On a Roll

I'm on a roll with the book signings this week!

Last night I ventured up to Borders again to see Mel Clark and Tracey Ullman talk about their new knitting book Knit 2 Together. The audience was a bit sparse and only a few people had their knitting out, which was odd. I'm used to Yarn Harlot or SnB events I guess. The other odd thing was that the audience seemed to be filled with slightly creepy older men who were just there to see Tracey Ullman. They bought the book to have her sign and everything!

I felt really bad for Mel though. Most of the audience didn't pay her any mind and were a bit rude to her once they went up to get their books signed. The guy in front on me just wanted to talk to Tracey about how his friend is on the PTA with her and blah, blah, blah. Mel was obviously a bit perturbed, not to mention he's holding up the line. So she asked him if he knit. He kept talking to Tracey then answered, "Yes." Blah, blah, blah. Then she asks him, "When did you learn?" Blah, blah, blah, "When I was four." So Rude!!! So if anyone decided to go see them in Union Square B&N tonight at 7pm, make sure you give Mel some love!

Luckily, because of the rude blah blah guy, I was able to chat with Mel a little bit about designing and such. Apparently she had her own line, freelanced for LL Bean, and when she got burnt out from that, decided to open her own yarn store. She was an inspiration to me and I just wish I could have talked to her longer. I think it's time to get that SBA loan application in the works.......

Confession

I feel like I've done a bad thing. I cheated on my SnB group last night.

It all started out innocently enough. I saw that Tracy Ullman is coming to Borders on Thursday night to talk about her new book Knit 2 Together. So I clicked on the link to get some more info and I see that Al Franken is speaking. Al Franken! I love him and his books, so I chose Al Franken over my knitting group. I'm sure they'll forgive me after a proper lashing. :)

It was pretty cool to meet him in person and talk a little about the dire condition in Washington nowadays. Most Americans are so angry, frustrated and distraught and don't know what to do about it and how to make things better. So he offered a solution: send money to the candidates, get involved - volunteer, and most importantly: VOTE! Get out there on Nov. 7th and let them know we aren't going to take it anymore!

If you need some good reading material (that's written in a more serious tone than Franken's books) to get you even more fired up (whether you are a liberal or conservative) I suggest picking up a copy of John Dean's book Conservatives without Conscience. And if you are a conservative - before you say, "hey that title sounds like you're putting us down", just trust me on this one. Dean has been a life long conservative and has been involved in the government for many years dating back to the Nixon administration. He makes some very good points and is very concerned where the "authoritarian conservatives" have taken our country.

Ok, I'm stepping off my soap box now.

I have been knitting, but unfortunately I can't show what's going on. It really puts a damper on this whole knitting blog thing!

Knit Out + Yarn Harlot = Fun!

So I headed down to the Knit Out with Mia and Gwen (both blogless) today. It was an experiment of knitters behavior when tempted with free things very interesting. I've never seen so many people pushing and shoving just to get a goody bag from Red Heart! Let me tell ya, those grannies can be vicious! It's amazing what a bit of free yarn, needles, magazines and literature can do to otherwise sane knitters. Wait, check that, are we ever sane?

Here's a look at the crowd:



The fashion show was cute - at least the dogs and kids. These models were so darn cute! The one in the pink skirt was shakn' those hips like a professional! Absolutely adorable!



The women's clothing was well, kinda scary. There were a few nice pieces, but the majority didn't really strike my fancy. There was a very nice bag and belt made out of Patons and a nice peplum cardigan made out of Lion Brand Cashmere something or other. There was also an awesome coat made out of Koigu, but the Yarn Harlot pointed that out (she was the co-MC) and the announcer didn't really push that too much (I believe this is mainly a Patons, Red Heart, Lion Brand sponsored event). I don't know why I didn't take pics of what I liked, I think I was just too blinded by the fluorescent scarf and shawl.

After the Knit Out, I ventured uptown to meet the Yarn Harlot at Knitty City. It was a fairly small group and was a pretty informal Q&A session instead of the usual reading. She was so nice and very funny. It was nice just knitting away and having a chat as a group.

Afterwards, she graciously signed our books and participated in photographs. Here I am holding the stash weasel and of course Stephanie has the famous traveling sock.



Overall, it was a great day. It was a little hot and I got a bit sunburnt, but it was worth it!

I Love Cables

I have a new found love for cables.



They are just so pretty and so interesting to knit. This is a swatch for one of my upcoming secret deals, so I can't say too much, but it's going to be a fun knit for sure!

I'm thinking about going to the Knit Out in Washington Square Park Union Square Park on Sunday. Any other NYC knitters going?

Black Pearl Yarns

I am pleased to announce that I have been selected to be a designer for Black Pearl Yarns!

I have one word for you guys: CASHMERE!

Sorry to say this means I've added more secret knitting to my list. I know no one likes a tease, but you must accept my sincere apologies! :)

Everything has been such a wirlwind around neoknits these last few months! I can't wait til everything is revealed, it's all so exciting!

Remember this?

Remember my finished Butterfly from January?



Remember when I completed Butterfly and promised to show a modeled picture soon, but just needed to get a slip? Well, I finally got one about 3 weeks ago and it's perfect! I need to take it in a little bit in the bust, but other than that, it works well. Plus it didn't cost me an arm and a leg to buy. The key is not to shop in NYC!



Sorry for the bad pic, I didn't intend to go headless for this shot!