Cheryl picked me up at 7:30 and we headed down to the much anticipated day at Stitches West yesterday. We made good time; no traffic to slow us down and the weather was a perfect cool winter day. When we arrived, the parking was FREE (yay! more money for yarn!). The line to get into the market was a total other story. I looked at Cheryl and she said, "don't look at me like that!" because she knew that I was right...should have gotten market tickets online!!!!!
When I finally got to the front of the line to get our tickets, the woman who was helping me was distracted by people. too many people. It took her so long to get back to me that she forgot that I gave her a coupon and how many tickets I wanted. It took all I had to not beg the man next to her to take my money so that I could just get into the !@#%^& Marketplace!!!!!!
We made a beeline to Blue Moon Fiber Arts and chose my first purchase; I also picked up a skein of Bejewelled in Heavy Weight for Claudia. It was difficult not to purchase more yarn...But I remembered to pace myself and to wait and see what other yarns would be begging to go home with me. We visited Creatively Dyed Yarns and drooled in there a bit; I took notes of colors that I wanted and planned to return. I noticed the Jordana Paige booth and thought fondly of my Swift. We visited Pigeonroof yarns, and I must say that although it was a small booth, once you got into booth, it was hard to leave without fondling and wanting to buy yarn...I gave in and bought 2 skeins of Papaya (one Superwash Merino and the other was a merino/cashmere/nylon blend). You know, I truly did not notice that they were the exact same color. My eyes read Papaya on both (beautiful golds/browns)...but all I saw was the fiber content; must've been the yarn fumes... We also visited one of the vendors selling books. I found a top down book from Mary Rich Goodwin that attached itself to my hand and wouldn't let go. I was very touched by this act of affection, so I felt bound to purchase it. It also did not hurt that it gave excellent directions on top down sweaters in a variety of styles, including saddle style shoulders. I must say here that while I appreciate Knitting from the Top by BW and EZ's guidelines for seamless garments, this book is something that I know I will USE and not just refer to when I want to make my husband a style of sweater that he will actually wear. The directions seem clear and they are actual directions, which is something that I, not being a very experienced knitter, need.
We tried to visit all the vendors but it was impossible. There were spinning wheels, which were impossible to ignore when someone was trying one out, a plethora of knitwear, both displayed in the booths and being worn by fiber enthusiasts, buttons, and the different kinds of fiber that were everywhere. Cheryl and I both agreed on 2 rules: We would not buy anything that we could get at our FLYS and we would buy things that we could not get anywhere else. We visited Imagiknit (great selection and huge booth) and other yarn stores and pretty much stuck to our resolve. However, we saw Madeline Tosh Worsted at the WEBS booth and I couldn't help myself. I have to say that I chose this yarn over my beloved Dream in Color because it was such a great price (after WEBS discount), and they had the color that I was lusting after. Plus it was so soft and I knew that I had the perfect pattern for the amount of yarn that I wanted to get...
Which leads me to the true highlight of my day: I got a pattern from CocoKnits - with Julie Weisenberger's AUTOGRAPH!! I love the patterns from this designer. Her instructions are clear and easy to understand. Plus there is minimal seaming and she has quite a few top down designs, which are awesome! Some of her non-sweater designs are the Prairie Boots, Pleated Ballet Flats, Felted Baskets, Felted Messenger Bag, and Malabrigo Loafers (who cannot love a woman who designs with Malabrigo??). I have the Brigitta pattern and patiently waiting for the yarn to come in at my FLYS. I was not planning on purchasing any patterns from the show, but when I saw her booth there and found the Katje Pattern, I couldn't resist. A hoodie knit TOTALLY top down from the hood??? Are you kidding me??? I had to have it...and the icing on the cake was that Julie was THERE and said that she would autograph it for me! She said that no one asked for her autograph before - I found that hard to believe but she said it was true. I asked her if she going to put a collection of her patterns together in a book and she said that she didn't have the time. If she ever did, I would get it and have her sign that too.
We eventually had lunch. I was actually surprised that Cheryl was not hungry (!). Me, I get hungry if I don't eat by 12:00...Got in the lunch line close to one, after checking out Imagiknit, met some other knitters and made a game plan for visiting more vendors (I think at this point in time, we had only seen a handful of vendors). We met up with Analena (who got a spinning wheel!), and shopped some more; I had to get some more yarn for Claudia, after all!
Before I knew it, it was 4:00; the last stop of the day was Creatively Dyed and I made my final purchases. Good thing, too, because it was very difficult making choices from all of her beautiful handdyed yarn.
Arrived home a little after 9:30. It was an amazing day experiencing all of the fibers, designs, books, accesories, and people. It truly was a Disneyland for all fiber lovers. There was something for everyone who appreciated all kinds of this craft. And like Disneyland, you need to stay more than one day there to be able to see everything. I am already planning for Stitches West 2010, and hoping for a 2-day stay.
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