Really Rosie's

The weather was weird yesterday -- sunny one minute, cloudy the next, then drizzly -- so it was a good day to be at Rosie's fondling the yarn. It was a particularly fun day for me. Several of my favorite customers came in; working with Ed and Tina is always fun; and Tina & I did the window display in a Halloween motif. We love doing window displays. It's amazing how much fun we manage to have with ten bucks of seasonal crap from Target. We had really hoped to do a kind of installation piece including a small TV screen running an endless loop of "The Life and Death of a Pumpkin" (search for it on YouTube; it's hilarious) but we thought that might scare away too many customers. "Free-e-e-e-do-o-o-o-m!"

I got sneak peeks at two new knitting books, both by male knitters, that the shop had been sent as part of promotional materials. One is Brandon Mably's new book and the other is Tricky Tricot's Knitting with Balls. Both should be out in a few weeks and each looks quite promising in its own way.

I also had the pleasure of meeting a fellow Philly-area blogger, Purlewe, who I'd not met before in person. I knew Purlewe from Knitter's Review's forums, many moons ago, and will always love her for dropping off an extremely kind note for me at the shop right after my dear kitty died. Purlewe stopped by yesterday, wearing a cool sweater knit in Noro Yoroi, and I learned something else fun: she has had her photographs featured in Interweave's KnitScene magazine. Yep, the last issue features some of her knitter-on-the-street photos, taking shots of people in Philadelphia wearing handknit garments. She was taking some more photos for the next issue, so of course all the Rosie's regulars had to show off their stuff. (We are shameless muggers.) Even Ed consented to have his gorgeous legs photographed in their handknit socks.

Also in the shop were the inimitable Knitty D and the City, podcasters extraordinaire, who've developed quite a following in a very short time. They are moving to their own URL and planning lots of fun, on-the-spot reportage, like broadcasts from Rhinebeck and Stitches. I've been really lame about updating my sidebar links, but I'll have to do it soon to add some of these faves.

In knitting news, I've been chugging away on the Hopalong vest for Nick



finished the neckband on the poor abandoned vest (which I believe is knit in a wool/cotton blend from Goddess Yarns that I bought at Stitches a while back)



almost finished a very basic rollbrim baby hat for a new baby boy (Artful Yarns Serenade, my new baby cap yarn of choice because it's so damn soft and snuggly)



and began a completely fun modular project using up some of the teeny skeins of Koigu I scored at Maryland Sheep & Wool two years ago.



It's essentially the Log Cabin style knitting that is discussed in Mason-Dixon Knitting. I'm not sure if it will end up as a scarf or a shawl or a throw; I'm going to see where it takes me and go from there. I've only finished the first piece and the next ball I'm going to use is shown in the photo.

It's funny; I'd hoped when the kids were back in school every day I'd get more done, but it seems that merely recovering from the chaos of the summer -- overflowing messy closets, kids' outgrown clothes and toys that need to be weeded out and passed on, some overdue gardening projects (like the shrubs that didn't make it and need to be replaced) -- is eating up that extra time.

Not to mention dipping my toe in the water of school volunteering. While being "trained" how to word-process "books" written by the kids at my eldest's school (it's really sweet; the kids write a story and we print it out for them on nice paper, like book pages; they illustrate it; then we bind the pages into a little book for them & their parents as a keepsake), I was introduced to the wacky world of PTO moms. Hoo-boy, some of these ladies drink coffee just to mellow out. (I think I stole that line from someone but I can't remember who.) My meeting was with a woman that I hated on sight (mainly because she was wearing a complete Lily Pulitzer ensemble, in hot pink and kelly green no less, from head to toe, including matching bag with embroidery that matched the skirt. The logistics of color-coordinating one's entire outfit, down to changing handbags every day, still has me reeling.) but who turned out to be quite nice (okay, my bad, judging someone on the overweening preppitude of their clothing). The PTO does great work for the school and they sponsor a lot of activities that are really fun for the kids, but some of these Alpha Moms scare the crap out of me.

Coming this week: Louisa Harding's new book reviewed, and maybe a ribbing primer (didn't somebody ask for that a long time ago?)