Of Stitches West Market Hauls

February usually means Madrona and Stitches West, but this year, Stitches was the only event of the two that I attended. I always share my Stitches purchases on the blog, so here is what I bought in the market this year (clockwise from top left in the photo below): a project bag from Front Range bags, a ball of Valley Superwash from WEBS (for Mother Bear clothing), a sock blank from Leading Men Fiber Arts, two balls of Valley Yarns Greylock (one hundred per cent cashmere fingering weight yarn), a Mother Bear ornament (unfortunately backwards in the photo so you can't see its little heart-shaped button) and the book and accompanying Ravelry download, I Knit New York. 

I can almost see your shocked face and hear you saying,"What? That's all?" Yes, that is really all. I guess I wasn't breathing in enough yarn fumes this year, although I've never really bought a huge amount of yarn any of the times I've gone to Stitches West. For comparison, here are some photos of purchases from previous years. This was my haul in 2017:

And here is my haul from 2015 (for some reason I don't have a photo from 2016):

And here's 2014:

The embarrassing thing about all three of these photos is how few of the yarns I've actually knit. From 2014, I've knit two of the skeins shown and from 2015, I've knit one and gave one as a gift. The 2017 haul is the most embarrassing of all, because I have knit exactly none of those skeins. So my conclusion from this review of my purchases is that it is probably a very good thing I didn't buy much this year! I'm going to try to make a dent in these yarns over the next several months, so that maybe, just maybe, I won't have all of them hanging around in my stash when Stitches West rolls around again next year.

Fun at Stitches West

You know you're in for a good time at Stitches West when you see this in the hotel elevator:

And then, after the market preview on Thursday night, there was Prosecco (and sushi for Sarah).

The classes were great. I learned a lot in my knitting two-at-a-time class with Patty Lyons, but didn't get a photo.

On Friday, my Stitch and Click class with the Shibaguyz gave me lots of new ideas for my project photography, including:

how to make a tripod for an iPhone out of a coffee cup;

cool photography equipment and lenses for iPads and iPhones; and 

the importance of good lighting and background for yarn and project photography.

We had lots of opportunities to practice what we learned, using the photo set-ups/lighting around the room, and also one that was outdoors, where we could take some photos in natural light. I got several good project photos, and this one, which was, far and away, the best.

But for me, Stitches is mostly about getting together with my knitting friends, especially Sarah and Martha. We traveled from Seattle together and we were able to get adjoining rooms in the hotel. Somehow, I didn't get a single photo of the three of us together, but Sarah did—thanks, Sarah.

I did get a photo of our shadows, though...

I also got to spend some time with one of my online friends, Wendy of Knitters Brewing Company. We really didn't plan to both be wearing our Hitofude cardigans, but it made for a great photo.

I also went to the podcaster get-together and hung out with the poncho ladies (left to right, me, Kelly, Marcy, Marsha, Barb and Tracy).

And of course, Stitches West is also all about the yarn. 

And I bought a little bit...

The Report From Stitches West

I bet you were wondering if I was ever going to tell you about this year's trip to Stitches West. I didn't forget you, and in fact, had great plans to write this blog post yesterday, until the wind started to blow and the power went out for nine hours. Things are back to normal today, so here I am to tell you all about it.

This year was a little different than previous Stitches West trips. Mr. D and I didn't combine it with a visit to our Santa Cruz family and a trip down the Central Coast. The Santa Cruz family is spending this year in Zurich, Switzerland, so Mr. D stayed home, and I flew down with my knitting friends, Sarah and Martha.

Day one got off to a VERY early start. I spent the night at Martha's house, and we had to get up at 3:00 a.m. in order to be at the airport for a 6:00 a.m. flight. Once we got going with the day, we were all okay, but by the end of the day we were really dragging.

Once we arrived in Santa Clara, the fun began. The three of us found a comfortable couch in the Hyatt lobby and waited for our rooms to be ready. While sitting there, we greeted friends as they arrived and had a very interesting conversation with a designer, Patty Nance, who happened to sit down next to us.

Within an hour or so, our rooms were ready, and then it was time for lunch. Every year we go to the Teachers a la Carte luncheon, and sit at a table with our friends Barb, Tracie, Pat and Mary. A number of the Stitches teachers rotate to each table for five minute segments, and they tell us about their classes and specialties. It's a great way to get ideas for what to take at Stitches West in future years.

After lunch, it was time for my first class, Stashology 201, with Chris Byslma. Barb was also in that class, and we had fun working our way through the various exercises that provided me with new ways to think about my stash and how to use those partial balls of yarn leftover from other projects. Here is a photo that I took of some of our class samples:

Then it was time for the market! Stitches attendees who register for classes or events get admission to the market preview on Thursday night. This is a huge advantage, because it is a lot less crowded than on Friday or Saturday. Sarah, Martha and I always do the passport game—you print out a passport before leaving home, then visit the booths on the passport and when done, turn it in for a prize drawing. None of us have ever won the prize, but it is a great way to scope out what vendors have to offer. At one of the last passport booths we visited, Dizzy Blonde Studios, we had our photo taken in the "transporter". It turns out that this is the only photo I got of the three of us during the whole three days. I bet you can tell that this was when we were really tired from our long day.

My time in the market over the three days kind of blurs together, so I'll just show you what I purchased:

A kit to make Knitted Knockers (more on this charity in an upcoming post)

A mini-skein set in the Bloody Mary colorway from Pigeonroof Studios

A sock blank from Western Sky Knits

Dragonfly Fibers Pixie in the Blue Velvet colorway 

I was pretty moderate this year, don't you think? Actually being in the Stitches market is more than just buying. While there, I turned in my recently completed Mother Bear, and returned the next day to find her on display in the Mother Bear Project booth.

We also spend a lot of time looking at the items displayed in various booths, and often take photos of them so we can remember just what that pretty shawl was called once we return home.

Sometimes we just marvel at all the gorgeous colors, like these, in the Neighborhood Fiber Company booth.

There were many more adventures at Stitches West: a great class on Mitered Squares from Marly Bird, the Friday night fashion show, pizza deliveries and Girl Scout cookies, not to mention the enjoyable podcaster get-together in the Hyatt bar on Saturday afternoon. As always, it was a whirlwind of fun, and over all too soon. Before we knew it, we were on another plane, watching the sun go down as we headed back home.

Good Times and Good Yarn

I have been missing from the blog for almost the whole month of March, battling a terrible cold that I came down with the day we returned from our California road trip. Now that I am finally feeling better, I want to share some quick highlights of Madrona and Stitches West with you. In the previous  two years, I have written more extensively about both events, but this year's report isn't much different: I had a great time, took some excellent classes, hung out with friends and spent some time (and a bit of money) in the markets.

Madrona was a quick trip this year. I drove down for the day on Saturday, February 14, hung out with my Knitajourney retreat friend, Ellen (twinsetellen on Ravelry), wandered the market, and took a really fun class with Janine Bajus in the afternoon.

Here is my one and only yarn purchase from the Madrona market. Hazel Knits Artisan Sock in the Quill colorway. I am currently looking at two-color shawl patterns and this yarn may become one of the colors when the pattern is chosen.

Stitches West started only five days after the day I spent at Madrona. During those five days, Mr. D and I packed up and, on February 17, took off on our drive down to California. The weather was beautiful, and the trip was uneventful, except for the fantastic meal we had our first night, when we stayed in Ashland. This dessert was definitely an event!

Once I was safely delivered to Stitches (and Mr. D to his sister's house in Santa Cruz) the fun really began. I love hanging out with my knitting pals, Sarah and Martha, as well as meeting up and chatting with friends I only see once a year. I again attended the Saturday afternoon podcaster get-together, which is so relaxing and fun, and affords a great opportunity to just sit and chat with other knitters, some of whom are podcasters and some who aren't.

The market always looms large at Stitches West. You may remember from my January goals post that I was determined to have a strategy for my shopping this year, and I did, and it worked very well. In the weeks leading up to Stitches I reviewed the vendor thread in the Stitches West Ravelry group and made a list of yarns and other items that I wanted to check out. I also made a list of patterns and yarn requirements for some of the sweaters I am thinking of knitting as I knew I wanted to look for a sweater quantity of yarn, something that I haven't purchased at the two previous Stitches I've attended. So after all of the list making and vendor stalking, here is what I actually purchased:

At the top is a Huckleberry Knits gradient that will become Jen Lucas' pattern Saffron. On the left is Forbidden Woolery Temperence, a DK weight yarn that was my one random purchase. I plan to knit it into a Clapo-Ktus. In the middle is that sweater quantity, Huckleberry Knits BFL/Silk DK, and on the right is a skein of fun self-striping yarn from White Birch Fiber Arts. And yes, I did notice the preponderance of purple in these yarns. It is my favorite color, so you shouldn't be surprised.

So that is the Madrona and Stitches report for this year. Keep an eye on the blog in the coming months as I begin to knit up these lovely yarns, because I will be sure to share those projects with you here.

A Lot of Stitches West, 2014 Edition

Stitches West, 2014—FANTASTIC!

That doesn't make for much of a blog post, so I'll try to cover the highlights here. You may remember from last year's Stitches blog post, that I went by myself and only spent Thursday and an hour or so on Friday morning at Stitches. This year I had lots of company, and I got to spend almost three full days there. My friend Nancy and I shared a hotel room, and Sarah and Martha also came and were only three floors below us in the Hyatt.

We knew it was going to be a good day on Thursday when we looked out our hotel room window and saw this spectacular sunrise:

Like last year, Barb (knittybarb) and her daughter Tracie (alittleposy) arranged to meet us first thing on Thursday and we attended the opening spotlight together. This year, the speaker was Myra Wood, and she gave a fascinating talk, based on her new book, Knit in New Directions.

Then we moved on to the "speed-dating" luncheon, where the Stitches instructors move from table to table every five minutes and do a short presentation on their classes, designs and other interests. Sarah and Martha, who had just arrived from the airport, joined Nancy, Barb, Tracie, me and two of Barb's friends, Pat and Mary, at our lunch table. We had a lot of fun, and got a lead on some cool project bags, which you will see later in this post. After lunch, Martha took a photo of (left to right) me, Sarah, Barb and Nancy, and Nancy texted the photo to Sharon (SheKnits) Dreifuss. We all listened to her former podcast, and met through the She-Knits group on Ravelry. Thanks to Nancy for sharing the photo with me.

In the afternoon, I took a class on lace edgings from Myra Wood, and she was just as interesting as she had been in the morning. I learned some new skills for shawl knitting, too.

Thursday evening was the Market Preview, which is open only to people registered for classes or events. Just like last year, it was huge and overwhelming, but amazing, at the same time. Unlike last year, however, I was not  prepared with a good list of what I wanted to look at and buy, and that was a mistake. I spent too much time just wandering, and that contributed to the feeling of being overwhelmed. I did buy some yarn, though, which I'll share at the end of this post. I also managed to take a photo of one of the vendors at the Verdant Gryphon booth:

On Friday, I took a class entitled "Disaster Recovery" from J.C. Brier. It, too, was an excellent class, and I learned how to (finally) drop down and pick up dropped stitches, something that I had never learned how to do in all of my years of knitting. Hooray! 

Friday evening, Nancy, Sarah, Martha and I attended the fashion show, and Nancy and I attended the dinner afterwards. We saw some amazing knitted garments, some of which I would never in the world consider knitting myself (too difficult) but I would love to own them!

On both Friday and Saturday mornings, I took a walk on a walking/ bicycle trail that runs behind the hotel and convention center. It was wonderful to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. On Saturday, Martha and Sarah joined me.

Speaking of sunshine, it was so beautiful that we were able to eat our lunch outside on both Friday and Saturday. Here is a little corner of the hotel's courtyard, where we ate our lunch:

When I wasn't in class or the market, I was busily knitting on my final Halos of Hope hat for Knitters Brewing Company's team in the podcaster throw down. The deadline for turning in hats was Stitches West, and I bound off my final hat on Saturday morning, and immediately took it to the Knitters Brewing Company booth in the market and turned it in to Wendy:

It was such a treat to meet and talk to both Wendy and Kelie, who host the Yarn on Tap podcast, one of my favorites. I bought some of their yarn, too, as you will see at the end of this post.

My last event at Stitches, and one of my favorites, was the podcaster meet-up, which was held in the Hyatt bar on Saturday afternoon. It was lots of fun to hang out with my knitting friends. Here is a photo of Nancy with fellow She-Knitter Debra (Javanut). It was so nice to see Debra again this year!

It was also fun to meet and hangout with some of the podcasters that I've been listening to over the past six years. I got to talk with Dr. Gemma from Cogknitive, Gayle and Sharlene from The Yarniacs, and of course, Barb and Tracie, the 2 Knit Lit Chicks. I also sat and knitted with Seattle podcaster, Erin, from Doubleknit, who I seem to run into at almost every fiber event that I go to. I even remembered to take a couple photos of the meet-up:

So that is my time at Stitches for this year, except for one thing: my market purchases. Here is the promised photo of what I bought:

Clockwise, from the top: nesting bags (4) from Neece's Pieces, Knitters Brewing Company Zebra sock kit, two skeins of self-striping sock yarn from Invictus Yarns, Miss Babs Yowza, What a Skein in the Prince colorway, Knitters Brewing Company Brewski in the Framboise colorway, and a Della Q interchangeable needle case.

I'll say it again—Stitches West, 2014—FANTASTIC!

A Little Bit Madrona and a Lot of Stitches West

Well, as you can see from the title of this post, I went to Stitches West for the first time this year. And I had a blast! But first, I want to tell you about Madrona.

Madrona was a bit disappointing this year. No, not the classes or the market or the other fun happenings associated with the event. What was disappointing was that my knitting friends that I usually go with and I all had classes on different days, so it ended up that we all went separately and didn't hang out and knit and shop together. Despite missing that, I did have two fantastic classes from my favorite teacher, Clara Parkes. I also had lunch with my friend Sherrill and dinner with my friend Sarah. Sarah and I attended the Thursday night Teacher Talent Show, which I can't tell you about. (What happens at Madrona, stays at Madrona.) I made two very brief forays into the market (less than 30 minutes total) and bought exactly one circular needle—an Addi Turbo US size 8—and this:

You probably knew that it would have to be Hazel Knits yarn, but I bet you didn't think it would be black! I have already cast this yarn on for a project tied to one of this year's goals, but you will have to wait until I'm further along to see what that project is.

Less than a week after I got home from Madrona, Mr. D and I were flying down to San Jose, California. My sister-in-law picked us up at the airport, and dropped me off at my hotel in Santa Clara, so that I could attend Stitches West all day Thursday (the opening day) and a little bit on Friday, before being picked up to join Mr. D for a long weekend with his sister and family in Santa Cruz. (I'll tell you more about Santa Cruz in an upcoming post.)

My Stitches experience started within an hour of arriving at my hotel. Registration was open for three hours on Wednesday afternoon, so I headed across the street to the convention center to pick up my registration materials. Before I even got into the building, I ran into Jasmine and Gigi, the Knitmore Girls. I had met them previously at both Sock Summit in 2009 and the Black Sheep Gathering in 2010, so it was nice to say hello and chat for a couple minutes. Then, after I went inside, I ran into my Ravelry and She-Knits friend, Kathy (AKA mountainpurl), and ended up hanging out and having an early dinner with her and her friends. We had a great time and laughed a lot! After dinner, Kathy and I were joined by Debra (Javanut on Ravelry). I was really happy to meet her in person for the first time, after having known her only through the She-Knits group on Ravelry.

Thursday was my big day at Stitches. Way back in September, when I knew for sure that I would be attending, my She-Knits friend, Barb (knittybarb of the 2 Knit Lit Chicks podcast) and I made a plan to get together to meet in person and attend the opening Spotlight (keynote) and the luncheon. Barb's daughter and co-host, Tracie, also joined us. It was so much fun to meet them both, and the Spotlight talk by Laura Bryant was fascinating! The luncheon was like speed dating—Stitches teachers moved from table to table and had five minutes to talk about their classes, designs and interests. If I get to go back to Stitches sometime in the future, those little five-minute talks have given me some ideas about classes I might want to take.

After the luncheon, it was time for my class, the Sock Knitter's Seminar taught by Carol Sulcoski. Her book, Knitting Socks With Handpainted Yarn, is one of my favorites, so I was excited to take a class from her. I had done my homework, and learned how to do an afterthought heel (which I have never attempted before), as well as learning some tips about grafting sock toes that will make them look a lot better. Carol has a really nice sense of humor, and the class was fun as well as interesting.

I know that as you have been reading all of this you have been thinking, "When is she going to tell about the Stitches Market?" Well, that time is now. First of all, it is huge!!! I thought I had experienced a pretty big market at Sock Summit, but you could put two Sock Summit markets into the Stitches market and have room left over. Because it's so big, it's pretty overwhelming, and even on Thursday, when only registered students can attend, there were, according to a podcast I listened to, 4,000 people shopping!

One bit of advice that I had picked up from previous attendees was to head first toward the back of the market where it was less crowded. That's exactly what I did, and I made my first purchase from Romi Hill at A Verb for Keeping Warm's booth. Here it is:

Next, I went to the Cephalopod Yarns booth and bought some Bugga:

I love this rich red color, and the yarn is slated to become Amy Swenson's vest, Meadowlark, sometime later this year. I found some great red buttons, too, which will end up on a future cardigan, I think.

I also bought some beautiful Kangaroo Dyer hand-dyed BFL at the WEBS booth, and I plan to knit Kirsten Hipsky's Burning Branch Shawl with it.

My final yarn purchase didn't happen until Friday morning, but I discovered the yarn on Thursday night. Imagine going all the way to Santa Clara, California to buy yarn that is produced less than two hours away from home, in Bellingham, Washington. Here is Spincycle Yarns Dyed in the Wool. I can't wait to knit with this yarn! Isn't that just the most amazing shade of blue?

Toward the end of my time in the market, I ran into Barb and Tracie again, and they invited me to join them and some of their friends in the hotel bar for dinner. There was lots of great conversation and I had so much fun! Here is a photo of knittybarb and me, toasting knitters, knitting and Stitches West. Cheers!

Photo of the Week: What Knitters Talk About

52/365: What Knitters Talk About, a photo by jchants on Flickr.

Beautiful finishing details on an exquisite cardigan. Seen in the hotel bar, after the first day of Stitches West.