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!

With apologies to Cameron McIntosh

I just returned from my overnight venture to Baltimore, host (for the last time) of Stitches East. I was joined by intrepid traveling companion Mindy -- who for the first time in a long time, was NOT working the show.

This was my third (I think) Baltimore Stitches, and I was just beginning to get to know the city a little. Alas, the X-men are moving next year's Stitches way further north: to Hartford, Connecticut. They even had a guy from the Hartford Chamber of Commerce sitting at a table to give out literature about new locale. Bye-bye, Baltimore -- it's been fun.

While many of the regulars were there -- WEBS, thank God, and the Mannings, and Yarn Barn of Kansas -- some of the smaller yarn shops and many of the farms and smaller vendors weren't. Blue Moon Fiber Arts was one conspicuous absentee; Morehouse Merino and Green Mountain Spinnery and Kid Hollow were three more; I'm sure there were others. The crowds also seemed smaller. There were only a few times where I was aware of there being a long line at a vendor or more than one or two people looking in a booth. I guess the struggling economy had to affect the knitting world, too.

And while I enjoyed myself, I couldn't help but feel a bit bereft. Oh sure, we had a delightful lunch with the charming Mama E. I got to say hello to some of my faves, like Kathy from WEBS (her husband Steve is quite a hottie, too -- way to go, Kathy!), and Linda P., whom I dearly love, and Kristen Nicholas (maybe someday when her slutty licentious kitteh gives birth for the forty-seventh time, I can convince Tom to let me take one of the kittens: an itteh-bitteh kitteh from the knitterateh?); and, okay, Li'l Ricky was wearing something awful (in this case, pants the color of stale ketchup); and I bought some fab yarn and books, including the yarn and pattern for a Norah Gaughan sweater (she is the best thing that happened to Berroco. Ever.).

But something was definitely missing.

At dinner, an empty chair at our table mocked me.


The maid left three pieces of chocolate in our room, when there were only two of us.



As I stared into a box of pastries that Mindy brought, I thought wistfully: Vé-vé would have loved these...


AHA!

It wasn't that something was missing; it was someone.



I missed Vé-vé.

Yes, it was all coming clear now.

Here was the lonely, empty chair where she would have used my laptop to check her email and send saucy billets-doux to her sexy husband.



This would have been her wineglass, to share the impertinent yet inexpensive (with a hint of poir) bottle of red that we (finally) tracked down.


(I never thought I'd find a state with even more bizarre liquor laws than Pennsylvania, but Maryland is pretty weird. I mean, what kind of state sells wine at a Rite-Aid?)

Mindy would have (sniffle) showed her the Salt Peanuts she made from Vé-vé's pattern:




and I would have shown her this advance copy I just received of my new book:



When I saw Mindy's clothesbasket full of coffeemaking equipment -- Mindy brings her coffee press, spring water from her well, a heating source and saucepan, mugs and coffee with her on every trip -- I got morose, imagining how Vé-vé and I would have teased Mindy about her fancy "portmanteau" and about how seriously she takes her café americain.




And this architectural detail, on the outside of the Wharf Rat? We would have admired its decorative lines together as we supped on a light déjeuner.



Yep, Stitches East was fun and all. But it just wasn't the same without Vé-vé.

On my own
Pretending she's beside me
All alone, I walk with her till morning




In the rain the pavement shines like silver
All the lights are misty in the river
In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight
And all I see is she and me for ever and forever, knitting...

See you at Stitches?

Okay, I'm going to have to go put on a Depends because I'm so excited I may pee myself: tomorrow I'm driving down to Baltimore with a famous knitting designer in my car: Véronik Avery, herself. (We are like BFF, you know?) (Which means she's a BFF of BBF?) (Perhaps I'm getting a little TOO excited.)

If NikiVéronik survives her first meeting with Charcoal, as well as the trip down with her starstruck number one fan, she will be signing her fabulous book, Knitting Classic Style: 35 Modern Designs Inspired by Fashion's Archives, on Saturday at 2:00 at the Rosie's Yarn Cellar booth. So stop by, pick up your copy of her book, and say hi to us. Roni Véronik has her Sharpie all ready. That Vé-Vé Véronik! She doesn't realize that I'm terrified she will find me underwhelming in real life, as opposed to in my blog. [Note to self: Don't scare way cool designer through premature use of nicknames. Wait until she is in car on highway and can't get away.]

Now that we have all the neuroses out on the table, let's remind you that if you're going to be at Stitches on Friday, the silver-maned fox Kaffe Fassett will be signing HIS new book, Kaffe Knits Again: 24 Original Designs Updated for Today's Knitters at Rosie's booth at 10:30 on Friday, and rumor has it that the devilishly handsome Brandon Mably will also be floating around somewhere some time.

Stop, you say, that's too much excitement for Baltimore to handle! No, wait, there's even more: I'm bringing with me a fresh batch of Black Bunny yarn and roving: superwash sock, laceweight merino and assorted rovings. Maybe some wool/nylon, too. It'll be on sale at the Rosie's booth.

Of course, Rosie's will uphold the fine tradition of bringing a boatload of Koigu -- and this year, the new Schaefer sock yarn called "Heather," Reynolds Soft Sea Wool and Whiskey, and Shetland kits that go with some cool stranded thing that Eunny is making. (But then again, isn't Eunny always making some cool stranded thing?!)

Are the X-Men ready for the Quebecois-American invasion that will be arriving in a green Ford tomorrow morning?

I think not.

Polish yer pointy-toed cowboy boots, Rick, and we'll see you in Baltymore.