YarnCon!

Today the second annual YarnCon was held at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse (historic!). Knifty Red and I headed up there to meet up with Linda, Rachel and Jamie, and we really had a great time :-) Don't Linda and Red look happy? :-) YarnCon was larger this year and had two rooms, which was very nice - I had been wondering how they were going to fit more vendors into the main auditorium. They didn't! Just opened up the gymnasium and included some tables for seating, which was nice.

YarnCon rocks. I mean really, where can you go and find local indie artists all in one place for three bucks? Lot's of roving (I found the woman I got that great superwash merino from last year! Her name is Lisa Mendez, but she doesn't have a website), and LOTS of sock yarn. Here are our pals, Aleta and Becca from Froebe Fibers!!

There were new vendors this year - and some that did not come back this year. One new vender was Esther's Place, which is the outlet for the Illinois Fiber Co-op, Greenpastures. I always like to see what they have, whether or not I buy anything. I just think it's so great that this Illinois co-op exists. I encourage you to click that link and read about it. :-) Here's some of their roving. Most of it is Montadale with some Corriedale - definitely not next-to-the-skin wool, but lovely nonetheless.

We stopped and had a nice chat with Franklin Habit. His new book looks very lovely! He was kind enough to give us black tote bags!! They have one of his illustrations, and are that great recycled, light weight, grocery style bag. We like them!! Thank you, Franklin :-)

By 11:30 we were hungry. Well, I was hungry at 10, but that's nothing new - I always have a snack around 10. We hoofed it over to Milk & Honey for lunch, which is what we did last year, too, and caught up with Rachel and Jamie there. Jamie was on her bike, so we said we'd meet her back at Pulaski Park, and we headed back East on Damen where we were compelled to make a stop at Nina's. I had never been there - very trendy/boutique-y, and exactly what you would expect to find in Wicker Park. Linda picked up some Kidsilk Haze, and after a call from Jamie wondering where the hell we were, we headed back to YarnCon.

We made the tour around everything again, and while the others were chatting with the Mason-Dixon folks (Linda wanted the new book but they were out), I wandered around a bit more. Here's some Lorna's Laces. It's pretty, isn't it? There was also some yarn called Sophie's Toes and there were two colorways I liked very much, both with the most wonderful names: "He Saw her Across a Smoky Bar," and "Oh! Nice Suit!" I showed them to Linda and she got them both :-D

And with that we were done - so we piled in the car - except for Jamie who rode - over to a very nice clothing store, Viva la Femme. I didn't find anything that I thought would work for me, but Linda hit the jackpot, as did Rachel. I will definitely check this place out again! And just up the street - another yarn store :-D We walked over to the Knitting Workshop. It was, as Red said, kinda like rootling around in someone's stash - someone's organized stash :-D We checked out the new Harry Potter Opal sock yarns. I really wanted some of them - kinda bummed that there is not one for Hermione! :-( This store is very comfy somehow - and I think there might always be something there to inspire one.

We parted company with Jamie and went to an Italian coffee bar, the name of which is escaping me at the moment, and regrouped, and then Red and I took our leave of Linda and Rachel and headed home.

I know you're wondering what I actually came home with . . . Maybe some of that Sophie's Toes? . . . some Froebe watermelon? . . . perhaps some more of that awesome merino superwash top? Well, the truth is that I came home with the bag that Franklin gave me. That's RIGHT!!! I'm on the stash-busting wagon, baby. I went to YarnCon and TWO yarn stores today and I didn't buy anything. I am a paragon of perfection - no question ;-) And now that I've said that, something's sure to come along and my feet of clay will be exposed for all to see. But for now, I'm still rocking the stash.