Stitches loot & stuff

I actually made it out of Stitches West with very little yarn. Last year was my first time and so I was a little overwhelmed by all the booths: the pretty colors, the yarn fumes, and delightful accessories. So this time I had a little bit of an idea of what to expect, what to go for, and what to avoid.

I had a budget, which I carried with me in cash...I bet a lot of knitters do this, and that tons of robbers are missing out on the knowledge that these knitting events are a great way to get lots of cash. Anyway, that was sort of my "preliminary budget," and I still had wiggle room since I had my cards with me. But I had a secret strategy with me- the yarn I bought at Stitches West last year. It was in my purse- the sweater I cast on only a few months ago, a constant reminder that I don't really need more yarn.

So I only bought 4 skeins of yarn. 4 VERY pretty skeins of Anzula Cricket in colorway Madaam.

That's 1000 yards of DK I can do pretty much whatever I want with, but I'm leaning towards a plain-ish top. Like this one. But then part of me is like, DUDE you spent all that money on yarn, why not use up every last yard and get something with sleeves. Like this one. So those are the two contenders right now. I wound the yarn earlier this evening and I plan on making my decision after I swatch.

Meanwhile, I'm finishing my niece's sweater very soon:

Really it's just the weaving in and the collar. The sleeves are probably too short but I'm going to wait until she tries it on. I imagine that by then I won't be sick of knitting it anymore.

So I did get one other thing at Stitches (and still under budget! Probably because I kept reminding myself that my son might want to go to college some day.) and it is this:

Now this may look like a magazine to the untrained eye.
But it isn't. This is a free issue of Cast On that came with my membership to The Knitting Guild Association. I think I mentioned at some point that I plan on doing the Master Knitting program? Well I have long decided that for my upcoming birthday, what with me being a quarter of a century and all, I'm going to join the Basics Basics Basics course. The goal is to finish the entire Master Knitting Program by the time I'm 30, which until now was a kind of floating up in the air kind of goal. But now I shelled out and got the membership and it has to happen.

So that's it! I drove all the way to Santa Clara to go to Stitches and I came back with 1000 yards of DK weight and a magazine. But I had a good time, saw a few familiar faces, and basked in the glory of not being at work.

Oh.
And then I got home and found this:

Yes! I love having a subscription to a magazine I love!

And that's that. I'm going to go and read The Little Red Caboose now for the 8 billionth time.
Good night.