It's Working . . .
Stitches Midwest is the largest yarn market in the Midwest. It happens every August. I have gone many times, and I usually come home with a huge amount of yarn, patterns, and accoutrement.
This year, Stitches fell about a week after the new budget started. I was going with friends, one of whom could not come, but there were three of us and we hung together most of the day and had a wonderful time :-)
I had some slush fund money with me, and there were a couple of places I really wanted to check out.
One was an indie dyer who had not been to this market before. I totally get that not every skein is the same when you're an indie dyer. But I think that what you show on your racks should match what you show on your website. The stuff looked NOTHING like what I had seen on the website. The good news about that, however, is that it saved me a bundle! ;-)
Another place I wanted to check out was KnitCircus - they make striped gradients. I don't even know how you do that. But the pink and green one that they had as a display was the only one I liked enough to break into the slush fund for - and they had just sold the last skeins. I was saved! Again!!
There was one artist there - and I say artist in the truest sense of the word: Jodie McDougall Studios. OMG. I so badly wanted at least one of her koi buttons, but the new budget just wasn't forgiving enough for that this year. I'm going to be saving up for next year, though - I sure hope she comes back again. She explained her process to us and it was absolutely amazing. These buttons are works of art. I'm not kidding.
I was looking for bulky yarn and only one vendor had any, Verdant Gryphon. It was gorgeous, but the yardage was small - I would have had to have gotten two skeins for the hat I was shopping for, so that knocked that out. No one else had bulky. I found lots of chunky, but no other bulky. I was sorely tempted by Neighborhood Fiber Co., and Shalimar Yarns, but they only had chunky, and I was $5 short, which meant that I would have to break out an emergency $20, whereupon my friend, Dana, said, "Do you think that yarn constitutes an emergency?" And you know, no one was bleeding, no bones were broken and death was not imminent, and so, once again, I was saved!
It became a joke by about mid-day - every single skein of yarn that I picked up was some variation or shade of the teal shirt I was wearing. Seriously. Every single one. :-D
I entered the yarn naming contest from Windy Valley Muskox for their new colorway - which was the color of my shirt and because my eyes often reflect whatever I'm wearing, it was also the same color as my eyes. I'm crossing my fingers that I win. My entry was "Annie's Eyes." :-D
I entered all the coupon entry contests, but I didn't win any of them, nor any door prizes.
I sure had fun shopping, though.
I picked up the two Mystery Bags of yarn that I pre-ordered from The Buffalo Wool Company, but I ordered those in July and they were paid for in July so they didn't come out of the new budget. Therefore, I'm feeling like they don't really count as a purchase. I just picked them up on Saturday - and guess what? I got two the same!!!! There was a 1 in 10 chance of getting the same, and I did. Same yarn, same colorway. That means that I actually have enough (400 yards) of their Buffalo Skies DK in the Fireweed colorway to actually make something. I'm all happy about that.
And I gotta say - it looks like my bathroom is the new best place to take yarn photos - that's the truest color I think I've ever gotten on any yarn photo :-D
Are you getting the picture yet? I didn't buy anything.
Nothing.
I went to Stitches and I didn't buy anything.
This is major.
I mean it.
Clearly, the new budget is working :-)
This year, Stitches fell about a week after the new budget started. I was going with friends, one of whom could not come, but there were three of us and we hung together most of the day and had a wonderful time :-)
I had some slush fund money with me, and there were a couple of places I really wanted to check out.
One was an indie dyer who had not been to this market before. I totally get that not every skein is the same when you're an indie dyer. But I think that what you show on your racks should match what you show on your website. The stuff looked NOTHING like what I had seen on the website. The good news about that, however, is that it saved me a bundle! ;-)
Another place I wanted to check out was KnitCircus - they make striped gradients. I don't even know how you do that. But the pink and green one that they had as a display was the only one I liked enough to break into the slush fund for - and they had just sold the last skeins. I was saved! Again!!
There was one artist there - and I say artist in the truest sense of the word: Jodie McDougall Studios. OMG. I so badly wanted at least one of her koi buttons, but the new budget just wasn't forgiving enough for that this year. I'm going to be saving up for next year, though - I sure hope she comes back again. She explained her process to us and it was absolutely amazing. These buttons are works of art. I'm not kidding.
I was looking for bulky yarn and only one vendor had any, Verdant Gryphon. It was gorgeous, but the yardage was small - I would have had to have gotten two skeins for the hat I was shopping for, so that knocked that out. No one else had bulky. I found lots of chunky, but no other bulky. I was sorely tempted by Neighborhood Fiber Co., and Shalimar Yarns, but they only had chunky, and I was $5 short, which meant that I would have to break out an emergency $20, whereupon my friend, Dana, said, "Do you think that yarn constitutes an emergency?" And you know, no one was bleeding, no bones were broken and death was not imminent, and so, once again, I was saved!
It became a joke by about mid-day - every single skein of yarn that I picked up was some variation or shade of the teal shirt I was wearing. Seriously. Every single one. :-D
I entered the yarn naming contest from Windy Valley Muskox for their new colorway - which was the color of my shirt and because my eyes often reflect whatever I'm wearing, it was also the same color as my eyes. I'm crossing my fingers that I win. My entry was "Annie's Eyes." :-D
I entered all the coupon entry contests, but I didn't win any of them, nor any door prizes.
I sure had fun shopping, though.
I picked up the two Mystery Bags of yarn that I pre-ordered from The Buffalo Wool Company, but I ordered those in July and they were paid for in July so they didn't come out of the new budget. Therefore, I'm feeling like they don't really count as a purchase. I just picked them up on Saturday - and guess what? I got two the same!!!! There was a 1 in 10 chance of getting the same, and I did. Same yarn, same colorway. That means that I actually have enough (400 yards) of their Buffalo Skies DK in the Fireweed colorway to actually make something. I'm all happy about that.
And I gotta say - it looks like my bathroom is the new best place to take yarn photos - that's the truest color I think I've ever gotten on any yarn photo :-D
Are you getting the picture yet? I didn't buy anything.
Nothing.
I went to Stitches and I didn't buy anything.
This is major.
I mean it.
Clearly, the new budget is working :-)
Comments
We need to shop my stash. I have some stuff I collected when I first started knitting that I will never knit with now; if I happen to have something that would work for your hat, I would LOVE to donate it to the cause of A's belt-tightening. I don't have everything in Ravelry, so email me your color and yardage preferences.