Weekend recap

This past weekend was incredibly exciting and full of activities. On Saturday, it was Stitches Midwest out in Schaumburg. I got to ride on the fancy limo-bus with the ladies of the Hyde Park Knitting Guild, who were all incredibly sweet and welcoming. I knit my sock project on the way there.

This is the Simply Lovely Lace Sock in fingering weight Ultra Alpaca Fine.  The pattern is in Interweave Knits, Spring 2006 issue. I'm well into the second sock at this point, and it makes for good knitting while I'm reading secondary sources for my current paper.

So, Stitches! My first impression of the market was, frankly, that it was overwhelming. We had arranged to spend four hours meandering and shopping.  I originally thought that would be way too much time, but it turned out to be just about right. By the end I was pretty exhausted, but I was not bored for a moment. I am also very proud of myself for exerting a monumental amount of self control and not purchasing every beautiful skein in sight. I had decided to forgo any yarn purchases to concentrate on finding some roving so that I could take turns spinning something colorful and going back to my giant chunk of natural white wool.  Here's what I found:

4 oz. of alpaca in a deep turquoise-y blue from New Era Fiber.

4 oz. of 80% Merino wool/ 20% Tussah silk top in a delicious colorway called "Spanish Moss."

I cannot get over how much it looks like some delicious fruit or really bleached wood or other things I can't even name; I am in love. This was from Miss Babs, who also had amazing sock yarns and lace weight in beautiful colors. There was just so much temptation in that booth! Interesting fact - both of my new fibers are from Tennessee.
Though I spent a lot of time in the Webs booth, ogling the many discounted skeins of Noro and Valley Yarns, I managed to escape with just one pattern, for Berroco's Baudelaire (Rav). I love those ruffles! I'm thinking of subbing Knit Picks City Tweed for a less expensive version of this great jacket.
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Sunday, I was up and running again, this time with N., to the Vintage Bazaar at Chicago's Congress Theater. This is a really fun venue, a bit crowded with all the close racks and shelves of fragile, glass items, but a fun place to spend a little time browsing and hunting down vintage finds.

I picked up two new-to-me rosaries, and N. found a great pillow covered in 80s fabric. We also stopped by a thrift store, and had lunch at a cozy little diner that served fantastic breakfast skillets. Yum!
I was wondering all day yesterday why I was feeling so tired, but after going back over all this activity, I think I understand! What adventures did you have this weekend? Let's chat in the comments.