If you're a knitter, then you know the Yarn Harlot (http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/), whose blogs about knitting, yarns, babies and all (interesting) matters under the sun for some of the most interesting knitting material in cyberspace. In this special event, cosponsored by the Ann Arbor Book Festival, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee comes to the Library to dish and bitch about the joys and perils of playing with sticks and strings. She will also talk about her latest book, 'Knitting Rules!' The event includes a booksigning, with books for sale courtesy of Nicola's Books.In real life, she is Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, the author of 'The Secret Life of a Knitter' and 'At Knit's End: Meditations For Women Who Knit Too Much.' Her tongue-in-cheek meditations on a personal obsession fraught with guilt, frustration, over-optimism, sly deception, and compulsion, along with passionate moments of creative enlightenment, are truly down-to-earth witticisms--and not just for women who knit too much. Pearl-McPhee, who lives in Toronto, has also contributed articles and patterns to knitting magazines such as Cast On, Interweave Knits, Knitty, Stranded, and Spin Off. Her writing and work is best known through her blog. In 2004, she founded Tricoteuses sans Frontieres (Knitters without Borders), a group dedicated to raising money for the non-profit Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders). As of 2006, they have raised over $100,000. In 2006 she started the Knitting Olympics, a competition for knitters to start and finish one project during the timeframe of the 2006 Winter Olympics. Over 4,000 knitters worldwide participated.

The Yarn Harlot makes a return visit to AADL to talk (about everything), knit, and answer your questions! Stephanie's newest book is "Stephanie Pearl-McPhee Casts Off: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting." The event includes a book signing, with books for sale courtesy of Borders Books and Music.Stephanie invites knitters of all ages, levels, and persuasions to embark with her on a journey deep into the land populated by those who are obsessed with yarn, needles, and what's on their needles now.Note: Due to a travel nightmare (which she details in the video), Stephanie was 4 hours late for this event, with the both the multipurpose room and the 4th floor overflow room filled to capacity with knitters and knitbloggers from all over the great lakes! Fortunately, the audience was well-equipped to kill time, and were treated to a few parades from a Festifools-inspired kid's craft program going on upstairs.