Stitches West 2008

Whew ! My first Stitches yarn orgy, I mean festival. Yes there was yarn you wanted to roll around in, so orgy did come to mind.
We arrived before 9 am and waited in line for the ticket window to open. We - my DH and I. This was my Valentine's present. DH drove and stayed with me during the dazzling day. He was great company and help.
First stop was of course, Ravelry. Casey and Jess - delightful to meet these friendly founders!
Had to have a couple of tie tack pins. Bob and the Ravelry logo. They did have bags, and shirts and stickers, but I just kept to the pins. We received a passport to collect rubberstamp'd logos from participating vendors. This was DH's responsibility and he did it admirably. We turned in our passports for a drawing chance to win prizes. DH has a terrific sense of direction, so I could say where did we see the ... and he would remember!!!! Happy, happy valentine's treat for me.
I love Mountain Colors yarns and met the owner. Lovely lady and she too laments that the superwash yarn does bleed a bit. She had colors I hadn't seen in my lys's and wow. I need some of the solid colorways of Bearfoot.

Jane Thornley was gracious and we sure enjoyed peeking at her book of Tuscany pictures and her knitting kits.

What a fantastic adventure. I got to lust over Koigu and Claudia Handpainted and qivuit and alpacas and hearty Irish yarns and books. Ok, you're probably wondering if I actually bought anything!?! Yes, look at this!
Sock yarn for my DS's girlfriend: this luscious red orange color Wasonga from Curious Creek. Yep, that's a real orange for color comparison.


And this lovely aqua Jitterbug for a pair of socks for me.

Bad color in the photo of the Colinette Jitterbug - it is more turquoise/aqua. My favorite!

I also treated myself to some 24" 00 Addi Lace needles and a new book on Norwegian knitting.

But the most tempting was a kit from Catherine Lowe of Habu. I love, love, love her Hipari Jacket and her Body Wrap. (hard to navigate the website, but trust me her yarns and designs are incredible.) Ok, severe $$ saving time. Hence the serious control on my spending today.

Last but not least. I got to say hello in person to my Ravelry & blog friends: Catmum and Purls Just Wanna Have Fun. Sharing the joy adds to the fun!

Off to kitchener my wip sock so I can free up the needles for a sock out of the new yarn!