Stitches!!!!!!

This is the 5th??? year in a row that I have attended Stitches West. Sadly it was the first year my buddy P couldn't make it with me. At least she has a cute squishy new baby to snuggle to make up for it, and really we all know she has the better end of that deal!!

This year my dad and step mom were visiting us from the frozen tundra that is the Northeast this winter. They have gotten storm after storm, piling foot after foot of snow on their doorstep and so I think the break and the sunshine of a CA winter was just what they needed. We spent the week doing touristy stuff and smack in the middle Susan and I went to Stitches. I was kind of kicking myself for not being able to get into the market preview on Thursday night this year. I tried and tried to find a class that interested me but there was just nothing I wanted to shell out the money for. I think I made the right decision but once I found out that Jennie the Potter was going to be there, I was sure doubting myself. I knew her booth would get picked over big time during market preview. That's the #1 reason why I made us get there 1/2 hour before the doors opened on Friday and why I basically ran to her booth first thing when we walked in. It was the right decision, because a lot of her mugs had sold already. All that were left were the show special bear mugs which I didn't LOVE. Don't get me wrong they were gorgeous, but I had my heart set on one of her tree mugs. Since they were all gone, I looked at everything and carried around a few different mugs for a while and finally settled on this beauty! I also got two sweater ornaments and a set of buttons for my Larch cardigan. I could easily have spent my entire budget on her pottery!!

I have had every single cup of tea and coffee out of this mug since I got it. 

As usual I had a list of booths I wanted to visit and things I wanted to do. Next stop after Jennie was YOTH Yarns. They were new to me and I had only learned about them from reading on Very Shannon that she and Jane Richmond would be doing a book signing at their booth. I did some research and immediately fell in love with their palette of colors. Once I set foot in their booth it was over and I quickly settled on a sweater quantity of Big Sister to knit Epistrophy in. Look… how could I walk away without this, the colors sea salt and blueberry reminds me so much of Maine for some reason! :-)

Here's a lame iPhone shot of me at their booth trying to justify the armload of yarn I am carrying and was about to purchase. 

After YOTH I went right over to the Never Not Knitting booth where Jane and Shannon were book signing and had them sign my copy of Journey. It was a fun fan girl moment for me as I kind of have a crafting crush on these two. I even wore my Gemini for Jane to see.

They were totally sitting down! I am not a giant!

They were both super friendly and we chatted for a bit before I moved on to get the rest of my shopping done. They totally reassured me that I would not regret buying that yarn at YOTH! Next on my list of must sees was definitely Canon Hand Dyes. I love love love my green and grey self striping socks from last year and this year I settled on two new skeins to take home. 

It was seriously hard to choose with all this awesomeness going on, but I settled on the blue, white and grey skein (Netherfield Ball)  and one of the rainbow skeins (My Favorite Things). Now looking at this picture I'm wondering why that burgundy and grey one on the left didn't come home with me!! 

All in all it was a great day, although I totally missed my best stitches buddy P. I didn't buy a ton of stuff but I truly love each and every item I got. And, one of those sweater ornaments went straight to Colorado so P didn't feel like she missed out on too much. There's always next year!

Burrard take 2

I realized just now that I have yet to post modeled shots of my Burrard Cardigan. I put buttons on it and since we were lucky enough to have a little cold snap here in CA I was able to put it right on and start wearing it. I brought it with me to FL for Thanksgiving and since it was oddly cold there too, I wore it almost the whole week.

It did end up a little larger than I usually would want. I knit the smallest size which was 37.75 ".  This on my 35" bust gives me over 2 inches of positive ease as it is. but this yarn has very little memory which might be a problem over time because it keeps growing. But you know, I think I'm OK with having this sweater be a little big. If I were still living in a cold climate I'd want it to be big enough to layer a couple of T-shirts under. 

What I ended up with is  a super comfy and cozy sweater that is extremely warm without being heavy at all.  The collar will require a little bit of help to stay folded down all the say. I kind of wish it had a broader collar in general but I like the high v-neck and how it frames my face. 

Here's me and T being goofy on Thanksgiving. This sweater came off the needles and made it right into rotation, which is the true proof that it's a great sweater that will be loved and worn for years and years.