Yowzer! Stitches East in five days...what a journey! Sandy, Jeanne, Rachel and I arrived back in Reno last Monday, completely exhausted (mostly from the air travel) but full of memories of new friends made and new yarns to covet.
Not only did we have tons of fun meeting some of our lovely east coast customers, but we met lots of lovely new companies that we'll be adding to the wish list, better known as the "Spreadsheet of Dreams." This is our list of products that we'd love to add to your lineup someday when we have room in the budget. Here were our favorites from Stitches East:
Not only are their yarns beautiful, but they are family owned for several generations and they create the most lovely colors! They also make Jared Flood's Brooklyn Tweed yarns Loft and Shelter so of course we drooled a little bit (ok, a lot) in their booth. All four of us bought skeins of Loft to make Jared's mittens from the Knit Red book. We even cast on while at the show!
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| Their AMAZING color display! |
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| Loft! |
These little multi-use bags are SO cool! All four of us also bought bags from their booth. We each bought the "Iddy" size which can be zipped up with the pockets on the inside or outside and carries notions, needles and your knitting project. It has a long strap that can be worn across your body like a sling, making it easy to walk and knit at the same time. Also, you can unzip the entire thing and wear it as a tool belt. So cool!
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| Super handy bags! |
Rachel and I both went a little nuts in this booth. Not only are the yarns totally amazing, but their depth of color is simply to die for! We each bought a skein of Caper Sock and Rachel also bought a skein of Alpaca Silk (which isn't on their website, but is definitely gorgeous). I restrained myself a bit as I am technically supposed to be in de-stash mode right now, although I did make a few exceptions for yarns I can't get out west. I am totally head over heels for my skein of Caper Sock though, so much so in fact that one night at the show as we were in bed about to turn out the lights, I was holding the skein and gazing at it trying to decide what I would make with it. I actually fell asleep clutching my yarn! I woke up the next morning and the poor skein was tangled in the sheets, still intact, thankfully. Unfortunately, no pictures were captured of this moment of knitter to yarn twitterpation, but we did have a good laugh over it.
Sandy and Jeanne came back to our booth excited about the Mother Bear Project! The Mother Bear Project makes and sends hand knit stuffed teddy bears to children in Africa affected by HIV/AIDS. The project is so lovely and heart warming that we just had to support it! We'll probably be getting more involved in this campaign in the near future, but in the meantime, feel free to see how you can get involved on their website. (Sorry I missed getting a picture of their booth. Jeanne and Sandy assure me it was darling!)
I was also fascinated by this booth with beautiful hand-crafted boxes. The company is owned by a super nice couple from Tennessee. Their display was stunning and dramatic to say the least, with this gorgeous tower of boxes. I failed to grab their card so I don't remember their name at the moment, however, they will be at Stitches West in February, so I fully intend to post about them then! In the meantime, here are some of their lovely boxes:
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| Loved the stacks in this booth - such a neat display! |
Lastly, I had to show off my recent knitted item. I made this cowl from Malabrigo Book 3 in the Malabrigo Rasta yarn (color "Stitch Red") just in time to wear at Stitches East. It kept me cozy in the chilly convention hall all weekend, plus it was a super fast knit - perfect for holiday gifts. In truth, I made three of these last Christmas to give to my sisters-in-law and never bothered to make one for myself. As you can tell, I am happy I finally did! We sell this as a kit on our site so here is the link if you'd like to check it out.
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| Roasty, toasty and oh so soft! |
I hope you all have a lovely week! My weekend was relaxing and now I'll be heading to Chicago Thursday for VK Live! Hope to see you there!
Happy knitting,
Kristen
