Now Even More Yarn!

This past weekend was Stitches West. I live so close--how could I not go?

Needless to say, I picked up quite a bit of yarn. When I lived in Chicago, I went to Stitches Midwest. It was a lot of fun, but I didn't really have a plan for what I wanted to buy. This time, I tried to focus on yarn that I couldn't buy in any local stores.


The first thing I did was head straight to Blue Moon Fiber Arts. I visited this booth the last time I attended Stitches, but at the time I hadn't knit any socks. I remember it being totally crazy and packed, and I wasn't sure what the fuss was all about. So this time I decided to go there first, before all hell broke loose!

I bought one skein and a pattern, which I had originally seen on the Yarn Harlot's blog. Hopefully, the yarn lives up to the hype.


Next up... more socks! I checked out the Cookie A trunk show at Full Thread Ahead, where I picked up the Django pattern. I'm really excited to try this pattern, and I think it will the Pagewood Farm yarn I picked up a little later will be a good match. I'd never heard of this yarn before--it's a mix of wool, bamboo, and I think nylon.


I also bought a skein of Handmaiden Sea Silk at Full Thread Ahead. This was one of the yarns I was on the lookout for--I've wanted to try it for a while. Maybe for a Montego Bay Scarf, or maybe not... we'll see.


Another of my planned stops was at Lana Knits, where I picked up some Allhemp6 for the Ruffles and Lace sweater.

I'll probably skip the ruffles.

I'm really curious to try this yarn. I've never knit with hemp before, and the best way to describe it is crunchy. Supposedly it get softer with knitting and washing though.

This will also be the first time I've knit anything in black. I've noticed that my yarn choices don't necessarily reflect my regular clothing purchases, which aren't nearly as colorful as my knitting is!


Speaking of colorful... this is Tess' Designer Yarns Peruvian Socks. Amazingly, the color is even more vibrant in person. It is just gorgeous!


I also picked up a skein of Superwash Lace at this booth. This yarn is so soft--it feels like Malabrigo Lace. It's hard to believe this little skein has 500 yards.

The last time I went to Stitches, I feel in love with a silk/wool blend at Tess' booth. Alas, I couldn't afford the 30-something dollar price tag, but I would have loved to make a sweater out of it. My choices this time were quite a bit more affordable. Maybe next year, I will get a sweater's worth (that might have to be my only purchase, if so).

This was another booth that was completely swarming with people, by the way.


My final purchase was a sweater's worth of Brooks Farm Solo. It's so soft, and I love the dusty grayish-blue color. I love Oblique and Twist and a few others, but I'm not sure this yarn is the right weight. Time to swatch, I guess!

Oh, I almost forgot... I also bought a sweater pattern at the Windy Vally Musk Ox booth. It's very pretty and lacy, and it was the only thing I could afford there! Unfortunately, qiviut was definitely not in the budget this year!

Other highlights were seeing Vicki Howell (she is just as cute in person, if not more so) and Joan McGowan Michael. The sweater very beautiful at that booth. I definitely need to pull out that book and knit something from it!

I also noticed that the novelty yarn trend is still alive and kicking--both in yarn and in sweaters being worn throughout the show. It was everywhere!

Well, that's my report. I think I'm going to try to restrain my yarn purchases for a while after this!