There And Back Again

Stephanie wrote:

The excitement is over, and we're still recovering from Stitches West. As is usually the case with these large events we are totally focused and immersed in preparations for weeks. Poof! In the blink of an eye the event is over, and we're back home picking up the pieces.

I don't know where the time in Santa Clara went - that may have something to do with the time difference - but we were busy from the get-go. I tried to savor the moment as much as possible.

We were greeted with warmer temps, blooming trees and green.

As Mona often pointed out the air smelled sweet.

The convention center sign was a beacon to knitters far and wide.

Note more flowers and green.

The first visit to our booth was a harsh reminder that we had lots of work ahead.

The gridwalls were not set up, and we were not happy. After ironing out the details to get our booth in shape, we were ready to get to work.

With the help of three Ravelry elves we were able to transform our space into this.

Ready for showtime.

This table of colorful bags attracted lots of attention.

Most of these bags are the work of Michele from Three Bags Full. She uses lots of fun fabrics, many with knitting themes.

We featured two new sweater designs at Stitches West.

Tangled Up In Teal is shown here in Celestial Peacock. I didn't get a close up, but the neckline includes some beautiful bead work.

And the short sleeve cousin Tangled Up In Rose.

This is a fingering weight version in Twinkle Toes Raspberry Sorbet. Both designs are the work of Mara Labell (Ravelry link).

We highlighted a couple of designs from Janel Laidman's newest book, The Enchanted Sole.

This is Mirror Mirror on the left and La Licorne on the right. Both are available as yarn packs.

We also had a new shawl for our booth.

This is Damson knit up in Classy Sox. The yarn is dreamy soft and the pattern calls for one skein - a nice combination.

Before we knew it the show was over, and it was time to tear down.

Packed up and ready to hit the road.

Our last night at the hotel bar was full of fun and games.

The fearless leader of the Blue Moon team walks, clucks and, if given needles and yarn, could probably even knit.

And in the hotel lobby . . .

. . . a sign that knitters were there.

Thanks again to everyone who stopped by the booth. Club members who introduced themselves get bonus points - it's always nice to put a face to the name.

I came across a few interesting things at Stitches West, and I'll highlight them in my next post.