Sunday, March 02, 2008

Honey, I’m home…

Fountains outside the Hyatt Santa Clara

Now, why, you might ask yourself, would she put a picture of a generic hotel fountain on her blog after a long, dry spell (two weeks long, to be exact) of no postings at all? Well, here's the story (and it's long so be warned): I did not plan to neglect my blog. Like all pets, I recognize its need to be fed, watered, and walked regularly, a task I enjoy, and had so dragged my niggly little computer across the continent to tend to respective bloggy duties. However,  atmospheric conditions prevailed, sending both laptop and my body into disarray. The computer wouldn't work and neither would my body, at least not well.  I have no feasible explaination for my laptop's malfunction but you and I both know technology doesn't require an excuse to foul up. As for my body, allergies are to blame. Most of my Stitches time saw me a snivelling little wreck due, perhaps to spring blooming in California. I wheezed, I swelled. I became my own little balloon festival.

If this sounds like a complaint, it's not. You see, I am a northern child and my homeland currently alternates between crunchy frost and sleezing rain. When a northern child gets off a plane and sees PALM TREES AND FOUNTAINS AND SNOWLESS VISTAS it's all good, no matter how stuffy the nose or puffy the cheeks. I snapped this fountain because every day it reminded me I was in California!

And Stitches was a blast! Though photography was prohibited inside the hall, leaving me to descriptions alone, let me just tell you that, if you love yarn, this would be your paradise. Aisles and aiseles of strokable yarn beauties lounging in suggestive poses lured the hapless knitter to his or her budget doom. Slinky silks, wanton wools, bodacious boucles and countless other fiesty, sensuous strands begged to be taken home, preferably in bulk. I fondled shamelessly. In fact, I couldn't leave my booth and take a trek to the bathroom without returning with an armload of lusty hustlers. Had to take a second bag home...truly (stash photos to come, I promise!). If you were to see my stash now, you would rightly count me amoung the zillions of weak-willed souls who cannot say no to beauty.

Back at my little booth, Jackie and I met so many wonderful people and gleefully discussed yarns and colors for hours on the end. My Feather n Fan wrap was one of the stars at the fashion show and we sold many kits based on the original colorways. When I wasn't luxuriating in yarn, I was meeting fellow vendors and knitters, colliding with kindred spirits, friends old and new, plus waves of passionate knitters and Ravelryers until even my stuffy puffyness retreated into the background for me. It was all good, believe me.

Here's a photo of the booth before my sign arrived and Jackie and I had festooned the area with my knitwear:

Jackie in Lapis Lazuli, Puffy in Feather n Fan

The wares up close: a Feather n Fan kit

The kit corral

Unfortunately, I spent my post Stitches days in a bit of an allergic haze but still managed to accomplish a few things. Stand by for news on my next big venture as Jackie and Jane get ready to launch Inspired and Adorned, our new website. I'll be posting early next week more details!