KnitWerk

Haven’t had a chance until now to show the glorious yarn I got from Stitches last weekend. I went with elder stepdaughter (a brand-new knitter), and we had a great time. Even though we didn’t make it until Sunday, there was still much to see and pet and buy. We heard that several vendors had sold out and gone home after Saturday, but we didn’t miss them.

I was pretty good, actually. My goals:

1. Hand-painted yarn for Clapotis.
2. Mountain Colors, Lorna’s Laces, Cherry Tree Hill or similar hand-painted sock yarn in a red colorway (no yellow) for Sockapalooza pal.
3. Something for a sweater for me.
4. Something to keep Meghan chugging along with her knitting.
5. Something in 100% silk, a gift for a redhead

First up, a steal from Interlacements. It’s a rayon blend, not something I’d normally choose, but it has a beautiful drape for Clapotis, a gorgeous colorway, and it was a steal. Two 725-yard hanks for $18 each (apparently an end-of-show special). This was my first purchase of the day, and I’m glad I did it; two hours later, they were all gone.

Next, a stop by the Webs booth, and I came up with 20 balls of this lovely stuff for a sweater for me – maybe a twinset? I love the feel of this yarn. Yummm… cashmere and silk. Plenty of yarn here:

Right before I left, I spotted this gorgeous 100% silk, and thought it would be perfect for my redheaded friend:

Notice a pattern? I admit, I didn’t realize until we left that everything I bought was almost identical in color. Interesting lesson: when confronted by too many choices and forced to make decisions quickly, I will choose my favorite analogous color scheme: purple/red/red violet mixed with orange. A pledge: my next yarn purchase for me will not include those colors!

But wait—there’s more!

Continuing with the color theme of the day, I got a really cute bag for my knitting:

It’s a sickness, really. Kinda embarrassing to see it all together like this… I really do like other colors. Just not as much, I guess. Let’s look at this one more time, all this yummy yarn in one place:

Gorgeous!

Meghan made out well. She got a really cute Guatemalan bag for her knitting (which I would have gotten if she didn’t want it) and a bunch of stuff for needle felting. I admit it, I didn’t understand the whole needle felting thing at first, but she was persistent. When I was off looking at other stuff, she saw a demonstration, and came back glowing. She dragged me into the booth, and then roped the owner into demonstrating the technique. I’m not into little gnomes and dolls, even with their oh-so-charming faces, but there were some terribly cool purses there, and beautiful color effects.

Booty not photogenic enough to include: Addi Turbos, US3, 40”, yummy handmade soap, and a needle felting kit for (ahem) my husband. (I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I used his stuff to make a purse…)

Things that didn’t work out: I couldn’t find the sock yarn I wanted for my Sockapalooza pal. Also, looking at the silk yarn a week later, I’m not convinced that it would be a great color for my redheaded friend. In my head this leaned towards rust-peach, with just a touch of purple. In actuality, this leans towards purple, and is really a better color for me. 3 out of 5 goals complete— not bad.

It was a great day!