You all may have noticed that I rack up the frequent flyer miles pretty good. The upside of this is that I have friends all over. The downside of this is that my friends are all over. Rachel H. and I have both been privileged to enjoy a lovely (mostly) cyber friendship with Rachel’s fellow professional commenters, Rams and Presbytera, and we missed them. Presbytera’s very nice husband suggested she grab Rams and make a run for the border, and Wednesday morning bright and early they did just that. They made record time from Michigan and by dinner time, it was me, Denny, Rachel H, Rams and Presbytera drinking and eating in Kensington Market.
I can’t tell you what a lovely time we’ve had, despite me needing to pull back the kauni cardigan (again) by 7-8cms.
Note: The beers in that picture are not all mine. Admittedly, some of that beer is mine, but certainly not enough of it to justify the bone-head mistake I made in the sleeve. I plead distraction by my fine company.
Rachel, Denny and I tried to show them the best possible knitterly version of Toronto. We took them to the Lettuce Knit Knit Night.
We took them to the Romni sale. We got Rams a plate of poutine, we drank local beer.
We went to the bead stores on Queen West and picked beads to go with our new yarn….
(All of us. It’s was like a lemming convention.)
We went BACK to Lettuce Knit, we took streetcars and subways and city buses. (Knittiing the whole way.) We had a very decadent dinner in my backyard, where I made a plain pasta dish and a very boring salad, and Presbytera made spanakopita and baclava and Rams made a pie and WE ATE IT ALL. We drank wine and knit under the backyard twinkle lights.
(I have no idea why in this picture for this moment they are not laughing. I swear we were having buckets of fun, but I have failed to capture the moment. )
We got up and went to St. Lawrence Market. We ate lunch at a pub.
We went to St. James Cathedral and we took sock pictures under the web of some enormous urban art spider.
Then we bought them butter tarts and sent them on their way.
I miss them already. May I suggest, if you don’t have some already, that you immediately cultivate some knitting friends? Friends who want to go to yarn stores? Friends who want to sit and knit and see your patterns? Friends who just move the yarn in the freezer to put in the spanakopita like it’s perfectly reasonable? It’s simply, fantastically, the best.
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one.”
-C.S. Lewis.
Dude. I am sitting up at 10:55 at night watching a model life drinking wine and knitting alone.
I need some good quality knitting friends like that. My online knitting friend must be in bed already.
Sigh. I am a sad, sad girl.
What a delightful time you had. I am glad it can *some*times be all knitting all the time. And that you choose so graciously to share it with us.
Aldo delighted to see you will be in Houston and I am actually in town. Let’s hope i can make it to the big show!!
well, that was just a lovely post- thank you!
I so want to come spend a yarn day with you. What a perfect knit-friend day!
and ya know… it wouldn’t be THAT hard to make Toronto be on the path home from St. John New Brunswick…really….
Gee first comment? Sounds like a wonderful time!! I am thrilled on my end because I can come see you in Burlington , MA in 2 weeks. WOW! Am I excited about that….should be good, the lady who answered the phone wondered if they can fine enough chairs….hey I can do the floor just fine, just let me in! See you soon! Wendy
And it appears that I shall be missing you in Burlington, MA, since it’s in between two 15hr. work nights. I suppose I’ll see you at Rhinebeck, though.
One of the things on my Knitting To Do list this year is to see more of my knitting friends. I’ve tried to arrange more spontaneous meets without trying to co-ordinate everyone’s schedule for every date.
And in September I host a knitting-themed wedding shower for Karen Alfke (http://www.2ndesign.com/ ). I look forward to meeting more of the local knitters I don’t yet know.
It’s such a large community, especially here in Seattle where we have lots of great stores, indy yarn dyers, an active Guild, etc. In a world where it so often seems much too hard to make those personal connections a shared enthusiasm can be such a great first step.
It looks like y’all had a great time. And how could you not with the friends and the yarn and the beer and the food and the beads. Did they, by chance, see the bad squirrel in your back yard?
I envy the bead store. I haven’t started the mystery shawl yet because I am having the hardest time finding beads locally. Errr…
That BEAD STORE! There are no words!
Won’t you tell us what the knitting mistake was on the sleeve? Pleeeease?
I feel for you on the sleeve…but what a great time you had! That bead store looks great.
Sounds like a lovely time (even with the ripping back)! Knitting friends are indeed wonderful to have. One of mine has a standing offer to do any ripping for me that I find too difficult (emotionally) to do myself. Aw, isn’t that sweet?
Thanks for sharing your wonderful times and friends with the rest of the world. I have one special friend I like to knit with. In fact, she got me back into knitting after years of not doing it. I’m half way through Clue 2. I find if I knit with too many people on the MS3, I make too many mistakes. So Sunday we’re going to see the Minnesota Twins play…somebody?…and a Stitch and Pitch. I’m bringing my wool and angora mittens. Can’t hardly screw them up. 😎 (P.S. I really enjoyed your visit to St. Paul, Minnesota.)
“and a good time was had by all” Very nice post.
Okay, you had me at hello then I saw the pics THEN I saw the ending quote which summarized that which I had already surmized(sp?) Yep, you hit the nail on the head. So happy that you had a glorious time!
Oh, yes. Knitting friends are so fine! That was a lovely essay.
I have one or two online crochet buddies, but they don’t live close… (pout) But hey, WHEN ARE YOU COMING TO SOUTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA?!?
And you should she Carlisle’s Infinity Beads. They have some absolutely gorgeous beads… (drools)
You’ve inspired me to get with my friends more often. Thank you!
And that bead store . . . I’ve never seen the like. I don’t think I’d ever leave. (Except for yarn and fabric. And maybe food.)
Yep – knitting friends are the best.
I made some great friends when I saw you in Portland – even though I live in Phoenix – the PDX Knit Bloggers was born during your appearance at Powell’s and they let me be an honorary PDX knit blogger.
It’s great to just sit and knit and talk and show and tell and touch. With people who UNDERSTAND.
Thanks for bringing us together.
Barbara’s right, our group was born during your last visit to PDX (inside joke!) and it’s absolutely the BEST knitting group ever! Pretty please promise you’ll come play with us next time you’re in the Great Pacific North Wet?
Sounds like a great time. Hopefully they will be able to come back soon.
Looks like a wonderful time and I’m thrilled to know that the lovely rams exists in the real world, but all I could think through this whole post was “Damn! Rachel’s hair looks great!”
Oh how lovely, and what fantastic tour guides y’all are. My fondest hope is that a Canadian knitting/blogging friend of mine will one day come visit so I can do that kind of thing in my own hometown (er, home megalopolis). Thanks for posting about your grand day out; it was a pleasure to see.
What fun you looked to be having – and what a bead store! Holy cow, how could you ever decide?
Remember, three’s the charm. The Kauni cardigan should be safe now.
rofl! “Friends who just move the yarn in the freezer to put in the spanakopita like it’s perfectly reasonable?” Now THAT is a friend!
What a wonderful day you had! I wonder sometimes whether to envy you, or feel sorry for you. I mean on one hand you have all that yarn you’re always talking about, but on the other hand, you can’t say “Really I NEED this yarn.”
BTW, I read your book Knitting Rules, and WOW! Your little trick to avoid ladders, saved me. I love it, it works and I love it. I can knit socks now!!! I could never get rid of the ladders before. I could have pulled my first stitch with a winch attached to the tractor and still have a huge ladder. How’de you get so clever? Is there some knitting smarts herb or something? You get a BIG smarty smarty smarty – pants from me on this one.
Holy cow is that a bead store! I love the last pic of all y’all – you look so happy.
Sounds like a great time! Did someone mention lemmings?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/91821907@N00/811616267/
There are no friends like girl friends….especially knitting girlfriends! We are on the road (we live full time in our rv) about 11 months of the year and I miss my girlfriends more than my grown up kids! Glad you had a chance to get together, thanks for sharing.
Lovely. I just popped my head in here on my way to bed, fresh on the heels of answering a flurry of mails from my own knitposse set on arrangeing our participating in the Stitch ‘n Pitch. Yep, indeedy, it’s a grand thing to have a bunch of friends who automagically wait for you to finish that one more row before shaking out their car keys.
(Oh, and Rachel? Rockin hair colour, sweety.)
*sniff* Ahh, I love this. Friends are all that, aren’t they? Tonight I was at our knitting meetup and being one that rarely gets to attend the dinner type of meetups, I was the last one to leave. As I sat there chatting with the next to last leaver we agreed that knitting is such a nice bond that makes us instant friends with all other knitters. We all have something in common and it feels so very cozy.
Ahh… I needs to get me some knitting friends. Sounds like a wonderful time!
It was so nice to see your guests and hear about the things you did/drank/ate/knit/bought. From those of us who lack knitting friends and yarn shops, thank you for sharing!
I am having all my knitting and (I actually have some)non-knitting girlfriends out for food, drinks, and fun for my 40th this week. It should prove to be a splendid time as well. Wanna come?
Wow…sounds like you had a great time. I wish I had friends who liked the fiber crafts. I will be in Burlington too….alone. Hopfully I will meet some of the girls here online. Can’t wait to see ya….
It sounds like you had a great time… I definately need some knitty friends!
That bead store epitomizes the reason I call bead stores the black vortex of doom. They suck you in unless you hold on tightly to the door frame! And bead knitting? There is no hope there!
Thank you. This was a really tough day for me, and you reminded me of the solid, lovely, and completely miraculous love of friends.
Calling all knitters in South America — let me know when you are in Quito!
Now I feel really stupid, but all this time I thought that Denny was a guy!
What a wonderful hostess you are! And Kensington Market–visit it every time I go to Toronto. Great fun!
I love my knitting friends, near and far.
Beads! You would think we had enough with the beads already here in South Louisiana, but. No. We don’t.
My husband has often tried to derive the =exact= amount of Cherokee in my DNA based on the amount of trading I do involving beads, baskets and such.
Well, you certainly made me miss my bestest friend who lives 14 hours away. I so miss our “crafty do nothing but enjoy ourselves” days.
And WOW! to all those beads!!
I have a friend that I do that with. We go shopping, knit, and make dinner. It’s great fun. But when we just sit down and knit and start talking about knitting together, the other people leave the room and say “Let us know when you’re done!” XD
Isn’t it wonderful…
To friends and knitting – may we ever be entwined.
Looks like a lovely day.
I just realized that I used to live one street over from Lettuce Knit. That picture of you all knitting, I know that view. Can’t remember what that place used to be. How astonishing.
Beautiful. Thanks for that. (Hey, didn’t Lene blog that spider art sculpture thing too?)
I love that CS Lewis quote. I’m going to a knitting-baseball night next week with several fellow biology geeks. It’s so amazingly wonderful to have people with whom you can geek out about whatever you’re interested in, and they’re just as excited about it as you are. What a treat.
I feel totally blessed by the people and friends that I have met online. I am a stay at home mom of 4 and I don’t know if I’d have any adult conversations at all if it weren’t for finding an online community of other crazyed stay at home moms to talk with. It is still an absolutely amazing thing to me….that thing that happens when you have friends who get you. Even if you don’t live in the same city. Even if you never meet them “in real life”. There is much comfort for sure in knowing that you are not alone. Thanks for reminding me of that.
I am so jealous! To have knitting friends drive all that way to spend time with you! Can I come next time?
That’s a lot of beads! (glad you had such a good time with your mates)
What a lovely party! I have, actually, cultivated some knitting friends–but they’re all online. The minute i can hop a plane to Oregon, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, London or Australia, though, baby, I’m there!!!
I have met new and interesting people through knitting, some on-line, some ‘in the flesh’ so to speak. It makes me feel part of a big community !
Three cheers for girlfriends!
My husband calls my knitting friends ‘the enablers’. (c: Some of them started out as my beading friends. I think we recognize the crow in each other and enjoy fluffy or shiny things in our nests.
Then I cultivated a knitting group at a local bookstore … my knitting friend cup runneth over. I highly recommend it.
What a wonderful time! Knitbuds are simply the best. What did I DO before knitbuds?
Oh what a nice post, and what a bead store! I shudder to think of how much money I could spend in a place like that LOL! I’m so glad that you got to have a couple of knitter girl days. I have a group of fiber friends that I hang out with each Friday afternoon. What fun! Several of my friends are amazing knitters and are very fast and very productive. It’s so inspiring to see what they’ve made, and the speed at which they do it. It’s just too cool. Everyone should have friends like that! Now, if I could just get you to stop torturing me by mentioning butter tarts all the time! (I’ve recently managed to get my hands on some squeaky cheese curd so you can’t torture me with that too!) I haven’t had one in a long time, (we’re talking at least 7 years here) and I just love them. I’ve never found a recipe for them so it makes me homesick whenever you mention them. (I grew up about 30 miles from Canada and spent lots of time in your lovely country.) Now if I could just find a recipe………….
So great to see you all together having such a wonderful time! You’re all just *shining*. I had to stop myself from waving at the monitor, and yelling, “Dudes!! So good to see you!”. 😉
Barbara and Bobbie are right – we have you to thank for inspiring the PDX Knit Bloggers, and our first meet was a *blast*. If we get Kathy to bribe you with samosas and Kelley P. to wave yarn, can we kidnap you for some food and beer and knitting frolic next time you’re here? We’d promise JaymeTWP and Powell’s not to wear you out before your appearance. Well. Not *too* much. ::innocent look::
(Or maybe we should simply chip in for plane tix and hotel and invite you to come just to visit, relax and actually see the place. There’s surely enough of us to make it feasible, right ladies? [veg])
and that is why I am hopelessly addicted to knitting blogs… and why I cry when I read them.
I have no local knitting friends. I knit alone.
its ok. really. I am ok. I have the yarn harlot. she is my knitting friend.
wow. a whole gaggle of knitters. and beer. and even food. like a fantasy!!!!!
That’s lovely – I love that quote at the end too.
I’m not a knitter, I’m afraid. I’ve tried, I really HAVE tried but I just can’t sustain it. But my bestest pal is a knitter, and despite not having that in common (and she’s tried to get me to knit, she really has – and I produced one scarf that I am VERY proud of), we still get on a like a house on fire – other things in common, of course.
I know she loves knitting and I UNDERSTAND, because I LOVE…. wait for it… it’s not cool but I love it…… church bellringing!
To friends! What a lovely post.
What a great time! I am SO fortunate to have many of my knitbuds within a 50 mile radius.
Friends are priceless.
When I go to Toronto, will you tell me where that bead store is? Lettuce Knits I can find on my own, the wool fumes will guide me.
Love that quote, what a truth it is.
Making good times. That IS what it’s all about (whether making good times with ‘good’ or ‘bad’).
and I am love love LOVIN’ Rachel H.s hair!…you know the colour, the curls…
Yep, I’ve got knitterly friends, they are just the very best.
See?? I told you they wouldn’t notice that your hair was bad or that you hadn’t vacuumed if you showed them your knitting!! That kind of friend is a true treasure.
And a PS to Dyepotgirl – woman, hie thee to Google and search “butter tarts”. You’ll find a ton of recipes! I had to stop after checking out about 4 pages’ worth. 😉
I am relocating next month an hour closer to Boston, but an hour further from WEBS! I can only hope to find some lys and knitters in the Worcester, MA area. Thank you for showing that knitting friends are willing to go the extra mile (or hundred).
I’m lucky. I didn’t have to look far for a friend like that. She’s my sister! (spitting at you Maxine!!)
It looks like you had a lovely weekend. The C.S. Lewis quote was great too. Inspiring.
Stephanie, I DO have a group of knitting friends like that – because of YOU! When you came to St. Louis I was ungodly early, but one woman was even earlier. She and I knit and chatted and over a year later we are still friends and we do all of those things – the shopping, the eating, the sharing. If you hadn’t gone on tour I would have never met her or her other friends who warmly welcomed me to their circle. Thank you so much! Except now they’re trying to get me to spin and weave and adopt an angora bunny and if I have to buy a house to hold it all, I’m holding you partially responsible. 🙂
Knitting Comraderie is The Very Best. Just back from Meg’s 2.75 Retreat and it was wawn-dehr-full. I miss everyone and the time spent together dearly. Thank you for sharing your time! (Well, the parts of it that are publishable!)
I popped in as we leave for Cobourg to hang out with our antique car friends.
It’s nice to see such fun. And now I know where I want to go if we can make a side trip to Toronto. Thank you.
Knitting friends like that are lovely. Except that you have to count your skeins of silk again once they’re gone. (Did they dare?? You *do* have a really nice stash…)
That’s a lovely Lewis quote, but the rest of that chapter is even better. 🙂
Yes, Yes, Yes. A friend (or friends) who share your love of craft is soooooooo good to have. One of my friends — who I met through a bead society — has a car (we live in NYC) and we often go on craft/art/fabric store treks in the surrounding suburbs. After concerts, etc., we stop someplace for tea/coffee and sit and work at our crafts while we talk. Life at its best — good company and enjoyable activity.
I am a solo knitter, so I taught 2 of my three daughters so I would have someone who understands to talk to. I don’t mind knitting alone, i listen to a book on my mp3 player and it is peaceful but I would love the talking and laughing and knitting that goes on when two or three or more like minds meet. The only local (southern new jersey) groups I found are restrictive and have rules about food and drinks and such-no fun. I will keep looking and someday I will have my knitting group to hang with.
ahhh knitting friends are sooo hard to find in these parts!
What a fabulous night! thanks for sharing!
Um, you wouldn’t, um, by they way, know the name of that bead store, um, now would you?
Stories like this are a treasure. Thanks for taking us along…
I love that quote. So true. Also true that we need knitting friends. It’s lonely to finish something beautiful and know no one in your house will be as impressed as you are.
Wow. Knitting friends. I have my sister, who I taught to crochet several years ago, and who I’m trying to teach to knit right now. I’m in Kansas, she’s near Chicago, so we have to wait until one of us can visit the other, and then wait until my 3 boys are otherwise occupied. But, seriously, yarn and beer and friends who like yarn and beer. That should be a commercial for either yarn or beer. Wasn’t there some beer commercial that said…”It just doesn’t get any better that that” ? Or Mastercard…
gas to Toronto…$150
beer for 5…$25
knitting needles…$15
yarn…more $ than the gas
spending time with your best knitting buds…priceless
Awwww. Doesn’t that almost make you tear up? Or puke, one of the two.
Stephanie, in case you read comments down this far, stop reading here. Do not read the rest of this post, and do not click on anything to see what I’m trying to plan. Please. Hey, a shout out to those of you who are planning on coming to the Wichita thing…I had a little idea for our dear Yarn Harlot during her visit here. Please click on my name and read the post and let me know if you’d like to participate. Thanks’.
Ok, Stephanie, you can read again now.
Well that just sounds like the best time ever!
I can’t think of anything I would do differently.
I’m sorry I didn’t say hi to them properly on Wednesday night 🙂
Oh, what a wonderful visit. I am completely envious. And that bead store -!!! I can say with complete certainty that there would have been a very large “credit card incident” in there. So glad you had such a great time.
Looks like a grand time! I love my knitting friends. Thanks to knitting, I’ve met some of my favorite people of all time.
Looks like you had tons of fun. Just popping in to say I just bought the ‘Casts off’-audio-book and I really love it, your voice is really lovely to listen to.
Love the C.S. Lewis quote!
Sounds absolutely lovely. Great quote!
Ohhhhhh I miss my knitting, yoga, laughing, eating, darling dear Lorna…Thanks Steph…I am gonna call her and do some verbal catch up…cyber space is wonderful…but I need to hear her musical laughter and wicked sense of humor. Your so right….to have a knitting friend is to have a fiber sister/brother! Life is good isn’t it?!
…and I didn’t share my butter tarts with anyone.
(P.S. I got a great parking spot at the rest area.)
Ah, friends are good, knitters are better and girls from Michigan are the best! *not that I am biased or egotistical* And just that much more encouragement for me to ditch my annoying inlaws and head out with Laurie and Celtic Queen this afternoon (in guise of needing a sink or 2 from Construction Junction) and stopping by KnitOne. Hope the weekend is just as satisfying.
hmmmmmmmmm, that comment has struck a note with me. while i have some seriously fabulous friends, i don’t have any (that i can think of) “Knitting Friends”. i have cultivated a group of quilting friends and teaching friends (with some overlap between the 2 groups), and my non-crafty/creative friends are more than supportive with their awe in the face of whatever simple object i have currently created. but i have no knitting friends. how can this lapse have occured? i now have a mission and a purpose for this summer. 🙂
I love it! There is nothing better than finding those “someone elses” in the world that share your madness!
Great post about friends, I was just saying yesterday, that the value of a person is the friends that she has, if that is true, I’m a very wealthy person, I have the best freinds in the world.
Sounds like a grand time. I told my Mr. you had yarn in your freezer and he said you need a bigger house.
Awesome! It’s so wonderful (enabling?) to have Knitting Friends, and I’ve got a good bunch myself – I’m pretty lucky! Looks like you had a fantastic time with some of yours – yay youse!
How lovely for you! I read this nodding my head thinking of my fiber friends. I’m sending them the link in case they are too caught up in Harry Potter this morning to have read your blog yet. 😉
xoxoxoxox
In four days, I’ll be there! Yes!!!
Clearly, I need to spin more of my stash, because there’s no yarn in my freezer yet.
The sight of your crumpled Kauni pull-back makes me want to share this saying from my good non-knitting friend Nancy, who has watched me frog many an hour’s knitting at her Fire Island house, where no cars means plenty of gin and tonic:
“Friends don’t let friends knit drunk.”
As a non-knitter, trying to understand my knitting daughter’s obsession, I’ve been reading your blog (with great delight, I must say). I had no earthly idea what poutine was and had to look it up. It sounds positively delicious! Perhaps it is a Canadian version of our cheese fries? I know, I know, it is a poor comparison. I will be searching for cheese curds very shortly.
Thank you for your rapier wit and refreshing outlook!
How lovely!! It looks like y’all had a wonderful time.
I am totally jealous! Sounds like such fun everyone had. Love that quote, too. CS Lewis…so quotable!
What a fabulous visit!
Sounds like loads of fun!
And that bead store… oh my heavens! I have found NOTHING like that in my vicinity. I had to buy my beads for MS3 from Michael’s and they had a very meager color selection. Which may have been a blessing. I’m not sure I would have been able to settle on anything at your “beads from top to bottom and all around” store!
Oh man, that bead store. Or those bead stores! I can see if I visit my friend in Toronto, I need to bring lots of cash, and leave the plastic safely at home.
What a lovely day you all had!
You know, it’s posts like this one that make me think you must live in the best city in the world – you have so many places to take tourists, and so many of them are yarn related! If I ever swing by the area, can I let you know so you can tell me where to go?
With all of the recent misfortunes, you certainly deserved a wonderful “break”. Thank you for sharing with us. Whenever you need some loot for servers or stoves or whatever, why not auction off “a knitting day with the Harlot”? You’d make a fortune! Hope you have a good weekend basking in the afterglow.
What a wonderful time . . . how I miss my friends.
Thanks for sharing, Stephanie. And wow–I never dreamed there were bead shops with That Many Beads. Holy Cow. :o)
well, i guess i am not the only insane one. yesterday (friday) and the previous friday i drove 300 miles round trip to take a sock class. why? when i have a LOT of very good LYS’s in my town? because i could. and it was a beautiful day. and i got to meet some new people and support a very good LYS in an economically depressed area (i won’t remind myself that i, too, am economically depressed, especially after spending nearly $1000 there in 5 weeks — a total of 3 or 4 visits — and of course i have yarn coming out of the wazoo already, floor to ceiling in boxes in a room…) i so wish i could knit with you all. and, when are you coming to Akron/Cleveland OH?
See, told ya Michigan people were(are) nice and because our weather is not always nice(although I prefer a good blizzard to 99 degree weather) we are great knitters! And we are touching Canada in several places so we really are almost Canadian. I bet not one of them noticed a dust bunny.
Well! That’s a great recap of your knitterly/friendly time together. I’m only slightly green with envy because I would have loved to be there – I could have served and done the dishes because I’m sure I couldn’t hold my own in your company. Thanks for sharing the good times.
What, you too? I thought I was the only one who knew that particular C.S. Lewis quote!
I envy them all so much!!! But lucky for me, I do in fact know a great gaggle of gals who fit the bill perfectly 🙂 I can not believe all those beads! Yum…
What a lovely post. Thank you for sharing.
Online knitting friends is how I started going to NYC for my birthday. Most if not all of them have moved away from NYC but I’m still going for my birthday. Luckly my kids are coming with me and hopefully a feel knitting buddies will meet me there.
Then this Tuesday night I get to see a ton of knitting people I have never metat the San Francisco Giants Stitch n Pitch. Go Barry!!!!!!!!
I knew it!!! I totally deduced who was coming to visit. Clearly, I spend way too much time here. What a clever, funny bunch of ladies you had assembled there. Talk about mega-watt fun potential. What a fabulous visit!
Oh how I wish I had friends like that close. I have wonderful yarny, knitterly friends all over, some I know in person and some I don’t but I sure don’t get to enjoy their company like that often, if ever. It would be nice to have someone over that doesn’t bat an eye lash over the yarn, everywhere and that want to look at it. But the down side, you have to pat them down at the door before they go! It looks wonderful and relaxing and fun.
I’ve been trying to cultivate knitting friends both in person and online. I’ve only known a couple of people who knit and they treat it like a secret vice. I just don’t get that.
It’s encouraging to find so many people online at least.
So when are you even coming near South Central Pennsylvania? I’ll check out that bead store and possible run into Cat the Crocheter, as soon as I am ambulatory enough to drive a stick shift. Once again? Are the sleeves going to match?
Delightful friends, delightful post.. Thanks for letting us join you.
Just perfect ! Lovely. Sigh…
I have decided to ditch all of my non-knitting friends in favor of those that appreciate my love of the fiber arts (except my sister). LOL
I’m so tired of being misunderstood. Additionally, you’ve given me an idea of a Toronto yarn crawl i was thinking of doing on my own.
Oh dear. I wish I had knitter friends. I talk my friends’ ears off (and my co-workers, and customers where I’m a cashier, and my professors via my term papers, and and and…) about yarn overs and sock-making, but no one really cares. I make them nice things to lure them in. I try teaching them to knit. I did convert my mother– which is nice and all, but I could use a knitting friend my own age.
In summary- you’re very lucky!
Isn’t it wonderful to have a tribe? Cannot wait to see you when you get to Seattle.
That C.S. Lewis quote is one of my favourites. I suppose that doesn’t say much–I’m a sucker for a good quote. Still, it has popped into my head so many times when I’ve been making new friends. Just last Tuesday at the Halifax Knit Out Loud (http://halifaxknitters.blogspot.com–you should have heard the hubbub when the date of your visit was confirmed!) the ole “What? You too?” refrain came up as I met another one. Perhaps it’s not surprising to meet kindred spirits at a knitting group. 😉
I work at The Loop LYS in Halifax, and I’m thrilled that you’re going to be able to make it to the Maritimes! Your camping/biking/general muscle-straining visit of yore warmed my heart to read about. Thanks for fitting us in!
I am glad you had a great time. You guys looks like you had so much fun. I need to get some knitting friends too. Although, I did take my non-knitting mom out to the Midwest Fiber and Folk Art Fair today and she is quite the enabler. 🙂
Have a great weekend.
There y’go, y’see. Knit friends – the best. I Only just started to cultivate mine this week (after seven years of being in Australia I finally found an online Melbourne group!!!) and, already, I feel like I couldnt live without them. I’ve already had them help me find ways to knit around my ‘two under two’ kids (what were we thinking?)and got that warm-all-over-glow feeling by helping someone out with a knit problem. Love the Lewis quote. Love you. Keep on keepin’ on, Ms Harlot.
Through an odd yet tragic twist of fate, I found some online friends. Who became online knitting friends. Who became real, true, drop-everything-to-get-there-now friends. I’m over a thousand miles from them, and some I haven’t met in person (yet!), but our joys and our tears mean just as much to each other.
Muggles don’t understand that knitting is really just a way of spending time with your yarn, yourself, your friends. They don’t understand that never seeing someone in person makes no difference when you’ve read their blog for years.
There’s a reason why the term “close-knit” was coined.
friends. wine. knitting. laughter. food. knitting. beet. perfect. cheers to that!
Does life get any better than that ? Friends, laughter , good food and drink , yarn , bead stores and touring. Oh my I think not. Thanks for the post
Now that is a testament to friendship – blogging just to brag that you have wonderful friends (grin) and the upside – they will read this and know that you had a wonderful time and that you really are all great friends. Thank you for sharing! Happy Knitting. (I really gotta find a way to meet knitting moms with crazy kids running amuck!)
What a fun time you guys had. Thanks for sharing. We have a group that meets at work on Friday’s and it just keeps getting better and better. I’ve gotten to know quite a few knitting folks through it. And yesterday, someone even sent out a recap of the gathering! I missed it so I was glad to get it. Like I always say though, I sure wish you were my neighbor!! You always have so much fun!!!
Looks like a good time was had by all.
We have a really good group here in Detroit. We either get together in real life or follow each other’s blogs faithfully.
Lee Ann is coming!!!!!
Rachel H. you didn’t tell me.
(note to self restock fridge at work)
There’s a fridge at work?!!!?
What a great time! You are so right! I found a knitting friend 2 weeks before moving 250 miles. Now I need to find some more! I know it would make a lovely difference in my life!
Once again, thanks for a great blog!
It’s such a coincidence that you posted that this weekend. My knitting friends and I had a huge get-together this weekend in Illinois. Our excuse for getting together was a Fiber Fair/Festival, but really we just enjoyed getting to see each other. We had people from as far as England, Oregon, Maine, and even Canada. 🙂 It was lovely, and I miss them all already.
Your post was lovely but – Boo hoo! – I haven’t got any knitting friends. [sniff sniff] However my muggle friends do appreciate my knitting and I love to see them oh and ah all over it esp the felted clogs. tee hee. Still I long for some understanding and knowing knitting friends. ah Heck! It’s been too hot for knitting anyway. In the Fall I resolve to pick up some knitting friends.
(PS My sister is picking up some Kauni for me in Germany – I hope she can find it!)
I have no knitting friends either. How do you all find each other? I’ve taught several people in the hopes of creating my own group of kitters, but they all dropped the ball on me.
I can see it now… a knitters seeking knitters section in the personal ads!
How lovely…..
I need some knitter friends (sigh)
What a great post!!! What a great couple of days and great friend photos too. You have an amazing circlue of knitting (& drinking) buds!
You’re so lucky to have such a wonderful group of knitting friends. I have yet to find even one friend, let alone a group of friends, who would be content to sit and knit, or talk about knitting.
No knitting friends here yet, but I’m sure I will fine some that don’t think I’m freakish someday.
And if you want to raise more money for TSF/DWB, raffle off a weekend like you just gave your girls, and watch the tally zoom off the charts!
It looks and sounds heavenly, Steph!
Good times!
Knitting friends are the best! They don’t mind snippets of yarn clinging to the seat of their pants when they leave your house and don’t think you a poor house keeper for finding piles of stash in the corners!
Knitting friends are priceless. I had had my life completely scheduled from Thurdsday to Sunday this past week. Within a span of a couple of hours it all fell apart. I was quite bewildered about the whole series of events until I got a phone call from my dearest friend, a knitter btw,
who desparately needed to get together. We had a perfectly lovely day at the park knitting, lunch at a funky resturant, visit to the farmer’s market…I am positive the “universe” rearranged my overly busy days to spend one quality day of knitting with my anam cara! As they say..”priceless!”
My sister, my friend, the only one who doesn’t yawn at my yarn…lives with millions of sheep in New Zealand while I remain in Canada, sheepless and with friends who nod off when I talk about “the wonderful yarn from Norway…just look at it!” You made me cry. And you made me transfer more money to my savings account so I can go visit her.
I have friends whom I meet to knit with, and I have online friends whom I’ve never met. The last round of Secret Pal brought me in touch with Kim (http://yarnyoldkim.typepad.com), who I spoiled rotten because we had so many freakish things in common. She lives a bit away, in NJ, and I’m already trying to figure out how the hell I can get there and hang out with her. She commutes to NYC every day, and I’ve never been to NYC, so she says she’ll take me. I can’t wait! I don’t think she can, either. Isn’t it funny how the WWW brings us all a little closer??
What a wonderful time you had. I met a knitting friend from one of your posts. Joan who sent you the wooden sock suitcase for socks in progress. I ordered one from her, then we started to email, have MANY things in common and my husband and I are now planning to drive to PA from KY to visit them. What a wonderful bond a pair or set of knitting needles can be. The need to create something with your hands is so wonderful. What a shame everyone can’t experience that. When I read the C.S. Lewis quote after your post I immediately thought about Joan. Thank Steph! You’re the best!
You are my most quoted knitter. I have a small yarn store and always include a quote on the front page pertaining to knitting. Your statement about knitting followed by the CS Lewis quote will be on the front of the fall newsletter. I am in total agreement that friendship and knitting are indeed a pique experience.
How I envy you. I have tried to get a group together here in Lancaster, PA but so far, no luck. Yarn shops don’t have the space either. There must be avid knitters out here. Any ideas on how to find them?
Love ya, Judy
Personals: Knitters Seeking Knitters.
Stevie – Where do you live? I’ll be your knitting friend! I invite all others seeking same. Email me: heavydutydesign AT gmail.com. I’m in Vancouver, Washington – spitting distance from Portland, Oregon but also travel to SF Bay Area quite a bit to visit family. Where are all the friendless West Coast knitters?
I was at a rock festival with a knitting friend this weekend, and at a moment she asked me if I thought she was weird for walking around looking at people’s clothes and thinking about yarn types. Not even then did I dare telling her that I did the same thing, only that I took secret pictures of the knitwear I saw. Is it really not just me???
Love meeting knitters live and online, maybe we should start using some secret sign so we can recognize each other on the street?
You read C.S. Lewis???? How awesome. I picture him with a pipe in a handknit sweater….
Knitting friends are just the best…..
what a lovely, lovely, wonderful time. that sounds just fantabulous.
would you mind sharing the secret of the yummy pattern that was used for the fuschia shawl on the gal in the front in the first picture? i’ve been looking for the perfect pattern and that one is gorgeous.
now i’m back to reading HP and marking all the places where they mention knitting. does anyone know if jk rowling is a knitter? (sorry to be random)
This was the perfect post for me to read right now. I’m about to hop in my truck, which is already loaded with yarn and a sewing machine to go see my favorite knitting friend. We’re going to have dinner, sort out the yarn to share, and then go see a film together.
Isn’t it just the best to have knitting friends! We already have plans to come see you at the LA Public Library in September. Life is good, but life with knitting friends is even better. 🙂
Where on Queen are the bead stores??? Near Romni? There is a million beads in those pic’s just waiting for me!! I go into T.O. often enough to go to Kensington and Romni so the bead store would just be one more stop. Thanks!
Hrm…there should be some sort of knitter pen pal things. That could be fun.. ;p
Sounds like a great visit, yay for knitting friends! And that C.S. Lewis quote is pretty much my life mantra. 🙂
Knitting friends sure are the best, aren’t they?
What a great time you all had!!! Knitting friends are the only ones who understand our very real obsessions!!!! Do you realize just how lucky you all are to have such a fantastic bead shop to visit?!?!?!? We have NOTHING in our area and I am just drooling over the selections you had to pick from! Severe bead lust here!!!!!
I’m planning a trip east next year. Planning to spend time in Toronto for absolutely no other reason than yarn crawling. What (in your opinion) would be the best time? Between July and September…
I’m so jealous! The backyard dinner sounds delicious.
thank you stephanie.. and through your help (your talks) i’ve actually made friends (while standing in line)! we email pretty frequently and are trying to meet up again in person.. 🙂
I can totally relate..My Knitterly friends brought lunch to the hospital/rehab where I’ve been a good portion of my life the last 5 weeks with my Mom…and today, we ate and knit…pictures to support this on my blog..Happy Knitting~~..and it sure would be ultra awesome for you to venture to Southwest Virginia..yep..we knit here too~~Knitterly Hugs
Knitting friends are the best, and you did it up right. At the moment, however, I am fixated on the beads. I have never seen so many in one place. And, excuse me, did you say bead storeS? “Honey, I have to go to Toronto to go bead shopping.” Sounds perfectly reasonable, don’t you think?
I get to have a Yarn day tomorrow…I have been comissioned to speed knit a shrug for a friend and we need to pick the yarn out tomorrow!
I love buying project specific yarn!
I think we’re sort of ALL “knitterly friends” but having local ones to do stuff with? Oh yeah. My friend comes over once a week for what we call our Knit Night (although she crochets). It IS nice to have folks who understand “lemme just finish this row”…. and I LIKE the “knitters looking for knitters” in the personals, too.
It was fun to meet the commenters on the pro circuit at Lettuce Knit (even if RAMS didn’t recognize me 😉 ).
You sure know how to show international knitters a good time!
Dude. That is awesome. I miss my knitting/crafting buddies! (I just moved about 6 weeks ago.) I haven’t had time to meet new folks much at all, and it’s times like these that I realize how precious my friends are, crafty or otherwise. 🙂
And that rocks – Presbytera and I should try each other’s baklava and spanikopita. Knitting AND phyllo baked goods?!?!? *drool*
Cheers!
Yarn shopping in China just was not the same without my best friend. I was so excited to go, but once I realized I had no one to share the joy that is a Chinese yarn market, it was kind of depressing.
You are one lucky lady!
It looks like you had a wonderful time. Thank you for sharing it with us! I have three knitters in my pack – my sister, my cousin, and a very dear friend. They are my knitterly lifeline, and I am thankful everyday that they are in my life.
You guys are so damn cute. I love it.
I’m still adjusting to the idea that others feel the same way as I do about strings and things. I’m not sure I am up to meeting them personally yet. Its a big jump going from only string nut in my world to the community atmosphere knitting has. I’m quite sure I’ll get there. Its just going to take some time.
I am getting to know the nice LYS ladies really really well though. I’m pretty sure her banker is starting to know me.
Lucky, lucky you! What a fabulous time you had!
Sounds like loads of fun.
I’m blessed to have knitting friends who include not only my neighbor, Wendy, but my sisters. Our husbands are wonderfully patient but that might be that they learned from my Dad on how to deal with a knitterly kind of woman. Gee, I wonder if my grampa shared the lesson with my Dad?
This is totally unrelated to your post but I just wanted to thank you for your One Row Handspun Scarf pattern. I’m knitting it now out of my very first ever handspun yarn! It’s very exciting. And your pattern makes even my not so perfect yarn look pretty darn good. Thanks for sharing it!
Finally people who understand! Just yesterday my husband gave me a funny look when he put his half-eaten milkshake (the fact that there was still half left is a whole other issue!) in the freezer and couldn’t find room because I just stashed a new bunch of yarn in there…
Uh, this is probably a stupid newbie question, but why does one stash yarn in the freezer? Do you just run out of room everywhere else? THAT I understand, but I suspect there’s some scientific reason of which I’m unaware.
Wow, sounds like fun! I’m joining a knitting group tonight and hope to hit it off with them. Plus tomorrow night is the Stitch n Pitch night at the SF Giants, I have a few friends going but most aren’t knitters, but I’m bringing my the scarf I’ve been working on! Wish there were more fun fiber folks like you out here in the West. Any visits to San Francisco planned?
Do enablers count as knitting friends? Mine are quite happy to point to pictures in magazines and say “I like that, can you make it for my (whatever) gift?”. They’ll even come along to select yarn – but none of them knit!
I am not asking about the yarn in the freezer. Although I’m certain there’s a perfectly rational explanation for it.
Looks like a remarkable weekend. I could use one of those myself!
Knitting friends are truly the best. Only they do get you to spend loads of money!
I count my Sisters Of the Wool as my best friends.
There are so very, very few better ways to spend a few days than with friends like that!
What a perfect, perfect quote.
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I was this close to travelling from Cambridge to Lettuce Knit night that Wednesday. On the the Tuesday I had made my first trip (husband in tow) to Lettuce Knit to get wool for his new sweater. I also dragged him to Romni and the bead stores on Queen St. I needed MS3 beads after all.
But alas, he wanted to play golf, so I was stuck here with the munchkins. I will make it there one Wednesday this summer. I will!
I need friends that understand about wool.
“It’s was like a lemming convention” I love it!
Great quote, I adore C.S. Lewis.