Stitches is over. . . :(

Well, Stitches East has come and gone. Did you go? How was your experience?

Two friends, Yarn Mama and a new knitter, and I all went down to Baltimore on Friday. It was a good time. The weather cooperated and permitted a walk to Inner Harbor for dinner, as well as a quick look around again on Saturday afternoon.

Yarn Mama and I both took classes on Friday afternoon. She took a class on swatching (the EVIL 5-letter word!). My class, Introduction to Brioche, was very interesting. While I was thoroughly confused at first, I was able to do the stitch in the end. I was even able to utilize two colors to make the pattern look very different. The instructor, Nancy Marchant, really knows her stuff. She has a wonderful website which she shared with us to help as we continue working with the brioche stitch and it's many variations: briochestitch.com. I will definitely be starting a project with this fun stitch, and exploring her website soon!

Then we entered the MarketPlace --- the large room full of lots of yarn and yarn-y stuff!! I purchased a gorgeous skein of Tess yarn called Twinkle Toes ... a surprise to knit up for my mom, who for some reason nicknamed me "twinkle toes" a few years back (I think cuz I'm a bit clumsy). Also picked up a nice heathered grey skein of Cascade superwash for a hat I've been commissioned to knit -- an old-fashioned stocking hat.

Really, Stitches was just as good as last year in terms of variety, selection, etc. So why am I not oozing post-Stitches excitement? Well, this year I had a strict budget -- for my business and for my personal stash. The skeins I mentioned above... that's all I bought (plus a silicon de-pet-furring roller). Oh yes, I fondled and oogled, and scored a few sample knitting and crocheting mags, but I didn't get to just run amuck and buy wily-nily as I did last year. It kinda sapped a little of the fun out of the experience. *sigh* Guess I'll save up for wily-nily spending next year, hopefully my first year at Rhinebeck!

Stitches East Conference

Lately it seems like time is constantly taking me by surprise. I looked at my calendar and realized that Stitches East is only 8 days away! Road trip to Baltimore with two friends, a night away from home to relax and knit, and tons and tons of YARN -- I can't wait!!!!!

I'll be taking only one class this year... an introduction to the Brioche stitch. I am a little nervous about it, especially since every time I've read anything about that stitch, it usually involves dire warnings about how difficult it is. But it's pretty, and I want to try. My grandfather said you need to learn one new thing every day --- I've decided that Brioche can be my thing for Nov 7th.

Of course I'll be headed to check out the Marketplace, too. There are a few vendors I'd like to return to from last year, despite the fact that I haven't yet used all my yarn purchased at last year's Stitches. Hey, that's what "stash" is about, right? Buying the perfect yarns when you see them, then waiting for the skeins and hanks to speak to you, and tell you just what project they'd complete perfectly. Besides, the call of all that pretty yarn is just irresistible!!!

Are you going to Stitches? What classes are you taking? Are you going to look for anything in particular from the Marketplace?

A closer peek at the newest part of my stash

Continuing with the tour of my yarn purchases at Stitches East, we have some yarn purchased in bulk:

Debbie Bliss, to me, is always a good choice. Each and every one of her fibers feels soooo soft, and the colors are strong and the yarn doesn't pill or split. So, when I found a booth selling bags of her yarn at wholesale prices, I dove right in (literally, as they were all in a little "corral" type thing on the ground!). Came up with two: Cashmerino superchunky in forest green, and Soho in a unique green/pink/black variegated. The cashmerino is for my Mom to use --- she found a neat shrug pattern and is itching to try it.


In the same booth I also came across Laines Du Nord Cocotte (80% wool) in a really pretty green/turquoise. It was the color of this yarn that stopped and called to me. I've never knit with it before, and I'm not even sure yet what it is destined to become, but I brought it home with me nonetheless. :)


And finally, another daring new yarn purchase: SWTC's Gianna (50% soysilk; 50% wool) in a vibrant RED. By snagging the 4-skein bag, I also landed a free pattern for hat and mittens to make with the Gianna. Course I may not get the chance, as my Mom really took a liking to this yarn as well....

100% Texas Wool

So it says on the label for Solana, this gorgeous 100% wool worsted weight yarn I bought from Brooks Farm. I love this colorway (thanks, YarnMama, for finding it!). This yarn is so soft, but as we stood in the booth fondling the yarns, I just couldn't seem to find the one that spoke to me. All the colors were pretty, but the one perfect one in which I could find inspiration..... It was elusive, but YarnMama (who has a great eye for color!) pointed out this one, which was half-hidden toward the bottom of the rack. Perfect!



Shepherd's Wool (by Stonehedge Fiber Mill) was another YarnMama find. The people in the booth weren't very welcoming (didn't even say hello), but their yarns were very well priced! YarnMama braved the chilly ambiance purchased anyway. When we were looking at our new stash on Saturday night, I realized that I was a silly, silly girl not to snap some of this soft wool up! So I went back on Sunday, and this time the people in the booth were pleasant. Perhaps they were very tired on Saturday by the time YarnMama and I reached them! Anywho, my color choices were Misty Blue and Milk Chocolate. They are destined to become a striped shawl, based on what I learned in my "Shaping Shawls: Triangles and Trapezoids" class.

It's over...... :(

I waited so long for it, and it's over. Stitches East, that is.

It's been a whirlwind 4 days. I'm exhausted. But I learned soo much, and I bought so much yummy yarn! I am desperately itching to cast on some new projects with my new yarn, and practice all the stuff I learned! It's my main to-do for the week, yes it is. Fellow Newark Knitters, expect to see some new yarn on Tuesday night!

Here's a quick "taste" of my weekend, in bad cell phone pictures: :)

the entrance to "mecca"--- a beautiful 5 huge aisles full of fiber and fiber-related goodies!!
YarnMama's & my yarn purchases, spread out in our room

all of YarnMama's lovely yarn (and sock blockers!)

my lovely yarn purchases (minus what I bought on Sunday!)

the Baltimore Basilica

I'm a bit too tired to blog in detail now, but I promise more info on the classes, etc later... maybe in small daily doses. :)

It's STITCHES Time!!!

I can't believe it! After waiting for what felt like an EON, it is finally time to pack for Stitches. In my workroom, I have a wonderful mess of needles and yarn on the floor, picking out all that I need for my classes. And then I get to pack clothes and go to bed... and wake up in the morning to set out on my adventure!

I am thrilled that my mom is able to come with me for one day. I pick her up bright and early tomorrow so we can see Baltimore AND see the beautiful yarns. Then on Friday she'll go home, classes will begin, and the Yarn Mama will be joining me for classes and revelry (and Ravelry, too!) and fun. I cannot wait to experience the Yarn Market with several years of knitting under my belt (the first year that I went I was a novice knitter, and hardly even knew what I was looking at enough to really appreciate it).

I'm traveling light so as to have plenty of room to bring back lovely new fibers, so the laptop is staying home (thus, no updates until I return). But fear not, I shall share.....

Stitches East Homework ..... DONE!

Yup, that's right. I'm celebrating, cuz all my swatches are DONE!! And (this is a bonus), I was able to use leftover yarn pieces for the swatches. I had some acylic on hand, and no idea what I was going to use it for; these swatches were the perfect solution. Now I can leave the swatches knit so that, paired with my notes from class, it'll be like having the class whenever I have a question.

What did I need to swatch? Not all that much, I guess. I needed four different swatches for my first class (Friday morning) called Rolled Endings. I'm looking forward to this class, and learning some cool new ways to cast off projects.
Then I needed one swatch on DPNs for my third class (Saturday morning) called Build a Better Bag. Can't wait to learn some tricks for making bag-shaped bags, and having them be sturdy without felting. Nothing against felting, mind you, just a) haven't done it yet and b) don't want to do it on every bag, obviously.

Now I'm ready to start on a custom shrug request. The recipient simply requested the color (orange) and left the pattern up to me. Oooh, fun! I found the perfect yarn at the LYS sale recently: Plassard Rhapsodie in orange/brown/pumpkin. I can't wait to start on it. Now to my pattern dictionary to find a nice pattern to show off the pretty colors!

Homework for Stitches

Yes, I looked at the calendar today and thought "Gaa! It's only 2 months until Stitches East in Baltimore, and I have homework to do!"

I printed up the schedule of classes I'm signed up to take --- I created the list awhile back --- with all the supplies and homework associated with each. Now I need to go find yarn left-overs to work with, and get busy! Since it seems that I just have swatch after swatch to knit, I think working on them in between other projects MAY keep me from going insane. So if I start now.....

Thankfully, only two of my four classes require pre-knitting: Rolled Endings on Friday morning and Build a Better Bag on Saturday morning. My shawl class and my beginner entrelac classes don't require any work at all.

The entrelac has been teasing me, however. Now that I'm on Ravelry (as "Patience" since I'm on only for my personal knitting --- no association to Smile Creations Crafts), I have found lots of projects I want to make in "all" my spare time. One of them is an entrelac wash cloth, believe it or not (check out my Ravelry queue to see it for yourself). Not only does it look cool, but I thought it may be easier than trying to jump into entrelac with, say, the shawl I've been wanting to make for my sister for the past two+ years. We'll see if the bug moves me enough to try it pre-Stitches. Somehow, I doubt it. Maybe the wash cloth will be my first project after Stitches, to get my feet wet before the shawl. I'll keep you posted.

Now, off to find the yarn for my swatches!

Stitches East Conference 2007

Knitting Universe sponsors many wonderful learning events for knitters, including the "Stitches" series of classes & yarn shopping. Stitches East is in Baltimore, MD this year in October. I attended just the yarn market part two years ago, and really had a great time. This year, since I work with yarn full time, I thought I should take advantage of the classes, too.

Thanks to YarnMama for urging me to register today; about half the classes are already sold out! If you are wanting to attend, you'd better pick your classes and register soon. They have deals with several nearby hotels and those are half booked up already (mainly for Friday night) too. I called just in time to take the last spot in two classes, and catch two more still open. I have a full 4-class schedule, which sounds like a lot of work, but I'm really looking forward to it. And yes, of course I've left enough time to shop! Thursday afternoon is for scoping out the market with my mom, and Saturday afternoon is for shopping with my friend YarnMama from the Newark knitters!

These are the classes I signed up to take:
(Friday morning) Rolled Endings with Ruth Lantz -- all about the various bind-offs and when to use them
(Friday afternoon) Intro to Entrelac with Margaret Fisher -- this is so that I can complete one of my summer goals (albeit a little late): to knit a shrug for my sister
(Saturday morning) Build a Better Bag with Gwen Bortner -- I love knitted bags and I want to learn to make them even better
(Sunday morning) Shaping Shawls: Triangles and Trapezoids with Joan Shrouder -- I want to clear up the mystery of how and where to put increases/decreases to make shawls fit and drape correctly

The one class I missed out on is Art of Knitting Backwards with Candace Eisner-Strick. I am bummed about that, but on the flip side, that gives me Thursday afternoon to tourist Baltimore and the Yarn Market with my Mom. Anyone have any resources they can point me toward to learn knitting backwards on my own?