So Far, So Very Good

Stitches West is in full swing. I spent Thursday evening at the preview and today I worked a few hours in the Fiber Fiend booth and walked the floor for another few hours. I'm going back tomorrow with my father and stepmother who are in town and think they want to brave the Saturday crowds. Silly people.

I had 3 goals for Stitches this year:

Goal 1: find one sweater's-worth of a yarn that was unusual, special and still affordable. A slightly decadent treat but not so high-end that it broke the bank.

Goal 2: a shawl pin from Romi.

Goal 3: find a fiber to spin into a sweater. Like the yarn, it has to be beautiful yet moderately priced.

I think I have done pretty well so far:

Brooks Farms Mas Acero - enough for a sweater. Goal 1 - check.


A mill end from Blue Moon Fiber Arts - for some plain ol' Vanilla socks. I figure the colors alone will make the sock plenty interesting. Bonus purchase #1.


I knew I could count on Lisa Souza to have something beautiful to try out. She's doing something new - batts. This is a chocolate brown with slivers of tencel through it. Bonus #2. The color is more accurate in this first picture:


but the second picture gives an idea of the effect of the tencel:



I found a shawl pin by Romi (goal 2 - check):


I also found some roving (Jasmin says this is Ashland Bay Merino) for a handspun, handknit sweater (goal 3 - check!):


Then Sandi (my spinning Sensei) suggested I stop by the Redfish Dyeworks booth where I fell madly in love with bonus purchase #3 - this:

It's a camel/silk blend and the softest stuff evar. It practically glows:

And I love the colors. They're me. In fact - I'm starting to see a trend:


So I reached my 3 goals and I bought 3 extra items - the sock yarn and the 2 different fibers. I still have some cash left. I'm definitely spending more time there but at this point I'm hoping more to run into some lovely friends than I am to find more things to buy. I may pick up something else I didn't spot my first two visits, but there's an equal chance I'll stick with what I already have - I'm feeling pretty flush with beautiful fibery things right now.

If you're planning to be at Stitches on Saturday look for me!