Chicago, Shakespeare and Yarn

This past Wednesday, I had the opportunity to watch a production of Shakespeare's Hamlet performed at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Really, it was a requirement of one of my classes to go see this play. I'm glad I went. I've read some of Shakespeare's other plays like Macbeth and have seen numerous movies based in his plays (10 Things I Hate About You for example is a modern twist on Taming of the Shrew a comedy). One of my goals in life is to read more of Shakespheare's plays and possibly watch more of his plays being performed live every once in awhile.

Knitting
So what does a knitter with 2 hours of free time before a play starts do in a city she's never been before? She finds a yarn store and buys something! Here's what I got:



Both are cascade yarns. I could not resist the blood redness of the 2 balls above. I'm planning on making some fingerless gloves or maybe even some mittens but whatever this becomes, it has to have cables! The pink yarn was an impulse buy. I got it because I simply loved the color. In fact I love all bright and bold colors like eggplant purple, lime green, dark navy, cheerful yellow, and or course my favorite blood red. My stash reflects this eclectic taste in colors and I'm happy with it.

The name of the store that I got the yarn from is Loopy Yarns. The owner was a cheerful woman who complemented the scarf I was wearing (flattery is a good way to sell yarn BTW). The store is cozy filled with tons of yarns not available at my LYS (like Lorna's Laces). I think if I get to go back to Chicago again, I will head over to Loopy Yarns anyday (even if they aren't open so I could marvel at the beautiful fibers).

How Smart Am I?
Yesterday on the bus ride to Chicago, I bought my Wavy scarf to work on. When I pulled it out of my bag, I was all ready to go when I realized that I had forgotten the pattern in my apartment. I cursed under my breath for a moment seeing that I didn't have a back up project. So I did something pretty advanced to my standards. I had remembered the first 8 rows of the pattern and so counted my rows and then read my stitches. I read where all the purls went and where all the knits went. After about 20 minutes of this, I had written out what I thought my pattern would have said. Lo and behold, I figured out the pattern just by reading the stitches on the scarf. My plan worked! Knitting on the bus was smooth after that.

I mentioned this story to you guys because what I did amazed me. After 2 years and 3 months of being a knitter, I was astonished to discover how advanced I've become. Not to big myself up but I'm still patting myself on the back for what I did yesterday on a rickety old school bus (fortunately it wasn't a "cheese bus" as we say in New York City, but everything about the bus including all the bouncing and hard upright seats were the same).

Has this ever happened to you? Have you ever done something so spectacular that it amazes you how talented of a knitter you are? Let me know.

Progress

The freak hail/snow storm that has hit Michigan today is making me want to knit even more hats, socks, and scarves to combat winter chill. I wish I were knitting the Central Park Hoodie as fast as this blooger, but I had many mid-terms to study for this week. I will work on the hoodie this weekend and hopefully have some pictures to show you guys next week.

So from me to you, happy knitting everyone!