Stitches Yarn Hangover

I struggled to get myself together and out the door early on Thurs.  Somehow, I knew I was going to screw up.  When I was driving through Oakland, I started digging around in my tote bag and realized my problem.  I forgot my cell phone.  I was going to have issues hooking up with my friends Woolydaisy and Rhodie.  We had a tentative meeting place so I just had to hope things would work out on Friday morning.

     I got to the Hyatt Hotel Thurs afternoon and tried to relax a bit before the sneak preview of Stitches Market.  No,  I wasn't the first in line.  I took my time, so I wouldn't get involved in a yarn brawl or shoving match.  You know how bad these knitters can get.  I shopped aiming mostly for sock yarns that I had not yet tried before.  I also searched for new  books,  needles, gadgets and coveted sock patterns (designed by Cookie A.).  By 10:00  I was fried,  and I needed to rest up for Friday's craziness.   Here's a photo of the whole weekend's haul.

     Friday managed to work out even without the technology of a cell phone.  I stood around by the entrance of the marketplace and eventually,  Wooly found me and told me I was supposed to meet her inside (duh!).  Okay, I was done with mishaps.  We all (Wooly, Rhodie, and myself)  instantly connected as if we were old friends.  We wandered the floor,  marveled at the beauty of all the merchandise took in the sights and laughed a lot.  It was sad that they were only there for a limited time.

     My highlight was bumping into the Stash and Burn Podcast team of Nicole and Jenny.  They are one of the best knitting podcasts out there and very personable in real life.   My friends and I seemed to bump into Nicole and Jenny everywhere.  (Nicole , Jenny,  Rhodie and Wooly -real name Steph in that order)

     I took several classes:  A cable class that had it's flaws (too freeform, no charting instruction),  A sock class with a bunch of  great tips and techniques,  And a class for making steeks (a technique used in stranded and fairisle knitting in which you are able to cut into your knitting without it unravelling).

     I also took in a fashion show to see the latest trends projected by the yarn shops and manufacturers.

     My head was spinning by the end and I couldn't even handle the market by Sunday.  Can you believe I just said that???  Anyway,  the place was picked over and looked rather like a post war zone by then.   It was great,  yet exhausting.  I was so tired I  had to sleep it off on Monday.  Blame it on the yarn fumes.  But it was great.

P.S. Here are a couple of other photos:

This one is of Galena K. (I cannot pretend to know how to spell her name) and Eugen Buegler. Both are lace geniuses. Can you feel the lace energy. Send some my way!

This one is of Vicki Howell, host of the DIY Network's show Knitty Gritty.
She helped make knitting cool and accessible to the younger generations.