I recently returned from Stitches West in California and couldn't wait to share with you some of the new lovelies I picked up at the show.

Jane and I had such a great time and I've got some fun pics to show you from the show but I figured it would be easier to split my recaps up - one for goodies and one for pics! I know I love seeing when other people do recaps of when they go to events I can't make it to. I've still never been to a sewing convention so I live vicariously through others pics.

We really didn't get as much time for shopping as we had anticipated. This always happens to us though..lol. In the end we ended up being the nerds we are and putting the booths "we must shop at" in numerical and priority order so we didn't miss the ones we really wanted to shop at. We definitely needed a whole other day dedicated to just "shopping". It saved my wallet though not having that extra time. With the exchange rate the way it is I'm sure glad I didn't buy more than I did. Ouch.

Ready to see what I brought home? Yay!

/// YOTH YARNS

I picked up a lot of goodies at the YOTH Yarns booth where we did our book signings. I'll chat more about their booth in the next post but let me just say - it was AMAZING!!! I wanted everything. I was so glad I scooped on these awesome tapes (show above) when I did as they sold out super fast. Aren't they adorable?

I also couldn't resist these adorable flowered stitch marker tins! So cute! And YOTH was also selling the best tape measure ever (in very first picture above)! It joins in one end to form a circle so you can measure your bust with your arms down!!! Say what!!! And your arms and whatever part you want to! Bodybuilders usually use them! They are so smart those YOTH Yarn peeps ;) I only came home with 1 skein of YOTH because, dudes....the booth was almost sold out when we left on Sat. I figured I would be nice and leave inventory for all you shoppers :)

I also brought home one of my favorite new bags!!!! These were coveted! You only got one if you bought a certain amount at YOTH Yarns. Word on the street is that they won't be selling them anywhere else either. You can only get them at shows. One side says "Pretty Things Inside" and the other says "YOTH Yarns".

/// COCO KNITS

Ok, so full admission here - I've been wanting one of the fabulous Knitter's Keep from Coco Knits since it came out. But I really wanted to try one on in person. So when we found out they had a booth at SW we had to get there. When we made it there we proceeded to make dorks of ourselves by trying on all the colors and checking them out with our skin tone in the mirror. Yep, that's right - dorks strike again..lmao.  In the end I ended up with a pretty bright blue and Jane got a nice army green.

The Knitter's Keep = AMAZING. Solves so many of my problems - losing my stitch markers, losing my cable needle, losing my darning needle etc. I mean seriously ladies, pop this super fun bracelet on (did I mention it's a snap bracelet which is also equally as addictive and fun) on and never worry about losing some of your pretty notions again! When I'm working on shawls or seaming etc I always need multiple tools handy and this makemy life so much easier.

We also got to meet Julie Weisenberger (Coco Knits) which was a thrill in itself! I'm a big fan of her work and her business!  So it was a highlight of the trip to get to have some time to chat with her! So exciting! 

/// JILL DRAPER MAKES STUFF

I was so excited to get to meet Jill Draper. I'm a big fan of her work and had been wanting to see her yarns and meet her in person for ages. I spent way too long at this booth and I'm sure made a fool of myself gushing over her more than a few times. In the end I left with this scrumptious skein of Rockwell - Naturemade 2014 that is 100% Cormo-Merino Crossbred Wool. I must have picked this skein up more than few times so in the end it's the one that came home with me. I couldn't bear to leave without it.

I also picked up the most adorable notebook. You all know my addiction to notebooks and this one is my new fave. The Kitchener Stitch is inside as well as needle guide and ruler! And those illustrations? Swoon! Def one of my fave new lovelies. You can also find Jill as one of the instructors on Creativebug. She's got a slew of fun classes available on there as well.

/// HIYA HIYA NEEDLES

Now for the big splurge. Jane and I have been on the hunt for new needles for over 4+ years. I think we've tried almost every needle out there (or at least attempted to). Every time we go to an event we go to the needle sampling booths and try them all out and leave empty handed. We have a checklist and some of the other sets (while gorgeous and nice) left some of our boxes unchecked. This time when we went to the Hiya Hiya booth it was both of our first times trying out their needles. It was love at first knit...lol. I think I sat stunned for a few minutes as it sunk in that we had finally found "our set". Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy with my Knit Picks Interchangeables (I have the nickel plated set and still really enjoy them) but I've been wanting another set to go with it.

I got the Hiya Hiya Limited Edition Set of 5" Sharps Stainless Steel. Here are some of my fave things about the Hiya Hiya's:

1) How sharp and air light they are.

2) That the tips have the sizes on them.

3) That the cables have the sizes on them too! YESSSS!!!

4) Did I mention how light and sharp they are? Two of my fave things.

5) This is a biggie for me - that the join didn't bother me. I don't like when I can feel the join and with these it was no issue at all.

6) I like that I don't need a tool or key. Just some simple rubber grips to tighten and loosen them.

7) The kit starts at size 2.75mm and goes up to 8mm.

8) You can convert them to straights if you want to.

The Limited Edition Interchangeable set included so many goodies too! It comes with the following:

- 13 sets of 5" Interchangeable tips

- case

- 4 cables (18", 26", 34", 42")

- small cable connectors

- small tip adaptor

- panda stoppers (small and large)

- single point adaptors (small and large)

- puppy snip

- darn it's

- knitters safety pins

It was like Christmas! I'm loving them so far and am super happy to finally have a new set to knit with. Do you any of you have Hiya Hiya's? Do you love them too?

I also picked up a delicious smelling new wool wash called Allure in the scent Woodland Mist (shown in very first picture in this post). This is made from Bijou Basin Ranch and it smells divine! It's also an all natural formulat that contains no dyes, enzymes or phosphates, no optical brighteners and no formaldehyde. 

I can't wait to share with you the second part to the recap next week. Were any of you at Stitches West? What have you splurged on lately to add to your knitting stash? Fill me in, I want to hear all about it!