I'm Back!!

Boy oh boy. I miss the internet. We have internet at home, of course... it's just dialup, not a T1+. Anyway, FINALLY, here's the fun Stitches East report! It was, of course, a blast.

We took Metro-B30 bus-light rail train up and back. About three hours of travel each way... or SIX HOURS of uninterrupted knitting time! Somewhere, there's a photo of me re-knitting the Diane Zangl "Brittney" sweater (I found more yarn, so I undid what I had and knitted it to pattern. Anyway, there was enough time that I finished it by the time we got to the convention center, and changed into it... as you can see in the photo below.

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(Isn't my mom a cutie? I sure hope I got her "stay cute forever" gene!)
(Actual Postcard here)

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First, as you know, you should never go to a Big Yarn Thing without something you're actually looking to buy. Something small, preferably, and inexpensive, but that will be enough of a challenge that The Hunt will keep you from (too much) random spending until you find the object of The Hunt. Mine was a size 14 metal crochet hook, pictured above. Not your ordinary one, of course; Mom found the Addi Turbo Plus with Carrying Case... probably 10 times more expensive than I was planning, but it is THE killer beading crochet hook.
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And, because even with a plan, I get distracted, I got some glow-in-the-dark Jelly Yarn. It can be a B**CH to work with if you forget to wipe the nice smoothing cloth over your needles first, but even without that important step, I managed to do the bottom of what will be a cute little Fair Isle glow-in-the-dark bag in afghan stitch using a J hook, and the third cast-on (with size six needles) seems to be working as it should. It's not really a UFO, since there's a probability it won't ever actually work. If I get up to the bands of serious colorwork, I'll add it to the list. Available through their site, www.jellyyarn.com. It's fun!
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The other thing I was hunting was "some non-animal-fiber yarn to make a fun shawl, and matching beads that won't need the size 14 crochet hook". From Interlacements LLC (www.interlacementsyarn.com), I found Rick Rack II, a lovely 100% rayon yarn with a bit of a wiggle, and in quantities vast enough that one skein will be PLENTY for a really big shawl. Got matching beads to put here and there, too. There are a lot of lovely colorways - this is one of the more subtle ones. Plus, this is the ONLY stuff I didn't pay cash for, which puts this as my least debt-inducing sojurn to a big Craft Mecca Event ever!
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In the "Found Objects!" category, at the place I found my crochet hook, I also found this yarn. When knitted up, it will make two socks (or gauntlets) that are.... little American flags! Stars and Stripes! Eeeeeee! Naturally, I got some. Yes, it's wool, but it's superwash. I'll line the finished product with silk, and wear my light gloves to work it. Sometimes, in rare instances such as this, wool is worth the itchies. I'll check my receipts and find out where I bought everything, and get the links to all the other cool vendors by the end of the week.
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In the "we saw it first, and came back and got it" and "my mother is a bad influence" categories, we have Sue Wright Pedersen's V-neck Ribbon Cable Tee, and the three skeins of microfiber ribbon yarn needed to knit it up. I hadn't planned to buy this, but she talked me into it. The ribbon yarn is soooooooo soft - seriously. Get some. Tess's Designer Yarns, in Maine (http://home.gwi.net/~tessyarn/.

So, stash was obtained, and I managed to only start one new project (the Fair Isle Jelly Bag, which isn't on the list yet) as a result!