We're naked, and the world's still OK!

Knit in Public Day was a great success, I must say. I woke up feeling a bit grumpy, and not at all like dealing with the transit adventure it would take to get to Kits Beach, so I was planning to bail. But Mr.Q and yarnpiggy's combined efforts changed my mind a little. (I think Mr.Q just didn't want a grumpy me around while he & the landlord tried to figure out the washing machine situation. Go figure!) I decided I would go just for a little while. An hour, two tops. I packed a picnic lunch (sort of...more like a collection of assorted easily-carried odds and ends. Including a bottle of "juice" made from that blueberry liqueur I picked up awhile back...), put sunscreen on my face, and headed out the door.

Transit, for a change, was relatively painless. When I got to the beach, the knitters were ranged on the grass behind the bus stop. A couple were keeping an eye out for me, to make sure I got off at the right stop, and I was greeted with an enthusiastic cheer. Which made me feel good about going - and confused the heck out of the couple that got off the bus behind me. Heheheheh.

The weather was perfect - sunny, but with a nice, briny breeze from the water to take the edge off the heat. There were regulars from the Yarn Wranglers, a few friends I don't see often, and many new knitters to meet and compare projects with. The composition of the group was pretty fluid, as people came and went throughout the day. At one point, I think there were about 25 of us in a big circle in the park. Needless to say, my "one or two hours, tops" got pitched out the window. I was there for about 5 hours, and have sunburned toes to show for it. (I did remember to get the back of my ears with the sunscreen, though!)

A few pics from the day:

Plae, with her Dream in Colour larval sweater (I so covet her yarn!) (And her tattoos!):

Megknitficent, who will be at SS09 with me (we're in the same Cat Bordhi class on the Thursday....woot!) Here, you will see she is not working on her wedding veil, but some fancy-pants two-at-a-time toe-ups with Magic Loop:

A general shot of the park with Adrielle's sock-in-progress, later in the day, when we finally moved into the shade:

The best part was that we were hardly the most unusual sight at the beach. There was a busker juggling fire. There were 3 women in wedding dresses wandering the beach together, promoting a movie (The Proposal, I think). There were the film school students doing choreographed show tunes on the grass, with much verve and vigour. (I think they were promoting a fundraising event). There were the three teenage boys walking down the path, rapping with each other, completely unselfconsciously.

And last, but certainly not least, there was the Naked Bike Ride. Which was entertaining enough when they rode past us on the road, but rather more surprising when they entered the park and rode down the path right behind the bench we were sitting on. I was glad to see that many of them had padded their bike seats with thick towels. There was a great variety of costumes, masks, and body paint - they looked like they were having a great time. And they had some great slogans that they were hooting out - or had painted on - "Less gass, more ass!" and "Don't feed the meter, just show your Peter!". One young woman simply rode by, calling "We're naked and the world's still OK!" Which I thought was fantastic. My fave, though - and I didn't get a pic, I'm hoping to lift one from yarnpiggy later - was the woman with her back painted: "NOW can you see me?"

I love this city.

And after that, there was no way a bunch of knitters looked odd or out of place! We joked about doing a Naked Knit in Public Day next year...maybe while working on afghans? Lots of time to plan...