STITCHES West Wrapup

We attended the STITCHES market on Friday and Saturday - and had a fantastic time!  As usual, booth after booth of glorious fiber goodies overwhelmed us, but this time, knowing that we had 2 days to explore, it was easier to scope the entire event first before consulting our project lists to find what we needed.  I know that there will be gads of blog posts detailing every booth and event surrounding STITCHES - here's my "short and sweet" recap!

At the end of the first day as we were talking with Michael Wade of Fiberbeat, Cookie A stopped me and John at the A Verb For Keeping Warm booth... snapped a photo... and tweeted us!  We were immediately thrust into fiber fame!  (what a treat - we met Cookie A... AND she loved our cardigans!!

The big news of the trip was our friend Kenny Chua being the designer for the ladies cardigan on the cover of the upcoming issue of Knitter's Magazine!  Immediately upon entering the STITCHES marketplace, we are welcomed by the Knitter's booth... where this giant poster of the magazine cover was featured, along with the actual sweater he knit!

Moving through the venue, we discovered a poster showing the companion vest.  Kenny and I posed here and we talked with the folks at  Bijou Basin Ranch who made the Bliss yarn that he used.  Both of these patterns are a gorgeous textural slip stitch and are sure to be treasured  classics for years to come!

We were lucky enough to see the fashion show on Friday night - and the grand reveal of the vest on the runway!  Kenny deserves big kudos for a job well done -- his was one of the 120 items shown in the show... and as if the Knitter's cover wasn't enough, it was also featured on the cover of the fashion show program!

We had a great time at the show... 2 days of yarn and fibery fun.  Even though there were thousands upon thousands of inspirational sights, my favorite sight of all of STITCHES was this tattoo that Tammy had - she can be found at http://punkrawkpurl.blogspot.com/ - click on the photo to be directed to her website!  It brought new meaning to the word "dedication" as it pertains to the fiber arts!   Love the sentiment and it makes me smile every time I see this photo.

On Saturday, I wore the now famous Seahorse Cardigan.  (photos of me wearing the cardigan are coming soon, I promise!)  I was really pleased with the response that I got from this finished object - I felt famous - with so many attendees commenting on the design!  My favorite compliment?  One lady stopped me and told me that I "win" for the best sweater of STITCHES!  THAT really meant a lot to me...especially since there were masterpieces parading up and down the aisles... gorgeous cabled sweaters, kauni wonders, lace shawls... I am always enamored with all the knit and crochet masterpieces on show when I go to STITCHES - and even though we just got home, I'm excited to start making notes for the things I might want to research, purchase or learn next time!

STITCHES rocks.  It's the BEST way to get inspired for those of us who love all things fiber.  It revitalizes me and reminds me of all the options I have for my fiber art.  I am working on projects already - and eager to share them with you when the time is right!