Stitches West IV

Last Sunday, the ladies (Sophy, Erica, and Brenda -- who now has a blog! Go say hi!) and I made our annual trek down to Stitches West for some knitter-watching and yarn-buying fun. This year was much less crowded than years past, we think possibly because we went on a Sunday, which actually made the marketplace much less overwhelming and much more enjoyable (especially with the giant bowling ball I'm hauling around). I especially had a nice time chatting with Melinda and Tess from Tess' Designer Yarns. It was about a year ago that I started working with them on designs and with all the electronic communication that has gone on, it was great to actually see them in person! I hardly took any photos (though Brenda has a great set here), but thought I'd share the two I did take, plus some of my favorite yarny purchases.


It seems that the yarn-hat is a theme...


Celebrity knitter spotting! Romi Hill with a Square (Erica was pleased).


And the purchasing begins (I swear I needed it for the baby!). Tess' Superwash Merino...


...and Raw Silk (ok, this one's not for the baby)...


...and Kitten (a very generous gift from Melinda), perhaps the softest yarn I've ever felt...


...cashmere...


...Whiskers (um, also not for the baby, oops)...


...and Baby Bunny, a superwash angora blend that is being turned into some booties as I write this.


I also got some Skaska Designs laceweight, for some sort of shawl/scarf.


And this isn't from Stitches, but Erica gave it to me that day...a gorgeous blue fingering weight from a new yarn shop in her native Vancouver.

A great day (especially for my credit card...), and again I'll say -- why can't we have more than one of these per year??

P.S. Tomorrow is the last day to purchase Gemma, the Kimono Wrap Cardigan, Cloudy Sunday, and Mirabor for $1.99!