Rhinebeck Bingo: Today was supposed to be the last day for sing-ups. It really should be, but since I’m not done putting the names onto the cards yet and I’m not going to be around tonight or tomorrow, how about this. You now have until Sunday at noon. Sound good? Ok, Sunday at 1 it is. So if you aren’t signed up by 2 on Sunday, it’s too late. Seriously, Sunday at 2:00pm is the official cutoff. I’ll be emailing the cards on Sunday afternoon. I will have extra cards with me at Rhinebeck for people who want to play, but I can’t add any squares after Sunday at 2:00. Capice? Cool. There’s still probably time to get stuff from Cafƒ© Press. I got my tote bag, t-shirt and hoodie, so I’m all decked out for this thing!

I’m so looking forward to tonight’s book signing. I hope I don’t come off as whiny about this whole thing. I mean, seriously, being whiny and ungrateful for having to do a book tour seems pretty silly. It’s just that public speaking doesn’t come naturally to me and I figured I’d share my struggle as a way to help me get over it. But tonight, I’m trying something a little different and I think it’s going to be good. If you’re free, pop by!

Cambridge, MA – PORTER SQUARE BOOKS, 7pm (25 White St)

Tomorrow, I’ll be at Sit-n-knit in West Hartford, CT‚ with my darling neglected husband in tow.

West Hartford, CT – SIT-N-KNIT, 1pm (33 LaSalle Rd)

This is your big chance to meet a straight guy who hates sports and can’t stand to miss Project Runway. He even likes to watch the reruns they show before the new episodes. You can look and maybe touch a little, but he’s all mine. And I’m just about finished my Olympic knitting, which is a new sweater for him. Just need to seam it up and we’ll have some good model shots for ya’.

Also, the signing in Cold Springs, NY on 10/20 has been cancelled. Booo! But it’s been replaced by one at Woodstock Wool Co. in Woodstock, NY. YAY! Here’s the info:

Woodstock, NY -‚ Woodstock Wool Company‚ ‚ 3:00 (105 Tinker Street)

And now, something that hasn’t been seen ¢â‚¬Ëœround these parts in a while. KNITTING! Can you believe it? I barely have any time any more, but I do have some things to show off.

Here are my second pair of socks. It’s made of Lorna’s Laces “Funky Stripe”.‚ They’re green and – I dunno – pinky/purple. They’ve been through the washer AND dryer twice now and still look great! (it was an accident the first time)‚ I used size 2 dpns and Wendy’s toe-up recipe. They’re pretty basic stockinet with a ribbed cuff. But I think I’ve really got the hang of it now, so the next pair may be a little more interesting. I’m definitely going in search of some Socks that Rock at Rhinebeck.

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Here is my version of‚ Adrian’s Mini Skull Tote in pre-felted form. It’s still in pre-felted form, but hopefully not for much longer. I suck at two-color knitting, plain and simple, but I really like the way it turned out. In order to maintain some sense of pride, I will not be showing you the mess of knots inside. I forgot to add something for scale, but it’s about this big. I’m holding my hands about a foot apart.

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And here is a mitered square baby blanket in progress. It’s Elann’s cotton Sonata I had left over from ages ago. I think it’s kind of 80’s retro with the pink and green.

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What’s that? They aren’t square? Well, I was hoping you wouldn’t notice. Yeah, somehow I totally messed up the whole “square” part of the mitered square. Now it’s a mitered pie-slice. But I like the way it’s coming together. Once the middle pieces are done, I’m going to crochet some kind of pretty border around the edges until I run out of yarn. Of course this project was very carefully planned out, why do you ask?

And I’ve been meaning to show you these. They’re the Granny Square Tote Bag and Clip-On Tie that Marnie designed for the Kitschy Stitches book! I totally ruined her cred on the bus. She’s usually knitting or crocheting something really pretty on her way to work in the morning, but for a while . . . she was not.

Now, this is so goofy, it’s actually kind of cute.

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This, however . . . poor Jon. Such a good husband. (click the photo‚ to see how he really feels)

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Two more dates have been added on the 19th and 20th! I’ll be making my way from Paramus to Rhinebeck by way of Montclair, NJ and Cold Springs, NY! Here’s a look at the schedule en masse. Join me as we take a look at some real kitschy artifacts. We’ll laugh, learn and love over the madness of granny squares.

10/13 – Cambridge, MA – PORTER SQUARE BOOKS, 7pm (25 White St)

10/14 – West Hartford, CT – SIT-N-KNIT, 1pm (33 LaSalle Rd)

10/18 – Paramus, NJ – BARNES & NOBLE, 7:30pm (765 Rt 17 S)

10/19 – Montclair, NJ – Stix-n-Stitches, 7:00 (211 Glenridge Ave)

10/20 – Cold Springs, NY – Knittingsmith, 3:00 (35 Chestnut St)

10/21, 22 – NY Sheep and Wool Festival – A Craftsman’s Touch Alpaca/RedMaple Spotswear, Booth 39D, 11-12 and 2-3 both days

10/28 (may change) – Concord, NH – THE ELEGANT EWE, 1pm (71 S. Main St)

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Ok, buh-bye. I’m off to start my new job as Hobo’s assistant. Gonna ride the rails with a clown, lookin’ for that Big Rock Candy Mountain. Ayup. Seems about all I’m cut out for.

Huh? You want more than that? Really? Can’t you just imagine that I was brilliant and witty and totally at ease? C’mon, help a sister out.

Oh, alright. I’ll tell you. It started off horribly. Really, really bad. So bad that I almost asked for a do-over, and then it occurred to me that I’d have to actually do it over, so I pressed on.

Here’s the thing. In Hadley, I had my presentation all written out, but I’d start reading and it was nearly impossible to look away from the paper and at the audience. This time I just jotted some notes onto a few index cards. This way I’d have prompts, but nothing that would draw my eyes in. I rewrote the cards a couple of times and read them over and over. I even went over them in traffic when I got lost on my way to NYC. (I was supposed to take 278, but I took 287 and ended up who the hell knows where. Upstate someplace.) I knew it cold and even ad-libbed some great stuff in the car. I was lovin’ me!

And then I showed up.

Maria, the events coordinator at Barnes and Noble, was really sweet and helpful. She had set up a space right in front of the religion and mysticism section. Seems like that might have helped, right? A little mojo from all possible sources.‚ I was feeling really good about everything and met my cousin, Elaine, for a bite to eat. She and her husband, Bob, live nearby. We all came back to the bookstore to find a great array of people. My other cousin Ray, his wife, Joyce, and handsome little son, Aidan (they also live nearby). Sarah Sockit, who was the impetus for the MOKS book. And the two book designers, Arin and Stephen, were there with their wives. (I’ve been dying to meet them, they did a killer job and added so much style to the book) Stephen’s baby was ridiculously cute. She had a little knitted mermaid. Nishanna was in the front row, knitting what turned out to be this lace shawl. So pretty, makes me wish I knew how to knit. There were about 10 other people, as well. I didn’t recognize any of them, but they seemed like lovely people.

So what’s the problem, you ask? I have no idea. But I sucked. I stuttered and stumbled and missed half of the stuff on the first few index cards. At one point, I heaved a great sigh and muttered “This is terrible.” I don’t know if anyone heard or not.

But as soon as I picked up a sweater from the bin of uglies, it started to get better. I still used notes and it wasn’t great, but it was definitely better. By the time I was done with the sweaters and moved on to the Q&A, I was feeling 100%‚ at least 78% better and more confident. At this point, I no longer had any notes. I was winging it and loving it.

I think it was the freaking notes!! I got so tense about missing something from the notecards, I threw myself off completely. You know what? I don’t need some stupid little notecard to tell me what to say! I know why I’m there and I’m perfectly able to have a conversation with people who enjoy kitschy freaking stitches as much as I do. So you know what?

I’m going off note! You hear me? Off note, people! And I’m going to change some things to make it more interesting from start to finish. Mark my words, by the time this book tour is over, I won’t completely suck at this. Oh yes, I won’t completely suck.

Stitchy out.

Oh, and if, after all that, you can’t wait to see what happens the next time out, come over and see me Friday, October the 13th at Porter Square Books‚ at 7pm. Heh. Friday the 13th. Terrif. Watch, I’ll be doing amazingly well and a black cat will fall off a ladder and drop a mirror on my head. Eh, that would probably be worth seeing. Hope to see you there!

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No need to get the hose again. Now it can rub lotion on its skin in style with these Jame Gumb originals!

Use up all that leftover Butcher’s Twine from last week’s abduction to create these fun, restrainerific String Toppers! Now it’ll be happy to put the lotion in the basket, right Precious?

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Did it hear me? It puts the lotion in the basket.

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Put the #@*%ing lotion in the basket!!!

I just wanted to post a quick update before I head off to NY tomorrow. I apologize in advance for any and all typos. It’s late and I am so far behind in pretty much every facet of my life that putting letters in the right order is just a bit much for me at the moment. Yikes!

Originally I requested that people enter Rhinebeck Blogger Bingo by October 8th, but I’m extending that until the 13th. I hope to have all the squares placed on the cards by the 14th and sent out around then, too. Obviously, the earlier you enter, the better it is for me.

So far we have about 145 people signed up! (including the 10 waiting patiently in my Inbox) I haven’t had time to add people to the list in the last day or two, but rest assured, if you emailed me, I’ll add you Sunday or Monday night. There’s plenty of room for more people to enter as square or players (or both), I’ll just make extra cards as I need to, no problemo.

We have a new Prize Sponsor! Lewis of Little Barn is donating two $25 gift cards! You can visit Little Barn at Rhinebeck in the large tent between buildings 26 and 31 by the fence. If anyone else is interested in becoming a prize sponsor, let me know!

Also, I’d like to make a plea to my fellow cat-lovers or future cat-lovers. All I am saying is give puss a chance. (ok, it’s late and I have a pun problem, sue me)

Charlene rescued this lovely cat named Mew from certain death. Her owner was an elderly woman no longer able to care for her. She was thinking of having her put to sleep because she couldn’t find anyone to take her. And then Charlene swooped in and saved the day. Miss Mew is about 5 years old and is a Maine Coon. She doesn’t have the extra toes, but she is a big ‘un! She went to the groomers and the vet before moving in with Charlene, so she’s all up to date on her health and hygeine. She is neutered.

The reason Charlene can’t keep her is that Mew is a one-person cat. Unfortunately, Charlene is a three-cat person and now she has four very unhappy cats. Mew is used to living with an elderly woman, so she just likes to hang out and follow you around. She’s quite . . . zaftig, although she’s lost weight while living at Charlene’s. But she is in great health. If anyone is interested in taking to Charlene more about Miss Mew, please email me. You can use the link on the right sidebar. –>

Ummmm, that’s it for now. Well, not really, but it’s all I have time for. Hopefully I’ll be seeing some of you in NY tomorrow!