Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Harlot Hangover in Halifax

I overslept this morning and when I woke up, I was still tired. I'm attributing this to several factors:

1. Yesterday was my first day back at work after vacation
2. Mr. Happy left for NYC yesterday - I didn't sleep well b/c I knew he was on the road.
3. The Yarn Harlot was in town last night.

I don't know if it was the anticipation of the event, or the time I spent laughing my arse off, but I think I have a Harlot Hangover (which, I suspect, is quite different than a regular hangover, though no less fun in the making). The Ninja and I didn't stay out nearly as late as the rest of the KOLers, so I can't imagine how they're feeling today.

We met at Your Father's Moustache for a quick bite and then headed over to The Lord Nelson. Because we are nerds, we were first in line. We may have used the sign as a battering ram (see photos of that action here) .

Once in the room, we quickly claimed the first couple of rows and took a quick photo. Many thanks to Stacey who took this photo for us.

The KOL crew at The Lord Nelson

Honestly, everyone, this is the better photo of the two on my camera. Only one person is blinking and Meegie's got that "Someone is gonna get a hurt on real bad!" look on her face. Heh heh. I think there are a couple on Lesley's camera.

From left to right:
Back row: Jennifer D, Juliana, Rhonda, Moe/Terra, Jen K, Julie, Me
Seated: Meghan, Jesslyn, Cate, The Ninja, Alison, Lesley, Baby Gabriel and Henry
On floor: Mary*, Deb B.
Absent: Lots of people! Alumni and current KOLers.

There was some mutual blogging, or facebooking, going on:

mutual blogging?

I did take a couple photos of the Harlot while she was speaking (rather, making us laugh so hard that I almost had to stop knitting), but you can barely see her head over the podium.

I did attempt to "Kinnear" her while she was getting ready to sign books.

Kinnearing (?) the Harlot

I'm not sure if this photo counts as a Kinnear. Perhaps I should check the criteria for Kinnearing someone. (Do you see her bag? I thought Moe was going to abscond with it.)

Deb cast on as she was walking in the door for the Harlot reading.

Deb B's sock

When Deb walked out of the room afterwards, the sock was to the ankle. Apparently, an evening with the Harlot is about the length of a child's foot.

We had a grand time waiting to have our books signed, acting silly:

Jen D - Or 1950's movie starlet?

(Movie Starlet or Jen D?)

listening to our yarny consciences:

Evil?  Good?

(which one is the angel? and what is the internet for if not for posting fugly photos of yourself?)

and playing with Gabe:

Gabe, flirting with the girls

who promptly fell asleep just before meeting the Harlot:

Gabe doesn't make it through to the end

Henry, on the other hand, was wide awake for his moment with Stephanie. He brought the sock he made, but he was so star struck that I don't think he remember to tell her about it (it's toe-up, made with Opal solid).

When Stephanie pulled out the travelling sock, Henry almost fainted.

Posing Henry

Stephanie, the consummate caring knitter, fanned him with her hand (which explains this photo). He kept slumping over, so I had to prop him up against her book in order to get this photo:

Henry and the Harlot and the Travelling sock

He told me later that he was deeply honoured to have held Virginia's hand dyed sock yarn. He had tears in his eyes (trust me on this one, he did) and so did I. The yarn is so pretty. If the way a woman uses colours is even a hint about the kind of person she is, then I have to believe that Virginia was a very beautiful soul indeed.

It was a wonderful night. I think it was just what the Maritime knitters needed. Despite the knowledge that Stephanie can pull knitters out of the woodwork, it was still a pleasant surprise to see that many knitters in one place.
A couple of my favourite lines of the night:
(Paraphrased) - Knitters: a creepy sub-culture
In reference to Elisabeth's boyfriend: "Take his yarn away and then see who's the crazy knitting lady."

*Mary came out to KOL a few times when she lived in Halifax. She was in school at the time, so she was super busy and we didn't see her often. She made the trip from New Brunswick on the bus and got a ride back afterwards with some knitters from NB. That's dedication worthy of a t-shirt and KOL alumni status!

13 comments:

  1. Anonymous12:39 p.m.

    Hey Steph,

    You're welcome for taking the pictures (I kinda figured you'd all want to be in them!). I'm glad they turned out okay. The KOLers were certainly representin' last night - the shirts were awesome! :)

    Stacey

    ReplyDelete
  2. That was fun! I have some of the battering ram photos, but haven't downloaded them or anything. If you can't find any elsewhere, I'll try to get to them tonight after The Boy goes to sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I stole yer group picture and facebooked it. It's a pretty good snap!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous1:33 p.m.

    I just noticed that Jen and I are sticking our chests out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have the battering ram photo on my blog.

    And in one of my group shots, meegie looks like she's about to sneeze, and the rest of us look like grinning idiots. The one I posted is the better of my two.

    Wicked wicked night!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Aw man, I wish I could have been there! Looks like it was loads of fun.

    I love that Henry was so star-struck. He looks pretty comfy next to the travelling sock -- are we witnessing a budding "wooly" love affair here?

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous4:17 p.m.

    Seriously great time. I napped all afternoon today. (And ha! You took a pic of my hands!)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hey there!
    You guys look like a fun knitting group. Especially liked the battering ram!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Moe, just you wait, I have a better picture of chests being stuck out!

    ReplyDelete
  10. It was fun... I loved Henry's sock.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous1:52 p.m.

    Hey:

    This is Meegiemoo's sister, Jennifer here. I need to know.....

    WHERE DID THE HARLOT GET THAT RED SPARKLEY BAG!!!!!!!
    Anybody know?
    I must have eet!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh, I'm busting a gut here. Have you seen Stephanie's blog? I love that she thought Henry was your husband.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I love that there is such a large group of knitters in Halifax! Years ago (circa 2003), when I lived in Halifax, I had a hard time finding knitters to knit with! Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.