Brrrrrr

When I walked in the door to Lorna's Laces on Monday, there was the distinct smell of gas. I tried to ignore it. Then the rest of the crew started filtering in saying things like "I smell gas, do you smell gas?" or "Whoa! I smell gas" or "Phew, it stinks in here". Obviously, ignoring the smell wasn't making it go away.

I got on the phone with the landlord and he came right over. Lucky for us, there are a couple of workmen in the building this week and they were able to check it out immediately. Not so lucky for us, they couldn't find anything wrong. They told me that they had turned off the gas to install a heater in the space next door and that it's not unusual to smell gas right after it gets turned back on. It made sense. Who was I to doubt them?

We opened windows and doors to let the fresh air in. It still smelled. So the landlord called the gas company. They promptly turned off the gas to the entire building and left. They told him to call back once we got the leak fixed.

Apparently the person who can find and and fix a gas leak is a plumber. Locating an available plumber is not so easy. They finally came this morning and found a leak at the do-hickey that connects a couple of pipes right outside my office. Thank goodness we figured that out! After three days of 55 degrees,rain and no heat, it's getting kinda chilly in here.

Now it's just a waiting game. How long do you think it will take until the gas company returns and turns us back on?

All that and a bag of chips

The weekend was chock-full. So full that I ended up sneaking out of here Monday right after lunch. Sometimes a girl just needs some time on the couch or else she isn't so much fun to be around. Just ask anyone who works here.

Saturday started with a tour of Lorna's Laces for a local guild. It's something we do from time time. I have a good time giving the tours and I like to think everyone enjoys coming for them too. I talk a little about how Lorna's Laces came into my life, about all of our yarns and then I do a dye demo.

Then we dashed over to Yarn Con. It was beyond fantastic. It was so big that it took over two ginormous rooms at Pulaski Field House. Franklin sold out by 2:00, Bonne Marie Burns and I talked about a few things, and even though only the Ann part of the Mason-Dixon Knitting team was able to make it, they've agreed to be part of Color Commentary! Squeal!

The lovely creature pictured here is Poll E Cotton. Poll has been appearing at various fiber events over the past year and a half or so. People get to take a turn adding a bit to her skirt. Early on, she seemed a bit of a tart in that micro-mini. These days she's taken on a more matronly demeanor.

I got a chance to spend some time with Poll. It's really neat to see how differently each person approaches her. Stockinette, garter, entrelac, bobbles, cables, crochet. You name it, someone chose to incorporate it. What a genius idea!

Our cup runneth over

I hate to be a bragger, but living in Chicago is gonna be more fun than a barrel of llamas this weekend. There are almost too many things to do for all of us fiberistas. Sigh. I'll do my best to muddle through.

The first one is kind of a private party. This afternoon, Cookie A is coming by to fiddle around in the dye pots with me to create the Cookie A installment of Color Commentary. Her sensibility when it comes to designing socks is so fantastic, I can't wait to see how her mind works when it comes to color. This is going to be a real treat!

But we're not keeping her all to ourselves. She's teaching a class on sock design this Sunday at Arcadia Knitting.

Then tonight, the Mason-Dixon girls descend upon our fair city. Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne will be signing their new book at Loopy Yarns new digs. Vicky just moved to 47 West Polk Street in Dearborn Station. There will be door prizes and such at the Grand Re-Opening so stop by and check it out. Rumor has it that there might be a Franklin there as well.

Saturday is Yarn Con at Pulaski Park Fieldhouse. I am overwhelmed by the list of vendors that will be there. I get all twisted up when faced with all the choices. You'd think that being surrounded by all sorts of gorgeousness at work all day would make me immune, but it's just the opposite. I fall for it all.

Yarn or food? Hmmmmmm......

Cover Girl

Didja hear?! Didja see?! Lorna's Laces is on the cover of Vogue Knitting's Holiday Issue.

It looks like an especially nice issue. There are tons of things that would make great gifts!

Breast Cancer Network of Strength

I just made our third quarter breast cancer charity donation to The Breast Cancer Network of Strength. That's the new name for Y-Me. They are based here in Chicago and get great reviews from the Charity Navigator, a watchdog group that studies how well charities are using their funds.

As with all charities, they let you pick a person and donate in their name. This time around we chose Gina Wilde from Alchemy Yarns. I haven't talked to her since I saw her at TNNA in June and everything was going well for her then. Cheers Gina!

Mineral Point

Last Friday, Michael and I snuck out of town for a few days. We headed up to Wisconsin for some R&R.

The main purpose of the trip was to go to theatre. On Friday night we saw George Bernard Shaw's Widower's Houses. On Saturday, we saw Hannah Cowley's The Belle's Stratagem. I'd never heard of Ms. Cowley before and it was interesting to see a play authored by a woman in the late eighteenth century.

My knowledge of that era is pretty limited but I didn't think that a woman would have been accepted as the author. The Bronte sisters published their books about fifty years after Cowley and they had to use male pseudonyms. I wonder what changed. Sounds like I need a history lesson.

We spent Saturday puttering around Mineral Point in southwestern Wisconsin. It turns out it was the weekend of Cornish Fest. When we crested a hill into the main drag we saw this:













There must have been 25 or 30 Model T's and Model A's lining the street. Some were convertibles, some were hardtops. Some of them had trunks. There was at least one with the rumble seat open. I just love the idea of a rumble seat.


We also ran across this horse and buggy that was ferrying people around the fest.













It's a little hard to see from this photo, but there are four horses here. The two adults in the center are doing the actual pulling. On either side of them is a young horse that isn't doing any work. My guess is that this is a learning exercise. The youngsters walk alongside to get used to the idea of the noise of the buggy and people and the street. And that no matter how fast they go, they can't get away from the darn buggy. Just like anything else, these young horses are learning by doing.

It was a nice weekend. The trees haven't quite started to turn yet but there were roadside stands selling pumpkins and apples. So fall has to be right around the corner. I'm looking forward to pulling my sweaters out of storage for the season.

I think my next project is going to be a February Lady.

Ashburn Monkey

I cast on Cookie A's Monkey socks during the flight to Toronto awhile back. I've been working on them on and off ever since and finished them up last night.

I absolutely love this pattern! It has just the right amount of detail to keep me interested but not so much to make me crazy. I think I've mentioned here before that I knit to relax and to give myself something to do with my hands when I'm watching TV or traveling. I have enough challenges in my life without adding knitting to the list. Monkey fit the bill perfectly.






The yarn is Shepherd Sock in our Ashburn colorway. I just love the interaction between the colors and the pattern. I couldn't be any happier with the result.

Ashburn is one of our newest colorways. I have to admit that when I saw the first prototype I was lukewarm. But I know from experience that it's best for me to suspend judgment for awhile. Lots of time things grow on me. This was one of those times. Something happened and I made friends with Ashburn. More than friends actually, now it's one of my favorites. Funny how that works isn't it?