The first of my markers for the year has come and gone; Stitches West was last weekend. I've been to every Stitches West since the beginning, something like 22 years and counting. The first year I was so amazed and fascinated, and didn't realize it was an annual event, that I bought everything that I wanted, and filled up the back of my Ford Explorer twice! I'm still knitting from that stash!
That pattern continued for a while, and of course I never knitted up everything I bought before buying more the next year.
The last couple of years I've concentrated on buying yarns and other items that I can't find easily at local stores. Here's what I bought this year:
Wonderful books! The Kaffe Fassett is not new, but is one I've been coveting for years. The sock book was written by Judy Sumner a few years ago.
And if you get a chance to talk with Lars Rains. you should! He's charming and funny and smart!
Not yarn! The copper topped Shaker box is the 2nd I've bought - one more and I'll have a collection. The abacus bracelets are so useful that I got 2 more (my mother got one for me and I use it all the time).
Gradient kits were everywhere this year. The one top left is actually small skeins of the colors in the 2 larger skeins, called Hell's Bells (from Yoth Yarh). The 8 skein gradient from Mosaic Moon is destined to become a shawl.
Some of these lovelies weren't actually purchased (and I see that I even missed one that was!), but they've all been purchased recently (when we visited Ken's mom in assisted living for her birthday in January) or at PIQF - yes, there's always at least one vendor at the quilt show who also has yarn. The one I missed is also Anzula, like the lovely yellow one, but in a vivid turquoise.
The dark yarn at top left is a deep chocolate cherry cashmere silk blend, and is the ultimate in recycling. They found the cashmere - some 500 pounds of it - in the dump, and have produced a yummy yarn. I got enough in forest green last year, and was sad to hear that this is the last of it.
Lost CIty Knit had lovely shawls. The Mosaic Moon year will be made up in a pattern from this book, as will the vintage - 5 or 6 Stitches ago at least - CamelSpin yarn. I've been looking for the perfect pattern for it for ages. The photos in the book are so lovely I want to rip them out and frame them!
This is all from a favorite vendor, Stitch Sisterz. It's Russian (Siberian) merino and Mongolian cashmere. I always look forward to seeing them, and seeing what new yarn they have. It's like buttah, as they say,