Trish Knits.com

…and a lot of other stuff, too!

The Knitter’s Pilgrimage

Yarn Harlot Tour ButtonEvery Totally Obsessed Knitter has to do it once. There are some who, like the Deadheads, but with brightly colored socks in their Birks, have done it many times. Me? I was a virgin. But no more.

I’ve been to see the Harlot! Stephanie Pearl-McPhee–The Yarn Harlot–appeared at the Borders in Annapolis last night. I was determined to be there one way or another, and my DH, bless him, was kind enough to get me there. (And Grandma and Grandpa watched the munchkins, so it was all good.)

I left work early yesterday. It was also a Nationals baseball game, and since we’re so conveniently employed just across the street from the new ball park, I wanted to be sure to be out of town in plenty of time. Maybe we needn’t have worried. We got to Annapolis right at 4:00 and had plenty of time to grab a burger at Johnny Rockets and drop a few nickels in the jukebox. I had a BLT and the fries/rings combo, but I was too excited to eat. I did have an onion ring or two, though, and immediately panicked because I realized that I’d have onion breath in the presence of a goddess. How could I?

list of event guidelinesIt was 6:00 when we made our way to the bookstore. It’s a good thing we got there when we did, too, because we could already hear the laughing ruckus from upstairs. The knitters were there. LOTS of them. Luckily the coffee shop was upstairs too, so John scored me some breath mints. Yes, this was all going to be fine.

The folks at Borders were prepared! They even had these handy little event guidelines cards, in case we knitters couldn’t figure out what to do. The staff had called in reinforcements for the night, in case tons of people with pointy sticks got more than a little rowdy. It’s ok, though, because the only thing that got rowdy was the level of laughter. They even made a nice spot in front for people in wheelchairs to sit, so I could see, and hear, and get lots of great pictures! (There’s a gallery of photos of the event on this page.)

I can’t begin to tell you how funny The Yarn Harlot is. I don’t think I could do any of her stories justice. She ended with a Q&A, and someone asked her the location of the “Calgary Story” on her blog. Stephanie said she couldn’t remember where in the archives it was, but I found it, for your enjoyment. Scroll down to the August 9, 2005 entry, titled, “There is the Downside.” (Thanks, Google. SNORT WARNING–put your cup of tea DOWN before reading near the end of this entry.)

After much more laughter and applause, it was time for the signing to begin. I had a relatively low number, but it was getting late for Grandma and Grandpa so I made my way down to the line. A guy working the line picked up my books and put yellow stickies on the inside of each one with the names of each person I wanted them made out to.

Trish and the Yarn Harlot trade socksBefore long, it was my turn! I showed Stephanie my first sock, which frankly, is so huge that I think it is not intended for a human foot. It’s probably more the size of an elephant willy warmer. The Harlot had a good laugh at the sight of this and took my picture for her blog! How fun is that? I’ve made it into knitting posterity. She then offered to hold my sock if I would hold hers and we took a photo together. Her sock was SO soft, and the right size. She obviously knows what she’s doing.

book signed by Stephanie Pearl-McPheeIt was a magical night for a knitter. This morning, still basking in the afterglow, I finally, carefully, removed my book from the bag to look at the signature.

To Trish
Stephanie McPhee

I was there.

6 responses to “The Knitter’s Pilgrimage”

  1. Sidney Avatar
    Sidney

    and I missed it. But thanks so much for posting!

  2. Jessica/TopazGirl Avatar

    LOVE it, thanks so much for your accounting. It’s so neat to hear everyone’s stories of “getting there”. So sorry I didn’t get to meet you – but I think I’ll have more chances for that then we will for SPM. 🙂 See you at Sheep & Wool next month?

  3. Ruth in So. MD Avatar

    It was nice seeing you, Trish! I agree, it was a fun evening.

  4. Marie/ TiaRee Avatar
    Marie/ TiaRee

    Dear Trish- thank you so much for the pictures. I’m so sorry I had to miss it. You made it sound like so much fun. I’ll see her the next time she is in the vicinity, no matter what! See you at Sheep and Wool.

  5. fiberlicious Avatar
    fiberlicious

    Never mind the sock – what’s that gorgeous purple wavy thing you’re wearing?

  6. […] had to share these new shoes I got from Journeys. I first saw them on the day I went to see the Yarn Harlot in a shop window. But alas, they didn’t have them in my size. I tried to order them online […]

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *