Wow. that's some beautiful city. I've got to get out to the East Coast sooner rather than later.

Kudos to Tim and the cool shades--best sock shot ever!

Signed,
Blog-Free Linda V.

My dad loves Halifax and goes there whenever he can. I NEED to go visit for myself.

Halifax looks lovely! I've only ever been to the airport...

Is it wrong to like the Halifax fog? It looks beautiful...

I disagree with the most Canadian knitted thing ever. My vote goes to the sweater with maple leaves (or, in this case, leafs, I reckon) under the armpits.

Wasn't that your SIL?

Not the first time I've been called corrupt, I must admit.

We all had a great time in Halifax, Stephanie, but I think you knew that. Glad you made it back safely. Come back soon!

I love Halifax! So pretty and fresh seafood to boot!! Yummy. Glad the talks are going well!! Can't wait until you make it out to Calgary!!

There's something wonderful about a city shrouded in fog. Come back out to the Bay Area and we'll show you the "Creeping Cotton" that comes over the mountains in the summertime. It's Nature's air conditioner!

Congrats on the great trip and where is the pattern for "Mr Happy"?

I'm SO happy for you! I've always longed to visit our East coast, and your visits to places are always almost like the real thing for me. :0) In what kind of world does it cost less to take my family of 7 to stupid Mexico for a week than to go to the other side of our own country?

I could just barely make out your name etched on the stern mast.

Oh, I so want to go there...and definitely, looks to be that Tim is thriving, so glad to see and hear it!
I love those last few photos.

Tim Horton's - another wonderful place that we in California must do without. Why is it that we are unable to maintain even one decent donut shop in the entire state?

Glad I stopped in to check one more time! And glad you are safely home again. :O) It's great to see all the Halifax knitters, and Lesley's little Gabriel. I read her blog too. :O) I was born in Halifax,but raised in Ontario, but still have cousins and other family there. I'm a Blue Nose through and through. LOL Do you know that once the Citadel was surrounded by grassy areas and treed walkways? When my mother was expecting me, she walked there, and picked a small sprig of white heather, which she told me grows only in Scotland. The Scottish soldiers slept on their pallets there on the grass, and those pallets were filled with white heather. :O) I still have that same little sprig! I sent my oldest son to get me another piece when he was with the Navy band and visited Halifax. He looked and looked, but could only find cement. No grass left. Sad eh? samm

'Mr. Happy' is actually named Henry. It was definitely a great time though, I'm certain Henry will be talking about it forever.

Oh dear - I think there's been a case of mistaken identity. Mr. Happy is actually my husband (for his pattern, you would have to ask his parents) and the wee, green, knitted monster would be Henry.

For those who asked:
Henry has no pattern, I'm afraid, but is based loosely on the pattern of Kate, the knitted, pant-wearing kitty from Knitty (http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter05/PATTkate.html) and was inspired by the creatures that spring from the needles of Wendy of Brilliant Disguise (http://www.brilliant-disguise.org/).

It was so wonderful to see you here, Stephanie/Steph. Please, do come again, when the yarn shops are open and you aren't so rushed. Your tour guides await!

What?!? No panties?

I will think of my Timmie's from now on as the Tall Ship Tax that we Canadians are all willing to pay!

I've just finished my first can of Timmy's! It came in my swap box along with the story. So, even in CA (california) not CA (canada) we've heard of Tim Horton!

Yay! You blogged us! It was a great evening full of laughing out loud while "Knitting out loud". Come back any time!

Megan of the Halifax Knitters bloggers

It was wonderful to have you visit our city and to hear you speak!
And yes, Mimi is fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!

So happy (and relieved since we KOLers wrote/harassed your publicist to add Halifax to your tour) that it was a success!

And also? Glad that you like the t-shirt. I spent minutes of my time picking it out (the green sort of screamed YH to me :)

You were fabulous, I can't imagine how scary it is to be humourous to a crowd of >200 strangers. We laughed loud and often - good job.

I wanted to ask a question during the Q&A but didn't get a chance: "You've made an incredible transition from knit-blogger to author. What was the tipping point? What was the process?" I'm not actually interested in becoming an author myself, but I find life stories of people's path's fascinating...plus, you know, you don't suck at telling stories:)

I apologize that we didn't throw any underpants at you. I assume that mailing them wouldn't have the intended effect.

Enchanting! And you are so right about Master and Commander of the Tall Ship Silva!

The drive from Moncton, NB to Halifax, NS was well worth it to listen to all your funny stories.

Wpw what a nice whack of knitters you had there. Sorry you didn't have more time to explore. How's the tooth thingy? I'm quite sure that most Canadians have a tleast a share of that boat. Thanks for the lovely post

Still on a high from your Halifax presentation... on my drive back home I thought about your knitting stats: another neat one would be the number of knitters with a post secondary education.

Oh, Steph, thank you so much for posting today. It made me feel like I was there with you guys! I'm a bit distraught --my beloved cat has gone missing and in my horror, I frogged a sock three times and then gave the beautiful hand-painted Claudia wool AWAY. I needed my sockic Karma re-aligned or something. I hope you're coming to Austin, soon to make all right with the world again.

Barb

Thank you so much for coming to Halifax Stephanie! I'm glad you had a good time and got home safely.

It's my pleasure to be the hat lady for Halifax and in case anyone's wondering, the hats are going to Phoenix Youth shelters here in the city.

Come back soon!

So, so wish I could have been there. Glad you had fun. For every knitter in every city you get to visit, there's probably 10 more knitters in the smaller towns and cities (and heck, some are busy holding their forts down in the big cities too) that couldn't make it and enjoy vicariously your tales of "their" big city.

Awww... even the fog looks pretty, and your traveling sock is coming along very nicely. Master & Commander ~ one of my all time favorite movies, btw.

It was so great to meet you in person and I was very thrilled and surprised you asked for my autograph on my pattern, that's a first for me! Thanks for coming to the maritimes and I hope you make it back before too long. Annual trips are always good... There will be a warm welcome waiting for you and there is lots more to see (when the fog lifts).

While I'm sure Halifax is lovely, I'm not sure anything is as beautiful as a really dense fog. It's peaceful.

So your camera corrupted the photos of some knitters. Corrupt Knitters. You know there is joke in there somewhere.

That is some pretty darn good fog. It sounds like a blast. Wish I had been there. Perhaps if you ever make it out to St. John's, NF (also home of some pretty darn good fog and pictures of waterfalls running down the town steps) I'll be able to convince my husband that it is time to see the family. ;)

Now I must go see pictures of that battering ram. Definitely wish I was part of that.

Thanks, Stephanie, for the vicarious east coast experience, fog and all - it's on my list for places I must visit in the near future...

It was so much fun to meet you, and DEFINITELY well worth the trip from Fredericton. I needed to laugh, and laugh I did!! I was also extremely pleased to meet so many other knitters. As Deb Barnhill says, "It was the best day EVER!"

I also wanted to get a photo from the Citadel the next morning, but it was not to be. Oh well. Please come by this way again Stephanie! Soon!

Yep, Tim's got a great job title. The job title that gets my giggle going is Vice President of First Impressions. I know I'm not suited for that position.

salutations to the master and commander! (I just had to say that) Anyway- It's great to know there are at least 2 people in the world who get to make a living doing what they love. I had to smile today b/c we saw Peet's coffee in the store today...I almost bought some just b/c of your recommendations....

The fog is good. It hides the fact that there are flying monsters about. This way they can't see you either. It's mutually beneficial, although sad when you're trying to see all the nice bits that the monsters are flying about over.

I love tall ships. They're amazing. <3 Fog is amazing too. I think I need to move out there now. But I heard that they have something called "weather" out there. I'm not sure if my Southern California blood can handle that...

how lovely.. i love a good fog.

my living and dining room are painted a soft pale grey, (called Vapor) and are just the color of summer fog.

sometimes there is nothing nicer than a fog.. it lets you get lost in time as well as space.

Hey! I've helped build that boat too, with my little investments in the TH coffee habit right here in NY state. :)

Love that sock picture with Tim!

Wow...not only does Tim have the hot title of master and commander, he obviously embraces to joy of the sock picture with enthusiasm and creativity. Please tell me that he is not being wasted on a non-knitter! That being said, Halifax is beautiful and I adore your photo of the fog shrouded gardens. [Now if only there were a lone kilted bagpiper in the photo. *sigh*]

The phrase "a burning wack of fun" just made my month. (now to figure out how to incorporate it into my daily repitoire.)

As hard as it is to know that you're travelling and I'm unable to get there from here, I do enjoy hearing about all of your adventures. Thanks for the laugh.

Freaking fog. I bet Tim Horton just sails right through it. Psht. ;)

Coffee nothing... I must have paid for half that boat when the kids and I discovered TimBits!

And to those who think that a doughnut hole is a the same no matter where you go... I say fine.

Cause that means more Bits for us hahahahaha!

I was all about the adventure in Halifax, until that adorable baby in the Metallica t-shirt :) Now off to go back and re-read the entry and try not to be distracted by his cuteness!

Yeah, Tim's still darned hot. Woo, baby! Thanks for sharing that one! ;)

The other Tim, however... I have to confess that I'm a US citizen who just doesn't get it. Not that I haven't tried! The coffee I can't hope to get because I don't like coffee, but my coffee connoisseur boyfriend doesn't get it either. Neither of us get the doughnuts either. Then again, the only doughnuts I've really ever liked are my grandmother's sour cream cake doughnuts. I guess I'm failing the Canadian wannabe test!

I was just emailing with Ilga Leja a few weeks ago. Leja is my maiden name, and there are not too many Lejas "out there". Also, my grandmother's name was Olga Leja. I find it cool that their names are so close, and that I also ended up designing knitting patterns. I also complimented her on her photography, which is another coincidence since my father was a professional photographer. There must be creativity in the Leja genes.

I love the picture of Tim holding the sock with sunglasses...great!!!
I really hope that when you come to Midwest USA you can come by Tulsa, OK. We would love to have you. We have an awesome yarnstore called LOOPS. I think you would like it (lots of sock yarn).

Coolest sock photo ever!

Thank you, thank you, thank you for choosing MY blog to link to! Of all the wonderful entries from KOL knitters you could have linked to, you picked mine!

Oh yes, the little girl in the front row next to me (that's her wearing the hat in the photo on my blog) actually did have her Dora undies to toss at you, but the moment never seemed right!

And lastly, the knitted green monster is Henry. Mr. Happy is Steph's Hubby (Steph, obviously, being Mrs. Happy) who wasn't in attendance cause he is a rock star and was in New York!

Tuesday night was a blast, thank you so much for picking Halifax as the Canadian city you most wanted to visit! Even the shock of the $8.00 beer at the Victory Arms (I don't get out much!) wasn't enough to spoil the fun!

I have not been to Halifax in many years but I remember that it is GORGEOUS and I sure do miss it!

i thoroughly enjoyed the halifax post (life is better by the sea, n'est-ce pas?)... but i have an off-topic question. sometime back one of steph's entries contained a link to a lady who made shawl pins and i can't for the life of me re-locate it! can anyone out there point me in the right direction?
contact: dreamvoyageur@yahoo.ca

To echo the other gushers, what a fabulous time. Thanks so much for being so incredibly good at what you do and willing to share it with all of us. You've been blogged about over at my site, and I blogged in my nightie too! hehehe...

Another lovely post, so wistful at the end. I love the whole of Down East.

I posted a comment yesterday with my Citadel piper story, the one where a fortuitous gust of wind answered the eternal question "What's under that kilt, anyway?"

In the middle of the night I sat bolt upright in bed, as it finally occurred to me: so THAT'S why Downeasters are always saying 'arse.'

Blog FREE indeed. It's a lifestyle choice, not some sort of deficiency.

Thank you for coming out to the East Coast. I really enjoyed the evening. Your wit and humour are wonderful. Snippets of your speech have been popping into my thoughts and making me giggle at unexpected moments. Maybe next time I'll be brave enough to step out from behind the blog and say hi...

If you, who can at least claim some relationship between blog posts and your income, can't get away with "but I've got to blog," the rest of us are definitely pushing our luck with that line.

That is a whack of knitters, all looking like they're having a great time.

Hmm, I wonder if my nephew still has his hockey skates?

Beautiful pictures of Halifax. Remind me of our lovely Hobart harbour - especially when we have the 'tall ships'in. Its funny how wool shop - I mean 'yarn store'!! owners must be some of the nicest people out. Marie is ours and she is just great- are they all like that? I'm just about to go to a class to start the snowdrop shawl - other people are doing different patterns, but everyone is going to (attempt)do a shawl. Wish us luck!!!

Socks and puppets! What an incredible fog! I can almost imagine blog-free, almost.

Steph, every time I see pictures it makes me wonder why I come back to Toronto when we go. There were so many places I would have shown you if we were there together...come to think of it, the two of us combined with Mr. Keith is probably not a good thing ;-)

Welcome home - we missed you.

Stephanie-
I was the last in the book signing line (before you FINALLY got to go to the loo) in Burlington-Boston and mentioned how I LOVED the green-sweater-that-
went-in-a-diamond-thing-that-ended-so-wrong post and just wanted to make sure you knew that I (and so many others) loved it ONLY because we had also been there and loved how you had put it into words.

And your voice was MUCH lower than I expected.

Tim gets "best sock picture" evah award! Love it! :)

Rhonda, t-shirt designer extraordinaire and professional illustrator can be found at http://rhondamulder.com/. She's awesome, and we all owe her big time for the shirts.

And I did see a picture of the blog-free knitters presenting their dishcloth. Can't remember which blog though.

Neato! Man I need a vacation somewhere like that.
can't wait for you Los Angeles Dates!

Wish I had been able to go in. You were great on the radio!

Fog like Brigadoon!

One of my new goals in life is to travel to Canada to drink coffee and eat donuts at a Tim Horton's.

I grew up in a small coastal town in Washington state and foggy days with the smell of salt water will all conjure up fond childhood memories. At least I think they were fond... if they weren't then my memory is worse than I thought.

What a great collection of hats and socks.

I don't know if this sharing too much, but when I was vacationing in Halifax, I didn't make it back to the hostel one night, and instead, found myself aboard the Silva, drinking rum and having a wonderful conversation with an American sailor.

Tim was NOT Master and Commander at the time. If he were, I probably never would have left.

So glad you had a good time. I wish I were back there.

That is the best sock pic ever. I can't wait till I can get back to Halifax, thanks for letting me live through you.

I just set my coffee (Tim's of course) to say our grocery store in State College PA started carrying Timmie's a couple months ago. Not the large cans mind you, but still we can now get it locally if we run out of it between our trips up North. That's one tall mast there.

Lovely knitters you have there, and wonderful you got to meet up with your friend.

Wow. Halifax seemed lovely from the start, but the fog? Now I /really/ want to go there. There's just nothing quite so romantic and lovely as a nice fog.

Oh wow--I love me a foggy sea side town...Halifax...must remember that name the next time I want to run away to somewhere...

I'm glad we're still freaking out the muggles, Steph--we still have a few in Nor Cal who really don't believe.

Halifax looks good fun, and the tall ships amazing!

Just to let you know, I may be the slowest Knitting Olympian out there but, like the tortoise, I have got there in the end, pictures of the finished sweater on my blog. I do feel slightly like the guy who ran the London Marathon in an antique diving suit and while everyone else was finished by tea time it took him a week. At least I have got there, and I am very proud of the finished sweater :-)

I have to pipe up again and comment on Mimi's faboulousness as LYS owner. I work right around the corner and I usually stop in for a chat once or twice a week on my lunch break (any more often and I'd be scared of spending too much money.) She's really fantastic and has helped me with a lot of different projects. Her partner Cathy is also really great. It's a wonderful place to spend time - especially with the Mud Room Cafe attached.

Don't know what kind of camera you're using, but copy off all of the files you can, then reformat the card. Totally. Then snap a bunch of trash photos around the house and see what happens. If it doesn't work perfectly, pitch it. There's enough stress in life in general without adding that bit of PITA to it.

I always love the knitter photos. It reassures the muggle in my home that there are many like me roaming the continent. It doesn't reassure him, exactly, though....

thanks.

it's nice to see a bit of home while still living in the states. I miss halifax pretty regularly and dont get to visit as much as i would like... but hey, at least i know that if i ever go back, i'll have loud knitters to hang out with!!! :)

This is just silly-redundent at this point but... THANKS for coming to Halifax and inspiring us all! It was a great time.

Oh, this was a fun one. ;) Tim and the sock - ROFL! The Silva is a grand lady; I'm really glad that pic didn't get corrupted! Love the different knit groups' t-shirts, Joe's Aunty, the staff reaction, all the happy knitters, and the fog! Looks like a wonderful, wonderful time. Now off to check out all the links! (That's another great thing about your tour posts, y'know. The chance to find new knitblogs!)

Babies aside, anyone would look good in a Metallica shirt.
Although, being a card carrying member of their fan club, I could be a little biased. Ok a whole lot.
James Hetfield, sigh.
:)

i *heart* tim horton's, and i'm american - got my first taste in windsor. that being said....there's a tim horton's just south of columbus, ohio on I-71. the invasion has begun. ;]

hey - i can see me in one of the photos! a great end to my nova scotia vacation - but i would have made the drive down from new brunswick if i hadn't already been there.

Because of YOUR descriptions of Tim's, I am right now sipping my coffe out of a TH travel mug, purchased as a souvenir in Buffalo NY. So thanks. It's a nice mug. And Tim's is good coffee.

Aww. I love Halifax. Almost (and barely) felt like I was there. Darn about that fog! Considering how great maritimers are - meeting a schwack of knitty ones in one place all at once must've been... really, really, truly awesome.

I'm going to start a rumour about the speed vibes you give off.

Remember the two socks and a cardigan I brought with me? Before I got home, I finished both socks and got 5 cm done on the cardigan!!

(Alright, if they ask further, I'll have to admit that the socks were two different ones that were both about 3/4 of the way done, and I was working on one of the front panels of the cardigan (fairly narrow) - but no one is going to ask further, are they?? If I actually had any influence, I could get a new set of followers for you attempting to get speed vibes... Luckily for you I have no influence ;) ).

Thanks for taking a whirlwind trip to Halifax!! It was a very, very enjoyable night.

Looks like Halifax was a blast - I have to admit that I always smirk when I hear that folks are blindsided by knitters! Glad to hear it was lots of fun.

Although I lived in Halifax for six years and I miss it very much, I've got to admit that Saint John, New Brunswick, where I'm currently living, has even more impressive fog. If anyone wants fog, they should come here for a visit. The most interesting thing is how suddenly it appears. You blink, and then all of a sudden, a ton of fog has rolled in.

The evening was tons of fun and definitely worth taking the bus from Saint John at 6:45 a.m. to make it into town. You're just as funny in real life as on the blog, if not more so, the Halifax knitters (and anybody else who could make it to Halifax for the evening) are also tons o' fun, and Deb is right about it being the best day ever. I wish I could have stayed longer, but I had to get back home that night. (New Brunswick knitters who are willing to offer four-hour car rides to virtual strangers also rock. Thanks very much to Kelly and her husband.) By the way, I'm the New Brunswick washcloth girl, and there's a typo in my name in the post. It's Mary, not May. Just sayin'.

Looks like so much fun! Glad you had a good time. :)

squeeeee! it was such fun! I am super pleased to have met you, and really happy that I merited a mention on your blog! *dancing!* *singing!* *big stupid grin on myt face!*

You may not have a picture of me ... but I have several of you (and that will have to do!) ~ and a fun quote about you from one of the security staff at the Lord Nelson ... check my blog!

By the way, I am nearly done Knitting Rules, and am wondering how I lived (or knitted anything) before I got it! Can't wait to read/listen to the others! I hope you get back to Halifax for the next book.

I'll add myself to the 8 other folks who can recognize and appreciate a good friend who thinks outside the box. And apprears to have a great sense of humor.

I'm still laughing over the jazz sock puppet pic. Perhaps that is an option for the single socks who haven't gotten a mate yet....

How is it that most everyone else simply holds the sock as if it might bite them if they do anything beyond letting it hang? (holding the sock and taking a photo are definitely an exception).

omg. I want to move to Halifax. That is one gorgeous place and with knitters to boot!

Just experienced some serious knitter discrimination like you talked about in Halifax. I wrote more about it on my blog - too long to talk about now. But I wanted to say that I have never felt the need to launch into a feminist rant as I do right now. Thank you for mentioning this in your talk and making me feel less alone.

wonderful pictures, looks like Canadian knitters are living up to our reputation for wackiness... yay!

As far as blogging taking preference, post this on the door to your office/room (ok, who are we kidding? Put it on a t-shirt, on both sides...) to get the point across
http://icanhascheezburger.com/2007/08/10/i-iz-blogginz/

for more adorable fun, go to the root site and scroll through.... kawaii!

Don't think we've forgotten that we're expecting an answer about those toe up socks.

The baby's cute, but Metallica?! Dude. Now if it were wearing a KISS onesie, THAT would rock! All my someday-grandbabies, should I ever have any, will be thusly decked out.

Ok, my original comment spat back something about needing approval, so I'll try this again:

It goes without saying that it was wonderful to see you here in Halifax.

I know the rest of the KOLers/Halifax Knitters have been expressing their various states of rapture over your visit and I would like to add my "ditto" here. (We are nothing if not a group that will beat a dead horse with nothing but plastic drinking straws and sheer excitement- t-shirts, anyone?)

I also know that the girls have already informed you of the case of mistaken identity - Mr. Happy being the "rock star" husband (HAH!) and Henry being the tiny, knitted, green monster (and wooly lothario), so I'll just let your readers know that there is no pattern per se for Henry; he is based on Kate (the pant-wearing cat from Knitty) and was inspired by the monsters created by Wendy of Brilliant Disguise. You can see her knitted friends in her Etsy shop, "All Knit Up".

Wow. All those knitters ... a city where there are jobs called "Master and Commander" ... fog ... coolness ... free-range pipers ... jeez, Steph, you are making my decision about where to retire really tough here.

If we mailed you a pair of knitted underwear, would that have more of an impact?

Thank you so much for signing my copy of Casts Off! I didn't get to come see you in person, but Mary was cool enough to bring my copy along with her. Maybe next year we can bug you to come to New Brunswick! :D

Man, I adore Halifax! My best friend and I went there two years ago to celebrate our 30th birthdays, and I fell in love with the city. Every time I wear the green scarf I knitted out of remnant Fleece Artist Yarn I got at LK Yarns, I think of it. Can't wait to see you in Atlanta.

Hi! Halifax looks grand. Love those knitters and their t-shirts. I was slated to go there a few years back for a Hymn Society meeting (yes, there is such a thing!) but life intervened. Now I really want to get there just to check out the LYS and the wonderful yarn shop lady!

As for your poor camera, maybe it was actually the storage media (Memory Stick, SD card, or whatever it uses) that has the problem. Hope it is as easy as getting a new one to fix it. I work somewhere that sells them, and would be happy to send one if you tell me what kind. After all, the sock will start to pine away without being photographed regularly - and we want to see the steeks on that sweater!

Lordamighty, Stephanie, that travelin sock is getting old... :) in some weird way it seems like a progressive dinner... moving around.

Cool Trip. Fog is a weird weather condition, like something out of Science Fiction. Glad you had fun!

i'm a new reader of this blog, and i've noticed something in all of the travel/event pictures. people always seem to be knitting the same socks! those green stripey ones.

what's with that?? is there some special pattern that has to be knit from a particular yarn, as a pre-requisite for attending a yarn harlot event? it can't be a coincidence, ha.

Stephanie: You have such an enjoyable blog--this one has pictures that outdo even your best self.

Also, I just wanted to say that Ilga's Seascape Shawl is absolutely gorgeous. I already have more shawls than I can use, but I have got to make that. Beautiful.

Thanks for getting my day off to a great start.

I am desperately seeking Lion Kitchen Cotton in the discontinued Berry colorway. If you or any of your readers have some, I would be more than happy to swap yarn or pay for it.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Wendy

Cute as he is, the baby just doesn't look complete without a wee little flannel shirt.

Halifax looks like a great place to visit though!