Chicago redux

I’ve decided that this was one of the best trips ever. I left Saturday morning, met knitters, had dinner with a Chicago friend, did my thing, met more knitters, drank a frosty beer in a hotel room and was back home by noon the next day. There were thunderstorms before and after all my flights in both cities, but I still got in and out without incident. (Considering my imperfect relationship with O’Hell airport, all I can say to that is a big “neener neener.”) I was gone Friday morning and back Saturday morning. Enough time to get my stuff done but not so much that Joe and the girls missed me (or my share of the stuff I do.) Last night Joe and I went out to dinner and a movie, (We saw Get Smart. Very funny) and then I went to bed without setting the alarm. It was a delicious sleep and I feel like a new woman. Today I’m doing Yoga, finishing a pair of socks, scraping whatever that is off the kitchen floor and reading a book. I’m pretty psyched. It’s been three or four years since I approached a summer without a deadline, and I’m really ready for it. So, more about Chicago?

I was actually in Oak Lawn, a suburb of Chicago, so I didn’t get to visit the bean (my best favourite Chicago thing) but there was other great stuff. I had a visit with Team Nana at Nana’s Knitting shop in the afternoon, where I gapped the whole knitting thing and just snuggled babies. There’s clearly been some sort of an outbreak, since the place was filthy with them. I was delighted. The younger humans are the better I like them (and the feeling is mutual, I think) and there is nothing on the earth I like more than a really wee one. (Hard to take pictures of you and a baby with an arm full of baby though..

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but I managed.) After the gathering at the knit shop, I wandered off to dinner (in the rain) with a Chicago Friend, and learned something that will shock my native Torontonian friends. In Chicago, the bread basket that comes before dinner?

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Those are chocolate chip muffins, and their inclusion in a dinner bread basket is apparently not unusual. (Franklin told me he knows where to go to get chocolate cupcakes in the bread basket.) I was so stunned by seeing them there right next to the cheese buns and garlic bread that I could scarcely tear my eyes away. Imagine. Garlic sticks right next to chocolate chip muffins. When I recovered from the culture shock of unexpected baked goods, we went back to the hotel (in the rain) for me to do my thing. I was worried that the rain would keep knitters away, seeing as how last time the knitters gathered the rain became so apocalyptic that my plane couldn’t come. I worried that they would take one look at the rain and immediately forget the whole thing.

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Wrong. (It was suggested to me that if Chicagoans didn’t go out every time the weather was crappy, they would be housebound.) Lots of knitters, and a seriously fun bunch at that. (I’m certain that had nothing to do with the bar that was open.)

There were knitters with washcloths, Denise with a violet one (did you know that Violet is the state flower of Illinois?) and Leslie with washcloths to support the fight against breast cancer.

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There were knitters with babies… Tons of extremely well behaved babies, There were Mandy and Alister, Laurel and Margaret, Kathy and Maggie, Rebecca and Miriam… more too, but I was too slow with the camera.

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The first sock brigade trouped in. There was Anne, Faith, Susan (1st sock, third baby) Lori, Tonja, Lisa (that’s her first second sock, a personal triumph) Charlene and Katie.

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I met Erika, who sort of had a bone to pick with me. Turns out that her husband heard me say once that sock knitting is a real expression of love. That since socks wear out and are used up when used, that they are a grand and powerful way to express your undying ardour. Yeah. Well.

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Apparently he’s got really big feet. Sorry Erika.

I met the youngest knitter and oldest knitters at the event. That’s Rowan, age 7, and Mae, aged 96 (and a half.)

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There were Canadians all over the place. There was Mary Jane in from Winnipeg, Valerie sporting the flag..

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and, in a really bizarre moment, the son of my good friend Nancy, who I’d totally forgotten had moved to Chicago.

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That’s Jonathan and his lovely wife Heather, and I’ll admit that what with him being so far out of context, when he stepped up to the table, I glanced up and thought “That guy looks a lot like Jonathan. How about that.” and then he said “will you sign these for Katie, Jessie and Beth” which are totally the names of Jonathan’s sisters… I got a little tripped out, just for a second that this guy who totally looked like Jonathan ALSO knew people with the same names as Jonathan’s sisters and then I got it. It WAS JONATHAN. (I’m seriously not as smart as we had all hoped some days.) It was fantastic to see him. (Nancy, he looks happy.) To put the icing on the cake, Heather also had…

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Her first socks.

Finally, there was Andi and Alex. Alex was a non-knitter when he showed up. He was just coming along to keep Andi company. He wasn’t very interested in knitting, but he was going to come along and be a good sport. Well at some point in the evening, something happened, and Alex got the urge to knit.

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See that little bit of business there? His first knitting, and it’s pretty darn good too. When I asked him what he thought had made him finally feel like knitting, he said he didn’t have a clue.

I do. He was overwhelmed by the knitter fumes. All that wool, all that knitting, all that fun. It was a great evening. Really great…and I have Tricia, the gracious, funny and persistent owner of Nana’s knitting to thank for it.

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(That’s her daughter Cory behind her. She’s a whole lot of awesome too.) It’s a ton of work, an evening like this, and it takes a really terrific person to sign up for a second go round after getting the weather shaft the first time. I think I love her, and not just because she has a lot of yarn.

Thanks to Trica, and everyone else to came out for a whole second kick at the can. It was a great night.

95 thoughts on “Chicago redux

  1. Amazing time, part two!
    Thanks for taking the time to come back down!
    🙂

  2. That little kid’s name is Rowan!?!?!
    I will name any future children something yarn-related…but Rowan, that’s a pretty obvious one.
    huh.

  3. I am so glad Chicago Take Two turned out so well, despite the cartoon dude. Just reinforces a lesson I learned: Some people are just going to be stupid, do stupid things, and make stupid choices, and no matter how hard it is to resist, it’s not our responsibility to save them from their stupidity.
    Non sequitur alert: Chocolate chip muffins in the bread basket? Great, now I have no excuse (as a loyal Wisconsinite) to hate Illinois. Between our great beers and their chocolate-in-the-bread-basket, I think we just need to merge the two. Wiscillinois? Illisconsin? Utopia?
    ~ Linda L.

  4. Yea! I’m glad you had a great time in Chicago, and a great trip there and back again. I empathize about the summer without a deadline – I just finished work on my masters, and it’s so weird not having any homework! No reading, no papers to write! I read five books last week, and they were ‘nothing’ books – mysteries, romances, just for fun! I hope you have a great summer – enjoy this free time! (I also knit a baby blanket for a friend of mine. Time, time!! What a glorious thing!)

  5. I’m so glad the weather held out for you this time! Sounds like you had a great trip!
    Yay for being able to relax now too 🙂

  6. Thanks so much for coming back to Chicago. I was unable to attend when you were originally scheduled to come out here, so I was probably the only person in the room who was glad that time didn’t work out! I had a grand time surrounded by knitters and laughing my arse off.

  7. I’m so happy that the traveling went better this time around and that the weather gods did not slap you in the face again. Chicago sounds like a fun place to be a Knitter. Enjoy your time at home and have a great summer. You definitly deserve it.

  8. Could the owner of that adorable wee baby in the first picture tell me what the pattern is for the Knitted Thing the baby is wearing? It’s very cute–the Knitted Thing and the baby both. 🙂

  9. I love the name Rowan-and have suggested it to all my children as a great girl name for upcoming babies but, no dice-they all thought UUUUUUU.
    Love Chicago too-the train is the way to go from Michigan-no parking fees(like the size of my first rent payment)-no trying to park-no driving or needing a DD if wine is involved. Great City-Great shopping-Great museums-and I get to look at my beautiful Lake Michigan from the opposite angle. A real walking city.
    Great Cabbies too! And we can’t forget-The American Girl store which is nirvana to my granddaughter.

  10. I was there in Oak Lawn representing knitters from Indiana! Yes, we drove up for BOTH events. So glad the hilarious wetness we call “weather” didn’t keep you away. Thanks for validating what we all know!! Knitters are AWESOME!!

  11. I’m glad I’m not the only one having the Jonathan moments. Rowan and Mae make me very happy…Rowan getting going on the knitting and Mae still knitting! Rock on, girls.

  12. I’m so glad that Chicago: Redux went well! It looks like an excellent time was had by all. Enjoy your summer without deadlines — they are rare, and well worth savoring.

  13. What fun! Yes, if Chicagoans waited for good weather, a) they’d never go anywhere, and b) they wouldn’t have any horror stories of bad-weather survival to tell. (I grew up in Chicagoland)
    Enjoy your summer “off”!

  14. As I’m reading this, there is ferocious thunder outside. So I guess you brought a brief respite form the deluge. You mean that chocolate chip &/or blueberry muffins are not standard in bread baskets? One more reason to be grateful to live in the Chicago area! (And baby Maggie was dumbstruck by seeing so many people knitting – you could almost hear her thinking WOW, I know Grandma knits a lot & Mommy knits but ALL these people!”)

  15. Summer? No deadline? Enjoy your well-deserved rest!
    Until Tuesday, that is.

  16. It was so great to finally meet you! And no, we didn’t do shots on the way to the train. 😉 Thanks for making the trip!

  17. Gee, I don’t remember getting chocolate chip muffins in the bread baskets when I was in Chicago last fall. I feel let down!
    DH and I went to see Get Smart yesterday, too. It was great, wasn’t it?

  18. “neener, neener” to O’Hare. Oooo, you DO like to live dangerously. I, um, wouldn’t fly anywhere near O’Hare for a good decade or two! Love the pics of the youngest and the oldest knitters!

  19. That was the third time I had seen you speak and you just get better. Thanks for being so sweet to Margaret.

  20. Am I the only one who sees something in the faces of Rowan and Mae that look familiar? …. mmm. Maybe it’s just all the knitting.

  21. I’m glad you were able to make the trip again and that weather cooperated at least long enough for you to land and takeoff. As it thundered and rained while I was driving to Oaklawn, I hoped you had taken an early flight! It was great to have the chance to hear you speak and to share the time with sooo many knitters.
    Thank you.
    Now, enjoy your summer. Relax, knit and share the time with your family.

  22. I’m so glad we drove 3 hours (one way) to hear you speak, it was lots of fun and totaly worth the trip:O) it was nice to put a voice with the blog and books! So thanks for coming again! Hope you enjoy your summer and relax :O)

  23. No wonder you were surprised with muffins in with garlic bread! All this travelling sure is an eye opener as to what goes on in this world eh ? Love the pics and it was nice to see the youngest and oldest knitters. What the heck ARE you going to do with all the warshcloths anyway ?
    They sure are nice. See to it that you do not have any sneaky deadlines that pop up at you so you can enjoy your summer and some free time . You deserve it . Thanks for the post.

  24. I’m so glad you were able to make it this time! What I forgot to tell you when you complimented me on my first sock (I’m first sock, third baby) was that it’s YOUR basic sock pattern 🙂 Hopefully I’ll finish up the pair eventually! Thanks again and have a great summer!

  25. We had loads of fun coming out in the weather! What’s a little rain, a little thunder, a little lightning, a little construction?
    We had to leave a early, and thus we wonder – did Cora do her knitting strip-tease Friday night, or was that just for those of us at the FIRST Yarn Harlot outing?
    And yeah, ya gotta hand it to Tricia – she was a class act BOTH times.
    We should all buy some yarn from her.
    I really mean that. I bet this could happen.

  26. whoa boy…those BIG socks looked like they might fit my ginormous son… when HE asked for socks, I said “sure, sweetheart”… then I broke out the Lorna’s Shepherd’s Worsted and made him socks…and fingerless mitts, and a hat, in the time it would have taken me to make him actual SOCKS in fingering weight! I’m in awe. That’s a WHOLE LOT OF STITCHES.
    Glad you had a good time though–it sounds like an adrenaline withdrawal hit…you know, sweet, but it’s basically to keep you from going into the ddts over your glorious, sweet, knitting/cleaning/writing summer.
    I look forward to our Harlot getting relaxed and funky again…
    (And what other knitting names would you call your kids *besides* Rowan–which is very pretty, and might possibly have also come from either a tree or an Anne McCaffrey book?
    Darling Precious Nirvanna–you know, DPN for short?
    Here are the twins, Garter and Purl–they don’t get along.
    This is my beloved first child, Wool, and my bastard step-child, Acryllic.
    My daughter, Cotton, and her punk-rock boyfriend, Viscose.
    My handsome son, Cable, and his girlfriend, Lace?
    Nope. I think Rowan is as good as it gets.)

  27. Stephanie, I live in Idaho and was not at your event in Chicogo. I love your many photos and comments form your event.
    By the way your comments in “Things I learned from Knitting” in regard to neuroplascticity of the brain. I greatly appreciate. I have Parkinson’s and cognitive changes are occurring. I’m going at knitting not only because I enjoy it, but also I believe that knitting will help to develop new circuits for my cognitive functioning.
    Thanks,
    Judy

  28. Rowan and Mae, your youngest and oldest knitters look related. Nice pictures! I love Chicago and a well rounded bread basket. Chicago was the first place I ever had sourdough bread with olives in it. Yum.

  29. That last picture is a great one!
    Glad you finally shook the curse of O’Hell. I have so many dismal memories of that place of despair.

  30. That thing about not recognizing Jonathan? Listen to this: last January I was at the Minneapolis airport to pick up my son, who had spent the last seven months as a volunteer teacher in Chiapas, Mexico. As I sat knitting near the baggage claim, I looked up and thought, “That guy walking past me looks a lot like my brother. Huh. Must be my boy.” In my defense, he had lost 25 pounds, his hair was very sun-bleached and had grown about 6 inches, plus he was sporting a beard that he had not had when he left. But still. I had birthed this kid and raised him for 18 years; I should have recognized him. Sometimes brain go walkabout without saying goodbye first 🙂
    Mae ROCKS! I hope to emulate her in about 40 years.

  31. I love babies. But even more than babies, I love their feet. I saw Miriam’s pic and my first thought was how I would love to grab those little feet and kiss those toes. Who can possibly resist baby toes?
    Chicago had you join them in the fun this time. Good for them and glad the weather gods were on the plane with you.

  32. Mmmm, muffins. Kick the can? I hope that you’re refering to a childhood game and an empty food storage container and not someone kicking the Canadian. Glad this trip went well and that you made it home quickly and safely.

  33. I love Chicago. If I could, I would live on the streets (but many people, including myself, realized that I would be short-lived if I tried doing that!).

  34. but did Oprah show up??? just imagine the huge (like MASSIVE!) surge in knitting popularity you could bring about if SHE took up knitting and even did it live on her show!!! you wouldn’t be able to get your hands on yarn anywhere in north america! the shelves would be bare once her acolytes hit the LYS’s!!! um, on second thought, let’s keep this to ourselves.

  35. I am now going to have a serious whine-fest because I wasn’t able to come see you. Please ask Jamie TWP about including Kansas City in your next tour.
    Wait, I have a better idea…I’m going to be there, in Aurora and Montgomery, very near Oaklawn, next weekend. My dad’s birthday is the 4th, and I was thinking, well, since you had such a good time and all…wanna come back?
    Dang wedding anniversary; screwing up my weekend with the Harlot. Hubby better do something REALLY good to make up for this one…

  36. I’m so glad this trip went better for you. It was very nice meeting you and I’ll be looking forward to hearing what you have planned for the washcloths!

  37. Wow. Miriam and I had so much fun, as did all of Team Nana! Thank you for coming to Chicago. I can only imagine how frustrated you were the first time, but we are the luckiest city on Earth. We got to have Harlot Day twice! 😀
    Oh, and Pam/2muchfun, I totally cannot. 🙂

  38. Perhaps a new button is in order? Knitters Without Alarms? LOL What would that be in French?
    Oh, and you absolutely must admit that wool fumes are intensified by at least 500% when you’re speaking to a group and/or signing books. So YOU are responsible for the new knitter!

  39. Know what I love about you? No matter how tired and worn out and exhausted and overdone you are you always have a huge streak of Gracious. I *love* that. Awesome trait.
    Karen

  40. Sleeping in is priceless. Let’s hope no one disturbs your slumber. BTW, I finished Things I Learned… I really, really enjoyed it. I managed to stretch it out over 3 weeks or so, and now I’m ready to start at page 1 again. Thanks for such a good read.

  41. I agree with OhLookADuck about your graciousness. I really appreciate it.
    Also, I think there is something magical about the oldest and youngest knitter pictures being side by side like that. Seriously. They look like they were made to appear next to each other in those pictures.
    And the Jonathan thing was so funny. I once asked my husband if we had ever been to Yosemite together and didn’t get it when he laughed at me. Since we got married there he was entitled to the bitterness he felt, but in my defense I was going through the shock of new motherhood and no sleep. Still, I’ll never live it down.

  42. What happens on Tuesday??
    I just got back from Seattle (it’s tragic – the getting back part, since I think I have finally found where I belong on this earth) and had the same thought there – if you’re not prepared to go out in the rain, you’ll just never go out. Seattlites totally get that, they all wear fleece and Gore-tex and comfortable shoes.
    You said “neener neener” to the airplane gods?? You’re one brave woman. Especially after the weenie with the iPod.
    How does it feel to be a rock star?

  43. So glad to have the opportunity to meet you! Thank-you for taking the time to visit us in Chicagoland!

  44. I am happy that things worked out for you and the people in Chicago. I am, however, more happier to hear that you can relax for awhile now. Enjoy!

  45. To mostcurious, and rudee,
    I agree about the resemblance between Rowan and Mae – despite the difference in ages (nearly a century – wow!) they look almost like twins to me. And it’s not just the happy expressions – it’s the shape of their eyes, nose, and chin too…
    So glad Chicago redux worked out so well, and happy summer! Hope it’s sweet and restorative – sounds like it’s off to a great start!

  46. My husband came with me to the WEBS event (he doesn’t knit, but he wears socks and he heard there would be sock yarn there…). We both appreciated your comments about not being able to define a “knitter”. well, last week, I returned the favor and went to an Iron Maiden concert (I knit him socks on the train). I was floored when the band’s front man echoed those same sentiments in referance to Iron Maiden fans. I nearly fell over when my huband leaned over and said that he sounded like “that yarn lady”. He was paying attention! makes me wonder if I was the only knitter in the crowd….

  47. sooo glad to see you again. i’m ALMOST tempted to say that you brought the weather with you. just kidding. what a great crowd and great fun!!!!
    can you go to Las Vegas sometime? my friend and co-blogger, Monica, is there and would like to see you also.

  48. I just wanted to tell you that I’ve enjoyed your blogs so much that I ran out and bought Yarn Harlot: The Secret Life of a Knitter, and I am so enjoying reading it! My family insists that I’ve actually written it under a pseudonym, and I’ve denied it until I’m blue,but they claim there’s too many similarities to be sheer coincidence…what do they know – non-knitters, all of them. Thank you so much!

  49. How bizarre is this: I flew into Chicago on Saturday, made a quick trip from the airport to Loopy Yarns, checked into my hotel, went to see the band I had to go see for work, went out dining and drinking with friends, went back to my hotel, got up at 4:15 (ouch) in order to make a 6:25 flight back to Newark, and was home by 10 am. I had no idea you were there, but it’s probably just as well since it would have made me sad to know that you were there but I couldn’t have seen you anyway.

  50. Stephanie, I’m sooooo glad you had a good time in Chicago, and I’m so glad you get to rest and re-group for a while. So necessary for the knitterly soul. Apparently my status as a Canadian-born is in serious jeopardy since I don’t know the jingle about Smarties, Oh! the shame! I am amazed at the grace and sweetness you are able to show under less than wonderful conditions. I hope you’ll come back to us soon.

  51. to answer Amy’s question (though I am not the owner of the baby but I know the owner) it’s anouk from Knitty with some modifications…

  52. Love the Canadian flag!
    Mackenzie was born on Tuesday, June 17th (the day after my birthday!) (Water broke on my birthday. Talk about a birthday present!) (Pics on my blog!)
    I just got home from the hospital and heard you started the June sock kit sock! Can’t wait to see how it turns out!

  53. Huzzah for Chicago Redux and how top-notch to be back in Toronto so quickly. I’m glad you’ve got your own time back…for awhile.
    The side-by-side of the youngest oldest knitter is a knockout – 70 years of minutes and hours of a life holds so much, and yet can be such a small divide when creativity is involved. The pix made me get all teary.

  54. Muffins in the bread basket? It must be a Chicago thing because I know thousands of United Statesian Mothers who read your blog are tsk tsk tsking their hearts out. Chocolate before supper? “You’ll ruin your appetite.” Really now!

  55. please, please ask franklin where one can get cupcakes before your meal in chicago?!?! please, please, please, please, please!
    oh, i suppose i could ask him myself… huh.
    sorry to have missed you this time. i was there the first time, but couldn’t make it friday. bummer.

  56. note to Samantha: the name “Rowan” is an old English name. as well as a fairly common family name, it is a type of tree, the rowan tree. which i believe in north america, we call the mountain ash. so i think the yarn people maybe took it from there?

  57. If you were surprised to see Jonathan in Chicago, imagine my surprise to see him on your blog! He and his wife are dear friends of mine (my fiance was a groomsman at their wedding). I am especially thrilled to see Heather with her first socks. Las time I saw her she had bought her first ball of sock yarn and needed to get her hands on some needles.
    I love how small the knitting world is 🙂

  58. No dead lines, you wanna come over and spin knit and drink lemonade?
    …..no really, people we never get a chance to do that kind of thing. Really.

  59. I do know you adore the wee ones, but I can’t really approve of the way you exploited that one, using her as lovely assistant to discreetly reassure your mother that you did indeed wear a bra to Chicago.

  60. I SO enjoy reading abt your adventures on your book signing tours; I just have one gripe. You never come to the south!! Now not coming out here during the summer is understandable, its WAY too hot, but i think you need your publicist (or whoever schedules your tours) to plan a trip to the South in Feb or March. Great time to get away from the coldness of the north, and if you make it for Orlando, you can make it a family affair and hit the theme parks! Trust me, there are LOTS of us knitters in the south, esp us sock knitters. We would fill the place.
    Just something to think abt…….

  61. Dear Harlot,
    Please write something funny about the necessity of ease in sweaters, preferably in time for me to read it during the frog-fest to which I am taking the front and back of a finished-size-40 sweater tonight, a sweater meant for size 38 me. I promise to furnish a decent bottle of merlot.
    Yours in knitterly solidarity against stupid tape measures,
    Lynn

  62. Ok please excuse my COMPLETE LACK OF INTELLIGENCE!!!! I went to your schedule and saw that you were in Atlanta in April. and you know what?!? I KNEW THAT!!!!! In fact I had a friend who told me all abt it and wanted me to come up, but being one of those moms who gets suckered, um, volunteers cheerfully for everything her kids are involved with couldnt come up because I was scheduled to the hilt. So. Please excuse my last rant. Apparently the summer sun and small children are getting the best of me.
    Carry on.

  63. I just about fell off my chair laughing so hard at “O’Hell” airport. Everytime I get near that airport on my way to New York, something happens to upset the schedule!!!
    Ha!Ha!

  64. The muffins aren’t just Chicago. I grew up further south in IL, Peoria, and the bread baskets in nice restaurants there had little blueberry muffins, and pecan rolls. Seems natural to me.
    Imagine my dismay, on moving to California, to find, not only did they not serve sweet rolls at dinner, but their bread was sour!
    I got over it, though. Love that San Francisco sourdough. Still, a pecan roll wouldn’t go amiss, either.

  65. Oh, this entry was fun to read and look at. Your usual excellence, of course. Am I the only one who looked at Tricia’s lovely wrap in the last picture?
    Of course I wonder about the pattern . . . great color on her . . . it looked like a cotton or cotton blend yarn. What is “gapped?” and “neener, neener?”
    I loved the “my brain took a walkabout.”
    You are great, Stephanie; you brighten so many of my days. M.

  66. Sounds like a fantastic time. Glad to hear your will be taking it easy this summer, of course you deserve it.
    If you like wee ones, come check out my blog. My sweety pie, Finnigan, was born May 18th. What can I say, I’m in love.

  67. SO glad you got another crack at Chi-town; you knew it was A-OK (after all, a) it’s in the Midwest of the US, “prototype of Heaven”; b) it’s Franklin’s stomping grounds; c) it tolerates Dolores who is usually not even in jail). Now…do NOT agree to anything this summer with a deadline – if ANYONE has earned some time to just hang out, it would be yourself. (Aren’t the babies in Chicago – and Madison – just the cutest things ever?)

  68. Glad you came back to Chicago! I am the Carpal Tunnel girl at the front of the line….SO happy to say that the cortisone shot worked wonders and I am back knitting! So no need to get out the blowdarts!

  69. Stephanie, it was wonderful to attend your book signing in Chicago and to meet you in person. I have read every one of your books many times over because they make me laugh so much. I swear, I crack everyone up at lunch because I am laughing so much, then I have to tell them the story and they all laugh too, even non-knitters get it. I hope you liked the squirrel dude I gave you, that story is the best continueing story ever. You are my hero.

  70. Oh my goodness! I am honored to be included on the blog! Alex has watched me knit for years and years, and has seen others knit with me, but I think being surrounded by so many knitters of different kinds did it for him. I really appreciated what you said about wanting to validate us, and our craft, and I think he took that to heart too. We’ll see if he continues to knit!

  71. The combination of hearing you speak about knitting, all the knitters in the audience, and knitterly fumes had an effect on my Mom, too. When I come to Kingston next month, she’s going to pull out the needles so we can knit together. With her eyesight, she can’t knit much, but she’s going to do some squares for a blanket for the homeless. Knitting with my Mom…yay! And, Thanks!

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