Hark! Do you hear the hosannas of angels wearing roomy striped ponchos and the clicking of bamboo sticks? That's right -- the hipster goddess of knitting, Debbie Stoller, is in town promoting her new book, , a sequel to her massive hit, the original Stitch and Bitch: The Knitters' Handbook. Stoller, who also edits the zine Bust, is all about bringing knitting to the new millennium: reclaiming knitting as a feminist art, organizing knitting circles (or Stitch 'n Bitches), encouraging a community of online knitters and crafters, and now, writing a new book that features even more contemporary knitting patterns from contributors across the nation, such as snazzy rasta caps, yoga mats, bags with pictures of Jim Morrison on them, and Henry Rollins dolls, among others.

Stoller will be bringing her intarsia mojo to San Rafael's Dharma Trading Company tonight. Tomorrow, she'll be launching a new program with Amtrak, Stitch-n-Ride, where knitting circles can take Amtrak from Oakland to Sacto every Tuesday (and free patterns from Stoller's book will be distributed -- you can find them online too). If you're a knitting commuter, meet at 5:30 in Oakland, take the train to Sacto with Debbie, and then triumphantly carry her aloft a carriage made of knitting needles to Rumplestilskin's for another reading.

Those of you who don't commute by train, Stoller will be back in SF on Wednesday, for an appearance at Urban Knitting. And hey, can someone teach us how to knit with double-pointed needles?

Thanks to Rebecca G for the tip!

Stitch 'n Bitch Nation