The 2,304,391st post about Knit Out NY

Picture, if you will, a hot, sunny day in Manhattan. The usual shenannigans in Union Square. Suddenly, you turn the corner, on the way to Barnes & Noble or Petco and are faced with--what? It takes a bit of figuring out. Lots of moms and grannies and young girls, all with shopping bags, crowded around booths. Is that YARN you see?

Sunday, Sept. 17 was Knit Out NY, and I was excited! I missed the Knit Out last year, so was determined to go this time. I was supposed to see people from my knitting group there, but after I saw the crowd, I realized THAT wasn't going to happen. Spanky walked me down there, but left shortly thereafter, and I was on my own. Some observations:

1. It's amazing that 82 degrees can feel so BURNING HOT when you're standing in the direct sun in jeans. Gah. Should have gone with the cropped pants.

Also, please excuse the hair. Humidity does that to it. After Spanky left me there to fend for myself, I put it up in a bun because HELLO, HOT.

2. Spanky was so great--I started the day out badly by forgetting not only my PATH card for the subway but also my camera. You can tell Ive only been blogging a short time by that fact alone. Anyway, she gave me hers for the day and calmed me down, and then went the extra chivalrous mile and pushed her way into the Bernat booth to get me a free shopping bag with a ball of crappy novelty yarn that I am going to promptly knit into a boa for her 6 year old niece to get it back out of the house.

3. So. Many. Knitters. SO MANY!!


4. Celebrities Spotted:

Amy Singer, who was at the booth for The Point, and who I was too shy to talk to.

Carrie, who was walking with Amy Singer later,and I assume Thumper, in his sling, but I didn't see him. I recognized Carrie from her hair, and found myself staring like I'd seen a real celebrity, instead of someone normal, and it was so disconcerting that I turned around and went the other way before I could be noticed staring. How does one say hello to a total stranger that one knows only from reading their blog? I don't comment--she doesn't know me, in other words. It's all weird, and a whole new world in social relations, at least for me.

The Yarn Harlot, whose voice is nothing like I thought it would be. She was at her publisher's booth [can I just interject to add that as a publishing professional, it was VERY annoying that you couldnt just buy the book at the publisher's table rather than having to go into B&N? Seriously, what's with the retail ban?] and again, I just observed. Maybe next year, I'll be more confident. Stephanie also helped with the fashion show, and hearing her commentary was really the highlight of the whole day for me. She's really great, and I did go into the evil evil bookstore to get her book. I also bought Louisa Harding's new baby book, which is AWESOME. I think it's the first knitting book where I'm in love with every single pattern and the whole aesthetic of it, with the natural yarns and stuff. Very pretty, classic designs.

5. The swag: one ball of free Bernat novelty yarn. The Clover people were giving away free bamboo needles, but I didn't feel like fighting the crowd again to snag some. I had a seat by that point. I also picked up the free patterns that the various tables had, because I figured the ones I couldn't use (most of them), I could still give to my friends at work who knit. The Point and Knit New York gave away fliers for 20% off their yarn, and I did sign up for everyone's email lists. I didn't go to The Point, because I've been there before, and wasn't very impressed. I think you have to BE somebody to get any respect there. When I went in last time, I was looking for something very specific, and I wandered around for 15 minutes or so before anyone even came over to ask if I needed help. It was also impossible to tell who was a customer and who was an employee, so I was afraid to ask anyone for anything. So this time I went to Knit New York, because I hadn't been there before. All in all, I liked it better than any other Manhattan yarn store I've been to (admittedly not very many). It's bigger, for one thing, and has a good selection. Three people asked me in a very non-pushy way if I was finding everything, and they were all wearing aprons and tshirts. The patterns and books were all out on tables too, which I appreciated. I bought some Koigu for socks for myself as a treat, since it was 20% off. I also liked that they were donating part of the money from that day to a NYC art program.

I was surprised by the absence of some of the yarn stores though. Where was Purl? I would have expected them to be there. I am really excited by that new store, Knitty City. It seems like it is a friendly, happy place. I have obviously never been there because it's on 79th street, but I bet I could get someone to go up there with me sometime. They look like they have good classes.

Anyway, by the time Spanky picked me up, I was exhausted and happy. I had such a good day, even if I didn't really talk to anyone but the guy next to me, who was completely freaked out by the weird clothes in the fashion show. His (wife? girlfriend? sister?) was a knitter, and he was just there to support her. He said things like "Who ARE these people?" and "I've had enough. I've done my best, but I can't take this anymore. I don't know anything about this knitting!" He was adorable, and I don't blame him for being cranky. She parked him on a chair in the blazing sun while she did her stuff, and he was getting really bored. I wish I'd taken his picture.

By 3pm, I was ready to go. It's amazing how fast the hot sun puts a damper on my ardor for anything. Next... Anouk.