I’m back from the Windy City. I was there from Friday until Monday for the American Library Association annual convention. The convention was great, though completely overwhelming. The hotels were several miles from the actual convention center, so getting between the two involved lots of shuttle buses. I wont bore you with the librarian-centric details, except to say that I’ve now been a librarian long enough to be able to recognize the librarians on the street, even when they’re not wearing matching lanyards or carrying tote bag from the exhibits.
I didn’t have time to do much time seeing, or even take photos of the downtown area. There were plenty of tourists out and about, but I didn’t really want to break out the camera and join them. The weather was gorgeous though; warm, but with a pleasantly cool breeze. The pictures would have turned out great with all that sun.
I do have pictures of yarn though. On Monday before leaving, I made a trip to Loopy Yarns. The store was very neat – lots of helpful staff and needles stored in an old card catalog. The selection included lots of great yarns I had yet to encounter in person. In an effort to not need extra storage space for my ever expanding stash, I did limit myself to only two skeins. First up, Lacey Lamb from Jade Sapphire Exotic Fibers. I’ve never even heard of this brand before, but the fuchsia called to me. Not sure why.
Love the alliteration
My attempt at an arty shot of the Lacey Lamb
I also got a skein of Malabrigo Lace. I’ve heard much of Malabrigo in knitting blog land, but had never actually seen it in person. I love the colors of this – it’s called Noviembre. I have no idea what I’ll do with it, but some day it will grow up into a beautiful finished object.
I’m really glad I got a chance to visit Loopy Yarns. I do think that the yarn was a bit pricey, but that could be a downtown Chicago premium. I do hope to get back to Chicago again soon and actually do some sight seeing and perhaps check out some more shops.
I also made some pretty good progress on the cabled socks I started last week. Most of this was finished on the plane. It’s much easier to do the cables without a needle, I must say. I don’t know if I’d do it with more complicated cables, but this is great for the small sock size cables. Given the rather muted color and simpler pattern, I’ve decided to call these my “Grown Up Socks.” Between the trip to Chicago and an upcoming trip to Florida for ACRL Immersion, a fair bit of these socks will be completed while I’m traveling for work. It feels strangely adult to be doing that. Oh, and I’ll be 25 this weekend – so perhaps it’s time for some grown up socks to wear this winter.
Grown Up Socks
Note: Added the picture of the Malabrigo on Weds after I realized that I’d forgotten it.
Happy Birthday! Hey was this the American Library Association that gives the Newbery Award? Did you see Neil Gaiman?
I didn’t see him, but I saw numerous Twitter references to the long line of librarians hoping to get a copy of his book signed. And yes, the ALA does the Newbery.
Your socks look amazing. And growing up is over rated… I turned 25 this past March and decided to have a quarter life crisis. Quit my career as a teacher and now work in a quilt shop. Ahh. Life is relaxing! Although, I have always dreamed of being a librarian. They strike me as very smart people. I hope you love your job.
I do love my job. I feel pretty fortunate, actually, to have so much of my life in place at 25. I’m hoping to skip the quarter life crisis. I don’t think people should have to know what they want to do with their life at 25, it’s still really young, in the grand scheme of things.
love that fuschia lacey lamb. and am currently knitting with the malabrigo lace….very sensual. btw, my childhood fantasy was to become a librarian. all those books!!!!
Ironically enough, it never occurred to me that I could/should be a librarian until I was in college, despite the love of books to the point of danger in traffic and spending summers at the library. I’m glad I figured it out though. What are you making with the malabrigo lace?