Something about the weather turning cooler brings out the grandma in me. All I want to do is sit in a cozy spot with my knitting and drink a spot of tea. Care to join me for a cuppa? Matching shoes and handbag required!
Knit One, Purl Two
The whole time I was growing up, knitting was considered a dork’s pursuit—like the girl version of making ships-in-a-bottle. It was more “Debate Club” than “Prom Committee,” if you know what I mean. But I would still work over my scarves for hours, in the privacy of my own home, the Brady Bunch as my only witness. Now, it seems like every Hollywood starlet is confessing to making booties in her spare time. Yup, knitting is cool, as is evidenced by the Miranda-July-doppelganger in her Built by Wendy smock dress perfecting her stocking stitch on my subway commute. I could be bitter about this, but I say, “Welcome to my team!” After all, this new wave of knitters has also brought about hip, design-conscious knitting shops with cashmere so thick, it’s the lanolin version of a milkshake. One of the best is Purl SoHo. It’s in New York City, but ladies outside the Big Apple can make a virtual visit. You can’t touch the yarn, but you can appreciate the colors and visible textures. Now if only they’d do instant chat to help me with my dropped stitches …
One Lump or Two?
I’ll be the first to stand up and admit this: I like tea, but not half as much as I like all the little doodads that go along with serving tea. On a recent trip to London, my only “must-do” (aside from raiding Jo Malone for perfume) was going to Brown’s for a spot of high tea. The little parlor where we sat was straight out of a BBC miniseries. I sipped on my English Breakfast brew (natch) and sampled crust-free sandwiches from silver trays. Just when I thought I had died and gone to Jane Austin’s heaven, a little teacart came wheeling along with lemon cake poshly dusted with confectioner’s sugar. That’s when I ruined the moment by excitedly blurting “Get OUT!” and taking a picture with my very 2006 digital camera.
