Watching Chicago Go By

As is my habit at ANG Seminars, I signed up to do a few shifts at the 'Hospitality Desk'. It's always good for a laugh and a joke and a gossip, and you learn a bit about the place you're in and advice on what you should try and see 'while you're in our city'. In Chicago we were constantly told that the place we MUST visit was the Art Institute.
We went. It was hot, it was Labor Day weekend and the queue went along the front of the building, up the side, and then doubled back.
Neither of us is good standing in the sun for three-quarters of an hour, so we had a look round the shop and ran away.
What we did find to amuse and fascinate was the Chicago Architecture Center.

We only saw the ground floor, but it held us fascinated. There was a model of central Chicago, with a light show changing the time of day, and there were big screens carrying street-cam views of the city and all sorts of data. You could stand and watch the road and rail delay reports as they were reported, even the number of potholes reported and repaired. They repair potholes quick in Chicago. If you want to sit, relax and watch a whole city go by in real-time, its worth a visit, but my favourite part was the model.

Despite all the changing lights and moving screens, it was actually quite restful.

I did do some embroidery. I took a class in Goldwork, "Golden Endless Knot", designed and taught by Michele Roberts. There was pre-work, so I arranged for it to be sent to the hotel, to be collected on arrival. I'm not saying there was a lot of pre-work, but there was.
By the time I'd done the pre-work I didn't want to see another Montenegrin Stitch EVER!

Class was great. We learned how to create height through padding and how to handle different golds. We stretched and laid purl and chipped bright. Michele taught us about different types of gold,  how they were best used and what other uses they might be put to. She also entertained us with a fund of stories and asides.

The swag is highly padded and covered in 'chippings', the line visible on top of the swag is of Swarovski crystals. This piece is full on bling, and much as I had to struggle with the Montenegrin Stitch, it is still one of my favourite pieces.

"Golden Endless Knot" was designed and taught by Michele Roberts. It measures about 14" by 11", and it took me 106 hours to stitch.