More About Stitches

Years ago, I would come home from Stitches laden down with all my purchases.  This was before Internet shopping was in full swing and there was a very limited number of yarn shops available.  I just couldn't pass up all that beautiful yarn!  Neither could my friends from South Bay Knitters as we would get together   for a post Stitches meeting to show off all our great finds, some projects getting done right away and others to languish in our growing stashes.

Here's what I came home with after two days at the Market:

                                                                                   
 A beautiful shawl pin that I picked up at Black Water Abbey Yarns.  Also some cute sheep buttons.  What will I use them for?  I don't know, they are just cute!

Here's the patterns I bought from Coco Knits:

 
Some Noro Silk Garden I bought at Webs:

                                                                                                                                                                         A new bag for my knitting projects with lots of zippered pockets.  Good for travelling:

                                                                                                                                                                   And looky here!   Some Opal sock yarn and I have already finished the first sock!

                                                                                                                                                                       Cookie A, sock designer extraordinaire, would be impressed - even if it isn't her design!  Hi Cookie!

                                                                                                                                                                      Time to put my buttons away for next year!

                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                       

Stitches West Part II

With my Knitters shopping bag and Stitches directory in hand, I headed off to the market on Friday to do my part to support the knitting industry.

                                                                            

 The whole thing is really visually overwhelming;  so many gorgeous hand dyed yarns, beautiful sweaters, shawls and interesting sock projects displayed and a moving fashion show taking place on the floor as knitters walked around wearing their handknits:

                                                                          

                                                                            

 This is  the Renaissance Shawl by Jane Elliot.  And here is the Thordis Shawl in one of my  favorite colors.

                                                                                

                                                                              

Here's the Debbie Bliss Cable Vent Jacket

                                                                                  

                                                                            

Lots of button vendors:

  These buttons are from Alice's Tapestries and Art Buttons of Santa Fe, New Mexico  and this picture doesn't begin to show all the really unusual and beautiful buttons and bags she carried.                                                                         

Ali McGraw of Love Story fame was signing books at the Ruhama's booth:

                                                                            

Ruhama's carries the Kauni  yarns and they had some beautiful samples on display:

                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                                

I bought the pattern and yarn for the Brady Scarf:

                                                                             

Here's Jessica Bailey wearing the Liesl  seamless tank from Coco Knits:

                                                                            

It looked really great on her.  I bought the pattern and I think I'll make it in the Louet Euroflax.
Also bought the pattern for the tunic Silke after I saw it on this woman:

                                                                                    

It was made in Elsbeth Lavold Silky Wool.

Lots of nice jewelery and bags.  Here's a knitting bag I bought for myself:

                                                                                   

More about what I bought in my next post when I get my pictures organized!

                                                                                 

Stitches West

Stitches is always fun to go to and this year was no exception.  A bigger market with lots of new vendors    with so many beautiful hand dyed yarns, books, needles, buttons, etc. that it was too much to take in on one day.  Two days still didn't seem like enough time, and I know I missed alot, but I was way over my Stitches budget and there is always next year....

Thursday night was the Ravelry party with Casey and Jess and it was fun to get to go to one of their events.

    Jamie and I ran into Beth Brown-Reinsel of Knitting Traditions fame, and we talked about the time we took a class with her on knitting a Gansey sweater with a group of knitters from the Salt Lake City Knitting Guild.  What a great weekend with that bunch!  I still think her patterns are about the best written ones out there.

                                                                                                                                                                       
Here's Beth with a knitter who was showing off her beautiful glove that she had just made:

    

It was easy to spot Jasmine of the Knitmore Girls Podcast in the crowd:

                                                                                                                                                                         Here's Wonder  Mike of the Fiber Beat Podcast with a member of the Skacel team:

                                                                                                                                                                      And on to the market on Friday morning!