Stitches West 2nd Installment

Canon Hand Dyes Self-Striping in Zombie Hello Kitty. The name got me on this one. 

 

Miss Babs Heartland Worsted in Russet. I saw Amy Herzog's sweater pattern Acorn Trail and the combination of this yarn and that pattern just screamed "knit me". You know how it is sometimes when a yarn and pattern combination are meant to be, we'll let the swatch decide for certain.

 

Two skeins of Valley Yarns Charlemont which may be destined for Waterlily. I'm not certain how that style of sweater will look on me but with the right shaping I think it could make a nice top for work if I paired it with a skirt.

Mid-week Update

I was so focused on my trip to Stitches West trip that I totally thought I had posted I was on my way there last Thursday and just realized that the post only happened in my head. So, yes, I attended Stitches West and have lots of new and lovely yarn to share. Rather than dump all my purchases on you at once I think I'll do it in a few posts over the course of the next few weeks. If you follow me on Instagram (I'm ErinBirnel) you've already seen the first batch of yarn.

 I love Brooke's yarn and absolutely had to purchase this color combination after staring at all of the skeins in her lovely booth. One skein each of Equity Fingering in what I think is St. Barts (the blue one didn't have a color name), Winter's Night, and Vitamin C. This yarn is 100% Rambouillet, something I haven't knit with before and am dying to try out. It smells heavenly - like clean, washed sheepy goodness.

 Sunday morning I picked up this glorious skein of Dragonfly Fibers Traveller in Firecracker. I'm pretty much a sucker for anything overdyed with black and those bright pops of color really speak to me. Dragonfly Fibers is new to me and I'm eager to give it a whirl on my needles.

 

Last year I was totally enamored of Sweet Fiber and just couldn't make a decision while I was at Stitches. All year I kicked myself for not picking up even one skein of Melissa's gorgeous yarn so I was bound and determined to purchase from her this year. I found inspiration right in her booth! I tried on the Temperate Mitts sample, snagged the pattern, and marched right over to this awesome skein of Canary Merino Twist Worsted. I'll be casting these on as soon as I finish up my current project. 

Did you go to Stitches West? What was your favorite purchase?

Stitches Recap

No, I didn't disappear at Stitches West although the thought of losing myself in booth upon booth of yarn forever and laying around to knit and feel the pretty skeins sounds just about heavenly. I'm just recovering from all of that social saturation and several days of yarn immersion. I'm an introvert by nature and push myself quite hard to be social and extroverted when attending events. The amount of energy expended is well worth it but I need several days to recharge my batteries before I feel ready to meet the world again. So, hello!

Let's get to it shall we? I didn't take pictures at Stitches because the thought of asking permission at each very crowded booth I went to seemed like a chore at the time and because the lighting at Stitches is not the best to show off all of the beautiful yarny things.

My favorite thing was the podcaster get together on Saturday afternoon. Did you know I'm a podcaster? True story. I'm co-host of the Doubleknit Podcast and we've been recording for almost 5 years! So I had to attend Saturday afternoon's meeting to meet some of my other favorite podcasters and a lot of our listeners. I met Gayle and Sharlene of the Yarniacs, Barb and Tracie of 2KnitLitChicks, Allison of the Hollywood Knitter, and Dr. Gemma of the Cogknitive Podcast. Everyone was so gracious and welcoming and I was utterly surprised by the number of folks who came to hang out, knit, and have drinks with us. If you were one of the attendees thank you for a wonderful time! I feel incredibly lucky to have such a supportive community of knitters and listeners.

I did a fair amount of browsing, touching, and deliberating about what I was going to purchase and came away with yarn that I'm in love with and excited about knitting. In the past I've gone a little yarn fume crazy and snapped up anything I felt was pretty and soft. I'm utterly happy with my purchases and can't wait to knit them as soon as I get my current projects off the needles. And you know, I couldn't have spent the weekend with a better group of friends.

Top to bottom: Freia Fine Handpaints Ombre in Lichen, Green Mountain Spinnery Cotton Comfort in Navy, Miss Babs Yowza! Whatta Skein in Biker Chick. No, this isn't all of my yarn haul but the ones with the best pictures.

Stitches!

Not much can beat the feeling of Friday on a Thursday, especially a Thursday that includes flying down to the Bay Area for a wonderful event known as Stitches West. I'm heading to the airport after work with three of my besties where I'll experience my first trip on the light rail that runs from Downtown Seattle to the airport. This is a novelty for me since I'm usually flying with a husband, a child, a carseat, and various bags so I'm looking forward riding it in a lovely touristy way. Airports are airports so nothing special there but I'm looking forward to a beer on the plane ride.

Thanks to Nina and Sonia who gave me advice on what to do about my Stitches knitting project. Just after posting on Tuesday I decided what had to be done - I cast on for a new project. That yarn on the left is Madeline Tosh DK in Moorland which is currently being knit into the Pressed Leaves hat from Alana Dakos' new book Botanical Knits. That is the perfect yarn and pattern combination I spoke of on Tuesday which is not my Stitches project. That blue yarn on the bottom right?  That is my brand spankin' new project. The yarn is Quince & Co. Tern in the Back Bay color - a gift from my husband two Christmases ago. I'll cast on during my lunch break today for the Bristol Hat which I believe is the absolute perfect combination of small, portable project, yarn from stash, pattern from my library and queue, and ease of knitting for socializing purposes.

And if I happen to finish my hat over the next two days I'll just have to dive into some newly purchased Stitches yarn.

Best Laid Plans

I'm going to Stitches West this weekend. That's right, Stitches West. I'll be winging my way down to Santa Clara Thursday evening along with three of my good friends and then spending a couple of days in a yarn induced spending frenzy. I have a firm budget. I have a place to stay. But I need a plan.

What am I going to take with me to knit?

My friends, I am seriously indecisive on this count. I have a sneaking suspicion that I should continue with my current trend of finishing lingering WIPs. While this sounds totally boring, I'm gaining momentum on several projects that are woefully unremarkable in their ability to capture my attention for any length of knitting time and I figure I should just ride that train to the station.

But.

Over the weekend I pulled three skeins of yarn out of my stash and I am itching, ITCHING, to cast on with them. Two of these yarns are for a hat pattern which I purchased in December and has been lingering at the top of my knitting queue. The other is for a brand new pattern, not even queued, for which I have the perfect yarn in a beautiful color.

I really only need one project to carry with me since I'll be at a venue where yarn, needles, and patterns abound should I need them. So what would you do? Ride the WIP train or take something brand spankin' new? How do you choose knitting projects for your travels?

Ravelympics & I'm Off!

The Ravelympics (aka the Knitting Olympics) started last Friday during the Opening Ceremonies. For those out of the know, Ravelry hosts the Knitting Olympics in which you choose a project or projects to complete during the 2+ weeks that the Olympics are happening. You can join teams and enter your project in events to win Gold Medals if you finish by the closing ceremonies. It's fun and slightly silly and this is my first year as an active knitter. I chose to knit a cabled vest from Snow Day out of Cascade Pure Alpaca. Things are moving along nicely. I've got the bulk of the body done and should split for the neckline sometime today. I can't say enough good things about the yarn - it's squishy and soft and has excellent stitch definition. I'm pretty sure I can finish by the 28th.

In other news, I'm off to California tomorrow to hang with my family and attend Stitches West for the first time ever. I've got a list of things ready to buy yarn for and some comfy shoes ready to slip on. Exciting!