Belated report on booksigning

Facebook friends already know that all three of my kids came down with strep at various points this week (and it's only Wednesday!). Everyone has been started on their antibiotics, so hopefully we'll see them all back in school tomorrow. With all the shtuss, I didn't get a chance to tell you about my wonderful booksigning in Swarthmore on Sunday.

Finely a Knitting Party is a lovely shop right



in the business district of downtown Swarthmore. The owner, Cathy, is warm and friendly and definitely has a knack for partyhosting! She decided on a painting theme (get it? handpainted yarns....) and even wore painter's clothes.



She thought of every detail, including wine sold in paint cans from a local winery, yummy cupcakes and cookies (Miss Thang liked the chocolate-chip ones) and door prizes. Even stargazer lilies,



which I have a soft spot for since we had so many of them in our wedding flowers long, long ago. Everyone who purchased a book was entered into a contest to win goodies like wine and a skein of BBF yarn. Here is Miss Thang, who got to roll the dice to help select the winners:


We set a record for most copies of KSWHY sold at a signing (woo-hoo!) and I met some amazing people, some of whom I knew from the 'net (Hi, Amie!) and lots of new friends, too.



I even got to see dear pal Laura (not Knit So Fine Laura, the other Laura), who as a special treat brought along the Well-Read Hostess.


(Here is the Well-Read Hostess on the left saying "Wait, don't take that picture, I am not ready---oh crap.").

If you live in or near Swarthmore, you should check out Cathy's shop. She has great classes (including one for kids that is very fun and very popular), pretty yarns like Lorna's Laces and the new Berroco stuff and other goodies, and you might even run into special pal Jeanne T there (Jeanne T works with my husband, God bless her, and helps keep him in line when I am not around....). A huge thank-you to Cathy and all of her wonderful customers. . . I had a great time and hope you did, too.

Meet me in Swarthmore, PA!

Save the date: on Sunday, May 17th, I'll be doing a booksigning at Finely A Knitting Party, in Swarthmore, from 1 to 3 p.m. The owner, Cathy, is full of energy and enthusiasm and promises lots of fun! She also has a lovely shop in charming downtown Swarthmore, so please stop by and say hello if you can.

And speaking of Swarthmore, my friend Laura (not Knit-So-Fine Laura, this is a different Laura), who lives in Swarthmore, turned me on to a great blog, called The Well-Read Hostess. I am still cracking up over this post.

You need to check out this new book....

You may remember a while back, I gave y'all a sneak preview of a forthcoming knitting book, called Vintage Baby Knits: More Than 40 Heirloom Patterns from the 1920s to the 1950s by Kristen Rengren.



It's now available for sale on Amazon (a paltry $18.15 if you click on the link above) AND to make things even more exciting, Kristen will be signing copies of her book at Loop tonight, from 5 to 7 p.m.




I will definitely be there, since Kristen is a pal of mine (she's one of the folks I visited in Chicago back in January) and I can't wait to see her book. And her!

Maryland Sheep & Wool

I'll be spending tomorrow at Maryland Sheep & Wool -- woohoo! The station wagon will be hitting the road nice and early. I'll be spending some time at the Kid Hollow booth to catch up with Mindy, which makes it a good place to find me if you want to say hi. (And if you bring copies of Knitting Socks with Handpainted Yarns, I'll gladly sign them! Knit So Fine, too!) Don't be shy -- I love meeting y'all.

See you there!

Hear me, see me, meet me

I've been slacking off lately, eh?

Well, since last I blogged, I had the pleasure of podcasting with Kathy Elkins, the WEBS lady, who I dearly, dearly love (as well as her foxy husband Steve) and the show will go out Saturday morning; you can download it for free from I-Tunes, too.

I am pleased to report that I will be in Chicago next weekend (yes, I know it's TNNA in San Diego, but I'm skipping this TNNA so I can afford to go to the June one) celebrating the Inauguration a bit prematurely with my darling Franklin and also the Knitters for Obama group from Ravelry. If you live in the Chicago area, please come and meet me and get your books signed at Loopy Yarns:

• Friday, January 16th, from 6 to 8 p.m.

• Saturday, January 7th, from 1 to 3 p.m.

And the week after that, I'll be signing books at Loop in Philadelphia, on Sunday, January 25th, from 1 to 4 p.m. I'm hoping Jody Pirrello will be there, too, since she designed the kick-ass Chevvy socks that are on the cover of KSWHY.

I promise I'll post some real posts soon...

Come say hi at Stitches East!

If you will be at Stitches East, please stop by the Rosie's Yarn Cellar booth on Saturday around 3:30 p.m. Lisa, Laura and I will be signing Knit So Fine: Designs with Skinny Yarn so please bring your book -- or just stop by and say hello! I'll be at Stitches East Saturday and for a little while Sunday morning so look for me.

Now that this big election is over, things will be getting back to a more normal state -- which means more book reviews (and I'm working on one for Knotions, too) and more dyeing and other good stuff, too.