I admit it. I am not, nor have I ever been, a journal keeper. It might have something to do with the fact that I am a closet perfectionist. Terrible, I know. When I was in school I was apt to not hand in an assignment because I wasn’t happy with it. I couldn’t bring myself to show work that I thought wasn’t up to expectations, so my report cards said things like “Very bright, doesn’t apply herself”. Doesn’t apply herself? If only they knew how much work was at home- how much of myself I had applied to my work! Too bad it wasn’t until I was out of school that I realized this little fact about myself…
Sometimes old habits die hard.
The Sunday before last I went to the Yarn Harlot’s Sew up Party for Mason-Dixon Knitting’s Afghanalong for Afghans, and I had the best time ever! Can you believe it has taken this long for me to write about it? I can… Anyway, here’s the story!
**First of all, let me point out my little bit of cyber stardom. On Steph’s site, scroll down to the third photo… That’s me on the left! And a darned decent shot of me too! Proof I was there, I sewed, and I am smiling away as I have a great time! Thanks Steph! And for the record? No, I wasn’t ready to strangle anyone, I’ll just have to see if I can work my way into that one too…
So back to the story.
The logistics were mind-boggling. Joshua was away on business (in Monaco!) for the week, so my mum took The Boy to Montreal for the weekend. My brother’s fiancee’s bachelorette party was that weekend, so Saturday night was spent out with the girls, having way too much fun. For the record- the “Jupiter” at the Mercury Lounge will knock you flat! Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny. Great day for a drive to Toronto! I made great time, arriving in TO a good 45 minutes early, so I thought I’d be clever and run down Yonge to Queen, then head along Queen to see if I could find Romni Wools, and maybe even have time to stop in and get some yarn that I can’t find in Ottawa. Great idea! Well, not really. Yonge Street is long. Really long. And traffic is slow. I ended up arriving almost an hour late to the Harlot’s house, all cause I had forgotten how bad Toronto traffic can be, as well as how far Yonge and Queen is from Steph’s house. Silly me!
Upon arriving I was immediately swept up into the action. There was a good group of sew-er up-ers (I lost count) and the atmosphere was great. Such a wonderful bunch of people! I met Stephanie, of course, and her 3 lovely girls, as well as fellow bloggers Aven who is exactly as you would expect if you’re familliar with her blog, Elizabeth with the Very Ceative Sweater, Kelli Ann who will be hosting her very own sew up party in Montreal on the 28th of November (check out her site for more info!), Emma who has the greatest pet of all- a fibre producing one, and Ken who very kindly believes that I can figure this whole Blog thing out and it will be fine once I do. Also there were Denny who was the crochet picot edge master, Monika and her son Huxley (who I must admit reminded me a bit of Evan), Aara who brought her very talented daughter who sketched a beautiful image of the party (we were all recognizable- it was amazing! I went to art school and couldn’t have done anything like it!), Barbara who figured out the placement of squares in the pink afghan (and I *think* was the one who brought a bagful of pink-y yarns, but I can’t be sure that it was her…) and Alison who pretty much closed out the party with me as she and I stood in the doorway chatting with Steph until it was clear that I *HAD* to get going or it would be 2am before I arrived back home. The chattering and sewing went on and on, and just look at the final products! I worked mainly on the Red Afghan, seaming the two rows on the right. It was so much fun! Here’s a shot of the last of the group to stick around.
Monika with Huxley eating the blanket, Me, Jane, Aven on the couch with Elizabeth on the floor, Denny, Stephanie and Alison. Great group!
Along with the seaming went some stash enhancement (Steph- this makes you a better person) the proceeds of which I am dying to get my needles into. Check it out:
Enough yarn for a couple of shawls. The pink is from Barbara (I think…). It is a really nice dusty pink colour. I think Steph had in mind to pull me down into the swirl of lace/shawl knitting. She was especially keen when she heard I’d never tried it. So keen in fact that later on she threw in a ball of mystery yarn. The very stuff of the Snowdrop Shawl! I think I’ll make one too. The pattern is on her site, in the sidebar to the left.
Some funky red Ballybrae for a hat (a hat for me no less!)
(Why on earth did I chose that blanket as a backdrop for those yarns? Mental lapse…)
And some browny-but-with-other-colours-too Homespun that I think I’ll make a little lap blankie out of. Or maybe a blanket for Evan. We’ll see. In any case, I have to admit to laying the knitted up bit over my knees on the drive home and petting it all the way.
Embarrassing, I know.
So all in all I have to say that this was one of the best days I’ve spent in a long time (wonderful moments parenting notwithstanding). Ten hours of driving? Totally worth it. Thanks so very much to Steph for being a wonderful host (the place looked great, by the way. Paint was lovely, and I think it looks fine with the runner. Besides, with the back of the house the way it is, do you really care about the runner?? 
I hope you have as many great memories of the day as I have. And yes, I would definitely be in on a van rental to Rhinebeck next year!
