Real life knitters!

Yesterday I drove out to the Los Angeles Farmers Market and this is what I saw. Knitters! Lots of them, all sitting and talking and well, knitting. Knitters in the wild, I tell you. Something I never, ever see out in my neck of the (out in the middle of almost nowhere) woods. One woman wandered over, watched all of us for a while, then asked if we were a knitting circle. It was a bit difficult explaining that most of us had never actually met before, though many knew each other online, at least sort of. The really funny part is that while much of the group was tagging along with Lauren, there was a completely different group of knitters who just happened to also be out in front of the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf when our group arrived. What are the chances of two unrelated knitting groups showing up in the same random public location at the same time?

Stomachs were grumbling, so several of us branched off to go find food, then it was off to the Knit Cafe with Jen (had a great conversation about Los Angeles en route as we drove down Melrose Place). This is where I realized just how few people I really knew there, even through blogs. This is probably a good thing, since I would have been much more intimidated had I had any idea of who anyone actually was. I mean, here was a luscious knit store filled with incredibly talented, cool, gorgeous knitters...what the heck was I doing there? I worked on Christmas presents and tried hard to blend into the woodwork a bit. Got to see a few things I haven't ever seen in person, like spinning (fascinating to watch) and an actual ball winder and swift in action.

Afterwards a much smaller group walked down to Mel & Rose, a small store/deli with a mind-boggling array of candy, liquor, and other random gift items. Somehow we all ended up oggling the chocolate aisle (yes, there was a whole aisle devoted to premium chocolates) together, and everyone grabbed something to drink and chocolate to nibble while we all talked. Got to talk more with Lori, Julia, MJ, Andrea, and Lauren (and meet her boyfriend - definitely a keeper!) while we all knitted. What a great group of people. I really enjoyed talking with everyone and getting to know people outside of words on a page and pictures on a screen. All in all, it was a wonderful day. Many thanks to Lauren for putting it all together, and all the knitters who made it well worth the drive.