Monday, September 13, 2010

Busy Saturday

We had a very nice day on Saturday, but it was very busy. We went to the Chicago Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago. I mainly wanted to go to see the Mimi Kirchner dolls (here) but even though I had some "mad money" I couldn't afford one.

The Renegade Craft Fair was very different. The people at the fair (there were a lot of them) were all very nice, but I was disappointed by the level of craftsmanship in a lot of the booths. The emphasis was on recycling (and upcycling), but I don't see that as an excuse to make ugly things. Mimi's dolls are beautiful, all made out of goodwill sweaters and used fabrics.

I found a couple of things to spend my money on. I picked up some hand-made soap in Wintergreen scent (!)

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and a pattern and some magnets from Mimi.

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The teacup pin cushion calls for a felted wool ball as its base, but I'm thinking that a mari would work...

We were there with a crowd, and had a lot of fun. My folks were there, and DD1 with her friend who we met for the first time, a friend of the family, and P & C.

We had dinner at Bella Notte on the near west side, and we enjoyed ourselves tremendously.

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DD1, her friend, and P being silly.

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P again with Oma & Opa (my parents).

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DD1 with C, looking adorable as usual.

The only complaint I had about the restaurant was that it was too noisy to be able to visit with everyone.

After dinner, DH, our friend, and I went to the Dukes of September concert in the Chicago Theater. I love looking at down town! This is the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) and another tall building basking in the sunset light.

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The concert was wonderful, with 12 musicians on stage and a good selection of songs, from the Blues, to jazz, to a Beach Boys' song, and more. The musicians were all wonderful, After and I don't think there is a bad seat in the Chicago Theater. We were in the middle balcony, 3 flights up, but we had a wonderful view of the stage.

After the concert we had about a 40 minute ride home, with very little traffic. We got turned around a little bit trying to get out of down town, and for me it was an amazing eye-opener. It was past my bed-time, and there were throngs of people on the sidewalks having fun (or at least trying to). I guess it is true that one half doesn't know how the other half lives. I can't say that it looked like a lot of fun to me.

My idea of fun is tonight, my Guild annual dinner meeting, good friends, good food, and a lot of stitching talk. I'll take pictures!

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