Tuesday, August 16, 2005

The Scoop on Stitches, Part 2

The biggest knitting-related market I had been to before coming to Stitches was Knit Fest in Toledo, which was nice but MUCH smaller. I needed a plan. I arrived Friday at 1:00, checked in to the Hyatt, and went straight for the Market. I was hungry, but I didn't care. I spent a few hours just looking, figuring out what I was going to get. I needed some size 0's for my Bohus class, so I bought some Addis, and I also got a Kimmet Croft Fibers Bohus sweater kit- "The Red Palm." I think there's a picture of it on their site. I chose it because it's my colors and I would actually wear it and not look scary- my favorite is "The Wild Apple" but I just can't wear those autumny colors without looking ill. After that it was about 4:30, and I was starting to feel a bit faint. I wanted to flop for a bit, so I trudged down the LONG, ICY tunnel to the hotel, laid down, and ordered some room service (I know, very naughty!) After watching some TV and eating, I felt much better. I went for a swim and knitted before turning in early to be ready for Saturday.


Here's some stuff I bought- the Bohus kit (angora/merino blend- so soft!), lots of Kureyon (20% off, how could I resist?) and a skein of new Lily Chin yarn to play with and a much-coveted skein of La Luz silk, which I always pet but never buy at home- it was 30% off!

On Saturday, I got up early to pay way too much for a little plate of fruit and some coffee (iced mocha latte- my favorite!) and chatted with some nice older ladies. One of them thought I was in high school, which made me happy since I'm really 31 and have ever-increasing amounts of grey hair. They liked my sushi knitting bag.
I went to the Bohus class, where I ended up sitting next to Kathy Silverton whose charity I have knitted many a preemie hat for. Small world! At lunch break, of course my primary interest was shopping, so I grabbed a quick piece of pizza and got started. I bought more Addis, the Kureyon pictured above, and the La Luz. I talked to Lily Chin for a while and bought one skein of her new yarn to try since it looked and felt like Aurora 8, which I love. I saw Bonne Marie Burns and many a designer, which was fun. Someone actually recognized me from my Knitty article (my brief movie star moment).

More stuff I bought- a cute little Lantern Moon bag, a ball winder (been dying for this!) more turbos, and a gorgeous dichroic glass button for my Sitcom Chic, whenever I get to make it. Also, and not pictured, I renewed my subscription to Knitter's since you got a fun pink rubbery knitting bag with that.
After shopping, I finished up my class, ran back to the market for a few minutes, then to my room to change for the banquet. At the banquet I ended up sitting next to someone who used to live in my neighborhood! How weird- the usual "where are you from" conversation got down to street level. I had me some drinks, and enjoyed the student fashion show and copious amounts of prizes. Believe it or not, EVERYBODY ended up getting something. Here's what I got:


Yes, a big pile of Addi Turbo type stuff- needles, crochet hook, embroidery scissors, needle gauge, row counters, etc. etc. etc. How cool.
Sunday I went to my class with Maggie Jackson, took one last look around the market, checked out and sat at the airport for a couple of hours (O'Hare is so awful- cramped, grungy, and boring. I guess I'm spoiled- when I was waiting for my flight out from Detroit I window shopped in all the stores, everything is open and airy, it's almost fun to be there.) On the flight back the flight attendant actually threatened to pull over the airplane if some idiot didn't put away her laptop before take off and had to ask people to sit down more than once! There were some seriously obnoxious passengers, the likes of which I've never seen before.
Now to finish up these projects for other people so I can work on something for me- I'm itching to use my new yarn!

1 comment:

luvs2knit said...

Sounds like you had a lot of fun and all that yarn. You must be exhausted.