It's time to party!

Okay. So the Knitter's Frolic is in two days. Saturday, if you knit and you're in Toronto, you're likely going to be there. It ends at 4pm. What will you do with yourself afterwards?

Why, you're going to offload your new goodies, have a little dinner and then come down to Lettuce Knit to celebrate with us! [70 Nassau Street in Kensington Market]

Yes, the More Big Girl Knits book launch party is this Saturday at 7pm.

We will have cupcakes from Life Is Sweet [come early. they'll go fast.]
We will have a ton of door prizes.
We will have JILLIAN in person for the first time in Toronto in ages.
We will have a live Irish all-woman band playing us into the evening [we <3 the Polka Dots!]
We will have all the garments from the book for you to try on and feel great in!

And much more. Denny has promised, if we get her drunk enough, to do a nice jig.

Shannon Okey will be there. Oh, yeah -- I'll be there, too.

Please come!

And since we've spent nearly every penny of our advance actually producing the book and what was left on the cupcakes, we hope you will BYOB. Thank you.

Bring your knitting! Wear a sweater [it will get cool when the sun goes down and you won't want to go home that early]! Bring a folding chair if you feel like it!

See you Saturday!

p.s. Yup, I was on BT again this morning. When I can get my laptop to talk to the Tivo, I'll get the clip up. Wait till you see the kickass models I found for the sweaters this time!

where i am...

This candid picture shows your intrepid Knitty editor and Knittyspin editor/catalyst in the midst of their quarterly staff meeting. Not pictured are intrepid ad manager, Steph, and intrepid technical editor, Mandy, who are linked in on a Skype conference call from various locations across the Canadian border.

Not kidding. This issue's Knitty meeting took place under Jillian's dining room table. A very time and cost-effective meeting, as always, plus it's extra fun to work in a fort! What would we do without Skype? What would I do without Jillian?

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Today is the launch party for More Big Girl Knits, v1.0 at Threadbear. We start at 1pm and need to be home for dinner, so come early, try on the garments from the book and eat cupcakes with us!

a cupcake lived in Minnesota. then i ate it.

red velvet with cream cheese frosting.
Originally uploaded by amysinger

Look. Cover girl London came to the guild meeting in Minneapolis and brought me a red velvet cupcake...with cream cheese frosting. London, it was delicious! Thank you! I enjoyed it back in my room post-Annie [see her stellar recap of our day on the twin towns here].

I will honestly say that I was surprised to instantly fall in love with the twin cities as I did. I had zero expectations, except that I knew I was going to teach and speak and I wanted to do well at both. Maybe it was driving around with Annie, who glows with the love for her new home, but it really felt like it could be home to me, too. Keep in mind that I lived the first 6 years of my life in New Jersey, and St Paul feels like the best of that, but even nicer. More charming, well maintained, without a stitch of pomposity. I love 1930s-40s-50s houses, and except for one short stretch, every neighborhood was more charming and cozy and real than the one before it. If I ever moved back to the US, I'd put St Paul at the top of my search list.

The people of the twin cities are similarly charming and likeable. Summary: I had a hell of a good time in a short time. Thank you and huge hugs to Annie, the best tour guide the midwest ever had, and to Karen at Needlework Unlimited where she made sure I had everything I needed to run a lovely class [and it was, too!] and more.

Speaking of teaching, it's a fascinating thing. I have no dreams of ever coming near what Annie does in terms of mileage and endurance, but I do want to do a good job every time I stand up in front of a new group of knitters. I'm very happy to say that teaching the Tuscany class is a joy for me -- more than I expected it to be. I get a real rush when the students' lightbulbs turn on, maybe because I remember how much it meant to me the day I finally understood how to read my lace and stop agonizing over charts. Is good.

I'm now blissfully home until the end of July, when I head out west to visit three cities I've wanted to see my WHOLE LIFE. The Threadbear pajama party has been rescheduled for sometime later in the year -- probably Novemberish. I'll let you know when we've got a firm date.

Oh, and pictures? There are many. and you will find them by clicking on the little cupcake at the top of the post, or here, if you want the full MSP set all tidylike.

Had a hell of a time. Very glad to be home. Happy sigh.

Going to pet the bunnies now.

Hill Country Weavers (Austin, TX): another mammoth post

This past weekend, Jillian and I were in the Weird [with a capital W] capital of the USA, Austin, TX. Our assignment: teach stuff to the fine patrons of Hill Country Weavers.

This was no hardship.

Backstory:
- Jillian lived in Austin with her family for 3 years. She loved it there.
- I've never been to Texas.

So I was predisposed to love it [having heard stories about the Austinites and the city itself for as long as J and I have been friends]. Let's get this clear: she didn't lie. Austin is one of the coolest cities I've ever been to in every way except climate. [I am not good with hot. Especially in April. Erk.]

So let's get on with the pictures, shall we?


*

It's all things fibery -- weaving, spinning...and the thing we love best: knitting.


Look how happy Ms. J is to be home.


Old-timey knitbloggers...remember Yentala? She exists! [she's hiding behind J's Austin-swelled hair] And she is a huge bundle of love and Texas-style mensch love. Deb, you are the best.


Jillian will have to forgive me for this one. It's just too perfect. What is she pointing to that has her pontificating? Why, it's the shelf where the original yarn for Rockstar was pulled by HCW's owner Suzanne. Suzanne gave the yarn to Jillian, saying [legend has it], "Here. Go design something." And she did. And thanks to that fateful day, I've got me a BFF and you all have an amazing designer whose work you can knit and enjoy. Thank you, Suzanne.


Okay, now we're on the road. Even the ratty weather-worn music posters are different here. Totally frameable. Austin is the live-music capital of the USA, you know. Damn straight.


I felt very at home here. These are bumper stickers you can buy at Book People, THE Austin bookstore.


I'd been asked what I wanted to do in Austin, and told my generous hostess that I wanted the real Austin Experience. I sure got it! Here we are sitting at Shady Grove, trying to figure out what's for dinner. That's the legendary Suzanne on the right.


My choice: catfish.


Suzanne's choice: Frito pie [that's the Fritos bag blinding the flash -- it's a bag of fritos with hot stuff on top. too cool.]


The true Austin experience includes live music. Tonight: Bruce Robison. Love.


Back at the shop now. This is Suzanne's dog, Stella.


The classroom, set up by the HCW staff, for my first No Sheep class.





Look at all those gorgeous non-wools! Still feel sorry for knitters like me?




Knitters busily swatching non-wools to see how they behave. Notice the deep and intense focus. These knitters are serious!

Okay, back out on the street now...I had to walk South Congress to see all the cool shops.


:-)






Boots to die for at Allen's.

My new love:





That last picture was taken in their washroom. I've never been to a shop that fills the washroom with merch, knowing no one will take anything. I love this place.


The coolest hotel I've ever seen.





Insanely understated, gorgeous landscaping.



Austin seems to have a fetish for penis-signs. This was just one of them. Oh, and that's the Capitol building in the back there.




How could I not be happy here? My own ice cream store!
My choice: Smores ice cream with whoppers [Maltesers for the Canucks and Brits reading this] bashed up by hand and mixed in.
Cost: $5 [including tip]
Calories: don't even ask.
Worth it? Hell, yeah.



Cupcake gifts [back at the shop again] from partygoers! Yum.

And before we left, Suzanne asked me to do something. I was glad to oblige [but you can tell my spray painting skills are quite, um, unpractised. I did my best.]



We were and we'll be back. [Though if it's just me, it'll be in winter. So I can wear my boots next time.]


*Yes, I messed with the sign in Photoshop. Bow to my mad skillz. Bonus points for those that get the shiny joke.

you only love me for my cupcakes.

i wasn't able to make it to LK last night. you know that feeling when you're looking forward to going out and then suddenly you realize you're not going anywhere cause you don't feel quite right? that was me.

so i hear today that the only reason i was missed was the lack of cupcakes. nice.

see if i show up tomorrow night at the Dick to knit with you Drunken Knitters, then. just see. with cupcakes. and the top-down raglan that's just now got a SUCCESSFUL neckband knit into it. so there!

[i think i'm getting this taunting thing wrong.]

p.s. people who love me only for my cupcakes are missing out on all my other charming virtues, the most significant one being that i will NEVER scoff your merino or cashmere when you're not looking. can you say that of all your other knitter friends? i think not.

eta: rachel has a point. bringing cupcakes to a bar seems a bit off. don't want to piss off the delightful Dick staff that so deeply love the Drunken Knitters by bringing in external food. cupcakes will have to wait till wednesday.