Ok, to those with feeds, read on (took awhile to get pictures and text all aligned to make sense)
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First, the trip to Stitches was wonderful. My friend and I met at my place and then went to the bus stop. While we were waiting, we met the people in the car next to us and found out that my friend and one of them knew all the same people. I'm surprised they hadn't met before this. The bus was great, I especially appreciated it on the way home after I was very tired. Much as I love the new car, knowing that someone else was driving was great! Stitches itself was a little overwhelming but after having gone to Bead & Button a few times, I had a plan of attack. Except for stitchmarkers (see below)I didn't buy anything before lunch. I just walked the aisles and wrote things down in my notebook. (booth, approximate location, what I saw there and what I was thinking of it for). After lunch, I actually started purchasing but I knew what I was aiming for, so to speak. My original list that I had was yarn for:
1. friends/sis that couldn't make it
2. sweater (I had two patterns with me so I could pick when I was there)
3. lace stole
4. son's Maze hat
5. fair isle gloves (you'll notice I didn't buy, too expensive for small amounts)
6. knotty knice socks
7. stitch markers
8. beaded scarf kit (more info below)
9. up to three random sock yarns because sock yarn is pretty
Judge for yourself how I did....
My favorite yarn is this green multitonal. The "snowman" is actually one skein balled up into three balls. (there were two knots) I bought three skeins total. It's gorgeous, bright greens and everyone stopped me to ask me about it, but I can't get the picture quite right. The picture with the cat is there because, believe it or not, it's the best one to see the tonal aspects. It's to make the Sidelines Top from this month's Interweave Knits. They did it in red, but several perfect strangers at Stitches told me that this green was perfect for me.
This teal is from Creatively Designed Yarns. Not only is it lovely seacell/silk combination, but the designer (creative on Ravelry) helped explain what to expect at Stitches and gave advice that I think helped greatly! I was happy to meet her in person. I'm planning to use it for the Biased Eyelets Stole in Interweave Knits.
I bought this kit because I thought the teal yarn is pretty and the cable pattern on the socks is interesting. The teal is a tonal which I love because it's not super solid looking. This morning as I was preparing for pictures and blogging, I looked up the yarn and found out that its actual color name is Dragonfly, how perfect is that?
This is a pretty yarn called Unwind Yarns Zinfandel Sock. It's a bit more orange than this picture shows but it's close. It's designated for the Knotty or Knice Socks from Interweave.
When I went to the Bead & Button Show in Milwaukee in June, I bought and finished a knitted bracelet kit. The same vendor had these beautiful scarf kits that I loved but didn't buy at the time. I saw she was going to be at Stitches and knew I had to stop. I got a chance to talk to her, she used me as a model for one of her shawls (I was wearing a nice black blouse that apparently made a good background) and I bought a scarf kit this time. I don't like the picture that comes with the pattern, but they are lovely made up. I got a pretty multicolor ribbon yarn and green beads in my kit.
I'm fascinated by this kit. This was not a planned purchase but I did tell myself I could buy three sock yarns so I'm counting this as one *laugh* It is a kit that teaches you how to dye yarn with Wilton dyes that are used for cake icing. Because you paint the yarn with the dyes rather than soaking them, the woman I talked to said you can do it in a small space. I can't wait to try it, the samples were incredibly vibrant. There was another woman that stopped by, she had taken a class with the seller and wanted to show the socks she's working on. She said that her 8yo granddaughter got to pick the colors and then paint the yarn herself and now she (grandmother) was knitting them into socks for her. They were really pretty and I loved that story. But also, if an 8yo can do it with supervision and have it work, I certainly can!!
I've been planning to make the Maze hat ever since I saw it in Knitty. I'm planning to make it for son for Christmas but I'm fairly sure I'm safe posting here as he ignores my blog now. I've been looking for this yarn (allhemp6) ever since because I didnt' want to buy it sight unseen for the first time and I didn't want to pay the shipping costs. But I'm glad I found it. supposedly hemp washes up soft. machine washable and supposedly won't mildew which just sounds like something a boy heading to his teens should have.
Ok, dragonfly cloissene stitchmarkers from a vendor with a kitty theme, I knew i was going to try to find stitchmarkers and I couldnt' resist this set.
Last of the items, miscellaneous group... The book's author was there and he autographed it. I'm not sure if it's any good yet, it's a murder mystery, someone is killed by Addi Turbos, yarn shop owners become detectives. But I like the fact that it's autographed. Supposedly it will only be sold at yarn shops, on his site or at independent mystery book stores. Anyway, next things... a medium-sized Go Knit Pouch. I love my smaller one, I like how it snaps to my belt loop or a neighboring chair with ease. I've wanted a bigger one but they don't sell on Knit Picks and again, I haven't wanted to pay shipping. When I saw the medium, even though it wasn't on my list, I got it anyway. (it would have been on my list if I had thought of it!) and lastly, two mini sock things, one a christmas ornament and the other a keychain. One was won as a prize on the guild bus, the other one was basically free when I bought the Wilton dye kit and the teal cable sock kit above.
I also bought some lovely yarn for local friend, Apryl and mojaveSis. They've seen their pictures. I am happy to say that really the book was the only totally unplanned purchase so I did well with that, no buyer's remorse. Although between Stitches and the car, I'm not buying any new yarn for quite some time! (although you will see items from sock clubs (sock yarn cinema and new Lord of the Rings) but those were paid in full up front.
I loved Stitches and hope to go again next year, hopefully even take a class.
