she called me bono

so, see, Tracey Ullman and Mel Clark were at the Textile Museum tonight to sign their new book. as many before have done, they spoke for a while about knitting and their book. and i propped my tiny canon on my knee and took y'all a video so you could enjoy it too. when this clip starts, she's just been talking about how knitting and yarn was for her when she was much younger...and then she continues:



what you don't see is when i stuck my nose in it. they were talking about sweater wizard software, with significant audience participation, and somehow i managed to mention that i do knitty [cough, cough] and that's when it happened. tracey ullman called me the Bono of knitting. it doesn't need to be true. it just means that Tracey Ullman reads Knitty.

i leaned my head back and said in response, "i can die now."

p.s. i can take no credit for the pink radiator, except that i didn't paint over it when we bought the house. it does seem rather fitting now, doesn't it?

not quite posie

but so much better.

before [including atypical chaos caused by the having to move stuff around to make room]:

see that little white triangle in the middle? that was my WHOLE desk. it might help explain why i made three grown women and one husband help me get this home in the middle of the night.


thank you, denny, emma, mel and ken. look what you did! all this space! happy sigh.

for those who love office pictures, a little peek [and yes, they're crappy pics. sorry. it's this or nothing today. :-)]

left to right, a wee panorama




and finally, here's the reason that a 70+ lb desk needed to be in my tiny office:


brand name "Invincible". made in Manitowoc, WI, in September 1956. there's a date painted inside. happy 50th birthday, desk. we'll be having a smudging ceremony soon.

happy.

p.s. they still make them. it's called the m-line desk. brand new, current cost is about $1200us. amortize that over 50 years and it's cheap!

quickie update

it is 11 pm.

we have a new couch in the living room [long story, but rabbits + couch = disaster, and it took this long for us to deal with the situation].

the very old desk is in my tiny office. it fits. is good.

for both these amazing feats, i give props to El Cheapo Movers, who got both these things moved into our tiny house with tinier doors and hallways, ruined nothing and were very polite, even if one did leave the seat up in the bathroom.

should we EVER move again, i'd hire them in a second to do the whole house.

more tomorrow. pictures forthcoming.

second Tivo update

Brothers & Sisters -- clearly i'm not good at calling these in advance. oh, the cast! love! arvin sloane! rachel griffiths not depressed and neurotic! ally mcbeal, but right wing! and all the hunky brothers! this one stays. season pass continues

first Tivo casualty

Jericho. i get enough "the sky is falling" propaganda from mainstream news outlets, which is why i haven't watched the nightly news in years. feh. season pass deleted.

Team Knitty needs your help!

But our donations are down this year. We have more than $5000 contributed to the fight against breast cancer so far, but after a good start, we kinda stalled over the summer.

The walk is October 1, and we really want to make a big Team Knitty contribution to this important cause. Please, if you can, click the button below and give generously.


Thank you!

amy's Tivo watch

finally getting Tivo in our Canadian house [you may remember the significant rejoicing] means i can load up my season pass with all the new series i want to test drive, instead of missing key first episodes and then having to scramble to catch up later.

having a blog means i get to sound off about them here. unlike other more seasoned TV bloggers, there will be no in-depth coverage. instead, i thought i'd tell you which were on the season pass and how long they get to stay. it's a whim. humor me.

to categorize my tv tastes, here are my key favorites from previous season[s]:
- Lost [anything JJ Abrams does I love without question]
- Grey's Anatomy [please.]
- House [deeeep love.]
- America's Next Top Model [shush, you]
- Project Runway [almost cerebral compared to ANTM, yet so enjoyable in a very grade-10 way]

first show's season pass to get killed from Tivo last spring:
- Desperate Housewives [started out kitschy, but became unbearably painful to watch mid-season. buh-bye.]

This season's additions:
Men in Trees [clearly a Northern Exposure clone, but since i adored NX, this isn't a bad thing]
Jericho [Lost ripoff? could be.]
Brothers & Sisters [i expect this to be the first casualty of the season -- looks quite overwrought. do i need this much stress from someone else's family? but it's nice to see calista not so bony. i'll give it a shot.]
Ugly Betty [too silly?]
Six Degrees [more JJ Abrams!]
Standoff [just keep Burger away from the postits]
The Nine [i can't resist a good teaser line]

Okay. I had Shark on there, but bailed before recording an episode.

Have seen two shows so far. Summary:
Men in trees: absolutely an NX clone, mixed up and 10 years later, and very very watchable. despite my concerns about Anne Heche being cast as the vixen a whole town of men wants [have we forgotten the post-DeGeneres thing?], she really is a lovely leading lady. two episodes watched. deeply fond. season pass continues.

Six degrees: not as engaging as i expected, and definitely not another Lost or Alias. Still, the characters are likeable enough and except for the downward spiral Damian storyline [i hate those], i'm looking forward to what happens next to them. also, Campbell Scott? So so good. one episode watched. intrigued. season pass continues.

also...when did i become ABC's target demographic? interesting.

Knitty Yarn Peek Thursdays start now!

Time for this to be a regular thing. Every Thursday, I'll have new yarn to show you...a selection of the neatest stuff I can find.

Let's start with Blue Moon, shall we? Cause we loves our Blue Moon around these parts, even if it's hard to find. [I hear they're working on that.] Blue Moon is a really friendly yarn company for a non-wool knitter like me. Their website [they're also working on that] doesn't yet hint at all the great stuff they have, but trust me. It's amazing. I've also checked with the women in charge, and the stuff in this post is currently available. I wouldn't tease you with non-existant yarn. That would be wrong.

Here's the newest thing from Tina and Kaci...tube socks!

Yes. That's a sock kit. For tube socks. In a tube.


This is sock kit #3, which contains equal quantities of Sock Candy in Borage, Coral and Curry. Sock Candy is the non-wool sock yarn from Blue Moon, and it's mostly cotton with just enough elastic so the yarn has bounce and your socks don't droop.


Pattern is included. The tube is mailable, they tell me. Stick on an address label and postage and put it in the mailbox. Seriously hot secret pal gift, no? I can't wait to start knitting these.


Then there's Koi, a shimmery viscose-wrapped cotton yarn.


Yum.


Take Koi, variegate it and add more yum and you get Sari.


Little bits of matte tube, fuzzy things.

To order, contact one of the yarn shops on the Blue Moon site, or order from Tina and Kaci directly, for anything not listed.
Tube socks for everyone!

proof! and tardiness

Proof I saw Kay...she gave me one of her wee mitered square stitch markers. I like it too much to only use it once in a while, so it's on my phone.


Proof I can still shop: though I didn't buy much this trip, I did make it back to Pylones to get this wee mirror for my purse. I've wanted it since last year when Jillian and I went there.


Proof I'm still knitting. I can't show you the other thing I took on my NY trip [it's for BGK2], but this was that little bit of moss stitch I showed a while ago. No one guessed, so I tell: it's the moebius vest from Knitting Around. I've got Zimmermania too! Half done, half to go. It's my Rhinebeck vest. :-) Which should be interesting, since I have to finish the BGK2 project asap. Love a good knitting crunch!


Tardy buttons. I ordered them in time, I thought, to be able to bring them to The Point last weekend. They showed up on Monday, once I was already home. Oh well. Good news: If you're at Rhinebeck, come see me! I'll be handing them out then.

Okay, back to work! I'll see the locals at LK tonight!

this blog post has no title

Or I could just call it three days in New York, but that'd be lame.

It's all photos all the time around here at the knittyBlog, so let's get to it! I am not as good on the names as the beloved Harlot is, so if I have you misnamed or unnamed, please leave me a comment so I can fix it!


The Point, my home base for three days of knitting, merriment, quiche and great knitters.


Like Olive, who came all the way from Westchester in such traffic!, and I'm glad she did.


The Point, including a giggling Ravi. You'll see a lot of Ravi. I did. :-)


All hail Maura. This woman, she knits more beautifully than anyone I've ever met. [Sorry, everyone else.] Her work is flawless. Look at this gorgeous thing she knit from a recent issue of VK. She told me she added the matching patterning to the sleeves. I just wanted to touch it, and of course couldn't. But at least I have a picture.


It's Ravi again, with the first thing she showed me that impressed my pants off: the Manresa legwarmers converted to sleeves of a to-be-completed sweater. I have instructed Ravi that it is her duty to start a blog so we can all see how this sweater turns out.


It's Kate! I owed her a huge hug and got to deliver. Did you hear her essay about her Norwegian sweater on the most recent Cast-on? So cool. Hi, Kate!


Meet Veronique, whose work you may soon see the pages of Knitty. Look at her blog and you'll see why.


This is Andrew. He introduced himself by saying, "Hi, I'm Andrew. And thanks for ruining my life." He then proceeded to show me an almost-complete Leo -- the front and sleeves are done, and okay, so he's knitting the back for the 2nd time...suck it up, dude! -- and say it will never be complete. Look at Kate's blog and you'll see how much progress he made on the weekend. Andrew also was kind enough to take me to Soho, back to Balthazar so I could stock up on granola for the hub, who loves it enough for me to cart it back on planes for him. He also took me to a great bookstore, told me about a book I have to read [but may never find a copy of] and watched me go mad at Kinokuniya. Andrew needs to come to Toronto. The LK s&b girls would love him.


Ravi and her new macbook. I believe this is the only time I saw her NOT knitting. She brought the computer to The Point, thinking she'd get some work done. With me around? Ha!


Okay, so after Kinokuniya, foots were fried, and I had bags of stuff to offload, so I -- after a 30-minute search -- lucked into the fastest cabdriver [no, really] in Manhattan. I took a peek at his license, and had to record for posterity. He is a very nice man. No jokes.


We passed the home of Project Runway! Eee!


There's an IFC movie theatre in NY. Sigh.

Then the pictures stop momentarily, as I met Kay for dinner at her favorite former-neighborhood hangout for some killer tamales and a mojito so overflowing with muddled mint that my straw became permanently clogged with it. I surrendered. Kay and I meant to meet up the next day and take photos [because Flayland doesn't seem the place to be blogging yourself], and then we never did. But she was there, she was charming and I always love hanging with Kay. She also gave me a token which will be coveted by all blog readers. You'll see it tomorrow.


First thing I saw at the Knitout was this beautiful fresh-off-the-needles tattoo. She'd covered it with Polysporin and glitter. A glittery tattoo. I just had to snap it [sorry it's not as clear as I thought it was].


The Point's booth.


Booths everywhere, knitters with bags, grabbing whatever free swag is to be had. Mostly patterns, some coupons, and some other fun stuff. The line for the free pair of Clover needles was beyond comprehension, especially since it was over 80 degrees and sunny.


My No Sheep publisher's booth. I love Interweave.


Stephanie at the Storey booth. Stephanie offered me the loan of her Stashweasel to help spread the Harlot-public-appearance-signing mojo. Due to its woollyness, I had to pass, but got hand-to-hand mojo instead. It worked very well. Thank you, Steph! You might have heard this a time or two before, but you do rock quite hard.


Then I got to put the mojo to good use and sign stuff, hand out Knitty stickers and meet people at The Point's booth. First, this gorgeous woman in her gorgeous Honeymoon Cami.


Look! It's Val from the Knitty Coffeeshop, and her new seasilk creation!


Look at this sexy Orangina!


This is my sweet Regina and her even-sweeter children. [Shut up, ovaries. I said no.] I got to spend a little time with all of them, and it was really, really nice.


Dang, you can't really see them on her, but Carol made these perfect tiny knitted sock earrings. Here -- go to her website and you can see them better and buy a kit, if you're in the mood. So very cool. She calls them Los Lobe! [I could plotz.]


That's my bubbie, Helane, who owns The Point. I love this woman.


An almost-done sock monkey hat!




I loved this woman's necklace -- a kabbalistic jewish star -- three-dimensional and really amazing. She bought it in Israel. Has anyone ever seen one on this continent?


Pomatomus knee socks! Love them!


These are the hot chicas from the Knitty Coffeeshop. Damn, I have fine readers, don't I?


God, I love this sweater. I'm sorry I didn't shoot it from above, which is always a better angle for us boob girls, but I was stuck behind a table. So what -- you are gorgeous!


This is how much people love the Harlot. It was about seven million degrees [celsius] and the audience was packed to see the fashion show, but mostly [if you ask me] to hear the Harlot's commentary.


Volunteers teaching kiddos to knit.


Jenn had, hands down, the best hair at the Knitout. Always does, that girl. Hi, Jenn!

What should go here is a picture of Michelle and I, both looking adorable and hugging or something. What I have is a picture of too many of my chins. I therefore reserve the right not to blog it. But do know that I had an amazing time with Michelle, got to snuggle with the famous Scout, and hang with her and her man and their new place in Brooklyn. God, I love Brooklyn.


Who is that? It's Cari and Thumper! This boy is so yummy, I nearly ate his head [see Cari's blog for evidence]. I got to see these guys twice in two days, which is a rare treat. I get how hard it is for new moms to be mobile when the babies run the show. Smooch, Cari!


Triple-smooch, Thumper!


And then I walked, slowly, in the shade, back to The Point. I love Washington Square Park. I just missed taking a pic of the yoga guys, especially the one dressed all in white with a sign tied to his toes that said "PEACE".


This hulahoop girl was amazing. I'll have a movie of her for you tomorrow.




Are you lucky enough to be able to shop at Faicco's? It smelled SO good, I took this pic to remember where it was for the next time Hub and I are there together.

And now the obligatory baked-goods photo essay. And no, I didn't go inside. Seriously. Am I nuts?








Always pack Birks when you go to New York.
I'll be back.

Home safe, and I love NY

Lots to share tomorrow, so for now, I'll leave you with these [with thanks to my beloved stalker, Karen, who took them.]:
Stephanie Harlot was at the Knit Out in NY, smiling and signing. She's very good at it. I was all excited, because Storey [her publisher] made up bumper stickers for her. How cool is that? [I got one and it's going on my Knitty Heys rolly suitcase with all the other knitting stickers I've collected so far.] It was a really nice thing, seeing fellow Torontonian Steph in NY. I could have sworn I smelled a little maple syrup as I hugged her.

My beloved stalker, Karen. [She named herself my stalker, btw.] This was the first night at The Point. Not only did I meet great knitters, make new friends and have a lot of fun, but I think I drank more white tea/pomegranate Teany than is recommended by the USDA. I love that stuff.

It was a really great weekend. I love New York, and I love New Yorkers. More tomorrow.

Trying a little something

We [me and many readers] have never really liked the in-pattern navigation in Knitty. Once you're into the pattern pages themselves, all you have are names to guide you to your destination. And if you're like me, you don't always remember the name of the pattern you want to see.

For a variety of reasons, then, we're pulling those links off the current issue. Looking at one pattern, and want to see a different one? Just click "patterns" in the top navbar, OR the word "Patterns" at the top of each pattern page. It'll take you right back to the VERY handy thumbnails, and you'll know in seconds which you want, instead of clicking about aimlessly.

We think this will be a good thing. If it turns out NOT to be, no worries. We can go back to the old system if we need to. Just give it a fair shot and see what you think.

There's so many advantages to being a web-based magazine, and being able to try subtle interface changes like this is one of the biggies. :-)

Thanks for your support, and keep on clicking!

Come see me in NYC!

I'm on my way to the airport to catch a plane, gel-free, for NYC, all for a big extravaganza weekend at The Point! If you're in the neighborhood, please come by!

Full details on the weekend are here. The Saturday thingy at the store will be fun and casual and very drop-inable. 12-3pm.

See you soon!

Desk on a station wagon

This is the culmination of another great LK s&b night.

I am running for the airport in a half hour, so I don't have time to do it full justice in words. But I will summarize:

- denny and I driving along Gerrard
- emmajane and mel behind us in emma's car
- abruptly, i honk the horn, pull over and there he is...Invincible, my dream desk
- really, the desk is "Invincible" brand, solid steel, older than I am and exactly what I was hoping to find for my office. beside the curb, waiting for the garbage truck.
- wouldn't fit in the subaru
- wouldn't fit in the golf
- denny calls her darling husband, who drives over with his stn wagon and as you see, the desk made it home

special features include the original "smile" labatt blue sticker on the front, the left side compartment, which has a pullout shelf for my typewriter (!) -- will actually hold the printer, if it'll fit. and a little steel label that says "invincible" on the front. desk was made in manitowoc, WI. and there's a little brass plate that says JWT and a code number. if you ask me, at one point, this desk was in the J Walter Thompson advertising offices and now it's in my backyard till i clean it up, polish the metal, degrease it, lube the mechanisms and somehow get the bugger in our tiny house.

MASSIVE THANKS to ken, denny, emmajane and mel for not only tolerating my obsession, but totally enabling it. you guys!


p.s. photo courtesy the ever-prepared Emmajane [were you a girl scout, Emma?]

Knitty's up!

And I'm down. Nighty night.

Are you looking for the linky page?

Thanks to everyone who came out and filled the room yesterday! I hope you enjoyed it. Here's the page of links we talked about and a few extras. Enjoy!

Are you going to the Knitters' Fair on Saturday?

I'll be there. In fact, I'm speaking at 3pm in the hall there. The topic: knitting & the internet. A real beginner's intro, meant for the hardcore oldskool knitters who haven't yet learned what treasures reside on our beloved web.

If you want to come, you're very welcome to [there are a whole bunch of speakers scheduled for tomorrow, including Sally Melville -- i think she's at 10am. It's all included with your admission]! Just don't roll your eyes at me when you hear me talk about what a blog is, where to find good patterns, and how to be sure you're buying safely on the web.

[Did you know that the majority of knitters never ever go online? Can you even imagine how many people that is?]

i can't get it out of my head

Ladylike.

If you're not into profanity, listen to the PG version. Me, I go for the R -- it's how Storm meant it and the chorus is so freaking brilliantly written that I can't stop singing it in my head. At 2am. And 3am. Really.

[yes, Storm. From Rockstar: Supernova. Now that she's been booted, I have no reason to watch the show except morbid curiosity. I quite liked INXS, but Supernova's original songs aren't doing a thing for me and the remaining vocalists, ditto. Storm and The Balls -- giggle -- have an album coming out this year. Cannot wait.]

Send soup!

Fall Knitty is nearly ready, but not quite, and for some reason, fate has decided that our beloved Mandy [technical editrix of the gods] needs to have a cold now. She's fighting it the best she can, but it means the issue will be a few days later than planned.

ETA: Monday morning

Please send mental chicken soup vibes to our girl. I just spoke to her and she sounds like she needs a big duvet, foot rubs and some tea.

---

Meanwhile, if you live in Toronto and you knit [and/or crochet], listen up! There's an opening at The Naked Sheep, my LYS! They're looking for someone to work part-time including weekends. They're also looking for someone [maybe a different someone] to teach crochet. There are lots of new opportunities at this great shop! It's cozy, well stocked, Lorena's a doll, and their shop dog, Charlie, is just about the only dog in the world that I want to steal. He's a big mush.

Interested, or want more information? Call Lorena at 416.691.6320 and tell her Amy sent you!

Paging Brooke Snow, Zoe Valette

You guys -- are you out there? Ann and I have been trying to reach you for MONTHS. Please get in touch!

paging Rachel H

poke poke! [photos, too -- please?]

thank you!

happy, busy fall!

just popping in to let you know that my schedule's up at my other very cute but rather out of date website. i'm going to be all over the place in the next two months.

i love meeting Knitty people -- so come and say hi!

Catching up on podcasts, or why I want Anthony Bourdain to make me his b*tch

No playing for me this weekend. It's all Knitty, all the time. Thankfully, I have about a summer's worth of podcasts to catch up on [I can't listen to words when I write, but they're amazing when I'm coding pages or doing photoshop work].

Today's treat: Anthony Bourdain, interviewed by the amazing Evan Kleiman [the bella Italian chef that took us to Tuscany in April] on her NPR show, Good Food. In this case, Anthony does most of the talking. I could listen to him forever. [Click on Good Food and you can hear the podcast. Anthony is the first interview, after the organic market report.]

I don't know if you've seen any of his TV stuff, but he comes across as a likeable ass. Coarse, harsh, rude and brilliant. The total anti-tourist. In this interview, he drops the excess attitude and shows his deep respect for the people he spends time and shares meals with. He's intelligent, sensitive, realistic and I absolutely love him.

If he didn't smoke, he'd be perfect.

p.s. Evan, I miss you.