The rest of the Chicago update

Yes, yes, I am terribly behind, but here is the story of the rest of my weekend in Chicago...

We woke up bright and early on Saturday to a shockingly warm day (it was at least ten degrees above zero). After a delightful breakfast, we jumped on the El (where we spotted some cool knitwear)



and found ourselves at the Art Institute.



Now I hear tell there's some big painting by a French fellow who was enamored of polka dots,


but I was transfixed by the exhibit of miniature rooms (the Thorne miniatures) which so cleverly and so minutely display the history of interior design from the 17th century through the twentieth:


All at the scale of one foot = one inch. (I had to include the above room, even though the photo isn't the greatest, because it included a spinning wheel, complete with fluff.)

Then we drank deeply of the paintings (yeah, yeah, I love the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists, so sue me for being conventional):



There was plenty more eye-candy at the Institute and Franklin makes a marvelous tour guide.

Then we were off to Loopy Yarns, for a party in honor of President Obama, during which we sorted and counted chemo caps that Knitters for Obama knit and crocheted in honor of the President's late grandmother.



The caps were given to the University of Chicago cancer unit for their patients.

We continued on through Chicago, seeing sights like the water tower,



and finished with a visit to the American Girl flagship store, so I could take some photos and pick up a little something for Miss Thang.



I was shocked to see that there was a beauty parlor for the dolls


and a cafe and doll hospital and all sorts of things designed to charm the heart of an American Girl doll owner, (including this weirdo guy who made funny faces at the dolls).


Somewhere along the way we went by Wrigley



(I expected there to be free Doublemint in baskets by the gate or something, but no, this is just a myth) and we had a lovely dinner with Minjo and VeryBadDogs (from Ravelry) at an Asian restaurant that was way too cool for school (it was so cool we weren't sure they'd seat us since they made clear to us that we just weren't achieving their level of coolness). Then Franklin and I knat, and he even finished his gorgeous twisted-stitch hat



and we went to sleep and had brunch in the morning with more Rav-friends, and then I was off to the airport and back to Philadelphia. Phew. I was left with so many wonderful images in my head:



Now, of course I know some of you (Anne Marie from Philly) will want to know what, er, transpired between Dolores and me. I shall tell you only this; when I arrived, this:



was waiting for me on my bed. As for the rest? Well, gentle readers, Chicago is like Las Vegas in one important respect: What happens there, stays there.

Chicago recap, part I

Well, I survived my airplane flight to Chicago and arrived at O'Hare to find this welcoming committee:




Ha ha, just kidding, the lovely Kristen Rengren met me at baggage claim (the brass band didn't make it through the security checkpoint):



and was kind enough to drive me chez Franklin. (Don't forget: Kristen's beautiful book, Vintage Baby Knits: More Than 40 Heirloom Patterns from the 1920s to the 1950s is available for pre-order, and having seen some of the garments and photos, I can assure you it's a beaut!).

Of Franklin's lovely home I shall say only that I have never before stayed with someone who owned a bust of Queen Victoria:


His hospitality, warmth and companionability are truly unequalled.

Our next stop was equally thrilling for me: a visit to the studio of Lorna's Laces. The folks at Lorna's could not have been nicer or more friendly, and being surrounded by skein after skein of their gorgeous yarn was an unbelievable experience.



Then it was off to Loopy Yarns.



Now, at the risk of sounding hyperbolic, Loopy Yarns is really rather an amazing yarn store. First of all, they have EVERY COLOR of Cascade 220 in stock. Don't believe me? Look:



They also have just about every color of Lorna's Laces imaginable, in every weight. The only reason I didn't buy $500 worth of Lorna's was because there were too many great colorways to choose from, though I did get 2 skeins of Shepherd Sock in Amy's Vintage Office. And a skein of worsted in one of the new colorways. I also snagged a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn (perfect for the Goldengrove socks from KSWHY) and a skein of Misti Alpaca sock yarn. And if that weren't enough, Loopy has a huge wall of Koigu, lots of Berroco, Artyarns, Hand Maiden/Fleece Artist, and tons of other great stuff. Loopy is so awesome that they even have their own library of books, which is truly wonderful, since many shops just don't have the space to stock books.


Plus, Loopy has a second floor. It is rare that you actually come across a yarn shop (especially in an urban area, where rent is so high) that has TWO FLOORS.


They very kindly wrote my name on the big blackboard:


and the booksigning went extremely well. Meg, and Heather, and Stephen (don't tell Tom, but I think I have a tiny crush on Stephen, you know, in a knitterly, cougarly but entirely platonic kind of way)

made me feel welcome and were just plain phenomenal. Thank you to Loopy and everyone who braved the subzero windchill to say hi!


Today I have a kid with strep at home, so I'll sign off here, but I will continue the Chicago recap tomorrow...

P.S. In order to conserve space, I borrowed the teeny tiny digital camera that Elvis got from Santa this year. I don't know how to use it as well as my own, but hey, it still takes pretty decent photos for something the size of a business card!