What Happens at Stitches......

I always have the best time when I head out to a Stitches convention. For the last four years I have been attending Stitches West in Santa Clara. Since I am now in Texas, it is a bit of a trek, but I really enjoy myself, enjoy the company of my friends (Woolydaisy and blogless Rhodi) , take in a class or two, and replenish my stash. I also get a much needed break from the house of teen angst. Needless to say, I had a blast.

One of the best parts of the Stitches marketplace is the people watching. Everyone loves to show off their original garments. I always try to get a photo or two. This woman was especially striking in her yellow prism yarn cardigan. She was so cute in her fuzzy chick sweater that I admit to following her for around for awhile. Loved her. Nice purse too!

I also spotted this woman's felted rat brooch. She obviously has mad felting skills and is not afraid to show them off. I asked for permission for her photo and she was flattered. She also rocked the pink turban, but I totally loved the rodent look.

So this is where I flash my haul. I was into a bright and splashy palette and found some great things. The top row is all my new rovings. The little bags contain some carbonized bamboo that's been likened to crack. I'll give a full report on the crack when I start working with it. The second row contains some square double point needles, a few skeins of Miss Babs sock yarn, a skein of Malabrigo sock yarn, two hulking skeins of silver alpaca, and two skeins of Kauni color changing yarn. I love my haul, the colors were extra bright this year.

On Saturday, I took an all day class called "How do your socks get striped", taught by Elise Duvekot. She's mastered sock knitting with the 'knit one below' technique. Here are samples of socks that she has made. Aren't they gorgeous!

Here is my wee mini class sock sample that I made. The color work is fun and not terribly challenging. Well maybe a bit challenging. I have the book coming on interlibrary loan, so I imagine crazy striped socks are in my future.


I also got this mini locker hooking kit from Judy. She gave Steph, Rhodi and I a quickie lesson. We all plunged right in and went locker hooker crazy. I guess we're officially now hookers!

It was so good to get away and recharge my batteries. I can't wait until next year.