Chicago Sox

Today is the infamous April 15th. It may be a Sunday, so we all get an extra day to get our taxes in, but I will point out that it is mid-April. And this morning I woke up to snow on the ground. Real snow had accumulated. It wasn't enough that it covered the grass completely, but it was still there. I'm so tired of this season of winter. I'm ready for Spring!

Friday morning, Will and I got up early and drove to Chicago. We always have a great time on road trips together, and this was no exception. We travel extremely well together. After our trip, I always come away from the experience feeling grateful for my partner and for our marriage.

We went to Chicago so Will could attend a political science conference. But I went along so we could both have fun with our friends Alex and Karen. They are getting married in mid October. We're pretty excited for that.

They live right in the thick of things in downtown, so we had a lovely time. While Alex worked and Will went to the conference, Karen and I walked to find yarn stores.

Karen was not a knitter before this weekend, so we googled yarn stores. First we walked to the Chicago Fabric, Yarn, and Button Company on Monroe. It was not even worth the time, in my opinion. It was one of those old shops that has crammed far more merchandise into a tiny display than can be good for selection or organization.

We then proceeded to Loopy Yarns on 719 S State Street. It was wonderful. There was a great selection of sock yarns, which is what I was looking for to begin with, including Fleece Artist, Austermann Step, Tofutsies, Anne Schaefer, and a bunch more. I found alpaca fingering weight for 6.20 per skein, and 2 skeins to make a pair of socks. I bought 4 skeins, and I can't wait for the luxurious results. (Alpaca socks!!)

While we were at Loopy Yarns, I persuaded Karen that this was a good opportunity to learn to knit. I was in town, and she has this beautiful yarn store within walking distance, and she is new to the area, so she needs new friends. So she got some Lamb's Pride worsted weight, some Addi Turbos (another bonus of the shop, the Addis are about half the price than at my shop), and a simple hat pattern.

In Chicago, I knit consistently on Will's blue socks (which are self striping). I bought the yarn, which I believe to be cotton, at Skein Lane in El Cerrito, CA, sadly out of business now. They closed so the owner could have more freedom to travel and teach classes. The socks are now done, and Will is very pleased with the result. So am I. They are almost perfectly matched in the self-striping. I had thought to do fraternal twins, but I had to rip out almost 7 inches of knitting because I couldn't stand it.

Now we're home. I'm making lamb chops for dinner tonight and doing laundry. I'm trying to convince myself to knit on the afghan instead of reading a book or casting on for my alpaca socks. I also need to sew up some curtains for the bedroom. Now that Will is working the 3rd shift, he'd like less light in there in the morning.