Stitches Midwest

Just got back from Stitches Midwest which was held in Rosemont, IL--it's right near O'Hare. I blame Expedia for the fact that my hotel was far away from the convention center, but I met two lovely women, Marsha and Beth, who graciously gave me a lift to and from the convention center for classes.

Let me start from the beginning. I was delayed getting there on Thursday--work again!--so I missed the first half of Advanced Design Techniques. My hotel was in the middle of nowhere but I was lucky to find Nick's Fishmarket, a terrific seafood restaurant, for dinner. Ahi tuna sashimi, clams casino, a great steak and fine merlot made for a wonderful first night in Chicagoland.

Classes started at 8:30. First thing I noticed was the wizards. Wizard World was also being held at the convention center. I didn't see many wizards per se but there were a lot of Star Wars Imperial Troopers and all manner of sprites and Goth chicks. Interesting. One of my classmates said one of the wizards thought a knitting convention was "weird." Ah huh.

Advanced Design was taught by Barry Klein--a great teacher and an excellent designer. I was a little bit behind the curve because I missed Part One, when the class took measurements and worked on personal designs and because I don't have a vocabulary for clothes construction. I did like discussing the new fashion trends and how they can be adapted for knitting projects. I was so inspired when I got to the market...

More about Stitches later. I need to find batteries for the camera so I can post my swatches and the great yarns I bought.