgh, missed Cleveland, and am about to miss Chicago.. :( But, if you need a hat person to collect in mid-north Indiana - I'm your woman.

I know plenty of New Yorkers who would have totally yodeled with Annie and frolicked in the mock Alps with a sock.

When telephone calls used to cost a dime and people actually used payphones, my grandfather would say, "Loosen up, sweetiepie. At worst, it'll pay for your next phone call..."

It was so nice to meet you in Cleveland!!! And I can't tell you how glad I am that you got to see more of Cleveland than just Legacy Village!

And I’m still completely blown away that you read my blog, and sorry (again) for the whole hot or not thing…

And thanks to Lisa for collecting all of the Cleveland hats and sending you that picture– I made the one with the earflaps (second from the top left corner) – I feel so special it made your blog!

And dude – I was in line right behind Anne Hanson and I'm a huge fan -she’s actually the reason I want to learn to spin – and I totally didn’t recognize her. I’m blaming it on overexcitement due to being around that many awesome knitters at one time.

Anyways – thank you for a wonderful and inspiring day!

I can't wait to see you tonight in Chicago! And I am such a dork, that I actually stressed over my outfit today....as I will be heading straight from work and hour away to get one of those coveted chairs!

See you tonight!

I can't wait to see you tonight in Chicago! And I am such a dork, that I actually stressed over my outfit today....as I will be heading straight from work and hour away to get one of those coveted chairs!

See you tonight!

You get to have all the fun! I will pass on the lack of sleep!) Look forward to what is yet to come.

I LOVE that picture of Lily!! The quintessential New Yorker. (Lovely designer too, of course.) Oh my, thank you for my first really good laugh of the day.

you gotta love Lily.

Any chance of adding St. Petersburg, Florida to your list of cities? We actually have knitters here, believe it or not! AND, we would love to show you our socks! Not that we wear them (too hot already)...

CLEVELAND ROCKS!
You should have taken the sock to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame! (I think Joe would like it there).

-Yvonne, who was transplanted from (near) Cleveland to (near) Pittsburgh

This is Lisa, the Cleveland hat lady. My pic is on the Yarn Harlot's blog!! *faints*

The hats are here with me at work, waiting to be distributed, just in time for a cold snap coming this weekend. The only problem is, they are so beautiful I want to keep them for myself! :-) At least, I will have to make some graph paper on Excel and copy a few of the patterns so I can make ones for myself.

Stephanie, please write quickly so you can go on another book tour and come back to Cleveland again soon. What do I need to bribe you with? Chocolate? Beer? Locally grown alpaca yarn?

Hello from Cuyahoga Falls..close to Cleveland.. close enough! It was indeed a pleasure to meet you in person! Cleveland does ROCK, but you ROCK more! Come back again sometime.. you have the proverbal "knitting needles" (instead of a stupid key) to the city.

My friend Chris and I had such a good time!! Thanks, I was laughing so hard it made my cheeks hurt. ~Shirani

De-lurking for the first time to say that I can't wait to see you tonight in Oak Brook! I wish I could see you in the Twin Cities, my hometown(s?) and where my heart still is, but Chicago is a good second. 1.5 hours on public transportation and the fact that I am ill and have totally lost my voice will NOT stop me from seeing the Harlot tonight!

We have a small posse of knitters coming to see you tonight in Oak Brook. Ahh, the Oak Brook Borders...B.K. (Before Kids), my husband and I used to go on dates to the Oak Brook Borders. Couldn't get out of there without dropping a hundred bucks. Now, I hoard my money for yarn...

Wish I could bring my knitting daughters to see you, but they have other committments tonight. (Drat that music practice.) I'll be bringing my 10-year-old's first sock-in-progress, though, and an alpaca hat that was knit communally by the knitting circle at our LYS. Kathleen, make yourself known!

Stephanie - you rock! I've been a faithful reader but this is my first comment. I can't wait to see you in Minnesota!

Glad you are recovered enough to blog! I keep checking for the post about Ann Arbor, but I understand that some things take time to be funny. Some things longer than others. Hope you had a good time after all (and got the necessary beer), and especially hope you forgive Michigan's multiple-personality-disorder weather and come back on your next yarn crawl.

I actually have to agree with Ancestordetector about the Bay Are of CA. Petaluma? I grew up in Sunnyvale, CA and can guarantee that there are a ton of wonderful knitters all over the bay area.

I now live in NC near Raleigh and would love to volunteer to take on all the hats, if you would PLEASE come down this way. I already have my copy of Casts Off just waiting to be signed. PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE come to Raleigh, NC. :o)

Ha! Whatever happened to the friendly frolicking New Yorkers?!

So sorry that I missed you in A2, but the Alps pic in Cleveland looks very familiar to me. Was it on the outside of a restaurant called the Haufbrau House? My mom's side of the family is from Cleveland (and Germany before that) and we spent many a evening there with the yummy food a polka music.

The only way I am ever up at 3:30 is if I have to pee. Hope all went well.

PS: Love the alps!

The snowdrop shawl blocked like a dream, just like you said! Thanks for the kind words and the wonderful afternoon.
Jean

Hopefully the trip from Chicago to St. Paul will go better. Lucky for us knitters Yarn Shop owners are some of the best kinds of people & know customer service.
Can't wait to see you again - this time in St. Paul!

I get to see you tomorrow! (Again - I saw you in Madison last year) I _think_ there's a hat collection person in St. Paul, but I can be a point person if you still need one!

Just make sure that the folks at the Yarnary in St. Paul bring you desserts from Cafe Latte---It's less than an half block away. Oh and good local beer too!

Maybe I was a Dead Head groupie in a former life, but reading these posts always makes me wish I could give up my current life and hit the road as a YH-head. Maybe its because my dear child is on break and whining seems to be the only voice I hear these days. And breathe....

Oh man! I just realized I made it to work today and left my hat at home. I suppose I will have to send it to whomever is collecting for Chicago. I don't know what happened Sunday, but I hope tonight goes better- see you soon.

i *love* that you spelled Ann Arbor with a U.

i *love* that you spelled Ann Arbor with a U.
can't wait to hear about Chicago -- i love that town! i wish you continued happy travels, and hope they bring you to Vancouver again! I'll be your hat lady!

okay, now i have to comment three times to apologize for the first mis-posted one!!

I look forward to seeing you tonight! I've told everyone I've seen w/ sticks in their hands over the past ... while ... that you're coming! :)

I can help with the hats. I offered before. I just want to make sure that I get them to the right place. You want them donated to homeless, right? I'll have to figure out what organization that is here.

Ding! ding! ding! Megan for the win...

Yes, I was doing my Sound of Music act. (I studied abroad in Salzburg for a while, I've got mad Julie Andrews chops -- just don't get me singing that whole "so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye" song!)

We had lots of fun with you, Stephanie, even if we did have to deprive you of much-needed sleep to do it.

For the Clevelanders who are wondering where the Alps are -- it's the back of the old Haab Bakery building on the Tremont/Ohio City border just off Abbey. We stopped on the way to Great Lakes Brewing Company.

Another knitter in agreement with ancestordetector----Petaluma is a bit of a drive on a Thursday night, nice for the northbay people but an epic journey for other SF bay area dwellers, many of whom are dying to meet you! What about San Francisco or Oakland--excellent shop in Oakland, Article Pract--or even San Jose? Please please please.....!!

Alas, my strategic management professor is not a knitter and did not know what a "Yarn Harlot" is . . . and he has a Ph.D.! Ignorant fool. So I missed Jos. Beth. I do wish that I had known that you were going to be frolicking around Tremont and Great Lakes Brewery . . . instead I spent the evening trying to figure out how to make two socks soar on two circs! I should have had a beer instead!

Have a great trip. I hope you don't end up with too many early morning departures but if you want, I'm usually up by 4:30 and would be more than happy to give you a wake up call!

I will be the hat lady for Austin, TX if you and Jayme-T-W-P will put Austin on the tour!

Ancestordetector is mistaken. Petaluma is most certainly in the Bay Area. There are nine counties designated Bay Area. Petaluma Creek connects right into the Bay. Shame on you for thinking bad thoughts about Jayme. All of us North Bay knitters salute her. We can't wait for Thursday, June 7. There will be a huge turnout.

I sincerely hope that Shannon took you to Great Lakes for some rockin' beer! If not, shame; you missed some of this country's best brew.

Sorry to have missed you; I had friends that preferred Princess Di's dress over knitting (they did appease me with New Zealand wool, though!)

We were there!! Corinna and I had a great time coming up to see you. By the time I got up in line I actually did what you always say you feel like doing. I got nervous and couldn't say much of anything! I did blog a picture of you in your Bohus (which is fantastic by the way, and oh would I love to knit one, but I've got way too much other stuff going on!). I'm glad you got to hook up with Annie and Lily too! There was too much going on this weekend. Hope you get some sleep!

Well, I just cannot wait to see you in Saint Paul. I hear that the Yarnery packed the place out. It'll be very exciting to meet you, but still very strange since I read your blog every day, I'll recoginze you from your pictures when I see you, but you won't recognize me at all! My, isn't Blogland peculiar?

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to hearing your talk.

I also disagree with Ancestordetector.....Sonoma County is most definitely part of the Bay Area. It's only 88 miles from San Jose (south end of the Bay) to Petaluma, and yes there can be traffic, just plan ahead. An epic drive would be to come up from LA, which sounds like some people are doing....So quit whining, at least our Harlot is coming!!!

Ba in Windsor

p.s. I'll help collect hats....

The Alps of the Cuyahoga are stunning -- as are the yodelers -- but I wish you had also had enough time to make a pit stop at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The campus at Case Western is also beautiful. I love Cleveland -- only been there once, AND in late winter at that, but love it.

P.S. -- HI LILY!

I'm so enjoying the tour news .... & seeing everyone with inspiring knitting.

Jean's Snowdrop shawl is just beautiful.

Very nice pattern that. ;-)

More beer for Stephanie .... (it's fortifying)

Cheers from Australia. -- Jay xx

I didn't know Lily smoked. Tell her to stop.

Larvae. Snort.

Glad that you enjoyed my hometown! I am moving back there in June and cannot wait! Too bad I wasn't there in time to see you. Good luck with the rest of your tour.

I was just reading at Annie Modesitt's blog that you guys ate at Great Lake's Brewery. I went there when I was in Cleveland and came back with 2 cases of their beer. I don't think I did any eating just beer drinking. I wish I could have been in Cleveland to see you and then go to the Brewery again. I love your traveling sock!

Hi, Steph, That was me in the back at Cleveland, the mother of the 21-yr-old in the front. She goes to school out there and I was visiting, so I didn't go to FIT after all, because I thought this would be easier. Sort of. They had stacks of chairs upstairs in some conference room next to the bathroom, but, with certain issues of my own, I was not able to confront anyone about them, nor was I brave enough to steal a few for the stand-ees. But your talk was stupendous, and the other girl with us bought 2 of your books and knit all the way back to their college.

Adios, and sleep well.

If you will come to Greenville, South Carolina, I will volunteer to collect hats!

OK Did you at least have some good Cleveland beer? There are a couple awesome breweries around! You did a fabulous job in Cleveland and I was so glad to get out to see you!(Even if I did stand-I was smart and wore comfy shoes!-and yes as another commenter said there was a crapload of chairs up by the bathroom....oh well they still underestimate us) It was so awesome to be around so many knitters!

Hope the rest of your tour goes smoothy and you get some good rest soon!
Hugz! Michelle

Way to go, Cleveland! I guess Drew Carey was right!

Oh my goodness I'm in the first sock shot! I'm on the floor behind the woman in front wearing white.

I already posted my link in the Pittsburgh post but why not post it here in the official Cleveland post as well.

http://inknittingnews.blogspot.com/2007/04/yarn-harlot-represents-in-cleveland.html

Thank you so much for a fabulous time!

Wow, looks like you had an exciting time! Must have been fun to meet all those knitters, not to mention Annie Modesitt and Shannon Okey and Lily Chin (even if she doesn't frolic). Anne Hanson's blog is one of my favorites. If you haven't already, you must read her post about posing with your sock, it's great:)

COOL ! Glad you liked Cleveland cuz Cleveland LOVES you. Wife (Rebecca) was proud and embarassed to have her pic on the blog. I say she looks cute!

Joseph Beth was kind enough to also sell assorted Yarn Harlot beverages which mellowed 'some' of the gathered, preventing them from mugging the muggles who didn't provide sufficient chairs.

FYI.. not only did Cleveland set the Cuyahoga River on fire (twice), but our old mayer (Perk) also went up in flames, but I digress.

Great to see you, hear you, can't wait for the next book!

Get busy!

couldnt resist... re Yarn Harlot's speech... there's also a potato of the month club

http://www.woodprairie.com/catalog/index.html

Thank you for coming to Cleveland! The fates were with me that cancelled a meeting that allowed me to come hear you talk. I was laughing so much I had tears in my eyes. I've been in withdrawal the past few days because you hadn't blogged, but did fill in the time reading "Casts Off" - loved it! (I hope my laughing out loud didn't bother anyone!) Please be sure Jayme the wonder publicist puts Cleveland on the list ahead of time so the bookstore can be prepared for your next book (soon?) - 11:30 your books on the shelves; 1:00 none to be found (they thought 92 was enough - I preordered!) I might even be able to get an auditorium the next time. This "reconstituted" knitter, as you called me, had the time of her life "stalking" - my daughter's word - my favorite author! If it takes Alpacas to get you back to Cleveland I know two families who raise them - I'm sure we could go and visit (be careful though, they spit!)

Oh, Lilys bag is gourgeous, did you ask where she got it from. I still love purple.

I'd totally be the Hat Lady for the DC area, if only you would come to the DC area!

Just a thought. Perhaps we should book the Cleve Jacob's Field for her speech next book. I believe there's seating for 60,000 or so, right. Should be fun watching Yarn Harlot freak out when the place sells out!

Hi! I spent my entire pre-college life in Cleveland and did not know about the Alps (I have even shopped at the West Side Market more than once!). Next time stay longer and see more - it is a great city and has come a long way since being called "Burning River City" and "Mistake on the Lake". Some of the more recent slogans have been "Cleveland - on the North Coast" and "New York May Be the Big Apple, but Cleveland's a Plum". I haven't yet seen the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but the Great Lakes Science Center next door is really awesome, and Great Lakes Brewing Company is known for its fine (and creatively named) beers. What's not to like?

Having said all that, can't wait to meet you in Massachusetts (I just kept moving east).

I LOVE the Lily Chin picture. "Oh gawd what have I gotten myself into? Do I have enough cigs? Will my Prozac hold out?"

For your mom--I'm still reliving the thrill of waiting in line for the first time in my entire life to have an author sign my book--and treasuring the energy of a roomful of knitters. Your Cleveland reading was awesome--I think next time, they book you at Pickwick and Frolic, one of our comedy clubs.

My apologies, it was the Cuyahoga River that burned, Not the Cayuga. Incidentally, that was about thirty years ago and they've really cleaned it up.