Our local Knitting group headed to Stitches West in Santa Clara, CA last month (2/20 to be exact). Â This was my second year and it was just as cool! Â There were 6 of us who went, so we took my old, faithful minivan. Â And, thank God for navigators as the traffic was in abundance!
We left Woodland a bit late, picking up our last friend in Davis about 8:15, but we still made it down to the conference center around 10:30. Â Not too bad! Â The drive down was uneventful. Thankfully!
A few of us were pretty systematic in our perusal of the market, but a few jumped around as they liked and I really think they saw more! Â But you know me, it would be against my nature to do anything other than up one row and down another! 😉
I collected lots of business cards, but I really don’t remember what I liked about them! ;-/ Â Maybe next year, I’ll take a moment to jot down why I grabbed their card! Â But a few booths/vendors really stood out:
- White Birch Fiber Arts – probably my favorite yarn in the WHOLE market! I bought one skein but regretted not getting more! Â Unfortunately, at this time she isn’t selling my favorite yarn in her Etsy shop, but if you are on Ravelry, you can see examples there. Â Not just is it rainbow yarn, BUT there are also patches of blue sky too! BEAUTIFUL! Â There were some fun variations – like “Pessimist’s Rainbow” which had a grey “sky”. Â But the one I bought was called “Does this rainbow make my black look big?” lol I cast it on for socks already, so I should have some pictures soon!
- Chicken Boots – a vendor with project bags (and more!) that I really admired! Â They are local – Chico – and I can’t wait until I can save up some money to get one. Â I didn’t buy one at the show because I thought I’d get to go back and I completely forgot! D’oh! Â I really like the clear, boxy bags you can see via this link.
- Dan Doh Designs – Yumiko Alexander was at the first Stitches I attended and I love her designs.  At that time, she wasn’t on Ravelry and I kicked myself for not buying one of her pattern books.  This year I was so happy to see her there again!  I bought her book “Warm Earth 3” – here is another link – I want to knit that sweater on the cover.  Actually I want to knit several of her patterns – check out this one!  Gorgeous and perfect for California weather! 😉
- I picked up the Skacel Magalog (magazine + catalog) and love a few things there too!
- I was disappointed Kollage Yarns wasn’t there with their square needles – I want to get a couple more of those!
We actually left early (about 3:30) because we were all so tired. Â Next year we are talking about staying over someplace where we can have a weekend knitting retreat afterwards! Wouldn’t that be fun. Â But with the way my budget looks, that’s probably just a dream right now. Â 🙂
If you haven’t attended a Stitches Market yet (only $10), you are missing out. Â I know there is so much more to Stitches than the market, but I’m not in a season of life where more than 1 day at the market is feasible. Â Someday! 😉
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