Indiana Vacation Part 1: In which we meet some knitters

We're back!

Flying from Oregon to Indiana certainly takes less time than a road trip -- which we've done in the past, when the boys were young -- but somehow it's just as grueling. Lugging luggage, getting through security, sitting in a seat sized for the average toddler for hours on end... blah. Yes, it's better than traveling by covered wagon, but I really, really can't wait for the transporter beam to be invented.

Speaking of security, my 9 inch bamboo HiyaHiya needles didn't even get noticed, let alone raise any TSA eyebrows. And as for those items in the top picture? Those are not just a box of dental floss and a box of floss threaders for cleaning under bridgework. They are also a TSA-proof yarn cutter and a TSA-proof darning needle for doing kitchener stitch at the toe of a sock. Seriously! I was pondering what I was going to do for just such items while I was brushing my teeth and there was the answer just sitting there on the bathroom counter.

So for the journey out we took Continental, which flew us from Portland to Houston and then to Indianapolis for a total of something around 6 or 7 hours in the air. Between that at the hour-and-a-half it takes to get to the airport and a little airport waiting (very little -- we had mere minutes to grab carry-on food at Houston before boarding began), I got this much done on my Tidal Wave socks with Stephania's Pirate's Cove yarn:

After hours and hours in the air, we got a rental car in Indianapolis (a mere Toyota Corolla, not the cool PT Cruiser we'd requested, wah) and drove 2 1/2 hours to my mother-in-law's house, which lies almost directly between Renessalaer and DeMotte. We rolled in at about half past midnight and staggered off to bed.

The very next day, the question came up: "What do you want to do today?" The only thing on my agenda was to visit Sheep's Clothing in Valparaiso, the only yarn shop in the region. Coincidentally, my paternal grandfather was born and raised in Valparaiso, so I had double motive to visit.

The storefront looked promising:


And the insides were even better! Here's Loretta, my sweet mum-in-law, admiring the wool. She's not a knitter herself, but found several finished items that she liked. Ideas for Christmas! (And she's totally knitworthy.)


My hubby checks out our route to a pizza joint and our way home on the GPS while others shop and knit. We sat a spell while I knit a bit, and learned that there was a regular knitting meet-up the next day. More good stuff to do!

And of course I couldn't get out of there without some souvenir yarn -- some Wildfoote and some Koigu -- and a new book.


I used the rental car and the GPS to find my way back to Sheep's Clothing the next day and met up with a big group of lovely knitters, all very welcoming. We knit and chatted and had a terrific time. Hullo, Sheep's Clothing gang! Thanks for the nice time!

On the way home I stopped at a blueberry farm to try the local produce. Lovely weather, no? No matter -- the ground was dry and the rain was very much needed. Now look at that horizon. For me, the webfoot born and raised in Oregon, the horizon just doesn't look finished without a mountain range in the distance. Takes some getting used to. For Indiana people, on the other hand, having those mountains around would take getting used to, as they might feel hemmed in.

The blueberries, however, didn't take any getting used to at all. Mmmm, sweet and tasty!

Lest this post get too picture-heavy, I'll continue in Part 2 with some kids and some kitties.