Photos from my stay in Cleveland. As previously mentioned I stayed with Shannon Okey (of Knitgrrl.com) but I also hung out with some other knitters as well and they took me to an alpaca farm! We had so much fun.

I’m currently in New Jersey with Jesh and will have some pictures and a podcast from here shortly!

I had an absolutely wonderful time in Chicago and surrounding areas with Barb, her family and the knitters I met. Above is the full photo album of all the places I visited and some of the fabulous people I met while I was there.

Some highlights:
Wool & Company: This store is absolutely GORGEOUS. It’s huge, it has an entire wall of Addi needles and most importantly, they had snacks. The owners are a very pleasant couple, the staff was incredibly helpful and the ladies I met at the table where a treat to talk with. The group that came out to meet me was very diverse in ages and knitting styles. I had a chance to interview the group for a few minutes before my iPod crapped out on me, parts of that interview will be on the upcoming podcast episode. (Publishing tomorrow? Maybe?)

SlipKnots of Plainfield: These ladies, holy cow, these ladies were incredible. We met at a local Irish pub in Naperville/Plainfield area and had dinner and drinks. There is no audio from this meeting because it got very loud but I had a chance to chat with almost everyone that came and I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt that these were some of the funnest knitters I’ve ever had the chance to hang out with.

KnitWits of Peterson Elementary: This group was started by Barbara and a fellow school employee to teach knitting to elementary aged students and their parents. I met with three girls and two moms at the school and they shared with me their thoughts on learning to knit, why they like it and how they feel about it being a craft they share with their mothers. I recorded quite a bit of this meeting as well, so parts of that will also be on the next podcast episode.

Loopy Yarns: I dropped in to Loopy just to poke around before leaving town and I was not disappointed! Loopy is as fabulous as everyone had told me and it’s no wonder that the who’s who of Chicago knitting elite call this shop home. Its two stories, the top floor is full of absolutely gorgeous yarns, notions, bags and books. Downstairs features a kitchen, classroom areas and sale yarns (as well as the roving selection, it was VERY hard for me to leave without going crazy there.) The store is bright, clean and well organized and I was thrilled to see such a range of yarns for what clearly was a very upscale shop. Not to mention their huge Malabrigo selection!

The Woolly Lamb: This sweet little shop is tucked into the cozy Norwood Park neighborhood. When we dropped in it was their open knitting time and there were at least a dozen people in the shop sitting around two sets of tables laughing, drinking wine and enjoying birthday cake. (It was a shop regulars birthday and he brought cake. Lovely man named Fred, they also sang him happy birthday. Twice I believe.) The shop was well stocked and clearly loved by it’s customers. The owner was having a gumball sale as well which I thought was a neat idea: you got a gumball from the little machine near the register and each color was assigned a discount amount. I managed to get a coveted pink one worth 40% off my yarn purchase!

As soon as I edit the audio I’ll post the episode for this trip!

Today I’m in Cleveland with Shannon Okey at her studio; Knitgrrl Studio. She has a new book out by the way which I will be talking to her about this week while I’m here. In the meantime, you should totally go check it out/buy it right this second. She’s also having a blog tour as well to talk about the book with some incredibly awesome knitbloggers. (As you can see Craft Culture is the stop on July 11th, look for a post/podcast that day featuring Shannon.) Each of the bloggers are doing interviews and most are hosting give aways as well so it’d definitely worth checking out.

Only 48 hours until the official kick off of the Craft Culture Summer Tour! I had wanted to do another podcast episode before I left but have simply run out of time. I have some notes and research worked up for an episode about hand crafting unexpected items but I will shelve it until the Tour is over. For the next 6 weeks episodes will feature the lovely people I meet on the road. You should expect the Chicago episode sometime Friday or Saturday of next week. (Assuming my gracious hosts leave me a spare moment to upload them, thus far they’ve all got lovely things planned for me and my days are going to be chock full of AWESOME from first light to dead dark.)

I will be in Chicago Tuesday July 6th for most of the day. My host, the lovely Barbara, has offered to take me sightseeing around town that day (there was also mention of the zoo! SQUEE!) and we are still working on pinning down a time that I’ll be visiting local yarn shop Wool & Company in Geneva, IL (a suburb of Chicago proper.) but I am tentatively planning to be there Wednesday July 7th sometime. As soon as I have a specific time I will post it to the Craft Culture Twitter and Facebook pages. (That’s a not so subtle hint to go friend the podcast on twitter and facebook so you get updates promptly. Hint, hint.)

I’ll also be meeting with some local groups Barbara and friends are part of as well as some other groups she knows about in or near her home in Naperville, IL. While there I’m hoping to meet up with some internet buddies I’ve had for awhile and podcast listeners who’s written in and expressed interest in meeting up. Those are dependent on how much time I have in the city and the ease of getting places though, so if you’d like to see me/meet me or be interviewed definitely look out for that yarn shop appearance as it’s probably your best bet to find me at a certain place and time.

After Chicago I’m on to Cleveland where I’ll be hanging out with the Knitgrrl herself; Shannon Okey.

(p.s. the picture is of the Official Tour Journal, hand bound by Cassie of The Crafty Kitten. Lovely, no?)