Tired but happy

Hi everyone. What a day it's been! I can't believe that a whole week had flown by without me posting anything. Before I start on today's adventure, let me recap the week:

Monday-Wednesday: was in the field for work, came home tired and smelly from being in a river all day, went to bed early;

Thursday: Rode bike to the office, leaving home around 5:45 am; worked all day at the office; left early so that I could get ready for that night's Lugnut Stitch-n-Pitch. Ran over a large staple somewhere on Jolly Road, which flattened my rear tire. Irene graciously picked me up and took me home. Went to Stitch-n-Pitch with Teresa, Irene, Rod, and Erin. Had a good time hanging out with about 40 or so knitters on a Thirsty Thursday ($2 drafts) at the ballpark.

Friday: Worked some more at the office; hung out with Cheanne after work; then went home. Pretty tame evening.

Okay, so now we come to Saturday: Our bus to Stitches Midwest rolled out of the Threadbear parking lot at 7:30. Along the way, we made a couple of stops to pick up additional knitters in Charlotte and St. Joseph. The bus was sold-out, yet I only knew a handful of people: Marcia, Wendy, Norma, and Pat; so had plenty of people to meet!

I sat with a knitter named Pat (not the Pat mentioned above, a "new" Pat), who had recently moved to the Allegan area. I mentioned having lunch at the London Grill with Sarah (see last Sunday's post), and she agreed with our take on the restaurant being out of place in little ol' Plainwell. [Seriously, folks, if you've been to the Allegan area since reading my raving about this restaurant and didn't stop, you should just accept the fact that your taste buds might as well be dead.] Pat reminded me of the other Plainwell surprise: a restaurant across from the London Grill called "Aries". I don't think that was there when I had last worked in the Plainwell area, but I'll give that one a shot next year...


At any rate, while on our way to Stitches, door prizes were handed out and those ranged from smaller knit kits (scarves, baby sweaters) to gift certificates. Well, guys, you can imagine my surprise when I won a $100 gift certificate to the Interlacements booth!! I hardly ever win anything; and to win something so big was a real shocker. The photo on the right are the four (yes, four!) hanks of Rick Rack II yarn that I picked up with the certificate. The purchase came with a "free" pattern for the Feather and Fan shawl and I hope to make 3 of these to give as Christmas presents (and keep the fourth for myself; pop quiz about me: anyone care to guess which hank is mine??). If you happen to follow the link provided above to the shawl photo and pattern, please note that the shawl looks far better in person and if I were to receive such a scowl (as the one the model has) on Christmas morning from the recipients, I will likely become unhinged...

I did happen to pick up a few things: size 17 needles (needed for the "Pansy Stole" in Hip Graphic Knits), the "Swirl Shawl" pattern (by Jojoland), the "Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting" by Marianne Kinzel (though this book was published in 1972, I'm still amazed to be able to find it on sale anywhere; I decided to buy it now even though I'm not likely to work anything out of it anytime soon before it becomes more difficult to find); and a kit for the "Petals" capelet from the Just our yarn booth.

Throughout the day: when I wasn't busy wandering aimlessly among the many vendors, I visited with friends who were at Stitches on their own: Sarah (who was teaching and working at the conference), and Rae and Lynn (who were shopping); I also managed to finish one Great American Aran Afghan square and start on the last square (and make it over half-way through before the night was done). There was so much to choose from and to be inspired by.

The ride home was pretty poor: the A/C went out on the bus, and you can imagine how hot it was with a bus packed full of women and wool. Our driver tried to get the A/C going again, but ended up giving up on it and having us switch buses in Kalamazoo. We ended up getting home about an hour later than originally planned.

So, I really don't have much to complain about. What more could I have asked for in having such a fun day?