A Post-Pittsburgh Post

Nicole and I left Cincinnati around 10am Friday morning and hit the IKEA in Pittsburgh by 2:30pm. I'd never been to IKEA before, and it was a fascinating new experience. We only had about an hour and a half to browse, which wasn't nearly enough time. I sense an IKEA/yarn related field trip to Pittsburgh soon.

We met a high school friend of mine for dinner at Primanti Brothers, a popular place to take visitors to the steel city. Their claim to fame is putting the coleslaw and french fries on the sandwiches, as opposed to on the side. Apparently you get in big trouble if you ask for them on the side. There are a lot of questions that you're not allowed to ask at Primanti Brothers.

From there we dropped Erlina's car off at her place, then the three of us went to Joseph Beth Booksellers. We arrived around 6:30, only half an hour before the yarn harlot was supposed to speak, and about half an hour later than I'd hoped to arrive. Sure enough, they didn't have enough room or enough chairs, and although I'd promised not to complain about it anymore, the two empty chairs we found were right next to the rudest knitter I'd ever met. So Nicole and I stood behind the back row of chairs, and Erlina browsed the store during the talk.

She started out with the classic "blog the bloggers" shot, and I found out why most of the audience photos are blurry.


It's tough to get a good clear shot.

The talk was great, as expected, and I got goosebumps no less than four times. I worked on my orange toe-up sock, as it's just knitting round and round, and I didn't have to pay attention to any pattern.

Here's Nicole (left) and Erlina. Isn't it fun to introduce friends from different aspects of your life? We were in group C for the book signing line, so we had a little while to sit and talk with some nice knitters we found before getting in line. The line was filled with more nice knitters (I think there's really only that one cranky one), so the time passed relatively quickly.

After reaching the signing table, I earned the "very nice stalker" moniker of which I am exceedingly proud. When I told Stephanie I'd see her again in Lexington, she said, "You'd BETTER come see me in Lexington!" Oh yeah. Like I'd miss it. (I stole this picture from Nicole's blog, because I look like a big dork in the picture on my camera. Trust me, you like this one better.)

After much more frivolity and Erlina shouting,
"Brooke! You're holding up the line!" we finally headed out. She and I yukked it up on the sidewalk, and then we went on a mini-tour of Pittsburgh. We got to see quite a bit of the night life as we drove through the south side, and then saw the lights of the city at an overlook on Mt. Washington.

Pretty skyline, no? We finished up with a tour of Erlina's new duplex, and before we left we heard her say, "I'd like to learn how to knit a Pittsburgh Steelers hat." (Emphasis mine. I know a convert when I see one.) Nicole and I left Pittsburgh around 11:00pm. I dropped her off at home around 3:30am and walked into my apartment at 4:00am.

It was so worth it. I can't wait until Lexington. Make sure I know if you want to go with me.