Tuesday, April 29, 2008

The Harlot . . . .

Oh my goodness. Words can not describe how wonderful Sunday was. I think that's why I'm so late in getting this post up. Every time I start to think about how to convey just how awesome the whole day was, I get completely overwhelmed. It's not like long-winded me to be at a loss for words, but I am. Luckily, I have plenty of photos!!

I've never been to WEBS before, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I knew there would be a lot of knitters there, and I guess I was a bit nervous about yarn selection because on Saturday night I dreamed that all the yarn was gone by the time I got there. As soon as I walked in the door, I could see I had nothing to fear!

I immediately veered off to my left, after spotting some Shibui Sock on the shelves. As I fawned and petted, I overheard some people introducing themselves to each other. It was none other than AGuyKnitsInCT, who is arranging a Stitch 'N Pitch for us here in Connecticut. When I stood up and turned around to meet him, I was thrilled to find that he was with Kimberly!!! We couldn't believe we finally got to meet each other after all this time.


I regret that I've already forgotten the name of the girl on the far left, but next to her is me, Kimberly and GuyKnits.
ETA: Hurray, Meliabella let me know that was her on the left!!

Along with the socializing, a bit of yarn shopping may have been done. (Once more ETA: While perusing yarn I also bumped into Valerie, who was braving the line for yarn that wasn't even for her!! How sweet is she? Sorry I forgot to mention it before - still a bit cloudy from the yarn high & the whole day was a bit of a burr!!)


Yes, that skein did come home with me. All sock yarn was 25% off in honor of The Harlot!!

The line to check-out was LONG, and there was only 45 minutes left until Stephanie was going to hit the stage. Luckily, the WEBS staff had thought of everything. They bagged up our yarn and marked it with our names, and held it for purchase after the speech. So Pea and I made our way to The Calvin and settled in while Stephanie entertained us.

What can I say. She is brilliant and hysterical and never lost her cool - even though there were about 1000 of us staring back at her. Seriously, at one point she asked for some water - and never let on that she actually felt like she was going to faint! (I only found out later on her blog - although I have to admit, chances are good we all would have blogged it and posed our socks on her. She knows us so well!!)

As we made our way back to WEBS, I met Anisa when she complimented my Sunrise Circle Sweater - which was almost as pretty as the one she was wearing. Get this, she lives only a block or two away from WEBS!!! I don't know if I should be jealous, or grateful that I don't have to live with that kind of temptation. Once back at the store, we speedily checked out my yarn. See, the brilliant WEBS staff had rung up our bags of yarn while we were listening to Stephanie, so all we needed to do was fork over the $$. The line for the book signing, however, was still very very very long. It started in the warehouse.

But that's okay. There are worse things than being surrounded by more yarn than you've ever seen in your life! And I even bumped into Kelly while making my way back to the end. I also spotted a pretty blonde who I thought looked really familiar, but I couldn't place her. I was very upset the next day when it dawned on me that it was Tamara. We've "met" through Ravelry, and in a weird twist of fate it turns out she is married to someone I was friends with in high school.

Before I knew it, I was at the front of the line, having my book signed. As usual, I was nervous and dorky. But I like to think (and I don't mean to boast) that I got a very unusual picture with The Harlot.

Yes, I held her sock. *eeeeeee*

Yes, she held my sock.

But how many times has she also held a knitter's sock's matching insulin pump cozy???

If you click to enbiggen, you can see the tubing running from me to the cozy in Stephanie's hand. It was like I was being tethered to her brilliant-ness!!

With my book signed and my money gone, it was time to get on the road back to CT, and get poor Pea some food. He really did enjoy the whole day, but I do think his favorite part was his Mexican dinner.


Soon after, we were safely home, happy and tired. Oh, and my sock wanted to pose with it's new stashy friends.

Yes, I did need that all. Each and every skein was a great bargain - not a single full price yarn in the bunch.

Well, what do you know. I guess I found a few words to describe the day after all!! As for the yarn details, I guess we'd better save that for another post.

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm glad you had such fun!! I'm not sure I could handle being around that many people, though. Just looking at the picture of the store filled with people made me feel a bit ill. How pathetic that even well-priced yarn and a knitting icon can't get me past that!!

Heide said...

Wow, that is a lot of knitters to be in one spot at the same time! It sounds and looks like you had an amazing day. Your stash looks fabulous, but I'm not able to biggify the picture to admire it properly. That is the variegated blue/teal yarn on the bottom right?

Suzanne said...

Your hubs is cute!!

cpurl17 said...

What a fabulous day! You did your duty by giving that lonely yarn a good home to live in.

Anonymous said...

Hey there! I'm Meliabella,Melissa of Keegan Lane Yarns, the girl on the far left. It was a pleasure to meet you! :)

Wannabe said...

I'm so jealous! I want to go to WEBS so badly! It looks like you had such a good time!

Sonya said...

Wow! I think I'd have had an overstimulation meltdown. I love that pile of yarn though! I saw the Harlot on her first tour before the crowds were so huge and it was still barely controlled chaos. Glad you guys had fun!

Zonda said...

What a super day!! Hehe..I would have fainted at the sight of all that yarn too! I spy some Eco Wool, what's that gonna be ;) What a great hubby, mine would not go with me!!

Qutecowgirl said...

I am sooooooooo jealous!!!!!!!! Of seeing the Harlot and getting to go to WEBs too!! Also let's not forget that nice pile of yarn.

Your sweater looks very good and I love the color.

Speaking of pump, how is it working out?

Ragan Knits etc... said...

Me, too...sooooo very jealous! It looks like such a wonderful day. Pea is so sweet to go with you and even looks very happy in the picture...must have been a terrific day for sure.
What a fabulous pile of goodies! Wow!!!!
Oh yes...your little something went out in the mail yesterday (sorry it too so long). :-)
Have a good day!

Anonymous said...

Karen, What a great blog post! It is so hard to write about a Harlot event and a WEBS event in one post without bursting! Just too much greatness to put into words.
I'm sure we will eventually meet at some future fibery event:) It is not like either of us is going to stop knitting or anything, right?
I see some Ecowool in that stash pile - I think I may be the only knitter who didn't come home with any... Are you making the Hemlock Ring like my other friends?

Scoutj said...

It looks like you had a great time!

Jessica said...

Yay! Looks like you had a great time for sure! I *love* the pic with the Harlot. :) And holy cow have they made some big changes at Webs since the last time I was there.

Must. Go. Back. Someday.

Glad you had so much fun!

Sourire11 said...

Wow! I'd be overwhelmed, too! Thanks for sharing your experience with us - and how fun that you got to hold the sock!!!

kathy b said...

Ohhh Insulin Pumpcozy celebrity photo!

Thanks for sharing !!! Best McGee picture I've ever seen on a blog!

As for the stash accident: Love that orange!

thegabbyknitter said...

Glad you had a great time. It was so nice to see you if only for a minute. Can't wait to hear the details on the yarn you brought home, looks you got some good ones!

Jennifer said...

Wow - you're absolutely glowing in your picture with the Yarn Harlot. Looks like a great day was had by all. Yea Pea! You're such a trooper.

Anonymous said...

It looks like the absolute perfect day. The highlight must have been meeting the Harlot and her holding your insulin cozy. That rocks!! You captured your experience perfectly and I almost felt like I was there. And by the way, you look fantastic!

Sarah said...

Phew! What a day you had! Isn't the Harlot great? She's such a hoot. Great stash and kudos to Pea for being a great sport!

Twinkerbell said...

WOW! That's quite the yarn shop. I've never seen one that big before. I'm glad you had so much fun :)

Anonymous said...

And if you'd talked to Tamara, you would have met me too! :-) I'm never brave enough to go up and introduce myself to bloggers I recognize, and then afterwards I always wish that I had. But there's always next time!

Nancy said...

"tethered to her brilliant-ness!!" What a great post!

Ariel said...

Looks like a truly awesome time. And I think you showed enormous restraint in your purchases, especially given that it was your first time at WEBS *and* sock yarn was 25% off.

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