Stitches West 2006 Recap

Better late than never, right? So I know I'm almost a month late with my Stitches West 2006 recap, but here it goes anyways.

The Thursday night of Stitches they hold a Market Preview for those who are attending Stitches classes. I was supposed to meet a few knitting friends for dinner before heading over to the Market Preview but a business meeting in SF ran long so I missed dinner (so sad). I got to the Santa Clara Convention Center where Stitches was being held about 20 minutes before the Market opened so I went and picked-up my vendor badge (from Stitch Diva Studios) and headed in to see if Jen needed any last minute help setting up.

I ran into Larissa from Offhand Designs in the SDS booth and since Jen didn't need any help Larissa and I decided to walk the floor and check out the vendors before the mad rush started. We ran into several people we usually see at the TNNA shows along with many local shop owners and knitters/bloggers. It was so much fun catching up with everyone as well as meeting new people (Larissa seems to know everyone!). I didn't buy anything just yet, I wanted to see what would still be on my mind when I came back on Saturday.

I didn't go to Stitches on Friday because I had to work (yuck!).

Saturday morning from 8:30am to 11:30am I had a Crochet for Knitters class with Edie Eckman. Our homework prior to arriving to class was to knit at least 4" x 4" square in stockinette stitch in a smooth worsted weight yarn and block it. I used some bright teal Cascade 220 I had laying around.


Crochet for Knitters Class Swatch

Edie then taught us how to single crochet onto the edge of the swatch, how to turn a corner in crochet and how to double crochet. Lastly she taught us how to start a crochet piece. Her handout was very detailed and pretty good. I'm glad I took the class.

After class I went to the Market and ended up buying this really cool sock dying kit I had seen Thursday night. Basically the vendor, Machine Knitting to Dye For, uses a knitting machine to knit stockinette stitch, then you can dye a pattern onto the "swatch", and rip it out and reknit with it.


Sock Yarn Dye Kit

She includes a pattern for socks and instructions on how to place the dye so the socks will be self striping. I'm excited to try it.

I also purchased two hanks from Brooks Farm. One of Primero, which is 500 yards of two ply, sport weight, 100% Kid Mohair. The sheen on this yarn is just amazing. I'm going to try and knit a shawl with it to wear over my bridesmaids dress for my sister's wedding reception.


Brooks Farm Primero & Duet Yarn

The second is a hank of Duet, which is 500 yards of two ply, DK weight 55% kid mohair and 45% fine wool. I just fell in love with the color. I'm not sure what it will be. Maybe a shawl as well.

On Sunday I invited my Mom to join me at the Stitches Market before I headed to my afternoon class. She had so much fun looking at all of the yarn, especially the hand painted ribbon. The only purchase I made that day was the Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls book by Martha Waterman.


Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls by Martha Waterman

Just before I headed off to my 1:30pm class we stopped by the main stage for the big prize drawing. (Plus I still needed to finish my homework for class!) Janis over at knitflix was the big winner and if anyone deserved to win she did. She's an amazing knitter.

My Sunday afternoon class was Not Over 'Til It's Finished again with Edie Eckman. The homework for this class was to knit two - I'll call them "sweater fronts" for lack of a better term - following a specific pattern Edie dictated. Again I used cascade 200, this time in a bright orange color. Then during the class Edie told us how to block them, pick-up stitches, weave in ends and she showed us a near invisible seam technique.


Finishing Class Swatch - Front & Back

The main focus on the class was planning ahead. How finishing starts way before you pick-up your knitting needles. I'm glad I took the class, and I learned a lot, but I wish we had been shown more. Many times Edie just said "do x" without showing us how.

After class I met up with Tina Whitmore of KnitWhits and we grabbed a bite to eat and gabbed about knitting. It was a great weekend and I'm already looking forward to Stitches West 2007!

~ Christina

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October 26 Stitches West Classes