This entire last week has been nothing short of a blur.  I have a bunch of random items to share, so I’m just going to toss ‘em all out there.  That way we’ll be all caught up and current.

Stitches East - Stitches East was a grand time.  Love getting to visit with customers we don’t usually get to talk with in person!  Thanks for all of the lovely comments about our podcast, Ready, Set, Knit!  This is our check out area with our fancy new logo table clothes.  This was my home for the entire 3 1/2 days of the show.

You don’t have to feel too sorry for me though because this was my view across the aisle:

Anyone care to guess who’s delicious yarn I stared at all weekend?  First correct answer will get a skein sent them from my personal stash, so let’s name the yarn!  (NOTE:  WEBS Staff are not eligible and those who came to Stitches with us need not guess.  MMO – you’re excluded too, cuz I know you know the answer even if you weren’t there).

Great crowds all weekend:

The hot news of the show was this:

That’s right folks, Stitches East will be in Hartford next year.  Actually for the next 3 years.  We’ll talk more about it as we move into ’09, but you can be sure we’ll be doing something super special!

Speaking of super special, we found a restaurant in Baltimore that I just have to tell you about.  Steve was hankering for some sort of Asian fare.  We prefer to try to find local places when we travel, rather than chains.  The Renaissance Hotel by the harbor recommended Ten 0 Six, which is located at 1006 Light Street in the Federal Hill area.  We took cabs but you could walk it from the Inner Harbor area or convention center in about 15 minutes (albeit an uphill walk going there).  They serve American and Thai cuisine and are family owned.  The place is small, but the food is exquisite.  I don’t normally photograph food, but our servings were works of art:

Speaking of works of art, we saw some amazing knitting, but what I am about to show you is so mind boggling incredible, I suggest you take a deep breath.  Ready?  Okay, here it is:

This is a Chuppah, knit out of 3 cones of our 5/2 Valley Cotton.  This is love.  The mother of groom created this masterpiece.  Look at these closeups:

I told you it was mind boggling.  The design was done by the owner of Not Just Plain Jane Knits and the pattern is available (sorry, I seem to be having trouble finding the link). 

UPDATE:  HERE’S THE LINK:  www.picturetrail.com/njpjk02 !

We came back and launched the new website!  Thanks to everyone for your wonderful comments and constructive feedback.  We’ve worked through many of the kinks and I’m sure there will still be some troubleshooting this week.

We met with one of our favorite suppliers, Tahki Stacy Charles.  Diane and Stacy, the owners brought the new line and many of the designs for Spring ’09 to show us:

Let me just say publicly, they have a GREAT spring line.  I cannot wait for their yarns to arrive!

I think that basically catches me up.  A quick shout out to Kristin Nicholas, who was at the shop yesterday – thanks Kristin!  For those of you who were waitlisted for her class, she will be coming back in the spring.

Also, another quick thank you to our friends from Fiesta Yarns, Jeannie & Brad Duncan.  They spent Friday & Saturday in the shop doing a trunk show.  It was awesome getting to visit with them this weekend!

Don’t forget there is a very special skein of yarn up for grabs if you can guess the name of the yarn company that was across from us at Stitches East!  Leave your guess in the comments!

Kathy

Tags: Stitches Midwest