mason dixon knitting | PDXKnitterati

Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne, the authors of Mason-Dixon Knitting and Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines, were in town last night for a reading and book signing at Powell’s. I had a work meeting. Poot! How could I be in two places at the same time? Not possible.

But how about *almost the same time*? I finished my meeting at 8:20; DH picked me up and drove downtown. I jumped out at Powell’s while he parked the car. I had missed the reading, missed the Q&A, but I made it for the tail end of the book signing. There were only four people left in line in front of me. But I made it!

Ann and Kay were gracious and charming, and I think I pretty much babbled at them because of the adrenaline rush of just getting there. I hope I made a tiny bit of sense. They signed my books, and posed for a picture with my endless log cabin blanket. I forgot to ask about the rubber stamps!

They brought samples from the new book. These are even more awesome in person, which is hard to believe because they look so good in the book. The back of Liberty (the blue and red scrollwork on this end of the table) was as beautiful as the front, and it was really soft, too. Alpaca! The Kiki Mariko (zigzag rug under Liberty)? Felted fun! SK8R was really cute, and the Rowan Denim feels great.

I didn’t quite get to see everything (it was pretty late), but I did get to try on Margaret. The drape and swing of the skirt are so, so cool.

It was worth the mad dash to get there. Many thanks to PNWBookGirl for keeping me updated on the evening’s progress via text message!

I’m obsessed with the Monteagle bag. These are the wackiest stitches I’ve ever done, and I’m just following the directions because they’re not intuitive at all. Sometimes they make me a bit frustrated. But I can’t put it down. I just have to see what the next stitch is!

Here’s the bottom of the bag, started Kay’s way, as previously noted.

Next up: the left and right cross, complete with extra wraps and drops. Woe betide you if you get lost in the middle of these rows; they are a bear to tink! The right cross is easier than the left cross, but if you roll the stitches on the left needle towards you on the left crosses, it makes it easier to get the needle in where it belongs.