Sarah and I have been crazy busy getting ready to for Stitches West – we fly out crazy early Thursday morning! 

Not only have we been knitting feverishly to finish our wardrobe, we have been tidying up our sites and putting up new photos and such (you probably noticed the new sidebar photos!) because when you meet new knitting friends and say, “oh, and hey, check out our website (or etsy store or blog)” or “hey, look me up on Ravelry” it is better to have the cobwebs brushed off. 

We finished off some patterns, too, that we have been promising to knitters – including some free ones that we thought would be fun to share – and Sarah has been putting those up on our sites too.  Logging more computer time than needle time!  Which is why I am knitting a mohair snow leopard tail and her husband is at the fabric store hunting for hot pink grosgrain ribbon.  You gotta delegate what you can.

Actually, I am typing this with my grand-daughter Gwen on my lap (she is fast asleep).  And George has taken Max grocery shopping.  It is a team effort here, as we scramble through the last prep hours.

In fact, this blog post is doubling as my packing list:

1)      Pretty knits – including Bella Bella Mantle and The Crocus Q’mitl (which will make their debut at Stitches!)

2)      A couple of simple and highly portable knitting projects (one slip-stitch tam, one pair of Woodland socks – Check!)

3)      Needles, swatching yarn, notebook, etc. for classes

4)      Knitting bag – ooh, which one? That’s gonna take some thought…

5)      Workout clothes (Just kidding!! Sarah says if you have time to work out at Stitches you’re not doing it right!)

6)      Comfortable shoes for running around the convention center and hotel and, particularly, the Market (see, you really don’t need to exercise – laps around the Market, the best kind of cardio work out!)

7)      That reminds me, money for the Market (and maybe a yarn budget…yeah, probably a yarn budget)

8)      A nice calming book to read in bed at the end of the day or I will lie awake thinking about yarn and new knitting techniques and all the knitters and yarn and new projects and yarn…

Okay, I have to get back to the snow leopard tail.  Crazy busy!