So, welcome August.  I'm looking forward to some pleasant times with you.  In that spirit, a few Random Things:

• Check out Twist Collective 's premier issue, just available today!   Autumn is my favorite season, in large part because I am all about the sweaters (yet another reason Summer is not my friend: I've never liked summer clothes!) and cables and tweeds and socks.  This issue is just packed full of designs that make me salivate.
• We're awash in tomatoes!  I took a whole basket of heirloom tomatoes to a favorite restaurant because there's no way we can use these in the next 3 or 4 days.  I kept the Italian sauce tomatoes and it looks like I'll be making sauce this weekend.

• Tomorrow is Fremont's Festival of the Arts, and I'll be there looking for Mother Goose and her eggs at 1O a.m. sharp!  A local musician and friend is performing at 10, another couple of friends are performing at 2:30.  Love it!
• I finished the stealth project!  It's blocked too, but I haven't found a good way to display it.  Here's a sneak peak, taken while it was all pinned out and blocking:

1.  The last couple of days I've realized that a case of the blahs has had me in its grip for part of April and most of May.  I didn't get a lot done, I was grumpy and grouchy, and it was hard to get started on anything.  My energy level was lower than it's been in years too.  We had very hot weather, which always gives me the blahs; we had cooler than normal weather too.  At any rate, this weekend everything started looking normal and rosy, I had energy to burn, I got things done and I'm happier for it.

2.  My knitting UFOs and other UFFOs have not gotten as badly out of control as I feared - yet!  Now that the blahs are gone, I'm feeling a serious case of startitis coming on.  As was pointed out in KnitTalk, startitis can be defined as Hatikah , which is Hebrew for Hope.  That's how I'm viewing startitis this time around.  I even started and finished the knitting on W from Knitty in May!

3.  I'm an introvert and I need quiet and solitude to recharge my batteries.  I know this, and yet there are times when I want to be social and life gives me chances to do things and be with people and my social batteries get completely drained.  (Interestingly enough, at least to me, the last time I did the Myers-Briggs assessment, my scores had changed a bit.  I'm still INFJ, but my scores in most areas are very close.  Only 2 points separate Extrovert and Introvert, Thinking and Feeling, and Judging and Perceiving.  Sensing and Intuition, however, are very clear and separated by 16 points.)

4.  Joan came over today and we spent some time on the back porch, knitting and chatting.  She checked out the raised beds, and says I need to post photos because they've grown a lot since she last saw them perhaps a month ago.  Noted, and I will do that this week.

5.  Back to UFOs: if you'd asked, I would have said there were at least 40 of them and probably more.  I counted and there are actually fewer than 30!  If I can get really busy this week, I might be able to get 4 or 5 more off the list!  The knitting is done and only finishing remains on them; in fact, Kenobi just needs to have the sleeves set in!  That would be really good!

6.  We've had our first salads from the garden already, and our first zucchini (Roly Poly or Eight Ball variety).  This week I'll need to pick Romano (Italian) beans, and snow peas (again).  Tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers are setting fruit, and the corn is almost 3 feet tall.  I still want to plant pumpkins and gourds, and there's still time for that.  

7.  This crop of lettuce and chard will be finished this week.  I'm going to replant that raised bed with New Zealand spinach, lettuce, carrots, radishes and herbs.  We will need to buy lettuces at the Farmer's Market for a few weeks, but that's OK.

8.  Going through yarn in the attic was a surprise in several ways.  I found yarn that I'd forgotten about (even though it's on my 14 page spreadsheet) and found enough of several yarns to make sweaters that just rose to the top of my list.  In fact, I found enough of 21 different yarns to make 1 sweater (West Side Raglan from Oat Couture) which may make it my next mindless commute and open mic project.  It's the sort of thing I wear for work year round, with slacks or skirts, with or without a jacket.  And it would be a great use for some of the "interesting" yarn I bought with no clear plan in mind.  The pattern is long sleeved, but short sleeves or 3/4 sleeves would be easy to do as well.   And it would certainly showcase the "interesting" yarn.

9.  I also found enough of the specified yarn (!) for several patterns just earmarked.  Based on a couple of blog entries by Bonne Marie Burns of ChicKnits, I revisited several issues of Vogue Knitting, from about 2001 to 2004.  What a treasure trove!  Not only was the Shirley Paden sweater Bonne Marie did on my list (but the turtleneck and pullover aspects had me convinced it would never work), but now I know how to convert it into something I'll actually wear.  There are several other wonderful sweaters in the 2 issues I chose to work with for now, and I'll highlight those in the next few entries.

10.  Notice the wonderful clips holding W together?  They're little hair clips from the Dollar Tree, 24 for a buck (I think that's right, it might be 48).  Whatever!  It's a lot cheaper than the special ones sold in knitting stores and catalogs.  I'm finally learning to embrace my inner thriftyness!  (I'd like to take credit for this, but Ann of SheepShots found and blogged this several months ago.)

It was a lovely weekend, so much so that I'm sorry to see it end. 

Friday night we were entertained at dinner by a favorite performer, Loren Davidson.  His music is reminiscent of Jimmy Buffett, and it was almost like taking a mini-vacation.  We dined on the patio at Essanay Cafe and listened to Loren and the evening was perfect.  

Saturday we headed over to the Ohlone Flea Market, which is held the 2nd Saturday every month.  Usually we don't find much that we need - probably actually nothing that we need - but there was yarn this time!  I must admit that some of it came home with me.   It's old - old enough that it doesn't appear in any of my reference books- and rather scratchy at the moment.  I'll wash a swatch, and if it's still scratchy it will be made into outerwear (which is probably what I'll make in any case.  The colors are lovely, and there were many other colors that I didn't buy this time.

(The colors are not correct on my monitor!  The yarns are a turquoise or teal, and an olive tweed with lots of chartreuse and emerald bits.  It's also finally been identified as a Marks yarn, made in  Sweden for weaving.  Oh well,  I'm knitting with it anyway if I want!) 

Once back in Niles, we met Joan and Will for lunch at the Nile Cafe, and wandered around the Spring Fling car show.  Joan and I wandered the car show as far as the yarn store, and I bought this beautiful sock yarn.  It's alpaca and there's a separate bit of yarn just for the heels and toes.  I couldn't resist the turquoise and brown combination! 

Sunday I replenished cat food supplies and bought more planting mix for the (last?) raised bed.  It's the home of the black-eyed peas, bush cucumbers, lemon cucumbers and yellow wax beans.  We are expecting a week of fairly serious heat after a cool-so-far spring, so I hope these little plants don't cook in the sudden heat.

At noon I headed into downtown Niles to serve a shift as town docent for the Niles Canyon Railway.  It was a busy Sunday and all Moms on the trains were given roses.   More photos of Niles in a post later this week!

1.  Mr. Ken and I attempted to observe Earth Hour last Saturday night.  I turned off the porch lights, and the  various lights in the kitchen, laundry room and hall.  We decided to read by candlelight on the porch - it was almost warm enough - so the candelabra and my book went out with me.   We were chatting about putting together the shed we bought earlier in the day when Mr. Ken started talking with his hands and the  motion detect lights on the porch came on.   He tried to sit quietly, but every time he moved the lights came on.  We finally got the giggles and gave up, but we were mostly in the dark for 57 minutes.  

2.  It's hard to read by candlelight.  

3.  We are re-defining how we use space in our house.  It's exciting and frustrating at the same time.

4.  Joan and Will came over to help with the shed and gardening on Sunday.  Photos and such later.

5.  De-cluttering needs to become a priority very soon.

6.  I need to get busy and finish some projects.  Three sweaters are knitted and just need to be blocked and seamed.  One is going into it's 3rd summer that way.

7.  I have a dentist's appointment this morning.  My dentist is fine, the hygienist is fine, but I still have to force myself to go.  

8.  All this beautiful yarn purchased at Stitches, and I'm still looking at it.  Haven't cast on a single stitch with any of it.  Haven't even wound it into balls.  Must get busy and start something!

9.  We need rain.  I'm ready for Spring.   In the Bay Area, those items are mutually exclusive.  

10.  Gotta head out to the dentist now.   

There's no reason for the photo, except I finally was able to catch him at rest.

As far as Stitches West posts, this is definitely saving the best for last!

First, the yarn from LaLana Wool in Taos:

Sample skeins of Forever Random Fine in "Dream Time" and  Forever Random Worsted in "Iced Tea".  (That's a little sample skein from SWTC hiding with them.)  I talked with Luisa Gelenter about substituting colors on a pattern.  She says call, and they'll work it out with me!  Yippee!  I've loved Sonoma Spring Cantata forever, but cannot wear pink.  I want to substitute peach and yellow for the pink, and it will be lovely!

And, truly the best:  enough yarn for a pair of socks for Mr. Ken, spun and dyed by Dez Crawford for her Knitting Asylum Yarn label, and designated for him.  

I've mentioned before that he's not a fan of hand knit socks, so I generously offered to take this off his hands and knits socks for me.   No go.  He wants warm socks to wear at night knit from this beautiful yarn. 

I’ve started and frogged any number of shawls and wraps in the past few years.  Every year at Stitches I admire another boatload of beautiful shawls; many are versions of Charlotte’s Web.

After much soul-searching and a lot of time (over several years) in various booths that carried Koigu PPPM, these are my choices for Charlotte’s Web. 

(I know the pattern calls for 5 skeins but many blog posts and emails have mentioned needing a sixth, so I chose 6.  If it’s not needed, that’s fine.  I also reserve the right to change any of these colors should I find something I like better before the shawl is actually finished.)

And see this?  I don't know if I want to knit it or pet it!

This is Hand Maiden Camelspin, 300 meters of 70% silk and 30% camel.  The color is way off on my monitor.   It's not royal blue, it is teal.  It's not rose, rusty coral.  The blue-green is really green and yellow.  I cannot capture the color, no matter how hard I try.  

I hadn't planned to go back to the Market on Saturday, but I did.  Dez Crawford was only at Stitches until early Sunday and I wanted to spend a bit more time with her.  I also got to know Lisa Louie a bit as we shopped while Dez was in class.  Lisa is a bad influence - she convinced me that the Camelspin was my color, and that I had to have it.  She was right!

I also wanted to try Colinette Jitterbug, because I love the other Colinette yarns I’ve used, and the colors are so wonderful.  This is Toscana.

The Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth, home of Socks That Rock yarn, was mobbed most of the time.  I’ve still not finished even a single sock from the various Socks That Rock colorways purchased in the past 2 years, so I gave it a pass this year. 

In fact, I didn’t really see much else in the way of sock yarn that excited me.   Of course, it’s not like I’ll run out of sock yarn anytime soon.  At last count, I have enough sock yarn in stash for about 150 pairs of socks.  Given my annual production of not more than 12 pair, I’d say I’m set for a while.

*We talked with the Yarn Lady’s husband.  He says they are looking for new owners for their store in the LA area.  If you are interested, or know anyone who might be, give them a shout.  Joan and I were mildly interested, but neither of us would be willing to move south!

Every year since they've been at Stitches I've bought yarn from them.  Sometimes I buy yarn with a pattern in mind, sometimes I buy yarn because it makes me happy.   This year I did both.

I managed to resist the siren song of the Clapotis (from Knitty) until two weeks ago, and suddenly it seems I must knit one.  This is 750 yards of Riata, which is a wool-mohair-silk blend.  If I don't knit Clapotis, I'll just pet this - it's that soft and luscious!

Last year I feel in love with Sonnet (also from Knitty) as shown in the Brooks Farm booth.  This year I decided to buy yarn for it.

This is 1350 yards of Four Play, a wool and silk blend.  Yum!

Finally, this is 1500 yards of Primero, which is 100% (or 1100% on the  label) kid mohair.  I have ideas for thi, but it was bought because the color made me happy!

The color is perhaps a little brighter in real life.  This might become a Pearl Buck jacket, or it might not.  Whatever it becomes must be a drape-y design, to better show off this gorgeous yarn.

Still to come:  sock yarn, Charlotte's Web yarn, La Lana Wools yarn, gift yarn, shawl yarn. 

Dez Crawford and Lisa Louie were there.  Nancy and Alison were too.  (More specifically about people later this week.)

I bought stuff.  Specifically, I bought stuff from Brooks Fiber Farm, Koigu, Colinette, La Lana Wools and Handmaiden Yarns.  I bought yarn for Clapotis, Sonnet, socks, shawls, Charlotte's Web, and projects to be named later.  I bought books and buttons and a cover for my ironing board.

Here's a photo of all Stitches West purchases reclining on my office chair:

Over the next few days I'll show and tell about all these beautiful things.  

Stitches West was larger this year than last, and I heard there were 1700 students registered.  Even though the weather was less than wonderful, the lines to buy Market tickets were amazingly long Saturday at noon.  I had a blast!

Today was a holiday, and I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about what I expect to find and buy at Stitches this year.

Books

Koigu PPPM for a Charlotte's Web shawl 

Koigu for something else! 

Noro Kureyon for a felted cat bed for Sweetie (I'm really conflicted about this.  I'm using my first ever Kureyon  for the Serape sweate and I love the colors, but hate the amount of straw and junk I'm finding in the over-spun thick and thin yarn.   That said, every time I take Serape out and  knit it, Sweetie hops up on my lap and kneads the thing like mad - and she never sits on my lap!)

Buttons

Shawl pin

Sock yarn - Surprise, surprise, surprise!

Brooks Farm Yarn  

La Lana Wools

Newton's Yarn Country

Seaport Yarns

There are a lot of Bay Area shops exhibiting this year.  There are even some I've never heard of, and a few I've not visited.  Normally I don't shop at the local places while at Stitches, but this year I may have to make an exception to that rule!

What do you think I should look for or buy at Stitches?

* My goal is to someday soon attend the complete Stitches West.  I'll check into the hotel, attend the banquets, take classes and shop until I drop.  I just can't stand the idea of driving back and forth, and this year I didn't plan far ahead enough, but soon...

I never showed you what I bought at my LYS last weekend, when Mr.  Ken enabled me.

The solid purple, green mix and orangy mix are Maizy from Crystal Palace; Maizy is made from corn fiber.  I like the feel of it in the skein, and hope it makes comfy socks.  The multi-colored purple is Panda Wool, also from Crystal Palace.  As usual, the purples are for my mother-in-law who actually wears the socks I knit for her!

This is Rustic Wool in a lovely raspberry and pinkish mix of colors.  While I don't wear these colors, one of my SILs does, and I need to knit a sweater for her.  I'm thinking perhaps a Wonderful Wallaby with a simple pattern stitch, depending on the gauge I get with a size 7 needle.  I like the fabric so far, but haven't measured for gauge.

It was smaller than Stitches West, but reminded me of a few of the very early Stitches West shows I attended.  We found and purchased yarn, and spent a lovely 2 hours talking with vendors and looking at and  petting lovely yarns.

I bought 2 skeins of Malabrigo for a scarf:

It's shades of coral, cantaloupe, peach and other warm colors.

More size 1 double pointed needles for socks - but what fantastic needles:

Can you see the gorgeous colors?  One set is deep red, and one is rainbow-striped! 

And because I love patterns and still have lots of yarn in these waning months of Knit From  Stash 2007, I bought several patterns:

These are from YNotKnit.

This is from Mountain Colors, and is called Spider Monkey.  I love the zig-zaggy cables and bits of lace.

Later this week I'll show you what my darling Mr.  Ken forced me to buy from my LYS! 

I left the office before 11 this morning, and telecommuted the rest of the day.  I'm planning a large multi-year project and need to concentrate. The rest of the folks in my wing are in the final stages of testing a new product, and they are noisy!  Lots of talking over the tops of cubicles and calling someone to "look at this" and such.  I just shut down the laptop and it's 8 pm.  Oh well.  I worked 3 hours longer at home (and much more productively) than I would have in the office.

Sometime before the end of the weekend I have newly started projects, a finished pair of Waving Lace socks, progress on Sensational Shirttail, and a sit 'n' knit session on my patio to show you.  That post will be worth waiting for!

1.  I've been waiting patiently (like a lemming) for Ravelry .  I checked today, and here's what I found:

First, Classic Elite Inca Alpaca, bought from a favorite EBay seller who had not only one of the colors I wanted, but the same dye-lot as yarn I’d purchased at least 10 years ago!  It was meant to be, and I'm glad to now have a sweater-worth of this luscious fiber.

Second, here’s yarn and pattern for a felted hat.  Joan and I are trying to knit on Sunday afternoons, and will be opening that up to other knitters this month.  We’ve decided to knit FiberTrends felted hats as a “group” project.  Hers is shades of purples and blues.  Mine is sunny colors, and the mohair is from stash.

Third, here’s the yarn purchased at ArtFibers.  It’s Kyoto, which is a blend of 69% silk, 25% kid mohair and 6% extrafine wool, in the most amazing shades of olive, gold and brass.  It really isn’t a colorway because it isn’t dyed with multiple colors.  The various fibers take the single color differently,  accounting for the variations seen here.  (This photo shows the colors best, above and below the label.  All the other photos were too red or too yellow - this is close to true.)

Fourth is the yarn for the Auburn Mist sweater (I think that's the right name) in the Summer Knitters.  It’s a Crystal Palace Kid Merino in a lovely shade of espresso.  It should be an excellent substitute for the yarn called for in the pattern.

This is Bamboozle from Crystal Palace, a new-to-me sock yarn that’s similar to Cascade Fixation.  It’s stretchy and I absolutely cannot resist red yarn, especially when it's mostly bamboo.

This is Silk Garden Lite.  A scarf pattern swept blog-land late last winter or in the early spring, and I had no interest in it then.  My local yarn store started carrying Noro, and suddenly I had to have the yarn.  Now if I can only find the pattern again...

And from a garage sale, with no idea what to do with it: 2 skeins of Elann Super Kydd, in black.  For a buck, it can marinate in stash for a while. 

While I have strayed from the straight-and-narrow path of Knit from Your Stash in 2007, I don’t feel the least bit guilty about it.  I’ve been discriminating in my purchases, and haven’t been buying every yarn I’ve seen or wanted.  Oddly enough, knitting from my stash has been fun and liberating!  Shopping my stash is fun, and so is creating with yarn that’s not made any longer. 

In fact, I’ve written about the vibe at Stash!, which is in Albany (near Berkeley) a couple of times, and am sad to report that I still find it to be a really uncomfortable store.  If my hairdresser wasn’t across the street it would not rate another visit!

Stash! has a lovely and large assortment of yarn which tends toward Rowan and other high-end yarns.  Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to how yarn is displayed – not by color, gauge, manufacturer, fiber or anything else that was apparent to me.  The store is messy and there are boxes of yarn blocking some of the shelves in the back.  It’s an uncomfortable place.

This Saturday there were fewer knitters than when I’ve visited before, so it was possible to actually get to the books, but they were an unfriendly and clique-y group, and actually made fun of my request for the new Knitters Magazine!  Another group of 3 knitters had taken over both the center tables and were eating salads on tables piled with yarn for sale. One was winding yarn between bites.  They were  blocking access to some of the shelves and were not particularly gracious when I wanted to browse and asked them if I could get past.  (One muttered that I should go around, but she was squarely blocking the area I wanted to look at!)

I was in the store for almost 20 minutes before anyone acknowledged me.  I’d decided to give Stash! another chance because they had the yarn I wanted on display 3 months ago.  This time, there was none displayed on shelves, but the sales clerk was able to find bags of the yarn stuffed into a cabinet, and she cleared a corner on one of the tables for my use in choosing a color.

It was a semi-successful visit – I did find the yarn I wanted in a color I love - but Stash will not have a place on my usual yarn store rotation.

Good vibes versus bad vibes – I wish there was an outward way to tell which way a particular store would seem. The yarn stores themselves don’t look that different – seating areas for knitters are standard, as is a large selection different yarns. 

There’s a sort of LYS to me – Uncommon Threads, which is highly rated.  I visited once early in my knitting life, and I’ve never returned.  At the time I thought I was insecure about my knitting ability and that’s why the vibe was bad, but now I realize it wasn’t me. 

The vibe was uncomfortable, and became almost hostile when the proprietor and knitters around the table made it clear that I was a heretic not to be encouraged because I wanted to substitute yarns in a project!  She was “unable” to help me choose yarn for a pattern I wanted to purchase because of my desire to substitute yarn, and didn’t make a sale to me that day.**

Contrast this to Straw Into Gold (which no longer exists as a storefront but lives on in Crystal Palace Yarn).  At the time I didn’t realize the comfortable feeling, almost like coming home, wasn’t universal for yarn stores!

I first visited there (about 15 years ago) to find yarns needed for a VK project.  I’d been unable to find the designated yarns because they were discontinued and the company defunct.  I hoped Straw Into Gold might have the yarn, which they didn’t, but they were happy to explain to me that I could substitute for 7 yarns of different fibers and gauges – did I mention this was my 2^nd ever knitting project? – and that my project would be just fine!  They checked my pattern and asked about color preferences, then ran around the store collecting an enormous pile of yarns to look at and choose from.  They offered advice and encouragement and it was wonderfully empowering.

This was the end result.  I love the sweater and will make another someday.  It was fun, it was a learning experience, and it made me a loyal customer for as long as the store existed!

ArtFibers is also full of good vibes.  The staff is pleasant but not bothersome, the yarns are lovely and well-displayed, and the store is comfortable but not messy.  Perhaps the biggest issue I have with ArtFibers is that it’s within walking distance of my office!

Bear in mind that these are my opinions and my feelings, and this is my blog.  Your feelings and opinions may be completely different; feel free to express yourself on your own blog or (nicely) in the comments.  If you are the owner or manager of one of the stores with bad vibes, take a moment to think about what’s been said, and perhaps try to change it if you’re bothered that knitters feel unwelcome or uncomfortable in your store.  I’d like nothing better than to feel good welcoming vibes at all yarn stores! 

** At that time I had NO stash – not even for one project.  The pattern called for cotton yarn and I wanted to knit it in wool.  I don’t know (and don’t want to know) how much money I’ve spent on yarn and patterns (in stores and on-line) in the ensuing 12 or so years.  I do know that not one cent has been spent in that store.  On the other hand, Straw Into Gold purchases are well-represented in my stash, and I use Crystal Palace yarns whenever I can.

The first purchase:

2 balls of Elann Super Kydd, bought at a city-wide garage sale and flea market for the amazing sum of $1.  It’s 518 yards of black lace-weight yarn, which should be enough for a large scarf or small shawl.  I’m not a fan of knitting with black, but this is so soft and lovely, and it can’t be a crazy-making project because there’s just not enough of it.

The second purchase was this:

7 balls of Crystal Palace Kid Mohair, espresso color, which is destined to become the Auburn Mist (I think that's the name) sweater from the Summer 2007 issue of Knitters.  This is another case of my being unsure if I will like the end result, but I want to try it, therefore I want to use a less expensive yarn.  I do also love Crystal Palace yarns in principle and in fact.  They are locally managed, although their yarns are not locally produced, and they’re a mainstay for interesting and good yarns, and the price is right.

(I almost didn’t buy anything because Stash! – the store – has such a strange vibe; more on that tomorrow!)  They did have the new Addi Lace knitting needles which I’ve been wanting for the Creatures of the Reef shawl for my MIL, so I bought size 3 and 4. (I still cannot remember what size is used on the shawl, although it seems that perhaps I’ve used both sizes!)  I really want to like these needles, although I’m not a fan of the Addi Turbos!

I also celebrated by taking a bit of a breather from the non-stop meetings this week - 7 yesterday, 5 today - and washed and blocked a swatch!  (Yes, that is a coffee stirrer with knitting on it!)

  The yarn is ArtFibers Kyoto; a silk, superkid mohair and wool blend.  The color, while lovely, is too much of a blue-red, and it did bleed when wet.  The gauge is also not quite what's called for in the White Lies Designs lacy top, Krista.  I think it will work if I make a larger size.  Or I could try a larger needle. The pattern uses size 7 and the Kyoto swatches at ArtFibers are knit on 10s.  Hmmm....

(Yes, I know the swatch isn't really large enough, but I didn't want to buy a single ball of yarn, so I bought a 10-yard "yarntasting".  That way the color didn't really matter; in fact, it may have helped me be more pragmatic about the yarn and the pattern.)  My main goal was to get gauge in the right ballpark before I give myself permission to buy enough yarn for the Krista tee, and to make sure I bought enough because ArtFibers yarns don't have dyelots.  There are several colors I love: a bronzy-greeny-brown, a soft sage green and a lovely pale apricot.  Which one will I choose?

First, I made my list of things to buy:

1. Eucalan or another no-rinse wool soak
2. Enough Brooks Farm Primero or FourPlay for a sweater (approximately 2000 yards due to the put up)
3. Teleidoscope for viewing colors
4. XRX Jackets book
   
5. Modular Knits by Iris Schreier
6. Sock yarn (Socks That Rock, or other, if it was irresistable)
7. 1 pattern from White Lies Designs - what ever caught my fancy
8. Other books, as desired
9. Good general purpose yarn for 1 sweater, if the price and color were right
10. Anything from Nomad Yarn that I wanted
11. Enough KPPPM for the Simple Jacket (9 skeins)
    
12. Enough KPPPM for a shawl (5 skeins)
    

Second, I packed my rolling backpack with the essentials for the day:  snacks, Aleve, my list, a copy of my yarn inventory, and a copy of the Pantone Fall 2007 colors print out.

Finally, I chose my knitted-by-me outfit:  Donatella jacket, Shape-It scarf, and handknit socks.  Add comfortable shoes, a waist-pack with essentials (1 credit card, cash, drivers license, coins, chapstick and chewing gum) and a knitting project in case there was a line like last year (2nd sock).

Once parked near the Santa Clara Convention Center (no space available in the garage) and inside the hotel that adjoins, I noticed that Stitches was using virtually the entire Convention Center.  The Market was even larger than last year, and the crowd management was much better.  

Over the course of the day, I saw Lee, Nancy, Kristin, Barbara, 2 Joans, and several people I know by sight.  I didn't see Diana or Alison, and I know both were there.  Joan and I planned to attend together, and a last minute conflict caused her to join me after I'd shopped for a couple of hours.  Perfect!  I had time to wander on my own, and then to see things with someone else - absolutely the best way for me to shop.

How did I do on my list?  Did I stick to my list?

1. Eucalan or another no-rinse wool soak - I bought 2 large bottles.  The last 2 bottles lasted about 5 years, but I have more hand wash sweaters now.
   
2. Enough Brooks Farm Primero or FourPlay for a sweater (approximately 2000 yards due to the put up) - I chose 2 colorways I loved, but couldn't convince myself to commit.  (I have a fair amount of their yarn which I love, but no completed projects yet.  I'll check the website or another show when I'm ready to buy.)
3. Teleidoscope for viewing colors - found it at the Yarn Barn booth
   
4. XRX Jackets book - found at the Yarn Barn booth
   
5. Modular Knits by Iris Schreier - I'd not seen this book, just one pattern that I sort of liked.  After perusing it, that was still the only pattern that piqued my interest, and I realized I wanted to use the stitch pattern in a sweater of my own design.  Changed my mind, and didn't buy the book.
6. Sock yarn (Socks That Rock, or other, if it was irresistable) - Socks That Rock didn't rock my boat this year, so I passed on that.  I did get some Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn in Fall Foliage, which will match a sweater that's in queue; and also some Tofutsies yarn, just to try.
7. 1 pattern from White Lies Designs (what ever caught my fancy) - This little lacy tee was the one this year!
   
8. Other books, as desired - Oddly enough, none!  I did come home with several brochures.  Bot XRX and IW had brochures for several new books, and the brochures each contained 1 pattern from the book.  What a great idea!
9. Good general purpose yarn for 1 sweater, if the price and color were right - Beautiful orange sherbet-colored 7 Settembre wool, for 75% off list price, at the Yarn Lady!  (There were other colors I loved, but I really don't need more yarn!)
10. Anything from Nomad Yarn that I wanted - I never found their booth!  They were there, and I managed to miss it!
11. Enough KPPPM for the Simple Jacket (9 skeins) - There was so much pushing and shoving at both places that had goodly amounts of KPPPM that I actually chose a colorway, found the yarn, and then put it down thinking I'd come back later. I didn't.
12. Enough KPPPM for a Charlotte's Web shawl (5 skeins) - See above comment.

I also bought 2 items that aren't on the list:  coil-less safety pins, which are really hard to find, and this lovely yarn:

Deep dark chocolate brown 60% cashmere 40% merino blend, a little over 2,000 yarns, DK weight (it's absolutely wonderful to touch and look at!) from Newton's Yarn Country.  They had a special for Friday (maybe the whole show) of $7 a skein if you bought 5 or more skeins, which made this an incredibly reasonable purchase.  (Unfortunately, my photography skills are not good enough to capture the chocolate-y goodness of this yarn; the orange sherbet color is pretty true.)

Mr. Ken has been anxious to get the New Year's decor put away, and the February and Valentine's Day decor put up, so that's kept me occupied the last few evenings.  This is really odd, I think, because we don't celebrate Valentine's Day, and never have.  No cards, no candy, no flowers, no dinner out - nada.   The first January we dated - our first "date" was in early December although we'd known each other through work for almost 8 years - he called me and begged me to tell him what I wanted for Valentine's Day; red roses - dozens, yellow roses, tulips, candy, jewelry, dinner.  He said he really liked me and didn't want to mess up our relationship by doing something stupid like not meeting expectations for Valentine's Day.

I was somewhat taken aback by this, probably in part because my ex believed that a big bouquet of roses or a nice dinner out would make up for any trangressions or hurtful words, and of course, it doesn't.  He always sent dozens of red and yellow roses on Valentine's Day, because he thought he should.

Mr. Ken and I talked it over, and that year we decided to have dinner at a favorite restaurant.  Dinner was lovely, but not as lovely as usual because the restaurant was so busy.  We've decided since that a nice dinner at home and spending time together is the best celebration for us.  As he says, if we're not good to each other all the time, one special day isn't going to make our relationship wonderful.

Anyway, he likes for the house to properly reflect the season, and in a fit of Martha-ness several years ago I designed and made wreaths and such.  Here's February decor at knitswithcats:

Our banner, with not too much pink (it's hard to decorate for Valentine's Day without using red and pink).  The Tropicana coral front door, with a wreath of white tulips and narcissus.  The side doors with wreaths of coral tulips and white narcissus.

The mantel, decorated for the month like Erica did hers, using lots of red candles, my favorite footed bowl which holds some of the peach foil-wrapped chocolate roses from our wedding, and a heart-shaped box a friend sent; the candle on the kitchen table, complete with chocolate candy candles; and the candle in the dining room, surrounded by conversation hearts.

FO's?  What FO's?

January was not a great month for FO's.  The reorganization and inventory of yarn took time that would normally be allocated to knitting, but it needed to be done.  

In fact, there was only one FO in January, and I don't even have a photo of it! 

During our very-cold-for-Northern-California spell, where temperatures got as low as the 20's at night (don't laugh - if you don't have winter clothes, that's cold!) one of the vendors at our Farmer's Market complained that her hands were cold and stiff but that she couldn't wear gloves because she needed to make change.   Now, I'm not really nice because I didn't give her the warm red fingerless mitts that I was wearing, but at Mr. Ken's urging, I did knit a pair of fingerless mitts which we gave to her the following Saturday.  Imagine, if you can:  fingerless mitts from Wendy's pattern, knit in Brown Sheep NatureSpun, color Northern Lights.

Good progress was made on two projects.  The multicolore sweater now has a back and 2 sleeves, even after ripping the back and starting it over last week.  The front should be done by this time next week.  And the second Waving Lace sock, done in Opal Royal Apricot is almost to the heel.  I expect to complete that by mid-month as well.

No new yarn was bought in January, despite my browsing at Elann.  And Webs.  And Discontinued Yarns.   And Patternworks.  And KnitPicks.  And eBay.  And the new yarn store down the street.  And Michael's.  And JoAnn's.  And Hancock Fabrics.  And Tuesday Morning.  Stitches West is coming in 3 weeks, and I do have permission from myself to attend and shop and buy.