Midwest knitting indeed!

Every now and then states are referred to by their area of the map rather than by their two-color election patterns and sweeping generalizations about political viewpoint. Seems less frequent lately. At any rate, I'm typically myopic enough to furrow my eyebrows in question at hearing Ohio named midwest. I know it is. A good friend in South Dakota maps her midwest from Ohio through South Dakota. However, it is interesting that we tend to identify our definition of a region from the viewpoint of our personal maps.

My personal midwest includes:

• Illinois - now with enough of Illinois to have outgrown the Chicago myopia where everything beyond the city limits is "downstate." (Stereotype? Afraid not.) Learned to knit here.

• Wisconsin - A drive-through state with a couple counties of family heritage and geneology records (births, deaths, burials, property ownership, church founders) Still have extended family who live throughout. My very first circular knitting needles came from a recently departed dear Wisconsin family knitter.

• Minnesota - family and family visiting from northernmost points to south of the cities. Lived and worked there for short stints. LOTS of knitting on those family visits. Shipped my knitting to and from here when I lived out east.

• Iowa - I should know more of the Iowa lyrics from State Fair and The Music Man, I should. Somehow I managed not to work on or see either in a full production while I lived there. They must be just around the corner. Iowa was the home of the first stacks of plastic knitting tubs.

• South Dakota - Among my SoDak adventures was a weekend of sitting at a cattle show in the Black Hills working the booth of a scale company. And it was a knitting adventure - I was knitting a Fassett inspired red and black sweater* while I worked the cattle show.

*The Maine Monster, to be discussed at a later date.