I am collapsed on the bed in the hotel on this our last afternoon at Stitches.  It is all pretty much over now – the classes have ended , the yarn market is closing, most of the knitters have gone.  We fly home tomorrow and today has that day-after-Christmas feel.  I am satiated and worn out.  And on a deeper level, warmly exhilarated. 

For me, it all comes together here at Stitches:  the classes, the yarn, the knitting community.  Three hours on the structure and uses of mesh patterns:  exhilarating!  Booth after booth of delicious yarns in every weight and color and fiber imaginable:  exhilarating!   Women draped in lace shawls, women draped with bags of hand-painted wools and fat skeins of silk, women draped across couches in the lobby bar knitting and talking and laughing: exhilarating!

It has all been super stimulating.  Nupps and bobbles, deep and frenzied discussions with Sarah over the choice of yarn for my new projects (which will, I suspect feature a nupp or bobble or 2), the agony and ecstasy of the final choices (followed by the thrill of dashing back to the market for the yarn I cannot go home without after all).  Alsatian scallop construction and a clever method for sewing zippers in knitted garments and the secrets of manipulating elongated stitches.  Probably a little too much wine and, regrettably, not enough coffee. 

And the fact that my 3 daughters and I have been hanging out together through it all!

Okay, that is probably the best I can do as far as summing up my Stitches experience.   I think I’ll just crawl off the bed and go find a latte.  And maybe do a little knitting.