Green in winter

So I never did find my copy of my book before I had to leave, and in the end I panicked and went to my local bookstore – fingers crossed that it would be there. My mother in law and I went straight to the knitting section and I held my breath, because I really had no plan for what I would do if it wasn’t there.

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But it was. (For the record, should you ever write a book, I thoroughly recommend going to the bookstore to see it with someone who loves you. Carol made me feel like this book was the most incredible achievement in the world. You would think it was winning the Nobel Prize.) It’s funny seeing it there, looking all proper and book like. I bought one (which is a really bizarre experience), Carol bought one (which is also very weird) and I left for the San Francisco airport and then a drive to the pretty place of Santa Rosa… although things there are totally weird.

The nice lady who drove me around, when I commented that everything was sort of “brown” – said “Oh, yeah, everything gets brown in the summer. It’ll be much greener in the winter.”

I spent 10 minutes trying to wrap my little Canadian head around the idea of things getting green in the winter. What a statement. Behold. The thing that is the same everywhere. Knitters.

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Then there was Kelly and Roko and Justin and Susan. (I love the babies. Look at those smiles.)

(As always, click to embiggen.)

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There were young knitters, meet Melody, Amelia (she’s only 7) and her brother Andrew (who is only three and would knit if he could). Melody’s mum also gave me some info about The Fleecy Fun Fiber Foray (Sunday, October 11th, 10-3 at the Sonoma Community Center. (When you go, ask them about the Redwood Empire Handweavers and Spinners Guild too.)

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There were washcloths from Kat and Darcy, Christina and Lorraine….

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and the first sock brigade… Ashley (who thought that was the real size of baby feet. Can all the mothers give me a big “I WISH”), Carol, Kendra and Petala, representing for the men. (Was that your first sock Petala? Can’t recall.) Karen with her daughter Andreas socks…

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There was Kara, with socks that knocked me out of mine.

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Just about quit knitting when I saw those. Very clever knitter. Another clever knitter – and friend to many, far and wide….

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It’s Alison, author of Wrapped in Comfort and giving knitter extraordinaire.

Speaking of clever… if you don’t know her already, this is Romi (aka Rosemary Hill.)

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She has a pretty pattern in Knitty right now, the Waves of Grain scarf, (which would be an excellent project to learn beading on) and a book coming, and she showed up covered in the coolest stuff. She always is. Check out her necklace up close…

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and how about her earrings!

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You know.. I think it’s the diversity of knitterly brilliance that stuns me the most. Every time you think you’ve seen the coolest thing that knitting has to offer… somebody shows up with those socks or that book or that jewellery. Knitters are the smartest people I know, and I know some smart people.

Looking forward to more brilliance (or maybe just some sci-fi geek knitters, the place is filthy with them) in Seattle tonight at Third Place Books. (Free event, no tickets.)

PS. I forgot to mention it before, but if you’re coming to one of these events, (or one of Ann and Kay’s – or anybody else) I would love it if you considered buying your book there. It’s a nice payback for the store, and it keeps the knitting events coming and reinforces that knitters are a market share that’s worth investing in. It’s a win/win.

118 thoughts on “Green in winter

  1. Did the bookshop assistant recognise you? I guess it would be sort of surreal to have someone buy their own book from one’s bookstore.

  2. One of the first comments! Wow! I’m glad you found some knitters. They make everything right again don’t they?

  3. Entrelac argyle. Brilliant! I must try my own.
    (And it’s true – it’s all brown here, until winter. Then it’s green! The leaves might even turn colours!)

  4. Oh my gosh – is it possible I am third? Totally jealous you get to be in the wonderful city that is Seattle.

  5. Wow. Those are some awesome entrelac socks. I just love the evolution of knitting thought. When I had first started knitting I said, “Oh, I’ll never knit socks”. Then after I started knitting socks I said, “Oh, I’d never do anything super fancy for socks,” After knitting lace socks I’ve said, “I’ll never knit entrelac socks,”
    I sooo want to knit those socks!

  6. Man, look at Roko’s baby sweater! That’s nice…anyone recognise a known pattern?

  7. Be still my heart! Is there a pattern for those incredible entrelac socks?!!!! Please let there be a pattern!!!

  8. I had the same reaction to the green/brown thing as you did when I moved here a couple of months ago! The one thing I miss about Philadelpia is all the GREEN!
    Thanks for a throughly enjoyable afternoon and giving me a way to find dozens of local knitters in my new home. Nothing draws them out like one of your events!
    Oh yeah.. and I covet those socks. Big time!

  9. LOL….I never thought about how it would be strange to others that it’s green here in the Winter! When the snow is too much to bear, come visit Sacramento or Davis so I can come meet you.

  10. Ohhhhh…I am so sorry I missed you. I had been waiting all year for you to come back to the bay area and I had a commitment I couldn’t break on Saturday. I wanted to bring you some local beer and wine!!!
    Those entrelac socks were in Interweave Knits last winter; not sure what issue, but I’d bet you can find them on Knitting Daily.
    Oh well….I’ll have to wait for the next book tour. Don’t stay away too long.

  11. I’m trying to make those socks, but I’m having the hardest time with gauge. 🙁 Anyway, they’re Entrelac Socks by Eunny Jang from the spring 2007 Interweave Knits for anyone who’s interested.

  12. When my parents came to visit us after we moved from New England to California, my father pointed to the brown hills California is famous for this time of year and asked why someone didn’t water them to make them green? No hose would reach up to those hills many miles from a water source. To help you get your head around the situation, California gets rain for up to six/seven months, usually sometime in October through sometime in April, if we are lucky. Then it doesn’t rain until the following fall.
    Stephanie, you were wonderful in Santa Rosa on Saturday. We all had a great time, including waiting for the reading to happen and waiting for the signing to happen. After all, both are knitting opportunities, are they not? I just wish you could come back every few months, new book or no new book. Five of us went out to dinner and all knitted around the table, waiting for the Thai food to come.
    BTW, I’m enjoying your book immensely. I’m teaching my sister to knit socks, and yesterday when we were doing her first toes, told her she would have to borrow the book when I’m done. I’m showing it to anyone I know who knits, including the woman who sells me a muffin most mornings when I’m on my way to work. I love how you celebrate how different and special each one of us knitters is.

  13. I know what you mean about the book thing, it’s a great service these yarn shops do. I am dying to get the new MDK book but I am waiting till the 17th when I go to Purl. I have been saving $$$ so I may partake in a wee little spree while there. Should be a good time. And even though babies are wanted, I am leaving mine AT HOME! I think. Depends on the weather… I think.

  14. Delurking for the first time to say that I can’t wait to see you tonight. I have a sock for you to hold and a friend for you to meet.

  15. Yup, yup, brown in the fall. They don’t call it the Golden State for nothin’. Of course, the poison oak is turning red right about now 🙂
    Also, I’m so enjoying reading your book. Among other things, it’s nice to read about someone who has survived, with grace, the parenting experience, and who has turned out the kind of adults whom it’s good to have around. I hope I do half as well.

  16. Yeah, it does the same thing here (southern Oregon) with being greener in winter, then about mid-July, KAPOW! And behold, it is brown. Enjoy Cali! Oh, and I loved the Peacock Shawl. It is the amazing and made of win.

  17. It was great to see you in Santa Rosa on Saturday. I’m glad I brought the whole family this time – I distinctly heard my husband laugh more than once!
    My daughter Amelia will be tickled pink to see herself on your blog, although my son Andreas probably won’t understand (and definitely won’t care that you called him Andrew. Nathania at Purlescence Yarns always calls him Henry!)
    Have a great rest of your book tour and thanks as always for writing and speaking so well about something that matters so much to so many of us.

  18. The colour thing is funny – it´s hard for me to imagine a white winter, even with the help of TV, Christmas carols and the such.
    (Now I really want to write a book, get published and go buy it from a bookstore and feel like I´m the “Nobelest recipientest” of the world!! But wait! I should get some ideas of what to write about first…)

  19. I got my ticket and so can’t wait to be part of the yarn harlot tour experience when you get to florida! Everyone looks like they are having so much fun. Do you need roadies? I want to be a yarn harlot roadie! =^)

  20. Already told the boss that we’re leaving early on the day of your Brooklyn, NY B&N appearance and warned them that we might, cough cough, be sick, cough cough, the next day as we have a LONG drive home to Jersey…but since this is the closest book appearance you will be to us, cue the Doris Day music: “Que sera, sera”

  21. Besides the cute babies, I LOVE seeing Alison and Romi in person! Alison is kind enough to comment on my blog; we share interests in flowers and lace, and I love her book, which a fellow knitblogger turned me on to. And Romi’s stuff is so gorgeous; when I placed a large order with her, for gifts and for me, she was kind enough to send a bonus shawl pin as lagniappe. I ordered her swan pin for my Mystery Stole 3 shawl (Swan Lake, as you very well know).

  22. Looks like such a great time! You’re going to be fairly near next week in KC, but alas–the next day I’m due with our next baby, so won’t be driving the 3 hours each way. I just received your new book, though, and am savoring each chapter. Thanks for doing what you do! 🙂

  23. Romi is awesome! I think she was the first designer to have back to back Knitty cover patterns. Ice Queen and Muir. She’s so talented it’s ridiculous.

  24. I wish I could have been there to meet you! Yes, moving to the bay area from Ohio was quite surreal. It definitely gets green here during the winter (as opposed to white, which I don’t miss a bit!) and the first rain (which I believe you were likely witness to) always catches me by surprise. “Is that… rain?!”

  25. For Christine (in the comments): The sweater the baby is wearing looks like the Dream In Color Tulip Baby Cardigan, which can be seen in the pattern section of the Dream In Color website. Harlot herself introduced this cardigan (about a year ago?) on her blog when she showed a gift she was knitting for a wee friend.

  26. It’s green on the lower west coast of Canada all winter 🙂 Of course, that likely has something to do with all the rain we get all winter…. and if we don’t water it is brown here all summer, too. Unless it is a rainy summer. We have campaigns to preserve water in the summer with signs that say “brown is beautiful” on lawns that have been left unwatered.

  27. The book is lovely and amazing. I cried when I got to “Helen”. Thank you for another gem!

  28. I bought 2 books from the bookstore and thankyou so much for signing all my books and always making me laugh I so enjoy seeing you and hearing you speak:)Hugs Darcy

  29. It was so nice to see you (again)! I was kind of thrilled you remembered my name from the last time you were out here. I do feel lucky that the powers that send you on tour think the Bay Area is a good place for you to visit!
    Thanks for the fun – it really was great.

  30. The entelac socks are indeed Eunny’s from Spring 2007 Interweave Knits. Koigu on size 0s. VERY addictive to knit and very rewarding.

  31. I am so glad you liked Santa Rosa. I grew up there, and even after nearly 20 years in Wisconsin, it is still home. Wish I could have been there!

  32. Beautiful knitting abounds. Thank you for the fine examples.
    Mayne Island, BC, Canada is another place that’s greener in the winter. We’re “greening” up now thanks to the rain. We’re not really brown in the summer but not as green as in the winter.
    Diversity is everywhere in knitting and climate.

  33. I just moved from the Santa Rosa area. It is greener in the winter because it rains all winter, which is nice if you like rain like I do.

  34. Stephanie – it was so great to see you and hear you speak last Saturday! I know you hear this all the time, but one more time is ok, right? You rock the house! Thank you for coming to visit us and for making us all laugh! I am loving your book (which I purchased at the store). 🙂 And thank you *so much* for your incredibly kind comments!
    I was laughing reading your comments about the brown hills. I went to school in the eastern US, and had a devil of a time convincing everyone that winter is the green season where I’m from!

  35. Also, everything’s browner right now because we haven’t gotten enough rain in the last couple of years. Drought conditions and everything. March tends to have the most green.
    Coming from a college student in a climate like yours who feels like she’s being cursed whenever it storms here (at least once a week) but there hasn’t been rain back home in California.

  36. So my mom (who’s in one of the front row pictures! Hi, mom!) tells me you remember me from Portland last spring… Doulas unite! Can’t wait for you to come back here, I have an adorable infant who was a bump when you were here.
    And yes, green in the winter. And about two weeks of spring, until the sun dries everything out again. Somehow, I’m liking Oregon a lot better, weather-wise… rain all year! Not just in the winter!

  37. Funny thing about that green — I live in Alaska and my parents live in Georgia. I get to hear funny expressions like “Yes, that’s a nice winter flower.”?!? W-i-n-t-e-r f-l-o-w-e-r What? And folks in California actually plant a winter lawn. Bizarre.
    We already have snow on the ground!!

  38. Bought my book in advance of the Loopy Yarn/Mason-Dixon shining at the store with my $10-off birthday coupon so OF COURSE I bought more books (they were $10 off!). And then yarn to make a project from the MDK book. But the payoff, for my husband who is bemoaning my pile of yarn, is that I ALREADY have yarn for 2 more projects in the book. Knitting heaven.
    Ann Shayne is composure and grace herself.

  39. Here in California we have 2 seasons, dry and wet.
    If we are lucky, that is. Sometimes we don’t have so much wet inland in the valleys, and that’s not so good.
    Missed you this time, maybe the next book you write we will finally make it to a book celebration.
    But don’t feel pressured or anything. You can take a few weeks off before you start your next one. LOL
    Safe tour.

  40. I preordered your book, since you aren’t set to come to Philly and I just finished it. OH MY OH MY IT’S SOOOOO GOOD! Thank you!

  41. Texas is sort of like Santa Rosa. In spite of what you’ve seen of Galveston after Hurricane Ike, it is green here in spring and fall for sure. Summer is green if there aren’t watering restrictions. Winter is green if people have planted winter rye (which most don’t). So.. if there’s not an ever green around, things might just be OCHRE.

  42. Thanks for reading to us, Stephanie. It was an incredible experience to have a Canadian and her humor in brown, dull California. I couldn’t have spent a better Saturday, except maybe at your kitchen table knitting with you.
    BTW, after reading about Anabelle, I taught my 5 year old golden-haired daughter to knit yesterday. Now she comes up and asks me about every hour, “Mom, can I knit some more?” OF COURSE!

  43. What a treat to see you Saturday! There were several of us from the Sacramento area that car pooled over to Santa Rosa to see you, and we had a lovely day. Knitters really are great people, and it’s great to be near loads of them. Thanks for coming to CA and making us laugh. Looking forward to your next trip out here.

  44. Where is the pattern for those entrelac argyle socks? I may be in love. I want to take those socks out for cake and champagne, and then maybe back to my place for a while. Love.

  45. Holy kemoly! I was looking at Romi’s necklace going, “Oh that’s cute; I wonder if she made that herself…then you showed the knitted blocks it was made out of. Way cool!!!! And the earrings, too!

  46. Oooooooo cute babies!
    First time I’ve ever looked at a pair of socks & didn’t think turning the heel would be the hardest part! I’m in awe…
    Since you’re not going to hit PDX this time around 😮 (
    I’ve already got my copy 😮 )
    The daily do of life wouldn’t allow a quick trip up to Seattle, drat!!! 😮 P
    Safe travels for the rest of the tour!

  47. just wanted to say THANK YOU for all you do.
    and I can’t wait to see you again. and this time you are coming to my city.!! woo hooo

  48. I finally made it to a bookstore and picked up your book today! What a treat! I put it down long enough to knit a few rounds on the sleeve of my sweater which I am loving but it was 80*F here today and too warm to hold alpaca/cashmere too long. Didn’t mind though, I had a GREAT book to read!
    Kim in IA (where you’ve never been for a book signing, sigh…….)

  49. I’m a California girl, and am so used to the green in winter, brown in summer thing… Our family is contemplating relocating to Saskatchewan. This is another thing to get used to, besides the bun-numbing cold, that is.
    I wish I could have made the trip to see you in Santa Rosa. It’s only 3 hours away, but I wouldn’t have made it home in time to tuck in the kids. Hope you enjoyed our brown landscape.

  50. GASP! Alison! My buddy Alison! Do you know that to ‘Alison’ someone is a verb in the knitter’s lexicon as well? She is an absolutely amazing woman. Off to send her a virtual hug.

  51. We had such a great time hearing and seeing you in Santa Rosa, and at one of my favorite independent bookstores to boot! And yeah, California kind of only has two seasons: dry (brown) and wet (green). Saturday was one of those weird days where the weather can’t seem to make up its mind about the hot/cold thing.

  52. After a trip to CA, I commented to a friend who had lived in Oakland that everything was so brown. She gently corrected me with a knowing smirk and said it was not “brown,” it was “golden.” Ah, I thought, I get it — “The Golden State”! (While it still looked brown to me,it’s all in the marketing.)

  53. I’m sorry I missed seeing you at Third Place tonight – Two kiddos were sick and my oldest needed some serious mommy cuddle time (do you know how rare that is with a 6 year old boy?) Anyway, I so wanted to show you my FIRST finished lace project – the infamous MS3, which I bound off and blocked last night!!! You can see it on my blog though, and hopefully I’ll see you again at Madrona. 🙂

  54. Wish I could have been there; your pictures look so fun! Unfortunately, it was too far away, and so is Seattle (I live in NYS). Still, it looks really cool. Good luck!

  55. Brilliant entrelac socks, and amazing earrings. I wish I could have gone, but I had a class on marine mammals that day. If there’s one thing I love more than knitting, it’s marine mammals. I’m sure your Seattle reading is winding down in the most lovely manner, even as I type.
    Californians are just as dumbfounded at the concept of places that are green in the summer, as you are with the idea of things being green in the winter.
    I once made a Canadian’s head explode, with the casual observation, “Where I live, it doesn’t get nice until late October, early November.” It wasn’t until much later that I realized that, while my idea of “nice weather” means cool enough to work outside at mid-day, her idea of “nice weather” probably meant warm enough to go outside without a coat. No wonder she looked at me as if I were insane.
    Since there was no way I could sanely see you in Seattle, I put off my trip for a couple of days. Tomorrow, I will start on my way from southern California to northern Oregon by one of the prettiest routes in the world: up the east side of the Sierra Nevada, and then through the Cascades. Sucks to be me, too.

  56. LOL! I just got home from the Seattle booksigning. I think I did a pretty good job representing for the sci-fi geek knitters (*cough* weavers.) ;>
    I very much enjoyed your reading and the brief chat during the autographing.
    Being that “on” is hard work. Here’s hoping you’re able to get some down time during your whirlwind tour.

  57. I met you tonight at the Seattle book reading, and it was great. Thanks. I brought my 7 week old Isabelle, and it was wonderful to meet you! I forgot to tell you that my 2 year old and 3 1/2 year old have both started knitting, with guidance and me holding my hands over theirs. I told them I was going to hear about knitting tonight, and they both wanted to come, and asked me to give them needles and yarn for their “ninning.”

  58. Holy entrelac, Batman! Those socks are amazing. I think it might put me off attempting my first pair for a few good weeks. The pressure!
    Hope you liked Seattle — like Vancouver, it’s always green. 🙂 (You need to come here, BTW!)

  59. Yay! I came to the event in Santa Rosa with a couple ladies from my knitting group (we’re locals) and had a great time. It was a very entertaining day–standing in line with all those knitters, hearing you speak, and catching up with some old friends (I used to work at a different Copperfields, and several of the people helping run the event used to work with me).

  60. I can’t wait to see you in Boston, but I will wait to buy my book there! And I will hope you have time to sign it, especially when you see the bribe I am bringing!!!

  61. Buying your own book was a brilliant advertising campaign (for Yellow Pages, a commercial telephone number listing directory) in the UK years ago…Fly Fishing by J R Hartley. Some bright spark eventually wrote a book on Fly Fishing under that name. I spotted it in a second hand book shop, otherwise I wouldn’t have believed that!
    Glad you found Alison, too!

  62. It is quite surreal how all these knitters seem to be at all the bookstores you travel to 😉
    I do hope that a stop in MN is added to the schedule with this book, but I have a feeling it might be a bit greedy.

  63. Thanx for the shout out to buy your book at the bookstore hosting the event. We have crappy libraries in our town (the library system is less than one hundred years old). We have terrific bookstores, though, and I work in one of them. Do you have any idea how many people *think* we are a library? It’s appalling. At any rate, those bookstores disappear without sales. So support your local bookstore, even if it’s the big box variety, all of it’s employees are part of your local culture and economy.

  64. I wish your publicist would remember that California is a ‘big’ state, and we down here in SoCal want some Harlot also. Talk to our SoCal group on Ravelry, we’ll find a great bookstore (ie: Vromans in Pasadena) for you to speak at.

  65. I just finished reading Free-Range Knitter.  I laughed & cried.  I just loved it.  I especially relate to the chapter on Helen. My 88 year old mother,a knitter since the age of 5 now too has failing eye sight & is finding her life long love affair with knitting coming to an end. May  you write many more books.  Your blog is a big part of my day & I thank you for brightening my days.Sincerely,Martha

  66. I have seen those entrelac socks before. I’ve totally wanted to start them and I have the yarn, needles, and pattern for them, just wayyy to chicken to do it. XD
    I have a friend from Santa Rosa. Yes, in NorCal, things get green in the winter as it rains and is cloudy and gloomy all winter long. It’s nuts.

  67. I thought I had seen you start a Harlot Tour list somewhere but I can’t find it… am I crazy? Yes. But where is it?
    I always get a little jealous/sad when I see someone actually do the things I think of (awesome jewelry), but never get around to doing… ahh that should teach me.
    Have a good time on the West Coast. When are you coming back to Chicago????

  68. Love the entrelac socks-doing an entrelac sweater for my granddaughter that seems to go on forever.
    Living in Michigan I am used to the “4” seasons but when my daughter lived in South Carolina I realized on one of my visits that it was summer vacation and no kids were playing outside. She explained that kids play outside in the winter when the weather is in the 70’s and inside in the summer when the weather is in the 90’s to 100’s. Very Strange to me-and really strange to see Christmas decorations when the temp is 75F and sunny. Couldn’t do Christmas that way-Christmas means snow!

  69. I may be there tonight in Seattle if I can bribe my roommate to drive me. I would really really really love to be there since I havent seen you since I made a complete arse out of myself at Madrona in front of everyone rambling about our knitting club x.x
    Would love to see you and your great work again! <3
    ~Annastasia

  70. I grew up in the U.S. Midwest and it took me *years* to get used to the inverted color scheme of California.
    I still miss the green in summer, although I’ve grown accustomed to it.

  71. Hey, it IS gold in summer– unless fires turn things brown and black. Then you’ll know why the highway signs reminding people to be careful with fire say “keep California green and gold”. Green in winter, gold in summer is the course of nature for us native Californians. The freakiest thing in the world to me is rain in summer. The first time I saw that (childhood trip to cousins in the Rockies) my jaw dropped. “But summer MEANS no rain! How can you have rain in summer?” Still seems weird to me. Oh, and I hate humidity. . .

  72. I have wanted to come and hear you speak for years now (and get my book signed), but I always miss you. This time I ordered the book, had my ticket and was also in Santa Rosa, at the Fairgrounds, ~1 mi from the bookstore where you spoke. But one of my other hobbies, showing American Fuzzy Lop rabbits, interfered. I would have slipped away for a bit at 3 pm but I was also hired to judge the show, and they needed me at the show to actually do that! So if loving yarn and knitting is considered a bit off the normal charts, then what about someone who also raises and judges rabbits? Sorry to have missed you. Please come back to the SF area again soon.
    Carol

  73. i’m so glad you added the PS about buying your book at the event. good point! i’m coming to see you in Jacksonville next week and felt i needed to have my book ahead of time … but now i’ll wait until i get there. 🙂
    ps …. i’m so happy you are finally coming to florida! yippeee!

  74. OKay–funny story–
    A couple of years ago my family and I were camping in Redding, CA in August–for the record it’s about 112 degrees on average in Redding in August. While there I met a lovely Canadian family, whose last stop had been San Francisco (75 degrees and foggy), and from there they drove straight through to Redding in the air conditioning, wondering about the brown hills.
    “Those trees are very nice, Mum, but what about the brown hills? I don’t like those so much.”
    “That must be water rationing darling–I don’t know why they’d be brown otherwise.”
    The poor woman–we had this entire conversation while she was armpits deep in Whiskeytown lake, recovering from what happened to her and the family when they opened the minivan doors in the middle of Redding in the summer.
    Anyway–sounds like a lovely time, and after seeing those entrelac argyles, I may never knit socks again. (Alison looks just as lovely and as saintly as I imagined from the back of her book. I love that book:-)

  75. Sooo sorry I missed you, but just got home from a long overseas trip, and jet lag got me. I’m SOOO dying to knit the Waves of Grain pattern, I had no idea the designer was Local! see what you learn by reading our blog? 🙂

  76. Come out here in spring some time. It’s unbelievably beautiful – and spring is a real season here, which lasts for months. Unlike the five minutes of spring we’d get when I lived on the east coast.
    There are flowers everywhere (thanks to all the winter rain), and the weather is (mostly) beautiful – with occasional leftovers from the winter rains. Try Northern California in late March through early June.

  77. It’s actually lovely weather here in Philly, the flowers are reblooming and so are many vegies in the garden. We have two kinds of summer here — hot & dry resulting in dead grass and drooping trees, or hot & rainy, resulting in lots of mud-covered grass and trees covered with greenish mold. Fall, to me, is the absolute best — cooler temps, lovely flowers and colorful leaves.
    Oh, and I want, must have, those earrings . . .

  78. You finally come within 50 miles of me, on a Saturday, no less, and it had to be my mom’s birthday! I hinted not-so-subtly that a day spent in the antique stores of Santa Rosa would be fun, hoping to wander over to the bookstore, but she wasn’t in the mood, unfortunately!

  79. I scored a copy of your book today during lunch, and laughed out loud as I read about Annie. I knew a kid just like her (and Mom will probably claim I WAS a kid just like her) that we really, really should have taught to knit. Next time, I’ll be sure to be armed with knitting needles and a plan.

  80. If there were a Nobel Prize for knitting, you would totally win one. Have already won one. Or more. Your traveling sock is gorgeous. Just wave anything dark-reddish at me and I will respond in Pavlovian fashion.
    I thought knitting with wire was not for me. Now I am unsure.
    I adore Santa Rosa, with or without knitters. I suppose if I’m there, by definition it’s with knitters, or at least with knitter. See you at Rhinebeck, I hope.

  81. Don’t forget about the great state of Ohio! We need some Yarn Harlot in the Buckeye State!

  82. I missed the Harlot in Seattle last night! Would’a, Should’a – Could’a and now I have only regret.
    Though – I did have a moment’s pause about showing up with my copy of the new book that I purchased from Amazon – the moment simply became inertia.
    And- it was wet last night – I know – it’s Seattle but, Can someone help me work up some sour grapes?

  83. I was out at my local mall yesterday and dropped into the knitting section cause my favorite knitting mag still wasn’t in.
    And they had moved it.
    ARGH!!!
    So I went to find the section and peruse through it. No, I don’t need a pattern book on socks. or hats. Or scarves. Or a how to book. Wait…
    I stare…
    a New Yarnharlot book? I thought November?!?
    So I left the books store, a twenty lighter and one book heavier. 🙂

  84. My comment got et.
    In short, I walked out of my bookstore yesterday $20 lighter and one yarny book heavier, and far happier for it. Thank you. 🙂
    BTW, I won’t bring my copies of your books to signings. You don’t want to see the dog eared, nibbled on, bitten and more books. They might be well loved, but you’d cry.

  85. I bought your book today and am about half way through it. It’s an excellent read – as always. You are about the only author I run out and by their book as soon as it hits the shelf. I really enjoy the insight and humour you observe in knitting, life and when they meet up.
    Best wishes and safe travels

  86. California is the golden state, not because of the gold found at Sutter’s mill, because of the golden hills! Both my boys were born in Santa Rosa, it does have a lot of character, and I miss it dearly… but I am comparing it to Pittsburgh… *sigh* such is life.

  87. You live in CA long enough and it feels like you get used to brown in the summer and fall and green in the winter. I thought I was used to it anyway. Then, I was in Ontario a couple of Augusts ago on the Rideau Canal, and the green was just amazing — a site for sore eyes.

  88. Hi Stephanie! Thanks so much for writing another wonderful book; then coming to No Cal & giving me a chance to hear & meet you! It was a wonderful talk & more than once I had to stop knitting because I was laughing so hard! Also, it was impetus for me to meet some new knitterly friends, always a pleasure. Here’s hoping you have a long & successful career as a (real) writer of knitting humor.

  89. hey, our hills are gold, not brown!!!! Funny, the one time I get a chance to travel is when your tour comes nearby!! Oh well – please keep writing so can come to San Francisco sometime soon! I really like your blog and books, they help me stay a hip-knitter. Oh, I tried to kinnear Jon Voight at the Albequerque airport, tricky business this stealthy stuff!

  90. How funny that you had to buy your own book from a bookstore. I guess you didn’t think it funny at the time when you needed the book.

  91. My daughter and I were so sad that we weren’t able to make it to see you. I will be buying your new book ASAP. I have them all. I do live in the Central Valley where most of the food is grown. It is green here all the time. Orchards, fields of fruit and vegetables, acres of grass, alfalfa, and feed corn. Yup, it’s green all right. I hope you get to see it some day.

  92. Dear harlot, we love you, and we want to see you. We know you’re busy busy busy, but when you get a chance, could we get an update to the tour page, so that we know where you are going to be?
    Go Yarn Harlot!

  93. Just saw your book advertised in a knitting catalogue. Since you’re not in my neighborhood before Christmas, I handed the catalog to my teenager and told him that’s what he should get me this year. Since he loved your other books, I figure there’s more motivation!
    Since the bookstore is within biking distance, I told him there’s no excuse for having the book not wind up under the tree.

  94. I will not read the Harlot while I am supposed to be working…. I will not read the Harlot while I am supposed to be working….I will not read the Harlot while I am supposed to be working….I will not read the Harlot while I am supposed to be working….I will not read the Harlot while I am supposed to be working….

  95. Coming out of semi-lurkdom (I read your blog religiously but seldom comment) to chime in that as a native Californian, I totally get the idea that the landscape gets green in winter. Even if for the last 18 years I’ve lived in a place where it gets gray and/or white in winter, I still recall how we used to love winter in California because it would finally rain and everything would bloom!

  96. I wish you would update your travel plans ….CAN YOU PLEASE COME TO VANCOUVER ISLAND ie Victoria while you are on the West Coast…come BACK to Canada!!!
    We have a great yarn store here ** The BeeHive** & I saw “At Knits End” on the counter the last time I was in there.
    PS…our grass is green in winter & brown in summer on the island due to seasonal rain or lack thereof.

  97. No it wasn’t my first my first sock. I tend to have a somewhat dry sense of humor, but you were pretty damned funny.

  98. I can’t even wrap my mind around seeing my book in a store. It seems so far away.
    And isn’t Romi the best? We’ve been friends for a few years now. I can’t wait to meet her in person!
    Are you going to be at Rhinebeck?

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