March 3, 2017
Dear Everyone:
Last weekend “Jeannie” and I went to Stitches West, “celebrating 25
years in consumer fiber events”.
This is a convention for people who inhabit the
Knitting Universe.
Not that it’s limited to just
knitting.
In fact, we saw one booth that sold equipment for people who want
to spin their own yarn “…because knitting itself just isn’t weird
enough…”
The conference takes place each year in February here in the
San
Francisco Bay Area at the
Santa Clara Conference Center, conveniently situated “right across
the street” from
Levi's
Stadium, where the
49ers
play football. Not that this
makes it any easier to find.
Last year we missed a turn and wound up all the way into
San Jose
before realizing that we were off course.
This time, we had better directions and even spotted the highway
sign that read “Levi Stadium next right”.
Maybe it was there last year and we just didn’t see it.
Or maybe a truck was blocking the sign as we drove past.
In any case, we saved about an hour of unnecessary travel time
and quickly found the Conference Center.
Then we had to try and find parking.
Last year we discovered a parking garage on the other side of
some kind of canal. This
time, we were directed to go past the parking attached to the hotel,
which we expected to do. But
then we were directed to go back to the hotel parking because someone
spotted the “handicapped
plates” on my car.
When we asked the first attendant, who had directed us to the second
attendant, who had directed us back to the first attendant, if there was
any “handicapped parking” available, he magnanimously waved us into the
hotel parking. Which turned
out to be pretty much full.
Or so it seemed.
On the Plus Side: We were
already an hour ahead of schedule.
As we meandered through row after row of filled parking spaces,
we spotted a couple of women who were walking through the lot.
We asked if they were leaving and one of them directed us to meet
them on the other side of the current row.
The other lady calmly sped along in her
battery-powered
scooter.
When we reached their car, she expertly disassembled the scooter and
placed the pieces into the trunk of her car.
Then they pulled out and we pulled in.
From there it was a relatively short walk to the bridge to the
Conference Center. Shortly
after we arrived inside, “Jeannie” discovered that her
cell phone had
made a mischievous attempt to misplace itself.
I dug my own phone out and called hers to confirm that it wasn’t
within hearing distance.
Then we walked back to the parked car, noticing as we went that there
were now several open parking spaces along the way.
At the car, there was the pesky cell phone, sitting triumphantly
on the trunk lid. On the way
back to the Conference Center, we marveled at the number of newly opened
parking spaces now available.
Seriously, that lot was FULL a quarter-hour earlier.
After a brief lunch we walked through the “Market” area, which was the
only reason for coming. Sure
they offer a wide variety of classes, but we were happy just looking at
all the incredible stuff that a person can use in making knitted and
crocheted things. Or woven,
if you want to buy a loom
or two. How about a
spinning wheel,
just like the one in
Sleeping Beauty?
Last year, I bought a wooden yarn bowl.
This was a hand-crafted bowl made from some lovely maple wood,
large enough to hold a full-size ball of yarn.
It has a slot in the side that you can slip the yarn through.
As you pull on the yarn, while you knit or crochet, the ball
spins inside the bowl, instead of jumping off the sofa and rolling
across the floor, picking up lint and cat hair as it goes.
This year we saw many variations on the basic concept, both in
wood and ceramics.
And the colors! Yarns of
every denomination and hue.
Vivid reds, glorious greens, beautiful blues, whole pageants of purple.
Booths with nothing but buttons.
Hand-carved needles and hooks.
Even a truck, parked in the middle of an aisle; a mobile
boutique.
Needless to say, “Jeannie” bought a whole lot of yarn (“it’s a great
price!”), with the vague intention of making some kind of blanket
sometime in the future. As
for myself, I tend to start with a pattern, then look for the color and
type of yarn that I want to use for it.
But I got a lot of cards and website addresses for future
reference. There are few
things that you can’t order online anymore.
Including additional wooden bowls if anyone is looking for one.
After several hours of happy shopping, we decided to sit and rest in the
lobby before heading home.
And that’s when one of the ladies from our Saturday Needle Arts group
happened to walk by and stopped to chat.
It was her second day there.
Small world.
Love, as always,
Pete
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