September 16, 2007

So Much to Say

Yeesh, I haven't posted in a month. Bad blogger! I don't especially feel like making excuses for my bloggy failings, so I'll just say I've been trapped under something heavy this whole time.

I haven't forgotten about my contest. I am thrilled to pieces over how many responses I got. Thank you all so much for participating! And super big thanks to those who linked to my contest on their blogs. I have not yet done the drawing, because I'm still working my way through the entries! I'll get there...eventually. Promise.

Yesterday, was the Los Angeles speaking engagement of our beloved Yarn Harlot. It was a fantastic event. From her blog and books, it's easy to know how funny and smart Stephanie is. But what really blew me away about meeting her in person is her remarkable charisma. She has that rare ability to both move an entire crowd and to make people feel special on an individual basis.

She spoke for about an hour. As an audience, we laughed and cheered almost non-stop. Some people were even moved to tears in parts. And of course, there was knitting. Lots and lots of knitting.

Like an idiot, I forgot to bring my camera. Luckily for me, knitters are delightful, friendly and generous with their cameras. This picture comes courtesy of Darcy.


See that yellow thing I'm knitting there? That's the hat I made to donate to charity. I finished it during Stephanie's talk. Whew, close call.

Speaking of the hats for charity, I had the honor of being on the "Hat Lady" team. I say hat lady team, because there were also representatives from the Sand and Sea Knitting Guild collecting hats. We collected a total of 45 hats. The baby size hats will go to Stitches from the Heart and the child and adult size hats will go to Kaiser Permanente's hospice care program.

Stephanie signed my books. Despite her "ridiculously long name," she credits knitting for her hand never getting tired, even when she spends two hours signing books.

These next two pictures are courtesy of Kathleen, who has an excellent post about the event on her blog.



You'll be glad to hear that when asked what her next book is about, Stephanie replied, "Knitting!" She also told us that Jayme-the-wonder-publicist is on "thin ice" with regards to getting those socks.

It was a really fun event. And I'm pretty sure all the knitters were successful in freaking out the library staff and patrons. Good job LA knitters, way to represent!