Stitches West

Meredith and I just got back from Stitches West, a huge knitting convention held every year in Santa Clara. This is the floorplan for the marketplace this year. Can you imagine the size of this event? It's huge! We went for one day last year, just after Meredith and I began knitting. This time we stayed overnight. On Friday, we took a class in Norwegian Knitting by Beth Walker O'Brien. I learned how to hold the yarn in my right hand, so I could knit with two colors at once, and how to trap long strands. We learned about steeks, and I'm anxious to try this technique in a garment. We had time before class and again on Saturday to shop at the marketplace. There must have been 300 vendors there!
Meredith went over to the Dominknitrix booth while I was digging in the bargain bin for yarn. I had to wait in a long line, but I bought 60 skeins of wool for $1.66 each. I'm going to see about making the Arwen sweater with some of this wool, 20 skeins are in a pretty dark green.

Meredith got us both copies of the Dominknitrix book. Here I am with the author, Jennifer Stafford.

We went to the fashion show Friday night. Here we are, waiting for things to begin. I haven't mastered the technique of taking photos of myself, so here's the VERY flattering, up-the-nose shot.
This sweater is very appealing to me. I almost bought the pattern on Saturday, but decided I have too many projects to do first.

This fashion show featured a baby, who was a pretty good sport. There was a little unhappiness at the end, but all in all, this kid was a trooper.

Throughout the show, they were giving away materials and patterns for the items they were showing. At almost the end of the show, they called my number! I won! Here's a photo of the beautiful Victorian lace cape:

The pattern is in the book, Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby. I also won a copy of the book!

And here I am with all my purchases and winnings. I'm holding the practice swatch that we did in the Norwegian Knitting class. I also got a space-age ironing board cover. It is made of fiberglass, and it reflects heat, so you can leave your iron at a lower temperature and get great results.