Stitches Midwest 2006

August in the Chicago area brings not only more unbearable heat and humidity (thought it's actually pretty nice weather right now), it also heralds the arrival of Stiches Midwest and the glorious Market. This year none of the classes called out to me so it was all about the Market.

I went with my friend, Alice, and had fun seeing my friends from knitting GROUP. We had a terrific time. My group was all very concerned that I would buy up all the Socks that Rock at Blue Moon Fiber Arts before they got there, but I left them a few skeins:) Here's Alice buying up some lovely sock yarn at Blue Moon Fiber Arts. We actually ended up at that booth three times during the day! The booth was packed from the moment the Market opened. There's no denying those sock yarns really rock.

It was neat to meet Debra, one of the dyers, and Kaci, who helps coordinate the sock club as well as do all the things necessary to make Socks that Rock rock. (I asked her about the Rockin' Sock Club for next year and she said they should be able to accommodate pretty much everyone as their new production centers are much much bigger - yea!) There were so many amazing colors to pick from - pictures further on in this post.

During the afternoon we ran into fellow knitting GROUP member, Jen, and her mom, Margaret. They were having fun picking out the best colors at Brooks Farm. Look at those gorgeous blues. Mmmm, Brooks Farm. Other fellow knitting GROUP members, Claire, Lynae, Liz, Kathy, and Adrienne, were all enjoying the Market too. It was fun running into each other occasionally and seeing what purchases had been made. I think our next meeting on Wednesday will be a great show-and-tell.

So enough with the words, here's the wool!

Here are the most drool-worthy acquisitions - my new Socks that Rock and Sock Candy!

Top photo from left to right: Covelite, Cracked Canyon, Spot Rock Two, Smoky Topaz, and Rooster Rock.
Bottom photo from left to right: Lovers Leap, Rock My World, Blue Brick Wall, Philosopher's Stone, Kabuki (Sock Candy), and Hurricane (Sock Candy).

I can't wait to figure out what to knit with each skein. I made sure to pick out a few colors that were Matt-friendly as he hasn't gotten any Socks that Rock socks yet. This yarn is simply beautiful. As we shopped around the Market I kept stopping Alice to look in our Blue Moon Fiber Arts bags to admire the beauty. Yea! Socks that Rock! (We won't go into the fact that I'd been having anxiety dreams all week about them being sold out before I got there:)

Next stop was Brooks Farm. I couldn't resist picking up a little more Brooks Farm Four Play. I picked out a couple colors and I think I'll make simple tops with it. Inspired by the Reluctant Mango's beautiful T-Twist top from Knitty, I may try adding that twist edging to the Shaped Neck Tee pattern.

One thing I really kept an eye out for was sock yarn in colors that would appeal to Matt (aside from the super Socks that Rock). I had some luck finding some Lana Grossa Meilenweit Colortweed #1008 and a couple balls of Trekking XXL (#69 and #102). I also couldn't resist the bright colors of the Trekking XXL #136 for myself.
Webs was there with their terrific bargains. I had been busy pricing Noro Kureyon the last few weeks because I plan on knitting Rosedale United (from Knitty) sometime this winter. Well luck would have it that a really great color of Kureyon was on Stitches Special sale (even cheaper than their website!). It's color #157 and has lovely purples, greens, and rust.


My final big splurge was a couple bargain bags of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran at half off. This red color is just gorgeous. I had picked up the Knitting Pure and Simple Shaped Cardigan #241 pattern earlier and I think this yarn will be perfect for it.



Oh, and I had my first blogger sighting. While at the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth someone asked me if I had a blog because they recognized me! It was Heather from Yarn Liberation Front. Hi!

There you have it. It was a fantastic day overall and I was exhausted by the end. I think Stitches Midwest Market 2006 was a success:)