You can take the girl out of the East, but you can't take the East out of the girl...

So the Midwest isn't quite as scary as I thought it'd be. So okay, I was right outside Chicago, but still. There was a dude with a mullet and a 10-gallon at Karaoke, singing country songs. And a woman named Debbie who wanted us to come transvestite-watching at Denny's with her. And scary drunk girls in the bathroom. And... Okay, the Midwest is still a scary place, and I was in one of the tamer parts!

It's incredibly flat. Our hotel was on "Bunker Hill Road." As a Boston-resident, this offends me. The hotel was actually super-nice. The company was fantastic. There was karaoke and hilarity and boob pictures.

And there was knitting. So much knitting that I shouldn't be posting this, because the pain in my elbows and wrists is phenomenal. Besides the lack of carpal tunnel symptoms, it hasn't been this bad since the problems started. I got some work done on my Central Park Hoodie, and started the Dream Swatch.

I also acquired yarn!



This is enough Malabrigo to make a sweater for me. 2 hanks Natural, 2 hanks Bobby Blue, 4 hanks Marrongon. I bought it a Fishbed, in East Dundee, IL.


Also from Fishbed, Laine du Nord in colorway 4015.


Angelia, from A Perfect Yarn made a custom (or rather, several custom) color for KnittingHelp.com, which is where I met my crazy internet knitting friends. This is my version:


What could draw knitters far and wide, from Canada and California, from England and Elgin, IL, to Algonquin? Fiber Fest!

Where I bought Socks that Rock mediumweight in Downpour...


...and 1,000 yards of Spirit Trails, hand-dyed, laceweight, 100% Bombay silk.



I am currently accepting suggestions for sweater/sweater vest patterns that do Malabrigo justice, and lace patterns that do my Spirit Trails justice.