(This post is a bit later going up than I planned due to the time and fatigue factor of a mid-week trip to Atlanta followed by intermittent internet access issues. Better late than never.)
When I first heard that Stephanie Pearl-McPhee was coming to Atlanta on this book tour, I was resigned to the fact that I probably would not get to see her. After all, it is a 3½ hour drive, and taking a random day off is not easy for me in my current job. However, I checked the calender to discover that the date she was coming to Atlanta was a Wednesday, which just happens to be my regular day off. Filled with excitement, I invited the other three member of my small local knitting/crochet group to come with me to see La Harlot. While factors such as job and family kept two of them from going, my friend Christine and I set off late Wednesday morning and arrived in Atlanta about 2:30 in the afternoon.
After parking and getting the lay of the land, we had a nice meal on the patio of one of the nearby restaurants. The weather was beautiful – clear and cool and almost fall-like.
The event was hosted by Knitch and we stopped in to look around, do a bit of shopping, and check out their newly renovated upstairs space.
I bought no yarn, just a set of DPN’s (in a size I don’t have and need for a pair of socks I have planned that won’t work on circs) and 4 oz of alpaca roving. It is a lovely shade of medium brown and not as orange as it looks in the picture.
A bit after four we cruised by the theater and found a small gathering of people already there, but no actual line. Within minutes of our arrival, everyone started spontaneously lining up in front of the box office and we jumped in and and found ourselves in pretty good position for good seats.
The theater looked like an old movie theater, but the former concession stands had been turned into a Starbucks on one side and a Ben and Jerry’s on the other.
By 5:00 the line was out the door and well down the block. They started seating those with disabilities, pregnant women, etc at about 5:00 and began letting the rest of us in a bit later. We wound up on the third row, next to the nice couple behind us in line. We sat and talked and knit, and made friends with those around us.
There was quite a crowd. They had set up folding chairs in rather tightly spaced rows and there were very few empty chairs.
You can’t see past the front row, but the balcony was full as well. They made about 700 reservations, and though there were certainly a few no shows, there were a lot of people there.
I worked on my blanket and received a lot of nice comments and complements.
Promptly at seven, La Harlot took to the stage.
She was funny, insightful and thought provoking, often at the same time. A non-knitting friend asked me later if it was everything I expected. After faithfully following Stephanie’s musings and ramblings online and in print for a few years, I had a pretty good idea of what to expect. She did not disappoint. She spoke for about an hour and a half, including answering questions from the audience. She received two standing ovations.
After the talk, those of us assigned to the early book signing remained in the theater, while those in the later group were told when to show up at the store. Despite the long line and some grumbling about line jumpers (I am all for allowing those with physical limitations avoid standing in long lines, but seven people moving to the front of the line because one of them is pregnant was a bit ridiculous.), we got our books signed got to chat for a few minutes. I gave her a couple bars of hand made soap to go with all the wash cloths she’s been receiving.
We were back on the road by about 10, with Christine driving most of the way home, while I dozed in the passenger seat. We got back to Columbia about 1:30. Thursday morning came too early, but I got through the day fairly well. I was falling asleep Thursday night by 7:30.
I had started my next pair of socks on Tuesday night, and decided to work the foot in stockinette, although I’m considering a simple stitch pattern or ribbing for the leg. I worked on these while standing in line waiting to get into the theater, as the blanket is too big, heavy and awkward to stand and knit on.
For those of you wanting a blanket update, I turned the last corner last night and most of a side worth of edging yet to do. 68 repeats done, 16 to go. I’m hoping to be done by the middle to end of next week so I can block it next weekend.
Since I haven’t done an overly cute animal picture, here’s one for you. This kitten was boarding with us last week. We let her out to run around the back part of the hospital and play a bit every day. She managed to pull my surgical cap and mask down off my desk one day and was having great fun chasing the strings on the mask.
