'Cause Amy Only Takes Me to the Best Places...

Before I begin this post I must preface with something I found today that just caused me to giggle madly. Not only is there a British Edition, but if you're in the UK it is apparently a freebie if you subscribe to the magazine "Simply Knitting" by March 31. They also give away great small gifts every month, something I think all knitting mags should do. I have heard reports of things like tape measures, knit-checks, stitch markers, etc. The offer is only available to new UK subscribers. Darn...I could have gotten a second copy! And for those who were asking, this is the British ed cover - different, but very similar. I love them both, equally!
There was not a lot of knitting this week, but with good reason! Once again I headed off to the big city, the Chicken Farmer in New York. I was to spend a night, tape a television spot and have tea with a buyer Barnes and Noble, and head home.
I am getting much better at the basics of city life, like hailing cabs and telling the driver where I need to get to. "235 West 46th Street, please..." just sort of rolled off my tongue. Amy put me up at The Paramount Hotel, which I liked a lot. Unlike the delightful Gershwin Hotel, it did not have the Museum of Sex next door, but it did have a Dean and Deluca with the most amazing, although environmentally disastrous (made in Greece?! Yeah, that's easy on the planet, shipping food from Greece...) yogurt, Fage, with honey. It also has a great energy and comfortable rooms for the money. I did not fully understand the location until I walked out the front door in search of food, turned left, walked a few feet and . . . and . . . went back for my camera. I went to see a show Wednesday night. See, the Paramount is right next to the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, currently housing a musical production based on a movie that I don't even like. In fact, it is probably my least favorite film of it's genre. But I don't want to admit what it was, really. It's embarrassing. I will preface my revelation by saying that I really, really wanted to see Wicked, but the tickets were so expensive and I did not know where the theater was, and I was alone and nervous about getting around at night (the whole country bumpkin thing is pretty real for me) so I went with 'close and cheap(er) and simple'. I saw...oh I can't say it. Sigh. OK, I saw 'The Little Mermaid'. If I say I'd had a glass of wine when I bought the ticket, will it make it easier to swallow? It was karmic, really. I discussed it with Mr. W. and we decided that if the tickets were "under $50" and if they had any for that night, I'd go. Well, it was $51.50. So I said "Should I?" and he said "Go for it.", and I did(so it's his fault, right?!). I really had a blast (the kid who does Flounder?? AWESOME CHILD!) and now want more; more shows, more theaters, more nights in Times Square.
In the morning I met Amy (crazy person who gets up at 5am to drive into Manhattan in her car, which she just parks there, like it's normal! I have enough trouble driving into Springfield, let alone Manhattan.) and we headed for the Better TV studios. The taping went well, I thought. I did not bite my tongue in half, spit, drool, or in any other way embarrass myself. The spot should air in a couple of weeks, and then will be available on their website for a while. I'd brought along garments on-loan from Webs (thank you, Kathy), and we displayed them as well as two socks from the book - some of you will recognize Flutter, Greenwood, Radiance (bag and jacket). My sweet babies. Later they added a copy of 2-at-a-Time Socks, me, and Juli, the host. Juli was really wonderful AND can now call herself a knitter, since I taught her how to knit on TV (without a net). I left her with the needles and yarn. Maybe a new convert? I love that every person who's ever taken the first stitch has the same reaction: "I did it. Look. I really did it." or some variant thereof. I always knew they could. But they always seem surprised. Perhaps the next knitter to visit with Juli can teach her to purl.
After taping Amy took me to this wonderful sushi place, Hatsuhana. It was so good. Then we shopped a bit - I saw Saks, and the insanity of the make-up counters, and held a $1400 Marc Jacbos bag to my heart, where it remains in spirit. Because, you know, I so doubt that it will ever show up at Marshall's on clearance for $60. Which means, uh, you know, I won't be getting it. Ever. But in my heart it is MY bag and always will be.
Next we headed downtown for our tea stop. Allison was comfortable and kind and wonderful. She's a knitter, and was wearing the most edible shawl of Malabrigo lace weight that I just wanted to wrap up in. It was SO beautiful. She'd cast on a sock in my honor, though one at a time, close enough! We met, Amy, Stephanie D, Allison and I, at a place called T Salon. It was, for those of you who are local, sort of like Greenfield's Market in feeling, only more upscale, with servers and a beautiful seating area. The tea was excellent and the company better. I have not seen Stephanie in a long time. She was behind all of this, this whole book thing, from the beginning. Sitting there in my Knitting 2 class, insisting that I NEEDED to write a book "about this" technique of mine. Smart girl, that Stephanie is.
I hopped a train back at 6:07pm and managed to pull into my garage at about 9:55pm, five minutes before bedtime.
I am afraid now to admit what I knitted on the train. I've held off, in the hope that most people got bored and left. If you're still here, well...then it's your own fault that you see my shame. I have mocked this knitted item for months, nay, years. You have to understand that I am a product of my generation, and seeing the trends repeated already, well, it's disconcerting. Something that was cool in 1983, well, it just does not have a right to be BACK already. "What decade are we in?" I snarked. "Is Flashdance coming back now?" Yeah, all over me. Meet my brand new, comfy and warm as toast Noro Silk Garden legwarmers. I love them. Everyone should have them. 4 skeins Silk Garden, one set of US 7 circulars, cast on 44 stitches twice, divide and knit in 2:2 rib like 2-at-a-time sock legs until you've got 20 or so inches, then cast off and put on. Mm mm...warm!
Finale - grand finale - Genius Infant said Omie, and if I had the upload limit I'd prove it with video. Since I can't, you'll have to be satisfied with gazing adoringly at her little personage in mid-smile - isn't she just...PERFECT?