Four years of screwing up knitting

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I was working this morning, writing, knitting, writing, knitting (taking short breaks to think about how much cleaner my house would be if I ever substituted “cleaning” for “knitting”, then having a little chuckle to myself about how unlikely that is) and then I had a very nice phone call with a friend I don’t talk to very often (and thinking about how much cleaner my house would be if I ever substituted “cleaning” for that sort of thing too.) and right thereafter I came to landmark place on the Vintage sock. Once the inlaid toe business was out of the way, this sock has flown. I knit the plain bit, then started the embossed bunch of grapes pattern, and was absolutely delighted to discover that this part was entirely, well. Delightful.

1Stgrapepan2301-1

The chart makes it a walk in the park, and there’s a pretty cool “make 4” to start the bottom of each grape and an equally charming “decrease 4” that rounds off the tops of them,

Somegrapedet2301

and the whole thing was a pleasure. Now that I have knit it, I can smirk without fear of retribution about how easy and fun it is. (I refrained from blogging yesterday about how I was knitting it without difficulty. Considering my track record with this sock I think the thing would have been unable to resist the urge to spontaneously combust or burst into a million wee snips of yarn just to rub my face in it.) I knit half the grapes, knit the “inverted wine glass heel” (again, a pleasure. Not a single misplaced stitch.)

1Stwineglassheel2301

and today I decided, that with the worst of it behind me I could blog about how truly beautiful it is, and how I’m having such a good time that I have almost forgotten that I still have about a billion leaves left to knit and a whole second sock…

Halfvintsock2301

and with that I remembered that I have a deadline on these bad boys, and I went to the calendar to check and see how much time I have left. (Five days, but lets not dwell on that. It’s not the point.) While I was running my finger down the calendar and trying to sort out what day today might be (I have a loose relationship with the passage of time) I saw that my blogiversary was coming up. Then I sorted out what day it was and realized that TODAY is my blogiversary.

I’ve missed it in previous years, not being someone who’s big on dates in general (which is really good, since I never know the date) but having discovered it by accident today, I wanted to take a minute to mention it, and to convey to you my most sincere and heartfelt gratitude.

Thank you.

I had no idea what this blog might become when I started. No idea. Ken gave it to me as a Christmas present (probably thinking that it would be really great for me to have some sort of outlet for my knitting angst that didn’t involve his phone ringing) and it turns out to have been so much more than a way to find other people who worry about buttonholes at three in the morning. (Although, that’s really great too.) I feel like I really found a community with knitting in general, and this blog in specific, and as someone who has never really fit in very well, I can’t tell you how much that has meant to me. I’ve always struggled with the fact that I’m rather undeniably a dork (Don’t bother arguing. I direct you to locking myself out a hotel room, dropping a shoe out of a window, and an encounter with a turnstile as proof….this isn’t low self-esteem. It’s self knowledge.) and while that hasn’t changed…I appreciate with my whole dorky self that I’m welcome here in the big blog world. It’s like finally sitting with the cool kids in high school… and my gratefulness knows no bounds.

Time flies when you’re screwing up knitting.

513 thoughts on “Four years of screwing up knitting”

  3. And you always make us guffaw with the last line! If that’s dorkitudinousness, I can only aspire to that level of it. Happy blogiversary, Stephanie!

  6. What about a link to that hair spider that scared you so much on one of your trips? Now THAT was dorky!
    Thanks for your blog. It makes me laugh; it inspires me; it’s 100% legal. Few other things meet all three criteria.

  9. Happy Blogiversity!
    I have really enjoyed your blog, from beginning to end. Your spinning is divine, your knitting is unparalelled, and your humor is inspired.
    Thank YOU for such entertainment!

  10. thank you for letting me giggle, ok, so more likely snort laugh, and get so enthused over knitting socks people just shake their heads at me…..long live dorkdom…..

  12. You’ve no idea how much I held my breath while you were discussing the sock!!
    Happy Blogiversary – thanks for sharing!

  13. Thank you! One of the things I am enjoying so much about blogging is that all of us dorks can be dorks together, more or less, and it’s all good!

  14. You may not know it, but you and I are on a first-name basis…thanks to your blog! Thank you for the giggles, and the knitting tips, and for introducing me (us?) to the Rockin’ Sock Club, among other things. Happy blogiversary! 🙂

  16. Thank you so much for sharing your life, knitting and all the rest. Your adventures & accidents make all of us feel less alone in this crazy world. It means a lot. Happy anniversary!

  20. Happy blogiversary!! To me you are the cool kid in the class. I aspire to be like you!!!

  21. A word in your ear, lamb?
    You still don’t fit in.
    You stand out.
    Happy Blogiversary to =us=.

  22. We like you too! Isn’t that nice? By the way, I’ve passed on your cat-tail-in-the-bath-water photo to several folk – I hope you don’t mind. I also noticed the empty toilet paper spindle in the background. My semi-adult daughters also seem unable to put a new roll on. WHY!?

  23. You are not a dork (well, not amongst your peeps.) You are the cool kid we aspire to be, taking all sorts of amazing knitting projects, and yet, when something just doesn’t quite behave (not enough yarn to finish a sleeve, the dreaded plink of a needle go bye-bye, your swatch lying to you) we know that you are as fallable as we are, and you give us hope.
    Dorks don’t invent words that become part of the lexicon…often.
    Happy anniversary, and the sock is truly beautiful. You are Knitter, hear you roar.

  27. Happy, happy blogiversary!
    I also have a loose relationship with the passage of time. And I knit, too, and make mistakes of many varieties, and have to meet deadlines (an interesting concept for the passage-of-time-challenged). So it sounds as though we are sisters in dorkiness.
    ~Priscilla in MI

  28. Wouldn’t it have been great to know, back in high shool when we were not sitting with the cool kids, that someday we would be doing this – knitting, reading your blog, and feeling totally OK with the whole business? Happy blogiversary, Stephanie. And thanks.

  29. It’s funny that you mentioned how it feels like sitting with the cool kids in High School. When I met and hung out with you all day during the Toronto Crawl last year, I went home and bragged about hanging out with the “Ultimate Cool Kid”!

  30. Happy blogiversary! And thanks for making the last four years a laugh, a learning experience, and a true joy.

  31. No, now *you* are the cool one that *we* all aspire to become! The things you tackle with such humility and grace are an inspiration. Your humor, and your wonderful writing style keep me going every day!
    Happy anniversary!

  33. Congratulations! May you blog for many, many more years.
    Your blog has opened up a much wider knitting community for me than I ever imagined I’d find. Thank you!
    And, just a thought: perhaps it’s not so much the cool kids as a group of folks who are dorks together who finally realize that being a dork is okay (and makes for great stories sometimes). 🙂 Just sayin.

  35. Take a minute and visualize the “cool kids” from high school. Now picture them as they likely are today.
    You are WAY cooler than that.
    Happy anniversary, sweetie. You’ve made the world a better place, one plink at a time.

  36. You have me tearing up a bit. I relate to so much of what you write, frizzy hair and all.
    Happy Blogiversary!

  39. And your blogging has helped all the rest of us who have never quite fit in and are dorks, a great sense of peace that there are others on this planet who relate. I wonder how much housecleaning I would have done if I wasn’t reading your blog every day….snort……
    Congrats and thank you!

  41. Coming out of lurkdom – Happy blogiversary! You inspired me to knit socks, there is no way that is dorky – THANKS!

  42. It’s a landmark day—Happy Blogiversary! Thank YOU for sharing life with us, the dorkiness and all. It makes us all feel as though we’re the cool kids 🙂

  43. Congratulations!
    Hee, hee, I was in the “IN” crowd in high school, and I have done unbelievable dorky things in my lifetime.
    You are not alone!

  45. Thank you, Stephanie, not only for the laughs, knitting knowledge, and glimpses of your life, but for making the rest of us feel “normal”!

  46. Happy Blogversary, Stephanie! I’m celebrating by beginning at the beginning (January 2004) and catching up. It’s March 2004 now, and you have a lovely snowdrop shawl.

  47. Not usually sentimental, but reading these comments is a bit like reading someone else’s Christmas cards: all pleasure, all smiles- I’m kvelling, for sure.
    And speaking of, pleasure is what you have given all of us, who hit hard spots in the day and click you on (you’re on my tool bar, darlin’) and suddenly things aren’t so grey.
    Thanks. Happy Anniversary! And many more!

  48. Happy Blogiversary!
    I think it should be we who thank you: while you talk about “finding” the knitting community among the rest of us, I think you are in large part responsible for creating the knitting community for the rest of us to share in. We were all out here, of course, but didn’t quite know where to turn to find the other person in the world who was worrying about buttonholes in the middle of the night. And we never knew it could be funny to worry about buttonholes at all. Frankly, I just thought I was wierd, but now, I’m part of a community. So Thank You! And many happy returns of the day!
    -Holly

  49. Happy fourth anniversary, your Harlotness. I say you celebrate by ordering yourself some yummy sock yarn.
    Thank Ken for all of us, would you? Apparently I have him to thank for all of the entertainment your blog has provided; reading this really does make me feel sane, and I’m far happier for knowing there are other people in the world who delight in the weirder aspects of knitting, as well.

  51. Happy Blogiversary!
    You make us all feel very normal, we are truly ‘kindred spirits’. My son insists that I need to have some sort of intervention. The knitting thing is getting kind of out of hand. But when I told him I actually made some money from the sale of some of my work, he kind of changed his mind. (I did not tell him how much I have spent yarn to earn this meager amount….it’s better he doesn’t find that out:)
    Tina

  52. Happy blogiversary! I mostly lurk, so this is a rare comment–your company & good cheer are always inspiring, thanks so much. I always read your posts on computer woes out loud to my personal tech support/husband, also named Joe! I hope you go on, and on, and on…

  53. Happy Blogversary!!!! Here’s to many many more!
    And the sock looks really cool. I can’t wait to see what it looks like with all the leaves on it. 🙂

  54. Even better than sitting with the cool kids (I’m only guessing) — on this day, your blogiversary, you are Queen of the Dorks.

  55. Happy anniversary of the blog. I started reading your blog around the time your first book came out; someone recommended it and said if I wanted to try before buying I should read your online work. I’ve been reading it ever since. It’s a significant part of my day (what that says about me, I will ignore).

  58. Happy Blogiversary!
    I went back and read your first entry. You were a hoot from day one. I wish I had half your wit (and more than one reader of my blog!).
    BTW, the next time you tour Seattle, I owe you a homebrew beer from my hubby. I gave him a homebrew kit for Christmas, so his obsession would match my own. It’s working!!

  59. Those socks just don’t look comfortable,(they are beautiful though) with the grape leaf stuck on the toe. Let us know about that.

  60. Well, from one “dork” to another then, happy blogiversary! 😉
    And the socks are just turning out beautifully! I’m so glad they’re finally cooperating for you and not giving you any more troubles!

  61. I remember buying a copy of KnitLit on a holiday in the US 4 years ago and starting to read it in the car with tears absolutely streaming down my face as I read the very first story. It was all about skating while knitting with white acrylic yarn and the inevitable chaos that ensued – I still read this one often and always cry with laughter. Well it took me 4 years to find and catch up with your blog and it has been an absolute pleasure in sharing it all with you and I feel so much at home when I read it and all the comments too. I even started knitting socks which I swore never to do and have joined a sock club here in the UK and got my first parcel this week – very excited. So thank you for bringing all this into my life when all around me at home and work think I am decidelyh eccentric (and I feel much better about my stash too!)

  62. You are the cool table to some(most) of us! I cannot tell you how wonderful it was to discover your blog and realize that my feelings about yarn and knitting were not insane!!! (well maybe they are but at least I know that there are other insane people in the world too now)!! Happy Blogiversary! …….and many more!!!!!

  65. Happy Blogversary, my thanks go to Ken for giving you such a wonderful christmas present, that lets us all share your knitting adventures.

  66. Happy Blogiversary!
    I want to thank YOU and your blog for inspiring me to knit (crochet? what is that?). Last February–two weeks after finding your blog for the first time–I was rejoicing at my first garter stitch scarf and today I’m working on my second, and much better fitting, pair of toe-up socks. I admire your willingess to knit almost anything. By the way, acrylic has gone the way of the crochet hooks and I now have a pretty respectable stash of natural fibers. All b/c of the blog.

  68. Dearest Stephanie,
    First, Happy Blogiversary! Like everyone before me I want to thank you for making me laugh when your life/knitting turns against you–because mine is always nipping at my heels too.
    Second, thanks for giving us dorks and nerds a place to call home. Where else does everyone understand about the fantabulousness of colors and fibers except in blog-land?
    Third, thanks for making me laugh enough to be brave to knit my own first pair of socks. And on an airplane, no less. Right now I’m sitting on an island in a sundress knitting my first socks in worsted weight cotton and nylon because even I’m not dorky enough to knit wool in the Caribbean. (Sorry to those freezing in Canada and the US. My husband made me come.) Wool socks are next. They’ll be worsted too for clog wearing but then I’ll be brave enough to use tiny needles and skinny yarn.
    And you, Dear Harlot, have made me brave by sharing your yarn troubles. Thanks.

  69. Happy blogiversary Stephanie! Through this blog I have learned the wonders of Elizabeth Zimmerman, Blue Moon Fiber Arts, sock knitting, and so much more. I’m going to try lace one day too! Thanks so much for your dorkiness.. from the lady who keeps forgetting the i in her name
    “dense”… what more can I say??

  70. Thank YOU for blogging and bringing us so much enjoyment and education. And Thank YOU to Ken for giving you The Blog.
    It’s amazing, I never fit in with the cool kids in high school but feel like I’m a member of the crowd here. Dorks-R-Us!

  71. I wish, wish, wish, I could so elegantly transform my temper tantrums and comedic misfortunes (of which I have a few too many) into anything close to the comic genius of some of your stories. I just re-read the turnstile post and I am weeping (in laughter) for your pain. I mean, I empathize but I also weep (in laughter, after the fact) at my own pain and life pratfalls.
    Thank you… truly.

  72. Happy Blogiversary!!! I’ve enjoyed your blog for a few years now and I can’t imagine it not being a part of my daily routine. Though I may have to stop reading it at work because the people in the cubicles around me are starting to think that I’m losing it from the laughing & giggling I do while reading your blog.

  73. Happy Blogiversary and Thank you! I don’t have a blog, but I am an avid reader of yours and really appreciate the time and energy you spend putting together a great story.
    You have almost tempted me to knit a sock even!

  75. Thank you for a daily spice to my life of knitting. I have been knitting for about 63 years and enjoy your conversations and antics that are so common to families and knitters. You may consider yourself a dork, but there are many of us out here to join you. It is called being human and definitely makes life more interesting for you and all of your friends and family! Your sense of humor is fantastic here and in your books.
    My grandson told me once when I was returning him home after a weekend. “Hey Grandma I haven’t got anything to tell Mom, you didn’t do anything stupid this weekend!” I enjoy your blog. And those socks are sensational. Happy blogivesary

  76. Can a knitter REALLY be bothered with life’s little complexities – like what day it is? Still, it comforts me to know that you – the crystal ball of my knitting experience, are still screwing up knitting.

  78. Happy Blogiversary! It’s such a big thing, to bravely go forth onto the Internet and invite people in. I feel the same way–wow! my tribe IS out there somewhere! Thank goodness for the wonder of the world wide web.

  79. well goody gum drops
    i like the white ones myself
    you give a lot of yourself and
    we all feel it and respond in kind
    you are the woman who lives across
    the fence and when you come out
    in the yard we all like to say
    could you help me with my knitting
    we could have a cup of coffee
    and just chat a bit iff’n you are not busy
    many happy days many happy years tjours gai

  80. No, thank you, Steph. You are the cool kid and we are the dorks who pray you will one day let us knit at the table with you. Through you I have found my passion again and am buying a yarn store (because when you own all the cashmere, no one can tell you not to touch.) Thank you for welcoming me into the community of Knitters with a Capital K. Happy Blogiversary.

  83. When I am not knitting, I teach high school. Take my word for it–the kids who were cool in high school are busy trying to lose 75 pounds, to post bail, to find a minimum wage job, to quit smoking, etc. How sad is the life that peaks at age 18! All of us dorks and nerds are busy having a great time, doing whatever we like and pretty much ruling the universe. Happy 4 years of blogging–it is a real community. You have inspired me to knit more, to knit ambitiously, to knit fearlessly. Thank you. Now you would be perfect if you didn’t screw up its and it’s (or is that some Canadian thing?).

  84. Woot! Happy Blogiversary and congrats on turning your this site into such a brilliant conversation on knitting and life! My whole family always knows what I’m reading when I spit coffee into my keyboard.

  85. Strange. I started reading your blog archives about a week ago (Just like a novel without having to remember to go to the book store) and I had just reached your 1 year blogiversary when you posted this. Congrats!

  87. Happy Blogiversary! Keep up the good work, reading your blog has inspired me to do many projects as well as kept me entertained as I finish up grad school!

  88. Happy Blogiversary! I started reading on the first day of the knitting olympics and haven’t been able to stop! You’re inspirational and fun to read.
    (raise a glass) Here’s to four (and more) years of Yarn Harlot!

  90. Steph, you ROCK! Thanks to your blog and ‘Knitting Rules’, I can knit one heckuva sock. I also sympathize with the whole getting a thigh stuck in a turnstile thing — I’m the dork that got her ear shut in a car door. Happy Blogiversary!

  91. Thank you for 4 years of rib splitting humor mixed with knitting. Though I don’t know if my computer thanks you, it doesn’t like coffee snorted on it from time to time.
    Bon Anniversaire to your blog!

  92. Anniversaries of any kind are a prod for us to look back and reflect on what a long strange ride it’s been; where we were a year, or x years ago; and who knows where we’ll be this time next year! (I’m sure you wouldn’t have predicted you’d be knitting grapes, but I expect you’re not surprised either.) Thanks for sharing with us, Steph. We love it!

  93. thank you for sharing your world, you really are not dorky, or at least any more than the rest of us
    just pre ordered your new book i can’t wait!
    peace

  95. you don’t know how important it is to us mere knitting mortals to know that even you screw up your knitting upon occassion and the treasure is that you find a way to laugh at yourself in the process.

  96. HAP-py anniversary!
    We’re the cool kids sitting in the back of the bus (or on the wheel well?) laughing and knitting and dropping stitches over the big bumps!

  98. Happy, happy Blogiversary! You’ve been such a big force (the biggest, probably) in shaping this online knitting community which means so much to so many. So thank YOU!

  99. A most happy blogiversary to you!!
    I am proud to be a member of this knitting community with you.
    And, thank you for the inspiration you share with all of us!

  101. “…this isn’t low self-esteem. It’s self knowledge.” I am stealing this quote. It’s how I feel everyday. I’ve always called it self-deprecation, but self knowledge is much better!
    Happy Blogiversary. I’m happy to have been with you this past year!

  102. The world would be a sad and poorer place without you and your blog! And think of how the Medecins sans Frontieres would be poorer as well. You and your blog have made thousands and thousands of people better! thank you.

  104. You can’t see them, but the plot bunnies who make my fan fiction possible (and my life hell) are singing Happy Blogversary and tossing confetti around the room. So, a very Happy Blogversary to you, and thank you for making knitting and the general dorkiness very very cool.

  105. Happy blogiversary!
    I raise my needles in celebration of your four years of dorkiness displayed on the internet and look forward to many more.

  106. Happy Blogiversary! If your a dork, than we’re all right there with you 😉 Keep the knitting inspiration and keep up the great posts!

  107. 1. Happy Blogoversary!
    2. The Blog says “you’re welcome.”
    3. The Blog says “thank you” to Ken. Turned out to be a great present for all of us.
    4. Um, I guess we don’t need to add the use of hand lotion as hair conditioner?
    5. Really cool heel.

  108. Nooooo…thank YOU! You and the other bloggers I read fuel my knitting drive. It makes it less lonely and much more enjoyable!

  110. He, he… Congratulations. I would like to take the opportunity to say that I enjoy reading your blog a lot and that I am happy that lately there have been more knitting stories than there had been before. I like that very much.

  111. Happy Blogiversary from another person you can claim learned to knit in large part because of you (if you want to, which some days/projects might be debatable *grin*). It was your _Knitting Rules_ which gave me the courage to not worry about making mistakes or doing things right, but just keep trying.

  113. Wow…rams said it all with breath sucking precision, “You don’t fit in, you stand out.” You are a marker, a lighthouse, a vortex. Thank you for sharing your life, your passion for people and for all things wooly and creative. Happy Blogiversary.

  115. Happy Anniversary, and thank you for all the wonderful stuff you write. The sock is beyond gorgeous, and I especially love that heel.
    As my Jewish grandma would say, “wear them in good health!”

  118. And we are very glad to hang out with you. You’re one of the cool kids didcha know? (although I blame you when my partner asks why I have so much sock yarn)
    I really like your blog and your stories of socks, kids, socks, Canada, socks… Happy blogiversary!

  119. Happy Blogiversary!
    Beautiful sock – the inset leaf looks wonderful!
    Thank you for sharing your toils, troubles and triumphs – it’s good to know we’re not alone.
    Cheers!

  121. Stephanie, you totally Rock! I love your blog, your books, and the fact that you have inspired me to start my own blog, and knit SOCKS!!!!
    YES!
    Have a great Blogversary!!!

  122. As far as dorks go, I don’t imagine too many of them have infatuated fans who lurk behind the yarn racks in the Twisted Yarns shop in Spring, Texas, whisper, pant, and point “…there ‘she’ is…the Yarn Harlot!”
    Happy Blogiversary. Ken’s gift continues to be our gift.

  123. And, dear Stephanie, the knitting world owes you an enormous Thank You! for all that you have done: the inspiration, the imagination, the encouragement, the contributions. What? No Knitting Olympics? And MSF wouldn’t have been able to help anywhere near the numbers of people without you. And we thank you.

  124. You do realize that no matter how many times your kids tell you that you are a dork, you’ll always be a Knitting Goddess in our eyes, don’t you?

  126. Happy Blogiversary! I just recently discovered you, but have had a wonderful time catching up (not getting much work done, shhhhhh) and constantly wondering at how comfortable I feel in your world! Thanks!

  127. Happy Blogiversary, Steph! I’m kind of a dork too and the knitting community just seems to always look past that. Lovely sock, really lovely!

  128. Stephanie,
    Your blog has kept me laughing and smiling at work and home and has added so much to the whole knitting community, so right back at you Thanks So Much To You!!
    Devorah

  132. No, Stephanie, THANK YOU so much for all that you do. You provide (almost) daily entertainment and something for us all to look forward to. It makes me smile when I read it.

  136. Glasses held high, everyone….three cheers to Stephanie!
    This blog is the highlight of my day!!
    Kudos! Bravo! Etc., etc!!
    Happy Blogiversary!

  137. Congratulations on the blogiversary! *grin* That’s a great word by the way.
    Many thanks to you for inspiring me to pick up my needles once again and remember why I started knitting in the first place! (And no, it was NOT to preserve my sanity. That I fear is long gone. LOL)

  138. That’s a big day, Steph! Congratulations. I know that I for one am more informed and more entertained because you’re here.
    (And, really, that locked-out-of-the-hotel-room post is simply priceless.)

  139. Happy Blogiversary! Blog land is much better because of you 🙂
    Btw, the sock looks great! I love that heel!

  140. I wish I could reassure you that you’re not a dork, but my darling, you are. My very favorite one in the whole world. Happy blogiversary!

  142. Thanks for the laughs, the info, the tears, and more laughs, all along the way. The very first blog post of yours that I read was the Locking Yourself out of the Hotel Room post, and I was hooked from there. Happy Blogiversary! (ps….great looking socks!)

  143. Congratulations on your blogiversary. Thanks for telling us about your dorkiness as well, because I totally get it (being a giant dork myself). My fiance, who’s a muggle, absolutely loves your blog, too. You would certainly fit in with us!

  144. Stepanie. I just had to tell you you locked yourself out of your hotel room on my birthday in my hometown (though I no longer live there… but I think I WAS there…). AND, I used to work at Audreys books a thousand years ago when it was still owned by Audrey.

  145. Happy Blogiversary!
    I love reading your adventures in knitting, cats, travel and family life. Thank you for sharing with us!

  147. Well, Thank you too! – You and Elizabeth Zimmermann fueled an incipient obsession – so it’s your fault I have stash to the wazoo, a blog and too much knitting on my needles!!!!

  148. Happy Anniversary. I always tell my kids that the “in” crowd is really the “out ” crowd. You make me laugh soooo much,didn’t think I was going to make it through the UTI blog without having to pee. Here’s to many more books and successful knitting. Lorraine.

  149. Happy blogiversary! The sock is jetting right along. Please don’t think of it as being one of the “cool” kids. Think of it as acknowledging that the majority of us were and are regular people. Many of those same “cool” kids from way back when are still reliving their glory days when people were impressed by their stylish clothes, who they were (or weren’t) dating and other shallow trivia. I revel at being in the company of real people.

  151. Happy blogiversary – and thank *you*. The first post I read was when you were getting lost picking people up from the airport in a car full of knitting and wine; you’re a class act!
    (Nice sock, by the way).

  153. Happy Bloggiverssary! We enjoy all the little things… the amazing knitting, the jokes, the funny mishaps, and you sharing your knitting and other miscellaneous moments with us.
    Remember to us you are like the Rockstar of Knitting!

  156. As we keep telling the kids, it’s the dorks who grow up to be the cool people. At least I believe that, and I don’t care what the non-dorks say 🙂
    Happy blogiversary, and thank YOU!
    (The sock looks great, by the way.)

  158. Happy Blogiversary! I feel the same way about this wonderful community of knitters — the women (and a few men) I’ve met through my blog and my local SnB have become an important part of my life, especially in the last year and half as I’ve struggled with a divorce. Knitters rock!

  159. Woo Hoo!! Happy Blogversary!!
    Who wants to be a Cool Kid when we dorks and misfits are having so much fun!
    I’m sure there are other folks here who remember your pre-blog days, when you would post your stories on one of the knit lists. I still have some of those posts that I saved (in a folder called “Pearl’s Purls”) because I found them so hilarious! The earliest one that I have saved is dated August 26, 2002 (“Stash Overflow and Its Perils”) Still cracks me up six years later!
    Thank you for sharing your journey with us.
    Barbara L in MA

  161. Congrats on 4 years! I don’t post often but do ready always. It’s a wonderful gift to us that you keep sharing yourself with us. Thanks!

  162. And a true glorious four years they have been. Thanks for the trip down memory lane. I can now go back to work/school with a smile and secure in the knowledge that it just doesn’t always happen to me….
    Cheers Harlot and thanks!

  163. If being dorky means knitting with passion, writing with humour and honesty, (AND wearing Birks all year ’round), then that’s the club I want to be in!! Happy Blogiversary! Thanks for sharing yourself with us all, and helping us find each other in the process.

  167. You’re not only welcome in the big knitting blog world, but in the real world in I-O-W-A. Really, drop by anytime!
    Happy Blogiversary!

  169. You’re thanking us? You’ve got to be kidding. Don’t you know that you’re the reason many of us knit? Or knit in public? Or knit socks? You’re the one we turn too when we think we’re all alone and that no one else could possibly understand the problems of turning a heel at midnight. And then just wanting to get in a couple more rows.
    Four years. That’s really wonderful. But it’s us who are thanking you. For blogging. Honestly. About knitting, kids, remodeling, squirrels, cherries, writing, traveling, and so much more. Thank you for letting us peek into your life every day, or almost every day anyway. I hope you continue to blog away until it becomes a chore for you. Keep up the fantastic work. You’re an inspiration to knitters/bloggers/writers/moms everywhere. (Cue the inspirational music now.)

  170. I have always known that I was a dork. But not until I started knitting and found your blog (just recently)did I realize that there were others just like me and I fit in. The “cool kids” could only wish that they could have as much fun as we do.
    I think your blog is the greatest thing ever, and it has helped me feel less isolated and more connected with other knitters. Isolated as in I live an hour from the nearest yarn store and part of the trip is 5 miles on a snowmobile this time of year.
    Thanks and Happy Anniversary

  172. Happy Blogiversary.
    Socks are lovely. The heel is really spectacular… I’m wondering- as I have…ummmmm shall we say “cankles?” The grapes probably wouldn’t be flattering on me… do you thin the pattern could be knit plain with the leaves and insertion and fancy pants heel????

  175. Thank YOU for your blog and your writing. It’s people like you who have made all of us dorks feel welcome and safe. 🙂 My knitting has taken off thanks to your written word. And for that, I thank you. 🙂
    Beautiful sock. Keep on, keepin’ on.

  176. Happy to you! You are one of the two who inspired me to start a blog of my own.
    Not so sure I ever want to wade through as many comments as you get, but… 🙂

  177. I went back and read your blog about locking yourself out of your hotel room. I did that once, but fortunately I had on jammy bottoms, a T shirt, but no bra or shoes. also the hotel was filled with my co-workers, but I managed to get down to the lobby and get a new key without too much embarassement. the front desk knew immediately that I had locked myself out, I guess people locking themselves out of their rooms is pretty common (if that makes you feel any better).. Happy blogday. and thanks for all you do for all us needy/disfunctional knitters!

  178. Happy Blogiversary! Reading your blog is one of the highlights of my day. You share so much of yourself, along with all the knitting wisdom. And the sock is gorgeous. I raise my cup to you.

  180. Happy Blogiversary! I mainly lurk here, but I just wanted to say how much I enjoy reading your blog. Your a terrific writer and knitter. If you are a dork, you’re one of the most awesome dorks out there.

  181. Happy Blogiversary! I’m so glad you’re here. 🙂
    And, I think those socks would look awesome even without the leaves, just the blobby things going up the front of the leg.
    (also, thank you Ken!)

  183. As someone who has just recently discovered your blog (but has gone back and read EVERY entry, mesmerized!) I want to wish you a very happy anniversary! Your posts have opened my eyes up to the online world of knitting, and frankly, cracked me up. Your talent (knitting and humor) is amazing, and I am so glad to have discovered the Yarn Harlot!

  184. My personal favorite entry was the Hair Spider in the Shower Episode. I have told that more times than I can remember! Happy anniversary.

  186. Happy Blogiversary!! We should be thanking you as well for everything-you make me roll over in laughter (in a good way-laughing with you 🙂 and you have such a wonderful, natural way of writing-feel like we are having a conversation. Thank you for sharing your life and your knits with us. Socks Look Beautiful!!!

  187. Yep, rams said it. Happy Blogiversary, Stephanie, and thanks so much for everything! When I think of just the changes in *my* life due to reading you (and let’s not forget everyone’s comments you’ve provoked), as well as your books… Well. I can only be stunned at the thought of how many people you must have affected the same way.
    Not to mention all those bookstore owners. [eg]
    We love you dearly. Thanks for sharing. ::many, many hugs:: And Ken? Dude ex machina par excellence, man. Thanks to you, too.

  189. Happy anniversary, Stephanie. Before being directed to your blog, I never would have told a soul about my obsession for yarn and string things. I could not have explained it in a million years.
    Years ago my sister received a waffle iron for Christmas, and her sons called it the gift that keeps on giving. Your blog is like that. Gifted to you, but it given out to all of us in spades a hundredfold.
    Many happy returns.

  190. Happy Anniversary! And you are(and have been for years) the Cool Kid! Thanks for letting us dorky knitters get a laugh(not at you but with you), learn a trick or Six about knitting, and share in your knitting and family life.
    I raise my Double Point to you and hope you have many more years as The Yarn Harlot.
    I have seen you twice in person and couldn’t have been more thrilled if you had been George Clooney or Paul Newman. (now your kids are laughing I’m sure)! It’s like meeting the Queen.

  191. Happy Blogiversary!! From one dork to another…I love your blog, it ends up being that “crack up” part of my day that by the time I read it, I really need it! Thanks

  194. Thank You Stephanie, and Happy Blogiversary! You keep it real! It is great to share in your accomplishments, as well as your disasters. Here’s a toast to another year of knitting, family, and travel adventures. Cheers!

  195. Happy Blogiversary! THANK YOU for sharing with all of us your humor, your knowledge, and the ups & downs of your life.
    And Thank You for the fact that because of your inspiration, I’m sitting here typing this while wearing my very first pair of hand-knit socks for the very first time!

  196. As Scottie says in Lady and the Tramp, “Aye, ye have, laddie!” And I’ve enjoyed your company all the way. Keep on keeping on!

  198. A very Happy “Blogiversary” to you! And thank you for sharing all the ups and downs of your knitting — and life — with all of us out here.

  199. Wow, we’re at the cool table now?!!? I always wanted to be at the cool table, I knew I kept reading for a reason!!! Happy Blogversary!!

  200. Happy Blogiversary!
    I found out Monday that today I’d be cooking dinner for 18 people tonight. As well as your blogiversary, it’s my son’s 4th birthday today, and the family is gathering to celebrate. What, you ask, am I doing on the computer instead of chopping veggies? I love reading your blog, and checking to see if there’s a new post has become a welcome part of my day. Thanks for many, many well-spent coffee breaks.

  201. Steph– you are us, and we love you.
    And multiple thanks for your sock recipe. I’m on pair number two, and for the first time I have socks that gracefully hug my decidedly ungraceful calves, stay up, are not too tight around or too long and don’t scrunch up in my shoes. And even though they are absolutely plain in execution, the self patterning yarn makes them a joy to knit and astounds the children. My son cannot get my sock on over his heel. He is beside himself with envy over my “ooh, soft” socks. Ha! Mine, all mine!

  202. Stephanie,
    Happy anniversary! Your blog is so inspiring to me and helps be feel better about frogging the hat I’m knitting (once again). You have touched my life and I thank you.

  203. Happy Blogiversary!!!! I have laughed so hard I cried. Cringed when knitting went wrong and rejoiced when it was set right. It is you who have inspired me to try socks and tonite is my
    1st class! DORKS RULE!

  204. No, thank YOU for inspiring this diehard crocheter to take up knitting again!!! (And rediscovering just how fun and relaxing it is, then getting mom to bug me about various projects she wants me t’do…) And happy Blogiversery!!!

  207. Not only have you found the community that has the same issues (substitute “cleaning” for “knitting tiny leaves”), but you have encouraged that same community to go beyond simple knitting. Your excellent writing is always a pleasure to read. That’s why we feed you beer when you come visit us.
    Thank you and happy blogiversary, Steph!

  210. Happy Blogiversary! and may you have many, many, many more. Thank you for sharing your adventures in the knitting world and otherwise. You’re an inspiration to all knitters -newbies and experienced. Thank you, also, for sharing your patterns. The shawl and socks are on my to-do list. The cap pattern was used for cap and scarf sets as gifts this past Christmas.
    Like the sock. What a challenge!

  212. Happy Blogversary!! I hang on your every word!! I laugh at all your antics, and your cat’s, and your kids’. I revere all your gorgeous projects. But then, you know, you are my idol.

  215. Happy Blogiversary dear Harlot. And I thank you mightily (is that a word)! Yours was the first knitting blog I (or any kind of blog for that matter) that I stumbled upon 2+ years ago and it has opened up a whole new world for me…other people knit?!? Not just “old ladies”?…ahem, I now resemble that label 🙂 I no longer have to knit in secret lest people find out how_______ I am? So I say THANK YOU for opening the door on this wonderful community of knitters. yayyyy 🙂

  216. You’ve provided me with hours of great reading and more belly laughs than I can ever count. Have a sweet, sweet day, from one dork to another.

  217. All I can say is OMG over the locked out of the room.
    Glad I found you. You help me feel normal when I feel so odd for my love of yarn. You make me laugh when I want to cry. You touched me when I read your book and you told about being a doula. (Bless you for that! Mine saved my babies life! (and I’m not kidding)
    I look forward to many more years of your wit.

  218. I don’t usually weigh in on blogs, but I had to today– I so enjoy yours that it’s become a daily treat. I’m at the stage of knitting where stitches mysteriously wander in and out of alternate universes and circular needles turn into writhing boas, but I know I’ll get better and you are truly my inspiration. Plus you’re just a darn good writer and a person I’d love to call friend. Keep it coming!

  219. Oh Steph Happy Blogiversary. You should know how cool you made me feel last year at the Rhinebeck Wool Festival when I walked away with two books signed by the Yarn Harlot!! I was so excited I could barely believe it. You have helped make knitting cool again and helped found a community where we can all air our dorkiness without fear of someone snickering….and we do thank you for that! Many more years to come Steph!

  221. Happy blogiversary! You never fail to amaze, amuse, and inspire. I wish you could venture to North Florida; its very nice is February, when the rest of North America is frigid.

  225. You are proof of what I’ve always suspected: the cool kids aren’t the only cool kids. Plus: ditto what Ram said.
    Happy Blogiversary, and many more.

  227. You’re welcome! No really, thank you too. Reading not only your blog (and so many others) and your books has made me feel like a part of something too. Which is a good thing. A very good thing.

  229. And you have made me cool as well. I was sitting next to my way too cool 28yr old son on a flight to Arizona, when he showed me the New York Times article on new words in the lexicon. He says, “have you ever heard about Kinnear as a verb?” and I say, oh so cooly, “yeah ages ago, where have you been?” Thanks for that.

  230. Happy Blogiversary!
    Yours was the first knitting blog I ever read and you set the standard. You opened up a whole new world to me and introduced me to this awesome community.
    Thank you right back.

  231. Funny how time flies and stands still all at the same time when you’re screwing up knitting and threatening socks with bodily (yarnily?) damage.
    Happy Blogiversary!

  232. All of the above and then some!!!!!
    You bring joy to my day and for that I am grateful. And haven’t you heard??? Dork is the new cool!!!!! LOL
    Happy Blogiversary

  233. Comgratulation on blogging for four years. Who ever would have guessed what this would lead you to eh ? Knitting leaves into the toe of a sock , grapes up the leg and wine glasses into the heel.!!! Who would have EVER guessed. Good luck for the continuing success and satifaction of blogging and writting. You go girl.

  234. Dorks of the world–unite! I think knitters must be linked through some sort of invisible mind-string. We all think we’re kinda of kooky, but look at everything knitters do. Just look in your sidebar at that crazy money tally for Doctors Without Borders. Think about how many people drive for hundreds of miles and cram themselves into tiny spaces to hear you speak (just so you know–we’re all looking for someone really big and cool to tell us we’re not dorky). Knitters might be a little nutso, but really? Some of the coolest cats out there.
    I had no idea that today, while reflecting on my own dorkiness, someone else was doing the same.
    Happy anniversary.

  237. You had me at first blog-reading. I have enjoyed your blog so much, and it lifts up my spirits every time I read it. Thank you for sharing your talents–as a knitter and a writer.

  238. Happy blogiversary to you too. I’m awful with anniversaries too, since days of the week are just within my grasp. But it’s been a pleasant and brilliantly funny ride. Wicked funny.

  239. For everything we have done for you, you have done that and more for us. You feel almost a part of my family, and my life is truly better for having you in it. Happy knitting….

  240. Petal, I would never, even for a moment think to argue your dorkiness with you. Honest. The thing is though, you make it look really, really good.
    Cheers to your Blogiversary, my friend. My life has been vastly enriched through being invited into this living room of yours.

  241. Congrats and many more! If you get this far, I would think you’d be amazed yet again at the sheer number of comments. For every commenter, there’s a lurker out there reading and enjoying. Congrats on your success with the blog and all other endeavors. Thanks for bringing us all your misadventures!

  242. The other day I was reading your blog and chuckling to myself (a small moment of lightness in a really busy day). One of the teachers (I’m a librarian at a small school) thought I really needed to “get a life” when she asked what I was laughing at. I promptly replied “I do have a life” and realized that I’ve finally found my knitting community right here with all of you. Thank you so much for letting all of us into your life and giving us incentive, enjoyment and the love of knitting.

  243. Yay!!! And I’ve read every post. Wow. As one dork to another, congratulations and I’m glad I found you.

  244. Congrats on your blogiversary Stephanie! I have always been able to count on you to cheer me up after a bad day (the cat/bath post is a great example, I laughed my a** off at that one). Plus if I get depressed because I screwed up my knitting, I can read about your screw ups and say to myself: well if The Harlot screws up, you shouldn’t feel like such a dork. It never ceases to amaze me to log in to Bloglines and notice that more people have subscribed to your blog (FYI the subscriptions are now at 9,444 people. A few more months and you will break 10,000, and that’s only one of the sites that you can subscribe on!)
    Thank you for your years of entertainment, and here’s to many years more!

  245. Sweetheart, you are a GODDESS in the blog world! Through you, I, too, discovered the online knitting community and you all saved my life.

  246. Happy Blogiversary!!!!! I love that you let us all in on part of your life, and it makes me realize that we’re all just people, be they knitting celebs, or unknown knitters, and it’s nice to know we’re not alone out there 🙂

  247. Happy Blogiversary! Thanks for the laughs and even more for the inspiration. You have inspired me to knit socks, for which my 20 year old son is most grateful…and to try things I thought would be beyond me (I am in the middle of a Kauni cardigan…having never tried to do colorwork or a garment before). So, if that’s what being a dork is all about…more power to the dorks!

  248. Happy Blogiversary!!! You truly make me feel like I fit in too. As for the dork business, all you have to do is look at your music-cool, hearty true-blue husband and your balanced and strong daughters.

  249. Ya know, most of the “cool kids” from my high school are now in jobs they don’t like, trying to maintain a lifestyle they feel the need to maintain, in order that they and their kids can have lots of “stuff”. You, on the other hand, have created a career out of something you love enough that you come back to it time after time, even after it has driven you stark raving mad; you give to the community and inspire others to do the same; and from what I can tell you manage to raise kids who value people and knowledge over stuff-for-the-sake-of-stuff. How much better is that than just being “cool”?
    Happy Blogiversary!

  250. wow! I’m the 200th-and-something comment back to you—so yes, it is quite a community you have joined! I must say your blog was one of the first knitting blogs I discovered after I started my own crafty blog—and it has opened a whole new world online for me…so THANKS so much and congrats to you! I host a monthly needlework group at my home (only some of us are knitters, so we call it out “Needlework Salon”) and we sometimes read aloud excerpts from your books and laugh and laugh–so thank you for your wonderful sense of humor! and all you give to this great online community of creative folks.

  251. Happy blogiversary. Not only do you make the blogosphere a better place, you’re an inspiration to lots and lots of people who wouldn’t have even thought about sharing their own brand of dorkiness with the rest of the world. I wish you years of blogging hapiness!

  252. My teenaged son came into the study to ask why I was laughing OUT LOUD. I told him I was reading about the Harlot and her vendetta against a squirrel.
    You give us so much pleasure! Keep on keepin’ on. We love you.

  253. Happy Blogiversary to the Coolest of the Dorks!! In my estimation anyway. :O) Glad to belong to the Blog,
    samm

  254. Happy Blogiversary! And thanks for saying I’m one of the cool kids. That’s never happened before! LOL

  256. Happy Blogiversary! And a million and one thanks to you for making the cool kids group way more cool than it ever was in highschool.

  257. I so enjoy reading your blog. I look here every day; hopefully. I enjoy your books also, and thoroughly enjoyed getting to see you in person in St. Paul. But this blog is the best. No editing!

  258. Well, as Big & Rich say: Someone’s got to be unafraid to lead the freak parade. It’s been a wonderful ride/read! Glad to have “met” you!

  259. It’s better than sitting with the cool kids, hon. It’s sitting with the REAL kids who are comfy in their own skin – geekiness, quirkiness, oddness and whatever other -nesses we’ve acquired.

  261. and thank YOU, too! My days are filled with alot more laughter since I started reading your blog! Happy blogiversary to you.

  262. Happy blogiversary!! I can’t imagine you without it – or me without you, either! The sock is fantastic! I’m sure I won’t live long enough to ever achieve such a sexy heel on a sock.

  263. You are SO in the cool club with us!! You’re QUEEN of the cool club. 🙂 And, just because it’s your blogiversary, I’ve posted the recipe for the Pear Hazelnut Muffinks over on my blog. ‘Cause you’re really going to need these as edible support if you’re thinking of finishing those socks…they’re that good.

  265. Happy blog-iversary! It was very good that you had to check your calendar! As a newer knitter, it is helpful to see that even the experienced have troubles with knitting once in a while. it’s also good to be reminded to laugh about it! Have a wonderful day 🙂

  267. Think about all the lives you have changed for the better, with your blog, your books, your talks. You have made the world a better place, just by being you. Thank you. 🙂

  268. (((((Stephanie)))))) Happy Blogiversary. Thank you for sharing your ups and downs with us. Everyone has their dorky moments, you are just honest about them. Thank you for keeping it real.

  270. Happy Blogiversary!
    But you are the Rock Star in our world, not just cool, live long and perspire (b/c your sweater is so warm)

  271. Happy, happy blogiversary, to you, Dear Harlot!!!!!
    We are all SOOOO thankful that you started this blog to keep us all SOOOOO very entertained and want you to know that WE LOVE YOU!!!!!!

  273. And a hundred more to come, I hope.
    I’ve been reading since before the Eeyore Sweater and Wool Pig occurred. I’ll keep reading to see the end of leaf socks, more Christmas countdowns, Hank’s adventures with the ball winder, Mr Washie worship, and anything else you give me.
    You rock, Steph. And I still want to buy you a beer, next time you swing through wherever I may be living.
    Happy blogiversary.
    -Jae

  274. can only say i agree with everything you have said and everything everyone else has said. do you ever get the time to read all the replies to your wise words, i wonder? i tried blogging, and still haven’t worked out how to find the time to do it – unless i give up breathing perhaps? – because i seem to have so much else to do – including reading your blog. so just a zillion thanks, and i got your book cast off today, seem to spend my time between laughing and crying in recognition. maybe a zillion thanks squared!! ;)))))

  275. Congratulations on your bloganniversary. I have to thank you for starting my morning with a chuckle on many, many occasions. My husband has a hard time believing me when I tell him that the giggling is about knitting!? Thanks for sharing with us.

  276. I discovered your blog a bit over a year ago, and I knit soo much more now. I thought knitting was a hobby and you introduced me to “knitting as a lifestyle”. Thanks. One of your many groupies.

  277. ps if you’re a dork, i’m aspiring to dorkdom, or dorkhood or whatever cos you’re great!!! ;)))

  278. Congratulations! Happy Blogiversary to you! I’ve not commented before, but felt the need to with this post. You know, I think dork is the natural state for most people, it’s just that some people are in less denial than others – some embrace their dorkiness and don’t strive to do things/wear things/say things/buy things to try and impress other people and try and hide that inate dorkiness that keeps trying to shine through.

  279. Happy Blogiversary!
    I have to say thank YOU for sharing with us. I think it is admirable to put yourself out there and consistently blog about stuff. So, Thank YOU.

  280. Happy Blogaversary and thank you, Ken! I wonder if he knew how much pleasure he would be giving us when he gave you the blog.

  281. I absolutely love reading your blog. Here’s to many more year’s of knitting and blogging.
    Happy blogiversary!!!

  283. Happy Blogiversary! Four years is a long time and all the knitters are thrilled to be able to share this day with you. Raise a glass in celebration- make it chablis in honor of your Vintage Socks!

  284. Happy Blogaversary! Reading your blog is welcome break from my real, dorky world so thank you for every word you type and please don’t stop!
    Oh, and I was taken by the cute leaves and all from the very beginning, but now I can’t stop marveling at the totally cool heel. What a brilliant design.

  285. Congratulations on yet another blogiversary! I think we’re all looking forward to the next year of wonderfully dorky yarn harlot. (Because, y’know, we all have our moments too.)

  288. Happy Blogiversary!
    That Ken is a smart man.
    Thank you – back at you – for great writing, a community for knitting and a great moment to ‘pause’ in the frantic days.
    Hey, I’m a klutz….

  289. Dear Harlot, we should be thanking you, I have gained so much pleasure and knitterly knowledge from your blog and the links you include throughout the year 🙂
    Happy anniversary AND thank you!
    Can you share on your favorite wear~all~the~time sock pattern, how tall (many inches) do you generally make your socks?

  290. i’m so grateful that you started blogging! your blog, and many others, helped me to make leaps and bounds in my skill level as a newer knitter. Congrats!

  291. No, THANK YOU. I’m hooked on this blog. I’ve gotten more laughs out of this, and shake my head up and down in agreement most of the time.

  292. My knitting would not be where it is if it weren’t for you and your blog.
    My blog would not be where it is (that is to say, existant) if it weren’t for you and your blog.
    So… no, no, no… thank YOU.
    And thank Ken too.

  295. Happy Blogiversary! Thanks to you I’m learning the joys of making handknit socks…and wearing them!

  297. Happy Blogiversary! And help yourself to a glass of wine to match that sock. Although maybe not until you are done knitting for the evening. Just in case.

  298. Happy Blogaversary. Rams said it all. In all of the yarn stores and venues I have been in this past year, your name has always come up in some way. There are always smiles and giggles. What a wonderful legacy, and how fortunate we all are to be alive in this time and to “know” the Yarn Harlot.

  299. Congrats on the blogiversary and the progress (without incident) on the sock! I take it as a positive note that your noted incidents of being a dork are all fro 2005. Perhaps they were the most spectacular, but perhaps you’re “growing out” of your dorkiness. Now *you’re* the cool kid everyone wants to hang out with! 🙂

  300. The very happiest of blogiversaries to you!!!
    In the spirit of acting let me say…..
    DROP A STITCH………….
    (Not nearly as warm and fuzzy as break a leg, now is it????)

  303. Well, that makes it a four ring circus for me . . . paternal grandfather’s birthday, parents’ anniversary, younger sister’s birthday (8th anniversary gift for my parents) and the birth of the first knit blog I’d ever read (before I knew I was a Knitter even)
    Happy Blogiversary Miz Harlot.

  305. Wow, today is my first blog-aversary, and my birthday too. How cool is that? I share my blog-aversary with The Yarn Harlot, and I didn’t even know it! Happy co-blog-aversary!

  306. Happy Blogiversary! Your’s was the first knitting blog that I read and I remember the deep relief when I realized that at least one other person in the world was obsessed with yarn and what it could become. I feel like I’ve somehow ended up sitting with the cool kids when I read your blog. From a fellow dork (shoe out the window? Ha! I somehow shut my pocket knife on my finger. While I was a member of the bomb squad. Think on that one.) Thanks so much for inspiring and entertaining.

  307. Happy Blogiversary! Glad you get as much enjoyment from your blog as we do! I feel like the dork who gets to hang out with the cool kid who lets me read her blog. Thank you! Love it!

  308. Happy Blogiversary.
    From one dork to another… thank you SO much for sharing your life and knitting with us. Some days, in my dorkiness, I feel appropriate and wonderful — see… STEPHANIE does this too! it must be okay! ‘Cause she’s wonderful.
    And thanks for inspiring me so much and so often.

  309. I was just thinking today about how knitting has brought me so many great friends that I may not have otherwise met. Your blog often makes me smile. thanks for that.

  312. ***MY*** gratefulness knows no bounds. A very big thank you to you, Stephanie, for the pleasure of your blog. Every new entry is a highlight to my day.

  313. Congratulations! My day isn’t complete until I read your adventures. Maybe someday you will bring the traveling sock to Tulsa.

  315. Happy Blogiversary! You may have found yourself, but you have also helped a whole lot of us find knitting companionship online, too! Thanks for helping to make the online knitting community so wonderful!

  316. Happy blogiversary, and if you are a dork, then they are lovely people… or at least you are a lovely example of one! I love your blog, your books, and it was great to meet you in person here in the DC area!!

  317. I just want to wish you a happy Blogiversary, and to express my gratefulness that you have this blog. I read it every day and have even read all through the archives. You are truly an inspiration to us knitters, and I definitely enjoy watching all of your projects as they grow.
    🙂

  318. Happy Happy blogiversary! I love the knitting you share but also love how much of your life you share. Now whenever I am at the computer and laugh my boys sigh and say yarnharlot again. You make my day and connect me to my passion for fiber. Thanks!

  319. Happy Blogiversary!
    I for one am glad to see that my kind of luck is not limited to just me. Although I would have asked for the shoe. Seriously.

  321. You know, I was thinking about the concept of dorkiness today . . . funny you should mention it. I was putting away the dishes, and thought about how kids ridicule anyone who dropps anything in a cafeteria. In elementary school, the non-droppers would stand around, jeering and laughing, while the dropper would pick up the stray item and try to pretend that he or she didn’t want the earth to swallow them up right then and there. Ditto for junior high & high school. It even happened at college.
    How stupid.
    Completely, utterly, and totally insane. Dropping things like that, where nobody was hurt, no harm done, is such a non-issue. Most of the “dorky” things that we do to ourselves are non-issues. What’s important is who we are . . . what we do with ourselves in the time we have here . . . and how we treat others.
    And Steph, as far as those criterion go, you’re one of the coolest kids around. ;o)
    Happy Blogiversary.

  322. Happy blog anniversary to you
    Happy blog anniversary to you
    Happy blog anniversary to you
    Dear Yaaaarn Haaarlot
    Happy blog anniversary to you
    And many more
    love da sock……go harlot go
    Wow take care and keep on blogging hugs
    Catriona in Scarborough

  323. As a fellow dork (I actually kinda relish the fact that I can identify myself as a dork. It used to be horrible, but now it means that I get to do things I find really fun and other people are missing out on. It just means more yarn and books for us!), I want you to know that I am also thrilled to have found my people and to have found your wonderful blog! It’s brought me many laughs and hours of enjoyment…Here’s to many more years!

  324. Many thanks to you for sharing so much of your life with us. It has made mine, at least, brighter, and I’m grateful. (Someday I’ll write you a long note about how one of your essays in your Yarn Harlot book gave me a really great perspective after my daughter was born, but not in the comments). Many thanks also to Ken, who made your unique brand of humor and zaniness available for everyone to enjoy. 🙂 Here’s to many more blogiversaries.

  325. Happy Blogiversary (which is a really weird word)
    And great work on the sock. I knew that you would get passed that minor set back on the toe. If you keep showing photos of this sock I will have to order the kit.

  326. Thank you. I found your blog a couple months ago when I was a baby knitter (I’m a knit toddler now!) and you’ve always inspired me. You make everything knitty seem like I could probably do it too. Inspiring that kind of confidence in new knitters is a big deal.

  327. Happy Blogiversary! I haven’t read all the comments, but I’m sure I’m not the only person to mention how much inspiration I’ve gotten from you and this little blog of yours. I discovered your first book just as I was picking up knitting again after many years without. I didn’t know a single knitter in real life and had never heard of blogging. Your book led me to your blog, which led me to lots of other knitblogs, which led me to blogging myself, which led me to meet lots and lots of other knitters, both virtually and in person (which led to a small obsession and a stash of alarming proportions, but I won’t blame you for that). I can’t even begin to express what a huge impact becoming part of this amazing community has made in my life, and although I don’t know you (I did meet you once, but I was such a blithering idiot, it’s best we forget that), you do deserve a great deal of the credit for that. Don’t worry. I won’t tell my husband that all the yarn is your fault.

  328. Just chiming in (or tinking in) to echo all the other comments. Thanks for letting all of us sit at YOUR table.

  329. Stephanie, thank you for creating a place where the rest of us dorks can know that WE are not alone. Your words – online, in print, and on tour – are a gift to the community you treasure. As dorks, as knitters, and as seekers of community, we all thank YOU.
    Happy blogiversary! (And many more…)
    Jonquil

  330. Thank you so very much for making my life much richer. You have very little idea the impact you have on the world. (And I won’t tell my DH you’re the one who inspires me to buy so much yarn!) Keep on blogging…

  331. I only found your blog about a year ago after reading one of your books. It has been so much fun knowing that I’m not just sitting home alone knitting, but that there are a lot of us knitting. I started talking about knitting and have ended up teaching friends and forming a group that gets together once a month to knit together. You have brought the world of knitting together. Thanks!

  332. Happy Blog-versary! Thank you so much for all the fun reading both here and in print. You make the world a better place.

  334. Happy anniversary. As someone who studied to be an English teacher, ended up being a computer programmer, then manager, and also a knitter, I know from dorkiness, not to mention nerdiness. The internet is an amazing entity, and its anonymity encourages both the best and the worst in people. I’m so happy to have found one of the best in your safe and friendly corner of this online world, where humor and care for others and knitting dorkiness prevail. What a great community this is.
    Knit on!

  335. Um, you forgot washing your hair with lotion. 🙂
    From one dork to another, a very heartfelt happy blogiversary.

  336. Happy Blog-versary Stephanie!
    There would be no fun in knitting without you. Your’s is the only blog that I’ve ever gone back thru & read ALL the archives. I’ve enjoyed every single post. Thank You, and here’s to many more. 🙂

  339. That hair spider thing? A while back, I picked up what I thought was a hair spider, and found out I was holding a REAL spider! I think I out-dork you on that one. And really, you’ve been “screwing up knitting” much longer than four years – you’ve just been sharing it with us and making us feel better about ourselves and our own screw-ups for four years! Thanks for the memories, and many more to come!!

  341. Your blog is the thing that cheers me up and makes me feel apart of a wonderful community of fabulous knitters. Thank you

  342. I rarely comment because there are SO MANY, but I had to today…Thank you for all the time and energy you put into making this unbelievably wonderful blog – THANK YOU!

  344. My personal fave is the washing of the goat hair and the consequent smell…I laughed out loud reading this and will often go back to read it again when I am having a rough day. You always bring a smile to my face. Here’s to many happy years!

  345. Congratulations! And how many of those cool kids have as much success as you do? Dorks rule!

  346. Dear Harlot, I decided to figure out how to knit approximately one week before I discovered your blog. You were my gateway to the entire online knitting community and immeasurable inspiration and joy. I can’t believe how HUGE a part of my life knitting has become, and I owe a lot of that joy to your blog. Thank you so much for sharing your life with us. Happy Blogiversary and many happy returns of the day!!

  347. Happy Blogiversary! And thanks for the many, many giggles. Also being one of the gazelle clan, (read with extreme sarcasm) I commiserate with life’s odd sense of humor at our expense.

  349. Honey, you haven’t “found” a knitting community, you have “founded” a knitting community. It’s we who should be thanking you. MaryB
    and PS, where the hell are all those leaves going to go on that sock??????

  350. Four brilliant years of being one dork listening to another! Us dorks have to stand up and be counted sometime, you know. I think we have way more fun than the “cool kids in high school” anyway. We know how to laugh out loud, if only at ourselves.
    Many congratulations and best wishes for a 5th blog-year to come.

  351. Everything they said. Seriously. From the hair spider to the crazy neighbor to Blue Moon Day to the Wedding Shawl to the home remodeling to the Canadian recipes and culture….. I am so grateful to read your writing.
    I found your books first, then one day the light bulb came on and I realized, “Oh, she has a blog. I ought to check that out.” At that point I found my Community.
    Thank you!

  352. It’s your fault I finally finished a sweater for myself that cannot in any way be linked with my former intarsia sweaters of shame, except that they were both knitted.
    Also, I just like you a hell of a lot, sweetpea. I’m glad you’re in the world and you decided to share.

  354. Every day I get so much pleasure reading your blog. You are a gifted writer and you make knitting exciting!! Happy anniversary.

  355. You may be a dork, but you are also the most popular girl in Knitting High School, if there were such a thing.
    That you are such a generous and interesting person makes both possible.
    We in dorkdom are thrilled that a fellow dork has made dorkdom the place to be.
    If that makes any sense. (And if there’s any doubt, it’s supposed to be a High Compliment.)

  357. Congratulations on the beautiful socks as well as your Blogiversary!!!
    Thank you for sharing your blog with all of us everyday! Reading your blog makes me feel like I’m sitting with the cool people! And if you’re a dork, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with dorkiness 🙂
    Thank you again!

  359. happy blogiversary! the first entry i read…when you were cheating on the sweater in the basket. love your blog, thanks for sharing. 🙂

  360. Happy Blogoversary! May you have many more years of enjoyment and laughter. I really do look forward to reading your blog when I sit at the computer! Thanks!

  361. I am so glad that your friend Ken gave you this blog 4 years ago — and even happier that I found it a year ago! Youa make me laugh every day, and have inpired me so much to knit — knit often, knit in public and knit fearlessly! You are so NOT a dork. Well, maybe a little (the locking out of a hotel room, the losing of a shoe, and the turnstile thing may have confirmed it), but you talk about that stuff and make us all laugh at our own dorkiness! Thanks for making my day brighter every day … keep on blogging!

  363. Thank you Steph for sharing the excellent, the good, the bad, the ugly, and brightening the days with your humour, advice, exasperation, knowledge. Congrats!!!!! bets

  364. Congratulations, Stephanie! and nooooooooo…. Thank YOU.
    Since discovering your blog in late November, I’ve read through the archives, learnt how to knit on DPNs so I could finally try knitting things like mittens (thank you for introducing this reader to thrummed mittens) and socks — I’ve since finished my first pair of each and am now trying my first lace sock pattern. You’ve made me laugh out loud, taught me a lot about knitting, and inspired the hell out of me.
    So again, THANK YOU!
    PS: I love your cat :O)

  365. Happy Blogiversary!! I can honestly say that you are my knitting hero. Your the primary reason that I became a Knitter. (With a capital K) Thank you for inspiring me to knit and for helping me to convert and teach several of my friends, my Mom and my sister through your lovely books.
    K.

  366. Happy, happy, blogiversary, and many more!
    If it wasn’t for your blog, I would likely never have had the chance to run a Canadian around New Orleans at top speed on the proverbial “three hour tour.” Loved every minute of it!
    Many more happy years — and I am toasting you with a glass of the grape appropos to the sox — pinot grigio in this instance — I had to “fire” a client today and needed a drink or three.

  367. Knitting Geek and proud of it – thanks to you, Stephanie. You’ve made the world a better, happier, place to be and inspired many to be better people (and better Knitters).
    You deserve every good blessing that the Knitting Goddess bestows upon you!
    Congratulations and keep up the good work!
    With love

  368. Happy Blogiversary!
    Thank you for blogging. I truly enjoyed your visit to Wichita, Kansas. I love reading your blog. You have inspired me to knit more, try new things (I am still fairly new at knitting), and even joining the blogging revolution (I just started a blog, partly for my own memories, and because I enjoy reading yours so much). I thank you, and can say, that I know I am a Knitter with a capital “K”.

  369. Happy Anniversary. I think the truth is that we are all dorks. It just depends on whether we try to (or care to) hide it or not. It’s nice to hear from someone who isn’t afraid and can talk about it with humor, and that makes you invaluable to the rest of us. And hey, if you are a hugely talented, knitting/writing dork, so much the better!

  370. I don’t comment often, but I really really love to read all your foibles… it makes me feel very unalone (yes, that is definitely a word) in my own dorkiness.

  375. From one string junkie to another ~ Congratulations on your anniversary in the blogosphere!!
    You are an inspiration!

  376. Steph, you’ve made dorkiness cool! I thank you for that! (And I can totally relate to the time-impaired thing. Don’t even get me started.)

  378. Every now and again the stars align… Today, as you celebrate your anniversary I finally caught up! I started reading your blog two weeks ago, starting with your first entry after reading your book “Yarn Harlot”.
    I can’t tell you how many times my co-workers have said, “Oh, she must be Yarn Harlot-ing again…”, when I’ve busted out laughing reading along with your adventures at my desk.
    Thanks for the reasons to lol!

  379. You rock, Stephanie. Like, it’d-be-weird-to-meet-you-because-I’d-seem-like-a-stalker rock. Thank you so much for doing this blog thing. And stuff.

  380. We all love you, babe. You are the uber-coolest of us all, even in socks and sandals. Give Joe and the Ladies and Ken and all the rest of your family a big hug from us for sharing you. And then tell them all they owe us a hug for taking the edge off you just a little.

  382. From a fellow dork, happy blogiversay! I think that we all received a big gift when you started sharing your life with us. By the way, the socks are looking lovely (but I’m still resisting bringing the madness into my home and starting my own pair).

  383. Happy Anniversary!
    I saw the heel on that sock and I love it – are there instructions available?
    Thanks – for so many days of enjoyment, education, and humor.
    Carol

  384. happy annieversary!!!
    thank you for all the wonderful, entertaining and informative posts!!!
    thank you for “Tricoteuse sans frontiere”!!! especially that.
    thank you for the books. i have been re-reading one of them in bed these last nights.
    i have been a Knitter for many years, have taught it to many,many students for many,many years.
    my obsession with yarn and pointy sticks seemed a very strange thing, until i discovered, to a large part through your blog THE COMMUNITY.i was no longer alone!
    now i turn unsuspecting friends into happy knitters.
    thanks again! and good luck with the leaves.
    crazy that!
    best wishes.

  385. Certainly not an original sentiment, but I’d like to add my voice to the rest and thank YOU for being you. I am a self-confessed dork, too, and find that all my favourite people are at least slightly geeky. You make the rest of us realize that we really aren’t too strange for having huge amounts of yarn stashed away, or for staying up until 3:00 am because we just have to finish one more repeat–I could go on, but everyone here already knows exactly what I mean. That’s another reason why we admire you. There are so many wonderful people who stop by and comment here that it truly feels like a community. Okay. Enough syrupy stuff. I would just like you to know that you may have received a lot of positive reinforcement from the blog, but you’ve also done some amazing things for us, and others–MSF and the Knitting Olympics spring to mind. Thank you, and many more happy blogiversaries.

  386. Happy Blogiversary, dear Yarn Harlot, and you’re welcome, I’m sure. I’ve watched with awe as you have built this amazing on-line community, which is about so much more than knitting, as wonderful as the knitting is. I thought it must just come natural to you to be at the centre of a laughing, adoring crowd. If that isn’t a realistic picture of your life, it just makes what you do here all the more remarkable. So I’m lifting a wine glass to you, and by the way, that wineglass heel is a beauty.

  387. Stephanie, one time I googled “black hole” and forgot to add the “of knitting”, but your blog was still in the top five results. I think that’s not dorkdom, that’s cool-kid-land.
    Thank you for making us all feel like we’re not weirdos for hoarding yarn, sniffing yarn, or petting yarn in public.
    You rock.

  389. Thank you … for your blog, your wit, your compassion and your passion for knitting, mothering and many other things.
    Congratulations and happy Blogiversary!

  390. Happy blogiversary mama. It’s like revenge of the dorks. Actually not, since the rest of the world still totally think we’re dorks and actually think the knitblogging is sort of the pinnacle of dorkiness itself. Yet it turns out that the dorks are smart, clever, complex, and interesting. Not to mention being good writers. I was thinking today that many mombloggers and political bloggers and other sorts of bloggers (of the female variety) often stray into blogging about knitting all of a sudden. Maybe it’s our amazing community, maybe it’s the 3 am buttonholes, but I think a lot of it is you and the wit that you’ve brought to this whole business. It’s late and I’m tired so I’m not sure I’m making sense, but what I mean is thanks. I’m glad you’re here and that you’re still keeping us laughing and crying along with you and all the wool. Happy ‘versary.

  393. happy blogiversary! and many more . . . i enjoy yours so much that it caused me to start my own. it was like a lightbulb went off when i discovered it . . wow, i can write illustrated texts! like i always dreamed of! and not have to pay someone! (unlike participating in the art world where i WOULD have to pay someone to show my work . . .)
    so, silly exclamations points aside, thanks for being inspiring and i hope you continue happily for as long as your heart desires.

  394. Happy blogiversary. I’ve been lurking for a while (one of 110 blogs I follow), and I always leave yours until last, because I know you will always make my day.

  395. Your blog has made me laugh on days when not much in my house seemed funny, made me cry at some of the mothering moments you share, made me want to get a lot better at knitting so I can create some of the amazing socks and shawls (and that Bohus!!), and made me know that “dorks” are really the people it’s most interesting to be friends with because they are real, not trying to impress or outdo, just being real.
    Thank you for sharing your life with us.

  396. Your sock looks great.
    I had not yet entered the knitting world in 2005, but I notice from your links that was a particularly trying time. Your self disclosure is remarkable…and humerous.
    Happy Blogiversary.

  398. You know, it’s the “cool” people who are really boring. Think back to school, weren’t the cool ones the ones who all dressed alike, acted alike and did the same things all the time (like go out and get drunk and stupid at the weekends)?
    Now ask yourself, do you go to a neighbourhood full of tract homes that are all the same to sight-see or do you go to places that are one of a kind? Which is worth the trip? I dare say none of us are going to make the effort to go see something/someone they could see just anywhere.
    You’re different, but that makes you vastly more interesting than the “cool” people.
    Besides, I know non-knitters who like reading your blog. How many people can say they make their hobby interesting to people who couldn’t give a fig about it otherwise?
    Happy Blogaversary. Hope you’re around for a long time to come!

  399. Very Happy Blogiversary! Thanks for the laughs and the amazing inspiration… You rekindled my love and appreciation for knitting. Many happy years of knitting!

  400. Happy Blogiversary 🙂
    I had my first blogiversary a few days ago and this line of yours:
    “… and as someone who has never really fit in very well, I can’t tell you how much that has meant to me.”
    is very similar to something I said in my post. It may, perhaps, be more universal than it feels.
    Your blog brings laughter into many homes. Long may you continue to write.

  401. The socks are beautiful!
    Happy blogiversary.
    Dorky, perhaps, but an entirely delightful and lovable sort of dorky. 🙂
    And, of course, a great many of us were/are dorky and never fit all that well into “normal” society either. I seem still not to fit in all that well with guys most of the time, but love hanging with women. I just spent three days following my wife around TNNA, and had (as usual) a delightful time. Most guys would call that pure hell. Oh well.
    PhilB

  402. Happy Blogiversary!! And we thank YOU!!
    If you’re sitting with the cool kids, and I’m sitting with you, then I’m sitting with the cool kids!! Yea!!
    May I suggest that you do not consider substitute cleaning for writing and knitting. Cleaning is not a worthwhile activity. It is a make work activity. When you clean, you just have to clean again. Whereas when you knit, you have SOMETHING!
    When you write, you have SOMETHING! Thus it is worthwhile in the creation of something. When you talk on the phone with a friend you are building a relationship, tangible, although not tangible in the same way as the products of knitting and writing are. Thus, worthwhile. Cleaning is just a repetitive activity to fill time. Just saying.
    Love the socks. I’m looking forward to seeing the where else the leaves are located. I love the heel, it is particularly precious and beautiful.
    And I wish us many more years of enjoying your blog–you evidently enjoy writing it, we clearly enjoy reading it. A match made in heaven. Thank you Ken for giving the Yarn Harlot the gift that keeps on giving.
    Marlyce in Windsor, Ontario

  403. Thank you for being here for the past 4 years!!!
    Cheers Eva
    PS: you haven’t just found a community, you’re one of the corner stones of the knitting community!!!

  404. Thank YOU.
    Over the holidays I had extra time so I went back and started reading at January 2004. I’m up to July 2006, so if you need help remembering anything from that time in your life, just let me know – it’s fresh for me.

  405. Thanks for starting me knitting! And for being funny enough to convince my husband that knitters are worth listening too.

  406. Happy Blogiversary, Stephanie! Your blog brings happiness and smiles to my day… long may it continue. You are a knitting legend!

  407. Hartelijk gefeliciteerd met de verjaardag van je blog! Ik vind het geweldig 🙂
    (or: congrats, but in my native tongue)

  408. Happy anniversary Stephanie! I hope there are many many knit and blogyears to come!
    Greetings from Amsterdam,
    Dagmar

  409. Happy blogiversary and can I just say that you are not the dorky kid – you’re like the prom queen of knitting! It’s just brilliant that you share your life and your knitting with us – you are really inspirational!

  410. Happy Bloganiversary. I’m happy that you and your kind is out there spreading the knitting love on the whole wide web. I wish you and the blog many happy years to come, and I promise that I’ll be right here and read and watch all the way along.
    PS: those socks are STUNNING!!! (and no, 5 days, no problem…) 😉

  411. Happy Blogiversary! I am so glad I gave up some knitting time to check your blog out on advice from a friend. Your writing is hilarious and has brightened my day many times. I even had to go out and get your books because if you aren’t knitting, you should be at least reading about it..that squirrel story made me laugh till I cried. Can’t wait to see those fab socks finished!

  412. Ooooh – happy bloggyversary to you. I’m such a soppy old cow and was nearly in tears at your closing lines. You ARE cool – really cool; you knit for goodness sake!

  414. I don’t normally comment because you get so many, usually saying what I was going to say, but I had to say THANK YOU Stephanie for being an inspiration to us all particularly us lowly beginning bloggers and knitters. Phew what a long sentence, had to get it all out though!! Happy anniversary, and yes GREAT sock.

  417. Happy Blogiversary! Here’s to many more years of quirky humour, fabulous knitting and odd misadventures with the cat!

  420. Hey, are you sure you still want to sit with ALL of us? I mean, I use acrylic a lot! Oh, and I’m one of those mad people who often knit 40 stitches to the inch… You never know who’s on that cool kids’ bench ya know. 😉
    Thanks for a great blog. I don’t read many, but I always read your’s.

  421. Happy one day late Blogiversary 🙂
    Thanks to you I have refound my knitting skills and also discovered spinning. I look forward to the blogs to come!

  422. Happy Blogiversary, Stephanie!!
    You are fabulous! And really, I would tremble a little to sit next to you. I might even clam up, and freeze entirely. You are that cool!!
    I mean, really, how many other people have the guts to “crazy” knit, (not to mention the other “crazy” things) and tell the community about it? I am smitten.

  427. Happy Anniversary to you. I did not know how “normal” I was till I began to read your blog.
    Best to you all.
    Carolyn in Massachusetts

  428. Feliz Blogaversario chica! I always wanted to be a cool kid. Thanks for all the laughs. I know a lot of us end up cleaning off the screen when coffee shoots out from a guffaw.

  429. I’m so thankful to have gotten to know you through your blog. You are funny and fearless and good and kind and wise. And a big thanks to Ken for getting you started!

  430. Stephanie, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the joy your blog has contributed to my life. You aren’t the only “odd-girl-out”; marooned in Britain, I have no IRL knitting buddies, just the ones I have made on the Web.
    From all of us “lonely knitters”: thank you! And have a happy Blogiversary.
    – Pam

  431. Happy blogiversary!!
    I tried cleaning once and no one noticed – no one notices when I dont do it either – so please keep on knitting!! Blogging and writing!! (just dont let anyone write in the dust)!!

  434. Your writing makes me feel less like a knitting doofus. Your words are genuine, sincere and funny – thank you very much for sharing your dorkiness.
    As for the cool kids in high school – they’re not so cool anymore.

  435. I have been reading your blog and loving it, but never posted before because I figured I would sound dorky! When I read it today, I figured it was OK to sound dorky. Thanks for making me laugh and helping me know there are many others out there addicted to kniting.

  436. Your phase “screwing up knitting” reminds me of the Twain perspective…if you can’t think of at least two spellings for any one word you aren’t thinking enough.
    Keep on screwing up! I really think it is just experimentation in disguise.
    Thanks for sharing all your adventures with us. Happy 4th.

  437. happy blogiversary!
    on a side note, your word “kinneared” made the list of slang words in either the washington post or the new york times. can’t remember which. AND you were given credit! finally, something the newspapers got right!

  438. Happy Blogiversary! I have been reading your posts faithfully for a long time now, and it’s always such a treat. Thanks for making me laugh and teaching me so many new things!

  439. Has it only been 4 years?
    I started reading your blog not long after you started it, I think, as a lurker and eventually convinced myself it wasn’t dorky to comment, especially as I’d “talked” to you on the knitlist. I waited hopefully for your first book… then your second… then your third…
    I feel like I’ve known you forever, even tho I don’t know that I’d recognize you walking down the street (unless you were knitting :).
    Thanks to you for your humor and letting us into your life (so we know that we aren’t the only ones who dream about buttonholes– or my latest, how to make a mitered corner on a collar).
    My youngest sister just started knitting (2 pre-teen boys in hockey gives hera lot of time just sitting in hockey arenas) and I bought her EZ’s Knitting Without Tears and your At Knit’s End. She hasn’t finished her first project yet, and doesn’t know how to purl, but I think she’s hooked. (She called me at 11 last night to ask me how to pick up a dropped stitch).

  440. Happy Blogiversary! And thanks so much for putting yourself out in the ether week after week. Your adventures in knitting (and squirrel battling, and that “real life” thing that supposedly exists beyond the yarn) have been, and will be for many more years, a joy to read. Yaaaay!!

  441. Happy Blogiversary! Thank you very much for sharing your life with us. And thank you for letting me know that, um, “creatively interpreting” patterns is OK.

  442. What a combination—your blogiversary and National Pie Day. I hope you celebrated.
    According to the Denver Post, the Day started in Boulder twenty years ago when a pie lover declared his birthday to be National Pie Day. Has it expanded beyond Colorado—I never heard about in California.
    Now that we live in Colorado, we will have to celebrate properly next year.

  446. How funny. I was just looking at your list of archives yesterday thinking you must have an anniversary coming up. Congratulations to you. Not only have you found a community but you’ve created one for many of the rest of us. Very cool.

  447. I wanted to say something pithy and original to give you something new to read way down here at four hundred and somethin’, but I think it’s all been said.
    Happy Blogiversary Stephanie!

  448. Happy Blogversary !! It is a joy & pleasure to read your blogs and I hope to do so for a very long time ! Have a good one !

  450. I have been following your adventures for about 3 years now, and I am always happy when I see there is a new post. In the spirit of your blogiversary I am compelled to admit: I started knitting because I was so inspired by your passion and you really made me want to learn how to make SOCKS!

  451. Congrats. I miss my Internet connection and being able to read you daily. 🙁 Hopefully I can remedy that soon, and be able to read my blogs.

  453. You should never think that you don’t fit in. You are the rockstar of knitting! We all aspire to be as cool as you. Thank you for continuing to make me laugh. Happy anniversary! I hope that you have many more to come.

  454. You ARE one of the cool kids! Just, um, one of the dorky ones. (I’m a dork too. I love that the internet doesn’t really care. Isn’t it fantastic?)
    Happy blogiversary!

  455. Your blog has opened up a whole new world for me since I discovered it after reading your first book. When I used to knit it was a solitary occupation. Now it’s Knit Night, Knitters Guild, Knitting Blogs and Ravelry. Thanks for making me aware of the huge world of knitting out there. Thanks also for your humor and sharing your life with us.

  456. Allow me to be the gajillionth person to wish you a happy blogiversary — time does fly, doesn’t it?
    And I *loved* the Millie photo series. 🙂

  457. Wow! I’m…..456th!! But seriously, oh my DEAR, you’re such an inspiration to me, both as a knitter (knowing that there’s someone out there who can do grapey leaves while I’m cranking out toques and happy to be able to do it); as a reader (your books are on my All-Time Faves list…at the top); and as a blogger, because I never thought *I* would try such a thing. I blog about like I knit, but I’m deliriously happy doing both, and I owe much of it to YOU. Happy Blogiversary, Yarn Harlot (and where I come from “dorky” is the same as “beautiful, rich, smart and a movie star” in general vocabulary. (“Dorks” are interesting, clever, thoughtful, curious, fascinating and adorable. That’s the definition. My daughter’s a dork and I aspire to it.)

  458. happy anniversay! thank you for blogging your blunders and making us laugh with you. we are all better off with a little yarn harlot in our lives.

  461. Happy, Happy Blogiversary! Thank you for the humor, the instructions, the love of wool and color, the humor, the vision of a more caring world, the parental and laundry day frustrations and love, the humor…You know, I’ve never really felt like I fit in either, but the older and (marginally)wiser I get, the more I realize how universal this feeling is. So here’s to being your wonderful self–an individual in community.

  462. Happy Blogiversary!! You are a big part of my day and I think you are the coolest. Ken is wonderful and blogs are the best thing since Sheep…

  463. I can’t say it any better than Mitty! Thank you so much for writing your blog, your books, your humor and unique point of view, and the glimpses into your life as well as at your awesome knitting. You inspire me! If you ever visit Philadelphia or I ever visit Toronto, you and I are getting together for knitting and beverages of choice!

  466. Happy Blogiversary! I am so happy that I found your blog and your books. They have helped me with my knitting, and made me laugh. Life is good when you are knitting and laughing. So, I say a big “Thanks” to you!

  467. Happy blog birthday. You are a cult icon, if that’s the right term. You are an amazing knitter and writer and deserve your fame in the knitting world.
    I’m sure we all look forward to many more years of reading your blog.

  469. God love ya, Stephanie, I sure do thank these internets for bringing us all together, and for bringing you into my lunch break every day. Happy blogimaversory!

  470. Happy Blogiversary!!!!!!
    rams is right- you don’t fit in, You stand out!
    You are my Elizabeth Zimmerman- funny, smart, and totally an inspiration. And just one more reason to think that Canada is a very cool place.
    May you blog on for as long as you enjoy it!
    Thanks Steph!

  472. Happy blogiversary to you, and may you have many more years of doing insane things like finishing these socks in five days. 🙂

  473. My Dear Harlotta,
    We love you, you know it and you have made many others feel like you do…your blog is somewhat of a nice wool-wrapped haven and space for all venting knitterly for the rest of us.
    Very smart people lock themselves out of hotel rooms, have incidents with turnstiles (or revolving doors) and that kind of thing. They are thinking many times higher and more important things than “where is my key” and “let go of my purse”.
    Happy blogiversary to you!

  474. Happy Blogiversary!
    Thank you for helping to create a knitting community for all of the rest of us knitting dorks.
    At least those “astounding dork moments” are from 2005… =)

  475. Happy Blogiversary Stephanie–and many thanks for all the good times I’ve had reading your blog.

  476. Stephanie, I can’t begin to thank you enough for sharing your trials & tribulations, as well as your triumphs, with all of us. You have touched so many more lives than you can begin to imagine. Thank you, also, for helping me to celebrate my dorkiness and to discover my knitterly self. Happy Blogiversary, and many, many more! 😀

  477. I was going to point out that laughing and gloating over how delightfully the sock was going when you still had another whole sock to do was perhaps tempting fate, and then you said it was your blogversary and I realized that would be totally inappropriate and mean so I am just going to say, Happy b’versay and thanks for writing!

  478. Happy Anniversary!!!!
    Your blog is the bright spot in my usually boring and tedious afternoons!

  482. Happy Blogiversary! I’ve just finished my first EVER pair of socks – knitted from your recipe. They came out slightly large (didn’t take off enough stitches for stretch) but they are absolutely wearable!!

  483. Yours was the first knitblog I found (via Baadeck Yarns), and it opened a wonderful world for me — thanks! I’m proud to be a member of the knitting community – it’s a kind and generous bunch of people, and you’re a great “leader by example.”

  486. i am sending you vibes to avoid second sock-itis
    happy blogiversary
    and the sock looks good. and the 2nd one should go faster since you know how to make it now right?
    and wont drop it this time… right?
    HUGS

  487. Since you have no concept of time, you won’t care that I’m a day late with this. Thank you for letting me sit with you at the cool kids’ table.

  488. The happiness you have brought to me each blog day is tremendous and when I read your blog, you make me feel like I am one of the cool kids talking to one of my way-cool friends. Thank you and many more.

  490. I’m a day late in telling you so, but happy blogiversary. Yours was the first knitting blog I ever read, and I’ll never forget the feeling it gave me – “Wow! There’s someone else in the world who’s as obsessed with knitting as me!” Yes, you’re a dork. But only in the most charming and lovable of ways. =)

  491. Many Happy returns, perhaps a day late, but still heartfelt. I look forward every day to the time I get to read your blog, I can’t count the times I have forwarded your musing on to my muggle friends, who even though they do not knit still know a great tale when they read one.
    Thanks for being here and providing laughs, tears, reality and a thousand and one ways to stretch yourself via knitting.

  493. I ‘heart’ the inverted wineglass heel. You were a large part in encouraging me to knit socks instead of sweaters. I began last June and haven’t stopped. Now, I am rapturous at heels…honeycomb, plain flap, after-thought, short-row, your ‘tulip’ heels, and now…I ‘heart’ the inverted wineglass heels. Must try them.
    Thank you!

  496. Dear Stephanie, as someone said to me the other day (this was regarding my ability to help a baby latch on), YOU DA BOMB.
    I didn’t know, at age 50, if this was a polite commentary on my ability, my deodorant (or lack thereof), or what, but I gathered later that this was a complement. So, girlfriend, and fellow LC, YOU DAM BOMB!!!!!
    Love, Kathleen Bruce, fellow knitter, and lactation consultant.

  497. Dear Stephanie, as someone said to me the other day (this was regarding my ability to help a baby latch on), YOU DA BOMB.
    I didn’t know, at age 50, if this was a polite commentary on my ability, my deodorant (or lack thereof), or what, but I gathered later that this was a complement. So, girlfriend, and fellow LC, YOU DA BOMB!!!!!
    Love, Kathleen Bruce, fellow knitter, and lactation consultant.

  499. Thanks for all the stories and chuckles (even if the are sometimes at your expense). Happy Blogiversary! It would seem the proper symbolic gift one should give for this anniversary is…dare I say….yarn!!

  501. Happy Blogiversary Stephanie–I’ve read every one of your posts and have found them to be heartwarming, inspiring, hysterically funny (I still laugh out loud when I read the hotel in undies one), thoughful, etc. I wish you many more years of blogging!

  506. Congrats on your blogoversary! You’re the whole reason I learned how to knit (a friend wanted company when this great knitting humorist came to town, so she taught me. You complimented my swatch and put my picture on the blog. I look at it when ever I discover I made a mistake six rows down in angora). And you’re the reason I kept knitting, because I’d feel silly reading a knit blog without actually knitting. And you’re the reason I started lace knitting.
    Damn you, damn you, damn you for that lace knitting stuff. Ask me about my angora. Go ahead. Just ask. Nrrrgh!

  507. …nevermind, got it sorted out. Six rows of ripping is very calming. Happy blogoversary! May you never stop writing or knitting!

  508. Two things:
    1. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for making the soul-sucking task of sitting at a computer and applying for work (and, more often, reading the attendant “…we will contact you if…” reject e-mails) possible and slightly less deadly.
    2. Does the price of your book make any difference in the end in the amount of money YOU get? I would like to order your yet-to-be-released book on Amazon, ’cause it’s a great price and because one must support The Harlot and Harlotites. However, if you actually get more money (even if it’s a few cents – they add up) by waiting and getting it at a higher price at a book store, I’ll happily do that. Please advise.
    Thanks again for everything, Stephanie!!
    Kriss

  509. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU for making the soul-sucking task of sitting at a computer and applying for work (and, more often, reading the attendant “…we will contact you if…” reject e-mails) possible and slightly less deadly.
    Does the price of your book make any difference in the end in the amount of money YOU get? I would like to order your yet-to-be-released book on Amazon, ’cause it’s a great price and because one must support The Harlot and Harlotites. However, if you actually get more money (even if it’s a few cents – they add up) by waiting and getting it at a higher price at a book store, I’ll happily do that. Please advise.
    Thanks again for everything, Stephanie!!
    Kriss

  511. Oh, *honey*. I had not remembered you locking yourself out in your bra and underpants. Oh my.
    Well, I am surely in your league, as I made a friend spit her smoothie when I mused aloud, “Oh. Those are *sports scores*” about the ticker-tape-like display on a Vegas hotel front. I had thought they were temperatures, but they certainly seemed unseasonably high.
    She is still laughing, nearly 36 hours later.

  512. The only dork “cooler” than you is Adrian Monk…but then he doesn’t knit……….so…..seems like YOU rule!

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