Stitches South, 2010

My name is Jean, and I have a problem.

Oh heck no I don't! I freakin' enjoy myself!! And I had a particularly wonderful time this past weekend at Stitches South. Although I will admit that I didn't think the haul was nearly as big as it turned out to be. Reminded me of the time we were all at Spirit of Cross Stitch, and we asked our DF Cathy what she'd bought, and she replied "Not much" and then proceeded to dump this huge haul onto the bed for us to see. We laughed ourselves silly over the astonished look on her face when she realized exactly how much she'd spent....

DFs Teresa and Jackie came to spend the weekend at my house. This was the first time I'd met Jackie in real life, and she is so delightful! We decided that in oh so many ways we were actually the same person (although she's a bit taller). Along with DFs Heather and Jill, we took a class on Thursday: "Fiendishly Difficult Stitches". Class was ok. I just took it because that's what everyone else was taking, and to be honest, I wasn't paying much attention. I was distracted by the yarn fumes coming from the marketplace that opened right after class was over...

Shopping ensued, both on Thursday night and on Friday morning. People have been asking for pictures of the haul. Take a deep breath...
This is the "accessories" section of the haul. I got a set of Kollage square circulars (a size 8 is missing because it was immediately put to use casting on a tank top with some yarn from last year's Stitches South), Della Q project bags plus an interchangeable needle holder, some portable looms I'd been eyeing, and some Hiya Hiya stitch markers with holder.Sock yarn: The four skeins on the left are from Miss Babs... center is Opal, right two skeins are very sparkly Kraemer with sterling silver woven throughout.

Next up is my visit to the Quiviut booth. No, I'm not that crazy. I bought merino and some very nice hooded cowl patterns...It'll be interesting to see what happens with the cowls. They're lace. And lace and I are currently in a mutual time out. Last time I tried... well... the result was ugly and it resulted in me temporarily losing all my religion.I bought some books and patterns...And some more books and patterns, along with a kewl swift that is the subject of some debate at my house. You can't really see it here... but it's wooden and is flat on the tabletop. Richard says we don't need it; I disagreed.

Finally, more yarn...Some bulky Noro was on closeout at Webs... Got a great deal on the Noro sock, and the Araucania cotton is something insane like 4400 yards, and I'm planning on knitting with it doubled and making some form of garment.

Ordered and to come... some wooden purse handles with a cutout in the shape of a dachshund, and earrings from Sassafras designs made from knitting needles that had to have leverbacks put on.

So, upon review, I probably bought just a teeny bit more than I thought. :)

One of the best parts?? Got our picture made with the folks responsible for Ravelry!That's me in the middle, next to Casey, looking very... short. L to R is Teresa, Jill, Casey, Moi, Jess, Sarah, Jackie, Mary-Heather. (Thanks to Jackie for the picture!)

Other than Stitches South, we made a trip to Perimeter Mall for shopping at the Pandora store and the Clarks shoe store... we ate at the hibachi steak place... Teresa and Jackie shopped at the needlework store that shall not be named for a little bit on Saturday (Richard and I sat in the car) and we headed in before the storms got bad... we did sneak out a bit later so that they could see DF Andy's townhouse and all of her beautiful stitching.

Princess Penny, of course, had a great time nibbling our guests' toes. Teresa's toes, for some reason, are particularly tasty. Jackie got a great picture of her...
All in all, a great but exhausting weekend full of good friends and good times! My bank account has a year to recover, and I can't wait to do it again next year.

On another note... can you help a wiener dog out?? Pam (who created the beautiful February Lady Sweater) has a doxie with a broken leg. To help out with vet bills, she's designed this tres cute baby sweater. If you have a few dollars to spare, please consider making a purchase. :)