238 thoughts on “Yarn can’t walk”

1. OMG, am I the first???

2. Thanks, Steph, it was seriously fun for us too.

3. maybe the cat put it there

4. In Britain women are supposed to wear their poppies on the right, men on the left. I only found out this year after several people wrote to The Times about it. I normally wear my poppy on the Wrong Coat and only realise when it’s too late to turn round and go home.

5. We had an excellent time with your Harlotness in Ottawa! Come visit us again soon… 🙂

6. I just consider myself lucky if I manage to get a poppy on at all, and if it’s on my ass they’re just going to have to deal. I’m a little disorganized.
   And yarn can too walk. My gorgeous Regia something or other (my very first sock, which turned out almost perfect — including the Kitchenered toe — because nobody had told me that socks were hard) has gone missing. There is only one. The sock plus the yarn for the second (sent by the lovely and blogless Rachel H) has left the building. I can only hope Elvis is enjoying it …

7. Oh Stephanie. I thought you *KNEW* that yarn can walk. And jump. Just like tape measures and needles disappear into that black hole in the house and socks disappear in the washing machine. And here I thought you knew everything …

8. I find that the fastest way to locate anything missing is to accuse someone of taking it. It nearly always turns up within 12 hours — usually at great embarrassment to myself…8-/
   Ottawa looks like it was a blast. I was there a week before you. Timing is everything, right? Ah, well.
   As for hip? Hip is what you make it. And, even if you choose not to believe it, you knit hip, Girlie!
   Cheers!

9. Don’t worry too much about the hair on TV thing. They have the nicest lady at the studio that will help you. When we taped Uncommon Threads she kept coming over and smoothing mine off my forehead and was there in a pinch with a bobby pin and product where needed. It’ll make you feel like a rockstar.

10. Whoa…I just clicked in and there were NO comments…Now 4 or 5 have showed up.
    Looks like some serious fun was had by all.
    Loved the shot of the baby in making.
    I have misplaced 5 lbs of newly harvested hazelnuts. I remember bagging them up after their drying but I CANNOT find them. They are not in any of the usual places…not in any of the “un”usual places either. How do you lose 5lbs of nuts? Ask Sam for me will ya?

11. If yarn can’t walk then I have ghosts! Someone has to explain the poppies to me…I’m sure it references the poem, correct me if I’m wrong? But why must one wear it on a specific side?

12. Don’t worry about the Knitty Gritty thing. Vicki is hyper and you will be great.

13. Yay, crocheters! Converting a crocheter into a knitter may be a small victory, but converting a knitter into a crocheter is like winning a war.

14. Oh yeah, it jumps. Whenever I walk into the yarn store my hands are suddenly full of the stuff. It must leap there because I’m not a fanatical, grabby sort of person 😉

15. You thought we knitters would take over those crocheters’ world, but clearly, the yarn wanted to establish just who was really in charge here.

16. You’re going to be on Knitty Gritty and you’re worried about how your hair looks???? With my sincerest apologies to Vickie Howell, the host of the show, have you ever seen HER hair??? To me, her hair always looks like it’s been hacked by a three year old with a pair of rusty scissors then run through an egg beater. No matter what you do to your hair, it will look better than hers. (sorry Vickie, I really like you and your show)

17. I confess, I hid your yarn. I do this often. To everyone. I think its quite funny. 🙂

18. Yarn cannnot walk. Neither can antibiotics.
    My cat hid his antibiotics yesterday in the very corner of the utility closet, behind the water heater. In order to do this, he had to pick up the bottle in his teeth and carry it (The path to the water heater is blocked by several items).
    That yarn did not walk into the coat sleeve.

19. It is amazing what one can lose. Just a few days ago, my compost pile was taken. Really. And, I’ve lost the paper outline of my nephew’s 1 year old little hand that my mom sent me (had to fudge the knitted mitten size completely.) Sometimes I blame it on my dogs, but then find, to my complete guilt and horror, that they bring me the slightly drooly ball of yarn themselves. It’s some sort of strange vortex lately, I tell you. I hope your daughter recovers from the yarn discovery!

20. I lose stuff all the time. I blame it on the Gremlins. If you very firmly say “stop” and “give that back”, after some ever so subtle almost sub-auditory snickering, it works. Eventually. Or you forget, which is almost the same thing.
    Also, the project in question is socks, which I consider a totally creative free/form zone, knit wise (just as long as they still fit on the foot). Don’t rip down, just change out to another toe color. It’s a design element. People will think you are brilliant. They will be right.

21. Hey – is there a chance they’ll let you wander further afield than LA when you’re out here? Like maybe north to the central coast area (IE Santa Barbara/Ventura).
    We have some nice yarn stores (and wineries).
    I grew up in Maine and remember the poppies!!! No one does that out here – I don’t recall if left or right made a difference. thanks for the memory!

22. Knitty Gritty is a great show, but I’m not so sure about it’s level of hipness. So maybe you mesh just perfectly?
    As for the yarn incident…I find I am constantly misplacing things. I mislocated my tapestry needle three times yesterday. My daughter took it the first time.

23. Oh my agah! Yarn can jump?! This does not bode well for me! I look forward to seeing this jumping yarn on Knitty Gritty:)
    The Diarufran sweater looks great!

24. So that small town in between Toronto and Montréal (what was it called again?) really sounds like a happening place for knitters…
    Poor Sam. I think I’ve seen that “I *swear* I don’t know how this got here” look about a million times on my own kid’s face, and it’s a direct result of the “soft sculpture” that frequently decorates the furniture and gets removed in one swell foop. We swear there’s another child hiding in there, or at the very least a cat we didn’t know we have. It would be shocking if there were no yarn to be found in someone’s jacket sleeve…
    That is by far my favourite Quebecism, by the way, though we say it with a few other words added in for effect. The other favourite is my grandfather’s best Quebec story about the hunter who tried to hunt da moose but ended up with skunk instead. “Taste like sh*t, but good, he say…”

25. Wow! That yarn must have a story to tell. Maybe your house full of teenagers angst is creating a yarnaholic poltergeist! In the meantime I can’t wait to see your post about Montréal!! ( I want to see myself all blurred too.. hehe)

26. Since I had no idea what the poppy thing is about, I googled it ( http://emily.icomm.ca/thrills.html ). For the other non-Canadian non-Brits (non New Zealand or Australia, I don’t mean to offend) (or just everyone but me who knows about this stuff)
    November 11, known as Veterans’ Day in the US, is called Remembrance Day in Canada. A poem by John McCrae involving poppies is associated with Remembrance Day.
    Tracy Colquhoun notes, “As it was taught to us in school, the red flower signifies the blood that was shed on the fields of battle, the green centre signifies hope for a better future, and the bent pin with which the poppy is attached to the coat lapel signifies the bones that were broken and the suffering endured.”
    Well, that sure makes more sense than BBQ…

27. Oh Wow! Thanks Stephanie, for the praise of my stories (and the un-blurry picture!) I was home sick today and I suddenly feel way WAY better!

28. I think that the other readers have serious issues not to comment on such a lovely, long post more than 23 times when you posted nearly 4 hours ago. S-T-R-A-N-G-E, eh?
    I would not put it above yarn, needles, hair ties, pencils, scissors, or measuring spoons to up and walk away. Ever. I live in a house of 10 people, most of them under 12 years old. Things always hide in odd places. There was the time my Mom’s favorite pencil was…stuck in the machinery of our printer. Yup, our printer.
    Don’t ask. Just be glad it’s returned! 🙂

29. Stupid workers kept coming in and interrupting my harlot reading time. Don’t they know what is really important? Finding geologic hazards? Nope, knitting! I’ll keep an eye out for your appearance on Knitty Gritty and get someone to tape it for me (sadly, no cable in the house)

30. Sorry to be the one to tell you this but . . . you ARE hip. Teenagers of my acquaintance (who determine these things) know of you in a good way, and will even confess to having read your latest book. You’re stuck.
    And-will someone explain the poppies?

31. Sorry to be the one to tell you this but . . . you ARE hip. Teenagers of my acquaintance (who determine these things) know of you in a good way, and will even confess to having read your latest book. You’re stuck.
    And-will someone explain the poppies?

32. Please, Please make sure you let us know when your episode will air?! It’s the closest I’ll ever to get to seeing you in person.
    BTW, Sam’s coat did it. She innocently came home, removed coat, threw on chesterfield and when she hung her coat, it took the yarn with it. Sneaky coat.

33. Pixies. They are nasty little creatures like that.

34. So here’s my totally dumbass, but oddly effective way of finding lost objects. It only works on the things that have disappered in a truly mysterious fashion. After I’ve looked in all the logical and some of the illogical places, retraced my steps, interrogated every member of the family, checked under the trampoline in the backyard to be sure the dogs didn’t take the object outside to love on it a little and finally have admitted that I’m utterly flummoxed, only then is the following cure effective.
    I stand in the center of the house and say in a loud, clear voice, “OK, pixies, I’m sure that it was really entertaining for you watch me look everywhere for the missing (fill in the objects name). I’m glad that you enjoyed yourself, but now I really need the (object) and would appreciate its timely return.”
    I then remind my highly skeptical husband that this almost always works and that he should stop singing Stevie Wonders “Superstition,” if he knows what’s good for him. If you know what I mean. And I’m sure you do. He shuts up pretty quickly.
    I then put the whole thing out of my mind and, generally, the object turns up resonably quickly — anything from 2 minutes to 2 days later. Sometimes it’s in a random place (like your yarn in Sam’s sleeve) and sometimes it’s someplace that I swore I checked in the initial frenzy.
    A little creepy and a little “fairies live at the bottom of my garden,” but it works.

35. Stop listening to the teens in your house! I know they think they know everything, but in this case, they are so totally WRONG!! You are completely and totally hip! You KNIT – what could be ‘hipper’ than that?????

36. Like Shel, I’m going to defy you and confirm that you are indeed hip. Very much so. You are hip because you put lotion in your hair before an important engagement and went anyway. If you weren’t hip, you would have refused to come out of your room. You are hip because you do silly things like the rest of us humans, but admit it. In public. Loudly and in a most amusing fashion. You are hip because though you do care what people think, you do what you want anyway. So, go, Harlot, go! You’ll kick the Knitty Gritty chick’s ass!

37. You’re sure she didn’t say square I-cord? (One casts on 4 and works it in K1,P1. A genius, that Meg Swansen.) No, I suppose not…
    You don’t WANT hip clothes — you want nice, unobtrusive clothes (dare I say Canadian/Midwestern? referring to their manners, of course) which will show off the succession of lace shawls you will be whipping off and replacing every time they change cameras. Our Lady Salome of the Lace…

38. I live in LA and I wouldn’t know hip if it hit me over the head.

39. I, also, suspect the cat. I lost my glasses, looked for ages and then bought a new pair… discovered my old glasses eventually in the cat’s bed. Tucked away under a blanket quite nicely they were….

40. Man I wish I could have seen the look on her face when the yarn fell out of her sleeve. 🙂 I would have been horrified and probably ran as fast as I could.
    I’m glad you got the lotion out of your hair. 🙂 You may not be hip but you’re hilarious and so maybe that will make up for it.

41. And in this house disappearing objects are attributed to boggarts — a la Susan Cooper, not so much J.K. Rowling.

42. Yet more evidence that yarn DOES have a mind of its own!

43. okay, i have a theory on how the yarn got there. if her coat was on a coat rack, you might have had the yarn in your hand and needed to put it down for a quick second and it rolled into her sleeve to hide. clearly, the poor little guy was more scared of you then you were of it.

44. Maybe yarn can hover.
    There are a couple of skeins of alpaca that are so light and squooshy that they seem to hover in my stash. Or is that me floating above the ground every time I touch them?

45. What a line, “insane in the best possible way.” And then I saw the picture and verified that it was true.
    You won’t believe this, but my husband was in L.A. last week and BOUGHT ME HANDSPUN at a shop that looks for Knitsters to sit and knit in the background on Knitty Gritty. (A Mano Yarn Center on Venice.) He said he thought he got props from all the knitters there, just for going in. He said their knitting slowed down ever so slightly as they all said, “Awwwww.”
    I don’t care what you’re demonstrating on Knitty Gritty as long as you tell us when you’ll be on, and WEAR THE SHAWL. Maybe Gansey finishing, hint, hint? But I guess you’d have to have about eight samples of it, all in different stages of completion, which is really too much to ask of a tired traveling Harlot.

46. Maybe it was the Borrowers that took the yarn?
    I’m positive I’ve got Borrowers in my house — after all, someone must have taken that fifth dpn out of my (second ever!!) sock that I’d left on the sofa for my commute project this morning. It was a little trying going around the toe with only three-and-a-working needles 🙂

47. I do truly believe that anything can walk. Often it does this little feat while attached to a living breathing human, who, having many millions of things to do in any given second, pays no attention to “what” is attached nor to “where” it lands. If this is not true, then I am nuts, a slob, having a nervous breakdown… and I REFUSE to believe that!

48. OK, so it was “out of her mind in the best possible way.” But then I re-read the post and spotted “I tried to think like me.” Awesome.

49. We have a different problem — useful things that we’ve never seen before show up, sometimes in odd places. Once we found a really nice cabled yellow wool sweater behind our bed, it just fit my husband who is tall and hard to fit. Another time we suddenly found a peach knit shirt in a closet that fits me nicely. And still another time a long white and blue terrycloth man’s bathrobe showed up when we needed one. It was sort of a 1930s style thing that my husband wore until it fell apart.
    So I guess we’re at the end point of some sort of Cosmic Black Hole? Sorry, we don’t seem to receive yarn….

50. I am still looking for the roving that disappeared while I was knitting my thrummed socks for the Olympics. I had to go out and buy similar colored roving so I could finish the second sock before the Olympic torch went out. And now have enough to do another pair of socks. I suspect the cat, but . . .
    I suspect that you might have done a kid clothing pickup in the sitting room while the yarn was nearby.

51. It’s aliiiiiiiiiiiiiiive…..

52. I see that ATM is the same in English and French, though.

53. Love it. Hysterical. The reason I read your blog!

54. I’ve been waffling on the youtube issue for a while now, but if ever there was a purpose that the internet was destined for, it’s capturing that episode of knitty gritty for dissemination among the tv-less minority.

55. I’m pretty sure the yarn wandered off distractedly, then realized how angry you were and hid in the sleeve. Just be glad you didn’t rip it all out before it turned up!!!
    Good luck in TV land.

56. And me without cable…

57. The ball of yarn just went to visit some of the tape measures that have run off over the years. It was going to leave a note so you wouldn’t worry, but…. well, you know how it is. The important thing is that it’s safe and it’s home now.

58. What a great photo of you! Nice to see you looking happy and relaxed and wearing that fab sweater, too.
    I love your blog and your books. Lately, I’ve thought a lot about your post on taking credit for what we (women) do and not pretending it’s “nothing” or easy. It’s such excellent advice. Thank you!

59. Your yarn can walk and jump it seems.
    That I-cord scarf is scarily good!
    I love Canada and travelling in Canada rocks. Apparently Canadian knitters rock too.
    You know, that wedding shawl you designed and knit qualifies you as a deez-i-nair extr-ordeen-airre!

60. It’s The Borrowers who took the yarn don’tcha know!

61. Okay, I remembered about the poppies after a moment and of course as a self-respecting New Englander I knew about the bilingual thing, but butter tart? You’ve lost me.

62. My knitting group all sort of laughs when I talk about watching Knitty Gritty. You can help me “show them.” Can I pretty please be a knitster when you’re on Knitty Gritty? I drove to SLC to see you so LA’s no biggy = ). hee, hee.

63. You’re so funny – “I tried to think like me”.
    Decades ago, when I was a child in Massachusetts, veterans would be out on city sidewalks on Veteran’s Day handing out artificial poppies to wear – also in one’s left lapel.
    I’m sure you’ll be great on T.V.! Be sure to let us know when you’ll be on.

64. Not only can yarn walk, but apparently a homewound skein of knitpicks I was hunting for crawled out of it’s mothproof plastic box like a snail and is currently on the train to Canada where real knitters dwell… I’m pretty sure it can laugh like a maniac as well… (And Steph, you are coolness personified…you are the coolness that does not know it’s own cool… just use the night light that nice girl gave you and remember that conditioner is for hair, and lotion is for hands and all is well…)

65. I had to search the web to find out the meaning of your poppy….Thanks Wikipedia!
    You’re doing Knitty Gritty? Does this mean you’ll be in LA? Are you doing any talks while you’re here? Showing up at any SnBs? Please do tell!

66. Let me just say how happy, well rested, cheerful and perky you look in this picture. Must be because you’re taking a nice break from your family and traveling by train instead of by plane.

67. As a native of Los Angeles I hope that I can calm your fears. For the last year I have read everything you have written. I’m in the process of reading all the archives of your blog. Go out there and be yourself. The reason we all read you and love you is because we see so much of ourselved in you. And it helps that you’re an amazing knitter. Have fun.

68. I have had one of those episodes over a cable needle. It only reappeared after buying it a new friend. And I nearly had another one last night when the VCR failed to tape Amazing Race…. I tell you. I give and I give and when I sit down for a little escapist “reality” TV with my knitting….well! Almost accused my sleeping husband of sabotaging the VCR. I will have to remember the “I’m just gonna go over here and do this thing and if the item turns up no questions will be asked” approach. Brilliant.

69. Just imagining the look on Sam’s face has given me the unstoppably giggles.

70. I was waiting to hear that the yarn fell out of your hair when you went to bed…
    You probably had it in your hand, and then hung up Sam’s coat for the millionth time if your house is anything like mine. (coats on the floor, ALL the time…)
    My aunt was too shy to meet you in Kanata – but she did decide to start knitting again – walked out of Yarn Forward with the beginnings of a stash! Now my Uncle is ordering a shawl collared cardigan…

71. “I tried to think like me.”
    “I tried to think like me.”
    “I tried to think like me.”
    It’s so perfect I can’t help repeating it.

72. I’m with Claire – it was Borrowers. lol

73. I have a theory for you as to how that yarn got there. You have written in your books that you like to store yarn in odd places, like coat pockets and sleeves. So you must have just picked her coat up off the inappropriate surface she left it on [being she’s a teenager, I’d guess floor, couch, or over a chair] and as you hung it up, your stashing habits took over and you stashed the yarn in her sleeve.
    Good luck in LA. I know you’ll do great. You had me impressed and I drove 2+ hours to see you in Philly back in April, and I was not disappointed. Have fun!

74. yum…buttertarts!
    My knitting stuff used to disappear a lot more when I was babysitting (the two year old was facinated with the point protectors, she always took off with them!). Now my stash seems to be growing…

75. Howdy, Harlot… I’m the weird Muggle husband who demanded that my knitty (and very pregnant) wife get a picture of you with socks (hers and yours) while she got her book signed in downtown Ottawa. If you’re interested, the picture is available from:
    http://www.salters.ca/randompics/yarnharlot.jpg
    And yes, I’ve read your books. In a lot of ways, it feels like I’m having a conversation with Andrea when I’m reading them… They give me more insight into how she thinks, even if the only real part of the thought process that gets clarified is the Yarn Purchase Justification part of her brain… 🙂

76. Hey!!!! That braided scarf is on the cover of the Holiday issue of Vogue Knitting! All the i-cords are red in the Vogue knitting example, but it’s there, so anyone who wants to can make one of those. It looks fun and pretty easy. For real!

77. Was Hank in the house? or could it have been the cat.

78. Please tell me that you’ll be signing books/speaking/appearing somewhere in Los Angeles besides a TV studio!
    Don’t worry – the only people in LA with perfect hair are the ones who spend lots and lots and lots of time and money it. The nice hair lady at the studio will whack your hair into shape in no time, and then you’ll use up all the hotel shampoos getting all the product out of it. 🙂

79. Ok if your like me I think I know how the yarn got there. Option 1:I have a tendancy to not put down yarn I need ( the walk away thing). I often put it on my shoulder, if it’s wool it usually will stay nicely but it has been known to fall off occassionally & I bet it could get into a sleeve if an exasperated Mom picked up & hung up a teens coat that had been tossed on the floor. Option 2: Was Hank over?

80. If you’re not “the right sort of knitter” then that person doesn’t exist. You’re OUR kind of knitter!
    We started a SnB here at work and met for the first time today, and in one hour the solitary crocheter asked to learn to knit. She’ll start with a hat this week. We’ll have her in socks by December 1.

81. HA! I lurve it! ” I tried to think like me” Thats so awesome I can’t stand it. I need a button that says that. I could wear it whenever I lose my keys.
    Oh, I’m gonna go off back to my corner now and compose myself.

82. You may not be “cool” in the classic sense of the word. However, you touch people’s life through knitting, and that is way cool! You are real, you let us see the good the bad, and the lotion in your hair. You make me proud to be on the “uncool” band wagon. I am a twenty two year old college student. I was recently told by fellow classmates who I have gotten to know over the past few years of classes that they used to think of me as the “weird girl who knit.” They further apoligized for judging me, and insisted I was actually a “cool” person. All I’m saying is don’t judge a girl by her yarn. I have socks and sweaters to show from my college experiences, and not as many hangover 🙂 I met you when you came to Eau Claire, and I have to thank you for giving me the opportunity to be around so many knitters. It was mind blowing to be around so many totally cool uncool people!

83. Don’t give the LA gig a second thought (I grew up down there). You’ll find a group of real, friendly, and warm people at Knitty Gritty. The “Paris Hiltons” not only don’t knit, but they’re all at the beach or the tanning salons. You’ll be great!

84. Ah Steph, maybe you’re not hip, but you’re AUTHENTIC. I just love that word as a descriptor because it means someone who is truly themself–not trying to “be” cool, wear something jazzy, or act in a way that is contrary to the true person they really are. Your are true to yourself–authentic–and that’s why we love you 🙂

85. You will be GREAT on Knitty Gritty … I am sure of it! And the Diarufran (that’s really hard to spell!) sweater is lovely. Please post more pictures of it soon.

86. You know you’re an American reading a blog written by a Canadian when you have no idea what’s up with the poppy or what a chesterfield is.

87. It’s not Borrowers, pixies, or poltergeists. It’s gnomes, and you’ve got a bad infestation. All crafters tend to get them, but they’re the worst in malls–Retail Gnomes are particularly malicious. I foolishly brought my knitting to work, and they’ve already taken one dpn and a whole packet of yarn needles.
    “Hip” is, like, so five minutes ago. You are “Cool”, and that has staying power.

88. What Jen said. (I think a chesterfield is like a sofa? Sort of?) When you go to LA, casually insert the word “chesterfield” and various obscure hockey — make that curling — references into your conversation, and everyone will think you are too hip for mortal comprehension, and you needn’t disillusion them.
    Speaking of curling, do you realize how desperately I have wished all my life for hair like yours, and how much money I have spent in its vain pursuit? Truly.

89. I seem to recall you mentioning coat sleeves as a good stash hiding spot. Do you think you were getting a little squirrelly there? Actually, that’s just the thing you remind me of, a squirrel. They never seem to remember where they hid their nuts in the spring and they end up digging everywhere looking for their stash.
    Ha! That cracks me up. You are a yarn squirrel.

90. Awesome talk and LOTS of fun, Steph! Hey, I even made it into one of your pics… chick in the grey sweater behind Lissa. 😀
    Thanks for the signing, and the down-to-earthness. That was really awesome of you.
    Come back and visit soon, eh?

91. There’s only one explaination. Your inoccuous ball of gray yarn has discovered how to bend space-time and transport itself.

92. Stephanie,looks like you are having loads of fun and getting knitting done too. In our Sunday Wisconsin State Journal was a article on Elizabeth Zimmermann that nearly took up the whole page, with pictures and a tidy bit on another page . They are having a exhibit on her in the Design Gallery, School of Human Ecology at UW-madison , http://www.newschoolknittingexhibition.org thanks for giving some good chuckles, Kristy

93. i dont think it should matter what side you wear the poppy on. as long as you remember to wear it.
    it was too hot to wear a coat here so i wore it on my wristband on my right hand.
    ah well.
    at least y’all remembered.

94. Oh geez, the ending of that story cracked me up. In a SLEEVE? I love it.

95. You are going to be great because you are real and incapable of putting on airs or throwing attitude around. I’ve met some “famous” knitters who were a little … self-obsessed shall we say? And they may have their own yarn lines but they have nothing on you. My only hope is that someone posts it on youtube so I can watch it!

96. I have to share this story, bear with me. My mom suffers from Alzheimer’s and lives with me. As is typical with the disease, she doesn’t like to change clothes. She has a favorite bra, which I managed to get her to take off. No little feat, that. I then handwashed it, and set it in front of the corn stove to dry overnight. Next morning, it had disappeared. I looked everywhere, no deal. I think she deemed it unseemly to have the bra hanging in plain sight. A couple of weeks later, I found her eating a banana. As is also normal, I then searched for the peel, but what did I find? The bra. Since I had just started a load of whites, I opened the washing machine to throw the bra in. And there was the banana peel. Luckily, the machine had just started to agitate.

97. Don’t worry about LA. I was out there in July and fairly certain I would spend the week being the most under-dressed person in sight. What did I find? Regular people of all shapes and sizes along with a whole lot of old hippies. When I went to a yarn store, it was like I’d never left home. Our people are everywhere.

98. Snakes can’t walk, either, but that didn’t stop me from wasting virtually ALL of my knitting time over the holiday weekend crawling around the house on my belly, searching for my six-year-old’s missing pet snake. It’s probably in the same place as my missing size two needle (the one I need to finish the sock I didn’t get to work on). Maybe I should check his sleeve.

99. In my awe-struckness to meet you, I didn’t get a chance to thank you for re-introducing me to the pleasures of knitting. An article in the local paper mentioned your “knitting olympics”, and I was intrigued!
    Thanks so much for coming to Ottawa – I really enjoyed your stories. They reminded me of home in the maritimes – where weekly we’d SnB with the IODE ladies (when they would take a break from playing bridge), and we’d SnB in the evenings with the neighbours.
    Happy days!

100. Oooooooh you made the cut for Knitty Gritty! The suspense was killing me.. I would have emailed you today to ask! I however Didn’t. Ah well.. I might make the cut as a knitster..we’ll see. For now.. go and have enough fun for both of us an I will just live vicariously through you!
     Denise
     http://www.purlsofhope.com

101. Um.. didn’t make the cut I mean.. sorry had a naked 3 year old run up to me in the middle of typing.. throws off the wording ya know!
     Denise

102. What the hell is a poppy? Do you mean the flower? Am I the only one in the dark? Or do I just need to keep reading and trust that it will be made clear?

103. Don’t worry about LA. All that “hip” stuff is so overrated. Not to mention transitory. Illusionary.
     Not. Real.
     We adore you in writing, we adore you in person. You’re the right kind of crazy, times ten. 🙂
     And yarn can, too, get up and walk. It thinks its funny. And if there’s a knitting deadline looming, it’s just that much funnier.
     To it, anyway.

104. There was a guy on British tv last week from the poppy appeal association. They make the poppies and sell them, then the money is used to help disabled servicemen and there families. He said you can wear the poppy anywhere you want. There isn’t any rule about it. The important thing is to buy the poppy because the money is really needed.

105. Yarn in the coat sleeve…does your house have a ghost?

106. Holy jumping yarn, Batman!!!

107. Can’t wait to see you on Knitty Gritty. Please, please remind us when it airs so we can remember to set the DVR!!
     We sell poppies here in the US for vetran’s day too! I buy one every year. They are so cute!

108. well, yarn can really do anything it darn well pleases, and usually what pleases it is to perplex its knitterly minions as much as possible. I say you have some amazingly witty creative yarn there – in the “I’ll get you!” department at least.

109. Sorry I’ve missed your visit. Hope I’ll have another chance, sometime.

110. In Australia, we don’t seem to mind where or even if, you wear a poppy for Remembrance Day but we DO get annoyed if you keep on walking and talking during the minute’s silence at 11am !

111. Chin up! This T.V. won’t be live. So if you happen to mess up, or say arse one too many times, you can have a do-over.
     I have dreamed of this day. The day that you would be on Knitty Gritty. I knew it would happen eventually. Please keep us updated with all the details. I wouldn’t miss that for the world!!
     🙂

112. My definition of hip has changed dramatically over the past 15 years. In my 37 year-old world, YOU are definitely and infinately hip, Stephanie, and I’m betting that everyone else who reads your blog and books and follows your travels feels as I do. And knitters are just plain right. So go to L.A. with the confidence that you will be adored there as everywhere else…with or without your super-cool socks.

113. I love your blog Stephanie! The Yarn Harlot and a big fat cup of coffee are my favorite way to begin the workday.
     I’m so glad I’m not the only one with poppy confusion. I once got seriously jacked up by an old guy at the Legion, for wearing my poppy on my right lapel. However, my hubby (who is in the Canadian military) says technically it doesn’t matter. Easy for him to say, he just puts it on his beret. Poo.

114. You could always wear your cowgirl hat, totally cool. You might start a trend.

115. Well, I don’t know what to tell you about “hip” or how that yarn got in the coat, but that was THE best photo of you I’ve ever seen! I mean, “book cover” good!

116. Poor Sam! I suspect it was the cat.

117. The sock on the elephant trunk is precious!
     Ah, the poppy! Being a stupid American, I first saw the poppies at the Tim Horton’s counter. And then I saw lots and lots of people wearing them and thought to myself “Huh, Tim Hortons really can push those poppies!” Then somebody explained the whole Remembrance Day thing to me, and a light bulb went off. I’m surprised there’s no ritual in the States for honoring veterans. It’s such a nice gesture.

118. I associate the word “hip” with things like fad and bling and self-absorbed and trying too hard to achieve an artificial standard of appearance and behaviour in order to be accepted by the popular girls.
     Authentic and cool, on the other hand, are for real – and so are you.

119. I don’t know if yarn can jump, but it can definitely slither – under the couch, under the bed, under the hampers in the crawlspace …. HEY WAIT – one has to climb up to get into the crawlspace! That’s it – yarn can CLIMB !!!

120. The disappearing yarn story is so funny! I can just see you tearing the house apart looking for it…So far I haven’t had that happen with yarn, but pretty much everytime I sit down w/ some homework I lose my pencil or calculator. Never fails.
     You’ll do great on Knitty Gritty! I’ve never seen the show because I don’t really want to pay the oodles of money required to have all the “extra channels”, but I’m sure you’ll be great.

121. You are killing me. LOL. You made my day. You are soooooooo funny. Thanks for writing this blog!

122. Phew! I’m hugely relieved that you did not put it in the coffee cream. 😀

123. I thought your title was a(n) homage to “Apocalypse Now”, where Col. Kilgore says, “YARN DON’T SURF!”, or something like that.

124. Ahahaha. It was a funny story from the start, but once I imagined the look on Sam’s face and the two of you staring in frozen horror at the ball of yarn on the floor — I lost it.

125. The walking yarn story was priceless. I seem to remember that once you ripped apart a rental car looking for a dpn that was — er — in your hair? Stuff happens to all of us but you make your stuff so funny. Thanks for a hundred laughs!

126. I knit the braided scarf on the cover of VK, which looks just like that one (but I wouldn’t say it involved math). All of those i-cords got pretty tedious after a while.

127. Veterans of Foreign Wars sells poppies in the US too. 🙂

128. OK, something is wrong with me. I know about the poppies, the poem and even the chesterfield (thank you BBCA). But not Knitty Gritty. Perhaps- and I never thought ‘d say this- I might need more channels. Truly, I feel culturally bereft.
     Is there a studio audience? can I come?

129. Maybe the yarn is trying to tell you that Sam needs new socks?

130. I remember poppies! We always bought ours from a specific veteran. He always sat outside the local market, as Nov. 11 came around. I never knew there was a proper side to wear them on. We just wore them, while thinking of the many men and women who given their all for the continuing safety of the U.S.A.
     You’re worried about hipness, hair, and all that? Stop worrying! You are the Yarn Harlot! Incredibly cool, together, and hip. L. A. doesn’t deserve you. They will not worship at your feet, like Ventura County knitters would. PUHlease come up to Ventura County! We have some great yarn stores!

131. I remember poppies! We always bought ours from a specific veteran. He always sat outside the local market, as Nov. 11 came around. I never knew there was a proper side to wear them on. We just wore them, while thinking of the many men and women who given their all for the continuing safety of the U.S.A.
     You’re worried about hipness, hair, and all that? Stop worrying! You are the Yarn Harlot! Incredibly cool, together, and hip. L. A. doesn’t deserve you. They will not worship at your feet, like Ventura County knitters would. PUHlease come up to Ventura County! We have some great yarn stores!

132. I remember poppies! We always bought ours from a specific veteran. He always sat outside the local market, as Nov. 11 came around. I never knew there was a proper side to wear them on. We just wore them, while thinking of the many men and women who given their all for the continuing safety of the U.S.A.
     You’re worried about hipness, hair, and all that? Stop worrying! You are the Yarn Harlot! Incredibly cool, together, and hip. L. A. doesn’t deserve you. They will not worship at your feet, like Ventura County knitters would. PUHlease come up to Ventura County! We have some great yarn stores!

133. Well, crud! I truly hate Time Warner and their Internet non-service!

134. I have had that happen to me several times and I am convinced that there is a ghost knitter in my house that feels “the itch” to knit and just can’t help her (or him) self and takes what ever is lying around. And in my house, there is a lot of choices just choosing from what is lying around!
     About the show, I am an avid Knitty Gritty watcher and very excited that you are going to be on the show. The reasons are two fold: One, I get to see you in action 🙂 Two, there is actually going to be a new show on instead of the same old reruns!
     Love you Steph! You Gotta Come to Denver! We have the largest Yarn Store in America! Check it out! http://www.showersofflowers.com
     Marly

135. Woo! There I am! It’s so exciting. It really was a delight to hear you talk and to see you the other night, I’m really glad you came!

136. I know I’m evil, but if I was Sam’s siter…that is where I would put the yarn.
     he he he

137. I was wondering when they’d ask you to come on their show! About time. As for the “hip” thing – just keep being your gorgeous self.
     Something else that I wanted to mention — do you know that non-knitting writers (poor things) discuss your books? I’m finishing up my MFA in creative writing, and one of my toughest professors is the one who first got me clued me in about your blog, then another faculty member mentioned your books. . . now I’m starting my third pair of socks, which is saying a lot because I live in Florida.
     Just wanting you to know that you are admired, respected, and enjoyed in more ways than you might imagine.
     p.s. Our hair shares the same personality traits. Ever wonder what your hair would do if it lived year-round in 98% humidity?

138. By the way, I meant to tell you I had an opportunity on Thursday night to ask Uncle Tupper if you had ever come through with that other Christmas mitten. His response, and I believe I quote fairly accurately, was, “Hell no, she can’t knit worth crap anymore, just writes about it.”

139. In my house it is the house keeping elves. They are not happy if the house is messy; things go missing. That would explain my favorite pencil last week…

140. Coud it have been a yarn stealing squirrel?
     So when are you coming to Denver?!?!?!?!?? I know I saw you in Chicago in July, but I’m thinking you need a trip to Denver soon!

141. Okay, Stephanie, you will rock on Knitty Gritty…but PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! Talk them into dropping the awful epithet, ‘Knitster’! It. hurts. me.
     Almost as much as Rachael Ray’s ‘Yummo’.
     Shudder.

142. When I was a young girl ( circa 1950’s) in the US, wearing the Veteran’s Day poppies was a tradition. The VFW ( Veterans of Foreign Wars) guys sold them. I remember their distinctive smell – were they made of crepe paper? It seems since the Viet Nam war, no one sells the poppies anymore. It’s too bad because seeing one makes me remember special people. Maybe some day, we’ll all wear poppies to remember NO WAR.

143. OMG, it’s Yarnicula! Beware, it might just drain all the color out of your other yarns if you’re not careful!
     As for Knitty Gritty – don’t worry about “hip”. We love you as you are (the locking yourself out of your hotel room while not-so-dressed incident, coupled with the lotion-in-your-hair incident, having not convinced us all to chuck you is proof positive of that, I say), so be weird and funny and knitterly and all will be well.

144. I think there are two possible explanations for the yarn in the sleeve:
     1. It was trying to escape.
     2. Someone is being framed.
     Much as I hate to imply your children might resort to framing each other, I really, really don’t want to consider the possibility that yarn can try to escape. How will I ever build a proper stash if it’s continually walking out on me?

145. I’ve lost yarn, and too many tools to count. I always laugh thinking of your sharp socks needles. I’m using blunter big bamboo so no stabbing of family members. However, just last night I located my missing pretty clear green size 9 in the couch cushion. Its a new couch. It eats things. Somethings like the remote get so far down, we had to turn it over and unstaple the lining… Really. I’m terrified of having to do the same for needles and other precious tools.

146. Sounds to me like you have a gremlin. They always appear at my house to steal my tools when there is something that must be done now and I am frantic about it. The best solution I have found is to leave them a small glass of Guiness (drinking the rest yourself) and a few Oreo’s (testing 2-3 to make sure they are good.) It may work with other beer, but we only ever have dark beer in the house so I wouldn’t know. Once placated, they usually return whatever I have lost, and usually put it in a place I know I’ve checked.

147. Email me, and I’ll give you my phone #. When you’re in LA, phone me for expert guide service. I can get you into Disneyland.

148. OMG! Your yarn goes for a walk too! I am still missing a ball of yarn for my son’s sweater. I even ended up ordering more from knitpicks. I blame the cat, my kids, gnomes, bedbugs, heck, I don’t know WHERE it went. I have even moved furniture not intended to be moved to find the ball of yarn.
     PS I think it pops into an alternate dimension. Good thing yours popped back into our dimension 😉

149. The “hip” people will assume that since you are in the land of hip that you must be ever so hip. they would never question your lack of hipness.
     Totally beside the point. I think you are the coolest most interesting person I have meet in a long time. If I were ever asked the question “If you could have anyone in the world to dinner who would it be?” with out question you.
     Thanks for brightening my day.

150. I am so glad I am not the only person this has ever happened to. I lost a Palm Pilot for three months that way once. I was finally ready to cave in and was headed out to buy a new one, and it happened to be the right temperature for the jacket it had fallen into. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I stuck my arm in.

151. It was great meeting you in Ottawa. I still giggle when I think of various you talked about. The next day I tried telling people where I had been the evening before. That worked about as well as when I told them where I was going. They gave me “the look”. What’s wrong with those people, anyway?
     When you found the yarn, were there any measuring tapes with it? That would explain a lot.

152. You’re coming to L.A.!!!!! YAY!!!
     And I will totally help you out on the hair department. It’s what I do. For TV, no less… Knitty Gritty will have a makeup person, not sure about hair though…
     YAY!

153. So I notice you are going to be in LA. I am the least hip person in LA so if you need any support, just let me know. Remember, I peed on myself in front of Trader Joes in a valiant attempt to save my son from harm after I tripped while I was holding him. That is tragically unhip.
     I have some unhip friends as well. I’m thinking we could arrange an unhip tour and surround you with such unhipness that even your lotioned hair would look edgy. It’s something to consider anyway.
     Could you update your travel page so that I can figure out where to see you? If I have to stand around the KnittyGritty Studio I will, but I’d rather not. Do you need the name of a LYS to put together a speaking engagement?

154. I’m so looking forward to your appearance on Knitty Gritty. I Tivo the show and love the little peace it brings to my otherwise chaotic evenings (2 young boys…don’t ask). Don’t worry about “hipness”. Sometimes, I think they try too hard on that count. I just like the refreshing tips that are occassionally unearthed as I watch. (i.e. knitting with recycled plastic bags, knitting in your buttons, etc).
     You’ll do great and I’ll be able to point out to the youngest “Look there’s the Yarn Carlot whom Mommy went to see.” (He’s 4 going on 14)

155. Stephanie – I had such a blast at Yarn Forward – thanks for the laughs. My Muggle family did not get it at all when I came home to try and share some of your stories. My favourite was the “kitten” story. The evening was worth the long drive, and my photo ended up on a couple of blogs, since I was in the front row. I knew I should have stuck around for some sock pictures. 🙂
     It looks like Judith showed up at both book signings. Serious Harlot fan. (And stunning shawl, that.)
     Have fun at Knitty Gritty!

156. Never occurred to me until now, but how ironic that the poppy should be the flower of Remembrance when it’s also the flower of oblivion.
     As for the yarn episode, suddenly I’m irresistibly reminded of Bullwinkle trying to pull a rabbit out of a hat. “Nothin’ up my sleeve!”

157. About appearing on Knitty Gritty (which I don’t get, drat, why did I have to go for the cheap HDTV package?). Knitting IS hip, YOU ARE hip, you are the Goddess of Hip Knitterliness! And anyone at Knitty Gritty should be honored you would even bother with their little pay-cable show!

158. Just in case anyone is still wondering about Stephanie’s reference to her poppy, you can read all about the Remembrance Day poppy here:
     http://www.vac-acc.gc.ca/youth/sub.cfm?source=teach_resources/poppy

159. Your sweater looks great (I even said to my hubby, look it’s her sweater, turns out he wasn’t really in the room) Love the kid socks. Yarn can jump, run, walk and play hide and seek. I found some hiding in the closet just the other day.

160. Do NOT worry about the stylish people in LA. You should see most of the people on the streets here. It is to laugh.
     Anyway, you’ve got style. Stick to your slacks and knits and call it your signature style (except it’s hot here, so forget the knits unless you don’t sweat.) You’ve got a bit of a Katherine Hepburn thing going, but a much better neck so you don’t have to stick to turtlenecks.

161. I’ve come out of comment-lurking-ville…I *heart* that sock yarn, must find some in Montreal! Hourra for colourful sockyarn!

162. We have a saying around here – “If I were me, what would I have done?”
     My son was reading this with me, he says the yarn simply fell into the sleeve. Where it fell from, he doesn’t see where that matters.

163. Was anyone else reminded of Neil Diamond by the title of this blog post? Yarn can’t walk. And it can’t run and baby it can’t talk…

164. That’s… impressive. I wonder if I get Knitty Gritty? I’ll have to check.

165. Amen! I had given up on Knitty Gritty, but will diligently watch for your episode. And Hip? Who cares about Hip? It’s all about the knitting baby : )

166. You are soooooooo cute! I love the sweater! Where oh where did you get that pattern and yarn? Do tell..

167. You are so cute! And I love the sweater.
     More details on it please!

168. Oops-my bad. TRIPLE POST..MAWAHAHAHA.

169. It’s “The Borrower’s”.
     http://www.amazon.com/Borrowers-Mary-Norton/dp/0152047379/sr=1-1/qid=1163469918/ref=pd_bbs_1/002-3676674-7672821?ie=UTF8&s=books
     Apparently one of them is a knitter!
     Could you please explain the poppy thing for us dumb Americans?

170. Things don’t disappear? ha, I live alone w/ one cat. I layed my knitting beside me, on circs, the cat was asleep on the other couch, I went into the kitchen,to get drink, maybe 3 minutes, able to watch cat entire time.. (she remained asleep). Returned, and could not find the pattern that I had laid the knitting on. I yelled, (cat opened her eye, yawned and left the room) tore the couch apart, tore the kitchen apart, yelled some more, went to get pain pill for head ache starting (this after 15 min of attacking the kitchen & living room & I keep a 90% neat house.. ) and there was the pattern on my bed. You figure it out… There are gremlins. no discussion. they exist.
     You are awesome as always.

171. Meeting you was an absolute blast!!! I can’t wait for you to come visit us (in Ottawa) again!

172. I think we all want to be like Mairi one day. Honestly, that woman is a genius. And her accent makes it all the cooler! It’s a shame you didn’t get to meet her knitting son, Gavin. He brings the party.
     Thanks for the blog mention! 😀 I think you might have killed my archives, but death by the Harlot is a fair deal to me.
     Now, remember: Jocks are entitled to look a little different on TV. Consider hockey hair for a moment. From one curly haired knitter to another, let’s just blame the sport, shall we?

173. LA is all about trends. You aren’t hip? Don’t worry about it. All you have to do is convince yourself that putting lotion on your hair is the rad way to straighten it. Then you shashay into town, secure in the knowledge that you are the only person IN THE WHOLE CITY who knows this trick but out of the goodness of your heart, you’ll share the knowledge. If they deserve it.
     They’d better show up with beer and yarns to appease The Goddess (that’s you, sweetie) and maybe then you’ll tell them the tricks of the trade. Maybe.
     Even I, a mere needlepointer who does not knit (I needlepointed a sweater coat on Santa this week, does that count?) knows that you are smarter, funnier and a better knitter than any L.A. cookie. And don’t you forget it!
     [bows three times to The Goddess and exits]

174. It’s me again, here to cause trouble. I wanted to let you know that as of this evening my blog now points to a new blog – I’ve moved!
     Cheers!

175. That cool braided scarf is on the cover of Vogue Knitting right now and it’s SO cool.
     And you just stop about not being right for Knitty Gritty. You will rock it!

176. Guys, I’m not sure whether this is just a local thing because we are knee deep in veterans in this area, but we do the poppies here in Maryland. On Memorial Day. Handed out to those who forget by the Legion and the DAV at the local stores. Honest. Google it. Poppies Memorial Day.
     For those of you who don’t get it – it’s In Flanders Fields, WWI.
     As for the sock, personally I always blame the cat.
     And Mairi is a genius. Nuff said.

177. Re: Mairi’s scarf. Apparently, from what I hear (Mairi, correct me if I’m wrong), the genius lady saw the scarf on the cover of the VK mag and decided to make it herself. Without looking at the pattern itself.
     There’s brilliance 🙂

178. Sounds like you have a pooka. They are little Irish sprites who like to hide things. I have one. They like to move things like that. I have ripped my living room apart looking for a knitting magazine, not found it and woke up the next morning with the mag on the ottoman in plain site. Pooka’s really don’t like cursing and they always know when you are stressed out. Yep definitely a pooka.

179. What is a poppy? I am hoping its not just a poppy flower 🙂

180. Ooooooh! Nitty Gritty! I’m going to have one of my knitterly cronies (well, I like to think I have cronies) TiVo it for me! What fun. Do you know when you’ll air?
     BTW–per the last post–is Hank a “Henry”? Just wondering. I have a “Henry.” He’s very young, very short, and very certain that he is in charge of our house.

181. strangely, I don’t find myself in the least bit tempted to say something reassuring about your hipness. So there.

182. In utter defiance of my knitting dreams, I spent the day quilting. HAH! Take that.
     (Then I spent the evening laboriously making strange shapes with ugly acrylic yarn and 30 year old plastic needles. An equipment upgrade, to say nothing of lessons, is required. The dreamt-of socks may have to wait until next week. 🙂 )
     I have my mum and several friends reading your blog, just for the sheer joy of it. I think you would still be interesting if you wrote about, say, stock-car racing. The fact that you’re a fabric artist makes it just so perfect.

183. Sounds as if you have a tricky domovoi there! They start playing tricks on folks when they are unhappy… is all that sound equipment still hanging about? Try putting out some milk & cookies to make peace 🙂
     “…Traditionally, every house is said to have its domovoi. It does not do evil unless angered by a family’s poor keep of the household, profane language or neglect. The domovoi is seen as the home’s guardian, and he sometimes helps with household chores and field work (Kikimora, their wives, often help with the household spinning and knitting). Some even treat them as part of the family, albeit an unseen one, and leave them gifts like milk and cookies in the kitchen overnight…”
     Now, go crack out those oreo cookies.

184. Of course yarn can walk, otherwise how do you explain all the yarn in my house? Do you think I bought it? That would be insane. It just walked in here.

185. As an avid hockey fan from the U.S., I actually understood your hockey talk. And I know about the red poppies too. You have no idea what an accomplishment that is for a Yank.
     Glad you found your yarn.

186. Yarn can jump for sure, I’ve seen it! 🙂
     Glad you found your toe to be.
     I sent you an email Stephanie, could you please respond either way?

187. Just wear your cowboy hat – you’ll be fine!

188. Do you have a cat? They can get quite creative about taking yarn and hiding yarn.
     Al is right – wear the cowboy hat. You’ll be totally hip.
     Love the notes about traveling in Canada. I hadn’t thought that you don’t see people traveling with hockey gear anywhere else…
     Please. Please come to BC – we’ll be friendlier and funnier than you can imagine!
     I love the gift with the lighting magnifying glass. Brilliant!

189. You know… since you’re going to be in LA, care to swing by SD? Our air is better… ^_^ You know you want to…
     And be happy that Sam is taking your yarn. That means that she’s knitting instead of doing stuff like… injecting heroine into her eyeballs.

190. Surely the best way to find anything that’s been lost (anything, not just yarn) is to stop looking for it and to start looking for something else that’s been lost previously.
     The correct side of the lapel thing has got to be complete nonsense! I can’t believe anybody would give a stranger grief for wearing their poppy in the ‘wrong’ place (especially as TV presenters/performers have been wearing them tucked or pinned to all sorts of weird places if the have been wearing evening dresses). People usually wear them on the lefthand side but that’s only because the left side is the usual place to wear medals, broaches or buttonholes for a wedding. Anyhow, most of us just end up wearing a bent pin ‘cos that’s all that left after the poppy has dropped off and been lost in the street somewhere.

191. Ummm, what’s a butter tart; sounds delicious.

192. Everyone watching who isn’t hip – i.e., probably most of the audience – will madly fall in love with you if they haven’t already from your blog. As for the hip folk, they’ll simply be so charmed they won’t have a chance. Plus no one in the industry is prepared for someone being real, near as I can make out. So you’ll hit ’em three ways, Steph. Hat trick. You’ll be right in the house! (Gee, and I haven’t even rewatched Men With Brooms recently.) Alas, I don’t have cable, nor broadband if your ep gets on youtube – I shall be totally bereft. Woe, woe, woe.
     Yarn can’t walk…y’know, not half an hour before I got to your blog, I was listening to “I Can’t Dance” by Genesis. And I *swear* someone in my family used that phrase, “I looked on the ___, and there it was…gone!” Once both Dad and I had some things disappear on us. One minute they were out in plain sight, right in front of God and everybody, then we turned around, and pfffffft. We searched the spot where they’d been, below it, all around it, then the entire kitchen, with repeated trips back to stare vainly at the spot where they’d been lying – again, blatantly in plain sight. No luck. We finally gave up in disgust. Turned around again, and there they were, right where they’d started from. The whole episode was totally impossible. I think it was an obvious ploy by boggarts, or a black hole in the kitchen.
     When the universe doesn’t seem to want to cooperate and let things come back on their own, I’ve always found the following to be effective (even after I stopped being Catholic and turned pagan): Invoke St. Anthony, patron saint of lost things, by saying loudly, “All right, Tony, get your rear in gear, I need to find _____!” Works every time. I swear.

193. I LOVE the scarf Mairi is knitting. Would love to have a pattern. Mairi, if you read this comment, email me privately at jandj@defnet.com. I’ll be thinking of your scarf all morning at work, trying to puzzle it out!
     Thanks!
     Jill

194. Oh my! Mairi’s scarf is wickedly wonderful! It has my mind churning…lordy I already have 6 projects on needles! But it is sooooo cool! Humm my poppy gave me problems too…so I wrapped it around my necklace so I could keep feeling it by me…was happy in the crook of my neck…and kept trying to fly off my lapel….looked like a dork, but it showed my feelings and support!!! As for the ball of yarn…if it was my house it would have been one of the cats or more likely one of the dogs…we have a German Shephard who “collects” things like yarn and cell phones, you know things we have handled and have our sent on it…I now check his bed on a regular basis…humm unless he is fooling us and calling the poodle next door when we aren’t looking?!

195. Just as Susan above has, I, too, have recently been bitten by the “sock” bug, and … well… I must say that it’s all your fault.
     I saw your “Harloty” socks, and promptly ordered way too much yarn (can’t tell you how much… If husband ever finds out…) and am trying to finish the one pair first(not hard when you get to the yarn store only twice a year if you’re lucky, and only have one set of needles…).
     I’ve finished my first one, and in a blatant disregard for “SSS” I have gotten to the heel of the second, only to find that I cast on 72 stitches on the first, and 64 on the second.
     Result? I will have one sock bigger than the other!
     You are an inspiration to us all! Thank you!
     Vicki

196. Imps, sprites, gremlins (not the car) take things that you are needing right then and there and hid them. It is great fun for them. They watch us searching the house and laugh hysterically. We root through things, retrace our steps, think “I just had it a minute ago…” they (imps, sprites, gremlins etc) are rolling on the floor holding their sides.
     Every once in a while when I lose the car keys (again) I say a prayer to St. Jude or St. Christopher- St. Jude for lost causes, St. Christopher for anything lost–and eventually I will find it.
     Patty

197. Oh Jen…not true! There are lots of us Americans who know what a Chesterfield is and why and how a Poppy is used to honor Vets…and what a butter Tart is…

198. Oh Jen…not true! There are lots of us Americans who know what a Chesterfield is and why and how a Poppy is used to honor Vets…and what a Butter Tart is…Perhaps it is an age thing.

199. For the poor souls unsure of what a butter tart is, my Mom’s recipe. We think they are the best.
     2 eggs, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup corn syrup, 1 tbsp real butter, 1 tsp vanilla, pinch of salt, 1 cup raisins. Beat first 6 ingred. together until light and fluffy, fold in raisins, spoon in to pastry shells. Bake 20min at 400 deg F.
     Stephanie any chance you’ll be coming as far north as Timmins in the future?

200. I wanted to say what Ruth ‘way back there said about the definition of hip. But she said it really well and I’m glad she did.
     Hold your own on Knitty Gritty, Stephanie. Let your wonderful hair (which, by the way, I would choose in a second over this stick straight stuff I have to live under) be a reflection of the free spirit that is you. Don’t let them touch it!
     That show could use a dose of the sincere, the un-plastic. Your presence will restore the truth to the world that knitting existed before Hollywood discovered it. Spread your wisdom like a cloak over the knitting world and know that your fame lasts for more than fifteen minutes.

201. knitting is kind of cool eh?

202. Poor Sam, the yarn has it in for her!

203. It must be able to walk, because I am missing an entire skein of bright green yarn. I have its partner, the turquoise, but cannot find the green yarn to save my life. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment–how can it have just disappeared? I’m quite sure I’d have remembered using it because of the color. And really, other than babies, who do I know who would wear bright green?!
     I noticed it missing 2 months ago, have since reorganized the stash and it is still missing. I’m waiting for it to jump out of the sock drawer some morning.

204. Hey, Steph, in my knitting circles you are the HIPPEST…anyone thinking otherwise just doesn’t get it! Good luck in LA…Ruth in NJ

205. You cannot trust the judgment of teenagers who are living with you or directly related to you. They are biased by the fact that you have direct control over their lives, and want some means with which to influence you.
     You need to corner random teenagers who knit and ask them if you are hip.
     Besides, obviously the pixies have it in for Sam. She needs to truthfully re-evaluate your hipness.
     :-p

206. It’s “Nobody”. For someone that I never see, “Nobody” eats a lot of food, uses a lot of my stuff (and doesn’t put it back or puts it back broken) and makes his/her/its lack of presence remarkable apparent.

207. OK, I’m trying to fill this comments section singlehanded, but as a Canadian I found it interesting/amusing to take this quiz:
     http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_american_accent_do_you_have
     “What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland “You have a Midland accent” is just another way of saying “you don’t have an accent.” You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas.”
     Or somewhere else on the planet?

208. I’m so glad your trip to Eastern Ontario went well. Wish I had been there but alas I had other places to be and since I was paid to be there…well you all know how that goes. Everyone looked like they had a ball. Glad to hear the whole hair thing has settled down. I seriously didn’t know about the right or left side thing with the poppy..I just always wore it on the left. Decided though, that I will make, in some form or other, poppies for next year from some sort of clay ie fimo..or the likes. With a proper pin on the back so that I won’t lose it. (I’ll still put the $$ in the box though) Enjoy your next trip!
     (Doll in Stittsville aka..Ottawa West…only 3 miles for Yarn Forward where I’m heading today)

209. Hi. I apologize if this has been asked in the other comments…but will you please tell us when you’ll be on Knitty Gritty? I sadly do not have digital cable, so I can’t see that show. However, my friend has kindly agreed to record it on her DVR and transfer it to VHS to mail it to me!

210. I constantly have a similar problem. At the moment, because my 2 sons are small and race around like lunatics, I have switched to crochet, scared that they will race headlong into the long straight needles I jam under my arm so I can knit like the wind. I’d hate to impale my darlings because of my yarn habit.
     The other night (after all were in bed, as that’s MY time), I finished crocheting a scarf (working on stuff to sell at a craft fair). I put down my hook as I reached for the next ball of yarn & magically the hook vanished!
     I did the same thing – hunted high & low, cursed everything I could think of, lifted the recliner TWICE (from the front and back – as if that would make a difference). Shoved my hand down every nook & crumby cranny I could think of. etc., etc…
     I grew madder & madder – thought I’d have to go out the garage to get my other same size hook from the car in the pitch dark (stashed there in case the boys fall asleep – so I have something to do).
     Eventually I sat down, puzzled as ever, and scratched my head…There it was! I’d tucked it under my ponytail instead of just jamming it under my leg or something as I usually do.
     So – I’d wasted a good 10 frustrating minutes of precious crafting time, but I did find my hook without having to run the gauntlet of being grabbed by a passing bear on the way to the garage.
     I won’t do that again, or will I…?
     By the way – who cares if you’re hip or not, you have a cool book published, you’re a freindly, creative person with a great sense of humor and a blog which attracts thousands of readers a day! Who needs hip???

211. I’ve just recently discovered your blog – how could I have missed something like this??? Just goes to show I’m not on the same knitting level you folks are – I knit bits and pieces, mostly for charity, in what I like to call my “spare time”. Had to wade in though when it comes to poppies and other things Canadian. Paula posted above a great web-site for info about poppies – do check it out when you have a moment. A gentleman from the Royal Canadian Legion spoke on CBC (I think) last week about poppy etiquette – begin wearing one as soon as they are available, wear on the left side – closest to your heart – and at the end of the day Nov. 11 they should be destroyed. The Legion would appreciate you donating for a new one next year as these funds are very important to their work. As for chesterfield – yes almost the same as a sofa or couch. As for buttertarts – one of the divine foods – try them with pecans or walnuts instead of or with the raisins. As for hockey and curling – they are unique – can’t be explained, must be absorbed! Thanks for a great blog – makes me want to knit more – and I now have some additions to my Christmas wish list – books and yarn! Thanks again, Chris

212. I can’t tell you how many times my husband has switched the positions of the shampoo and conditioner in our shower and I’ve squirted out the wrong one in my blindness and had to squish it back into the bottle while swearing. That lighted magnifying glass is a perfect solution!

213. I know you can’t reply to all of your comments, but the ball of yarn falling out of Sam’s coat had me laughing to tears. Very, very funny. I’m going to go grin a bit more…. I enjoy your blog very much!

214. All I have to say about hip is that the truly hip people have gigs with standing room only. Um, yeah…that would be you.

215. Reading your blog reminded me of the FIRST argument I had with my husband…I could not find the lining to my raincoat, searched high and low, tried to think like me (heehee) and after accusing him of putting it away just to torment me. Forgive me, I was a new bride. I found it the next season in my hope chest to which I had the only key…ummmm. yeah. Now I start the “where is it?” conversation with the conciliatory, “I probably put it somewhere myself, but, can you remember seeing my XYZ?” That’s what 31 yrs of marriage taught me.

216. I have the perfect remedy for your hair and it is so cheap, buy a jar of mayonaisse, depending on the length of your hair, you might want to consider the big jar, that is the one I buy. Basically, slather it on and take plastic wrap and wind it around your hair. Wrap a towel around your head and sit and wait. The heat from your body will help out. After about 20 minutes, shampoo your hair and rinse. Style your hair as usual. It is a cheap conditioner that will help flyaway hair. It does work. It also works well on stressed out hair and you don’t have to spend a fortune on hair care products. 🙂

217. Will you make any other appearances in or around LA while you are doing the TV thing?? Pretty please 🙂 I would love a good dose of ‘home’…

218. Not only can yarn walk, so can FOs.
     I made this: http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e111/lindydiva/CatnipSpider.jpg
     …and it crawled away on its own! (So did the bag of unstuffed catnip snakes. They slithered away.)

219. Yarn, like socks made from yarn, children, and cats can enter and exit at will the Alternate Kitty Cat Dimension (a.k.a. AKCD). For more information on this bizzare phenomenon, check here: http://trekcelt.blogspot.com/2006/08/theoretical-physics.html

220. Dear Stephanie, Don’t worry about the hipness of Knitty Gritty. You will fit in just fine. I have noticed that Vickie Howell seems to be a very nice & friendly person.
     Good luck & I will be looking forward to seeing you on the show.
     <>< Karianne

221. woah, woah, woah… butter tarts are a breakfast food?! why didn’t anyone tell me? well, now i know what i’m having the next time I don’t have any food at home and need to buy breakfast at the cafeteria…(and here I’ve been having eggs and croissants and bagels with cream cheese…)
     and i’ve so gotten over missing Ottawa (moved to Guelph few years ago)… but now I’m missing the Museum of Nature! 🙁

222. I both head the fiber arts club at my high school and am a regular viewer of knitty gritty…my knitting peers and I have reached the consensus that you are DEFINITELY hip enough for that show (you knit, what else do you need to be cool?).

223. BTW, I tried the accent quiz as mentioned by Judith (above) which was fun but it thought I was very clearly from North Jersey or New York City. Interestingly, on the odd occassions I’ve been there the general populace hasn’t been able to understand a word I say and have thought that I was Scandanavian. (I’m English with a northern accent).

224. Do you have a CAT? Mine is an experienced yarn thief. She also has good tasted, prefering pure wools to acrylic.

225. As you work on your self-sabotaged project for Knitty Gritty, I sadly got an email from a lady on the show that I didn’t make it onto the list of “knitsters” for the episode. This saddens me, I thought I’d get to knit with you and ask how the Super Sticky Post-Its and Peet’s from Los Altos are treating you. Sad, sad, sad.
     However.. this is also amazing because turning away knitters is one step closer to world domination. 😀

226. [IMG]http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j6/Caffinna/cartoon.jpg[/IMG] is a cartoon that reminded me of you and your lotion incident….lol, hope you like it.

227. Oh Steph, you don’t have to be hip. We’re not hip (okay, well, I’m not hip). You’re one of us, the unhip. And we love you. The world does not need more hip people. It needs more real people, passionate people, so the people with the pointy sticks are the happy people. Shall we all put lotion in our hair for solidarity?

228. Stephanie, if you don’t like your hair flying around, why don’t you just grow it a little longer and braid it? Or pull the top half back (Princess style, my kids always called it), and braid _that_…half the volume, immediately.
     If you don’t like the look you have, go for practical 😉 (but I keep thinking your hair looks fine…you are the only one who doesn’t like it…well, and your daughters, but they are teens. I heard that they outgrow that, but my dds are 14 and 16…)

229. And about the Poppies… remember Sting’s song, CHILDREN’S CRUSADE, “Poppies for young men, Death’s bitter trade…” aha…the connection is made…

230. Mairi’s scarf looks really similar to the one in vogue knitting. check it out:
     http://www.vogueknitting.com/

231. I have moved to a new country and for the first time in my life saw no poppies this November – the whole thing was just ignored – and it’s a dominion country too. It was sad not to stop and pause as a nation and remember our dead.

232. I just about spit out my coffee when I saw you put up the elephant pic! Thanks for not mentioning the guage issues in the half-knit baby cardigan he’s also wearing. (Saeed my dear, it’s for you. In about 5 years, apparently. So keep growing, kid.) Humiliation has never been so much fun – come back soon, Stephanie!
     To the other Canucks, where can we see this Knitty Gritty show? Does the “DIY channel” appear anywhere on Rogers’ cable spectrum? When do I need to clue -er, I mean tune – in?

233. It really is a bummer that you don’t have as many knitsters as you want. I even got some amazing beer stashed for the occasion, but I’m happy to hear that the prior gifts have served you well. However, I do have the contact info for the woman in charge of assigning knitsters for the show, should you want to pull a favor in the name of ale and fibre. 😉
     (Apologies if this got to you twice.. I’ve no idea how to reply to MovableType emails.)

234. I’m Mohawk and we blame the untimely disappearances of items on *whispers conspiratorally* ‘the Little People’. They take and hide those very precious objects in the wierdest of places for…fun, I guess. (I’m really not sure if they are supposed to watch you tear your house apart with glee) I once found my wallet on the top shelf in my cupboards, I was living alone and I couldn’t even reach up there!
     But anyway, you can blame them, it may save a member of your household, your sanity, and especially your time since you know the lost item will turn up again….eventually.

235. My yarn hides too. But not as well as my books 🙂

236. I’ve just discovered your Yarn Harlot books. Oh boy ….. it’s just like reading about me!! (except that I’ve never knitted socks – sorry. I’ve knitted babies’ booties, but that’s not quite the same becaue of the back seam. ) I also have never mastered the art of knitting on more than two needles and I struggle with a circular one too.
     However, I do have a stash which even get knitted into sometimes. I also have different leagues of stashed wool – the stuff I can’t wait to knit up, in fact it’s a shame to knit it because then it’ll be gone; the stuff that was too good a bargain to miss but is a little bit boring and the beautiful but expensive stuff that I am nervous about using – silk for example.
     At the moment I’m using a cotton yarn with bits of glitter – very pretty, called Patons Flower Garden.

237. Dear Stephanie,
     I just recently learned to knit (if you call my first dishcloth that is shaped somewhat like Africa, knitting). However, I have been crocheting for thirty years. I have often explained to the unknowing that the two activities have only YARN in common.
     I, even as a crocheter, loved your meditations book.
     I bought several copies for my friends, knitters and crocheters alike.
     We are ALL sisters in yarn!
     Keep on clicking, I must find an EASY hat pattern….

238. I had to learn how to knit socks in school. Thinking back I don’t know how it didn’t put me off knitting for life! The worst part was learning how to “turn” the heel!

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