Meeting a knitting celebrity, by chance!

This morning I parked in the front of the Urban Yarn store. As I arrived early they looked to be closed so I dashed across the street to the Book Warehouse to take a look at the knitting books. I returned to the store to find women inside near the window and even though the sign showed "Closed", I checked the door which was opened and stuck my head in "Are you opened?" A woman said, "Well, not quite, but come on in, that's fine." Once inside, I said, is there a knitting course going on or a special event happening right now? She responded, "Yes, its very special: Debbie Bliss is here." DB was already looking at me and I grinned, 'Debbie Bliss, SO NICE to meet you!" She smiled and responded in kind. I felt sheepish and moved on to leave her to her meandering. Lucky me at a chance meeting - there were only 3-4 other women in the store and she was accompanied by two women. She left shortly after my arrival, so I didn't have a chance to grab one of her pattern books which I was willing to pay full price just for her signature. She slipped out as the store was opening. I commented to the woman who allowed me inside that I had just taken my camera out of my purse yesterday to re-charge the battery or else I would have been tempted to snap a photo of her. The lady on staff was very friendly and was willing to answer questions. She said that DB is from the northern part of the UK. She found out two months ago that she was coming to Vancouver as a part of her Canadian tour and invited her in to Urban Yarns. She wished that she could have come in during store hours but it was not meant to be - Debbie B chose to come in early Sunday morning prior to opening. Suddenly aware of the significance of her presence here in Vancouver, I frantically looked up two fellow knitting Debbie Bliss fans on my blackberry to alert them of Debbie's visit - I was able to send an email to my sister and mom. Jayne: I did not have your email and wasn't comfortable with calling you given my lack of experience with using the phone. Just as well, I'd probably have shouted into your ear and embarrassed myself in front of Debbie Bliss. That would'nt have been good.

What does Debbie Bliss look like? Somehow I thought she might be a tall glamorous star, a young blond entrepreneur. Is it in a name that gave me a different impression? In actuality, she looks and is European in her middle age with dark hair and dark eyes with dark glasses and looks like anybody else! She has a nice demeanor and and has a polished charm about her.

It was a fun start to the day and is one to remember.