Meeting the Yarn Harlot

Even though I am a Knitter, I was a bit ashamed to say that I did not know the full scope of the teachers at SS. I did some research to find out who they were before I left, but even after all of that, I was still most excited to see Stephanie P.M. aka "The Yarn Harlot". I read her blog religiously and think she is hilarious. When I was able to snag a spot in her class "Knitting for Speed and Efficiency" I was beyond excited.

My first encounter with the YH at SS was during registration. K and I went down to register and pick up our goodies and she ran by us... with an orange shirt on and her fancy radio. I just about died. I had been less that 6 feet away from the YH! It was amazing.

Then at the opening reception, we took our picture with her. Sure, it's blurry. But there we all are (me with my happening bangs) with the YH in all of her tired glory. From the way she talked, I'm not sure she slept much the entire trip...



Then I had class with her and it was amazing. For three hours I got to learn and listen to her talk about how knitting has changed over time and how we have become less efficient as knitters in our society. Then she showed us how she knit, which is SUPER fast (60-70 stitches a min) and I practiced that. I still need a lot more practice, but I think it is do-able for me. It is called lever knitting, or body knitting, and you hold one long straight needle under your arm and it doesn't move. I have decided I will call it armpit knitting. It is the style people used to knit when they had to knit for a living. Fast, efficient, and easy (once you get the hang of it).

I even got to chat with her at the book signing. I took her newest book (in hardback) for her to sign. She is just so nice and funny and willing to help out other people. I just wish I could hang out with her more often! :)

The other thing I really enjoyed about meeting her is that she has people that she was VERY excited to meet and was gushing over. That made me laugh, and made me feel better about how excited I was to meet her. It's always good to know that you aren't *too* crazy!

Alright, off to get to housework stuff. More SS news later! :)