I saw the Yarn Harlot...Yes I did! I traveled to Chicago via the Metra with my sister, a "non-knitter" who agreed to take one for the team and accompany me. We got off the train downtown and enjoyed a great lunch at The Downtown on Wacker - where the staff was extremely attentive. This of course was after taking several wrong turns in an attempt to head towards Michigan Avenue. We were able to regroup over lunch and plan our route to the shopping mecca. I was taken by the wind, the crosswalks busy with pedestrians and the shade lent from the tall buildings. I am from a small Wisconsin town where the tallest building, well, may be about 3 stories. So we went with the flow downtown. Sephora, Ethel M's Chocolate Lounge, Coach, oh my! My sister was so disciplined buying just a unique Cubs hat for her husband. She then proceeded to tell me about a store Teavana - where they have bulk tea. I am a tea newbie - really just starting to enjoy a nice iced tea from *um* Snapple - but I was into it, I really wanted some white tea - antioxidants, healthful qualities, mild flavor. So off we went - I tried the Caribbean Breeze/ Rooibos Key Lime iced tea *SOLD* I also grabbed a tea contraption to help me brew up a quick cup...well, then feeling a little adventurous I thought - oh hell, give me some Scarlet Cloud White Tea "an exotic melange of fresh strawberry pieces and rare Chinese white tea from Drum Mountain White Cloud Monastery"...why wouldn't I expect this tea to be 45 bucks for a small tin? Good grief, when the clerk said 91 dollars I felt a warm wave wash over my body - gulp. Oh I paid it, it became the joke from then on - my entire family is expecting quite a fancy tea party in the near future. It will be worth it...right?

So after this debacle we were off to catch a cab to another train station - more seedy - and traveled to south Chicago for the Harlot's lecture. When we got off the train and saw the train station boarded up we wondered what we were in for. We had a beverage at a disorganized, slow but friendly cafe - and used the restroom - and would you believe there was a poster of white teas in there (the 15 bucks a tin version) just laughing at me. We then walked to a park where we would hear the Yarn Harlot - the anticipation...The neighborhood we meandered through to get to our destination was lovely - large houses reminiscent of the homes surrounding the University of Wisconsin - obviously refurbished, large lots, kept clandestine by the lush foliage - it was so pleasant despite the 95 degree heat.

At first I thought the venue left something to be desired... shabby, dated - a fan the size of a plane engine. But then the knitters started milling in - everyone pulling out their assorted projects, I felt like I was "home". Everyone so friendly, complimenting each other's yarn - interjecting comments into Harlot's lecture. Oh Stephanie McPhee - my knees were weak when she signed my much loved book - I have had that exact feeling only once before - when I was in the front row of a RUSH concert and literally was overcome, I forgot every word to every song they ever sang. duh...Those Canadians make me swoon. She is funny - so funny, so real - her blog only in 3-D. My sister even laughed and found her endearing, entertaining. The event was entirely worth the stressful trip - wondering, can I make it on that damn train, find a cab, survive the crowds - I did it. I am knitter! Hear me ROAR!