A Harlot Good Time in Nashville

Wow! What else to say - words are totally inadequate to describe this woman. Stephanie Pearl-McPhee is even funnier in person than she is in writing. And yet she's so real you can imagine having her for a neighbor (what luck for any knitter, huh?) If you haven't read her books, I recommend all three for their humor, humanity, and insight into the "knitting lifestyle." If she's appearing at a book or yarn store near you, GO SEE HER. You won't be sorry - even if you don't knit. (I'm so honored - Stephanie is introducing her traveling sock to my honorable first pair, now retired.)

I went to Nashville yesterday and indulged in a small yarn crawl before Stephanie's appearance at Threaded Bliss. It was nice to actually fondle Koigu, cashmere, Mountain Colors. Fondling the Euro Flax linen wasn't exactly great, but at least I could find it. I won't say what I'm going to do with the linen, you'll just have to wait and see. But this photo of a blogger in the wild might give you a hint. It's the lovely Ann from Mason-Dixon Knitting, who graciously brought Stephanie to her speaking engagement. Ann is in the company of Rupert, the friendly shop dog.

I had a wonderful lunch next door to Threaded Bliss at The Wild Iris, then settled into the super friendly, comfy and well lighted shop to knit for the duration of the afternoon (I went early to Nashville in order to miss the worst of the afternoon traffic - I don't do traffic well these days.)

I met David, who works in the shop and is just so knowledgeable and helpful. As the early arrivals began to assemble, one of their number spontaneously whipped out his guitar to entertain us, since "I'm not sitting here knitting, so I might as well make some music." Craig Summers - a nice guy who makes music and knits his own sweaters. And the other local customers - ladies with whom I'd enjoy sharing knitting time if only I lived nearby.

My traffic avoidance strategies were for naught on the drive home. I-40 ramped down to one lane in my direction and I was able to creep along for about half an hour. But no matter, The Yarn Harlot and the entire day were worth it!
I got this much knitted on a Koigu sock while waiting for and listening to Stephanie. She signed my book. Threaded Bliss gave us each these nifty ruler/needle gauge tools. What a good time in Nashville!