sts w (everythign but the yarn)

The way I see it, What Happens at Stitches Stays At Stitches (or at least that is how it should be...especially if you shopped like I did).  But for the sake of recording this so I can remind myself of the damage I did, I am going to be the big mouthed girlfriend that rats her friends out...except, of course, I am ratting out myself.  LOL  
Here is part one of my tell-all post about my haul from Stitches West 2013 ;-)
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I do have enough yarn. Really. I do.
(I know my friends that are indie dyers do not want to hear that, and I am sorry...please know that I do support you in other ways like wearing things I knit with your yarn and sending admirers your direction).
Anyhow.
Being the wrangler of an unmanageable stash, when I go to a convention like Stitches, what often attracts me are the ThingsThatAreNotYarn. 

It would seem that I am not alone in my desire to purchase ThingsThatAreNotYarn, and it would seem that the VendorsOfThingsThatAreNotYarn are fully aware of this fact, because this year there were a lot of them there at Stitches, and oh my gosh.....

I maybe had just a little too much fun.
Check it out.

My first FallIntoTheAbyss happened before we even got down to the end of the our very first aisle (we started at end in the 1400's, and worked backwards towards the 100's this time).  I saw Mama Shaman's booth and nearly freaked out when I saw that she had a wall full of shoes looking like these:

I wish I had a camera yesterday to show you the wall of shoes (if you click the link above to her shop, there's a photo of the wall there). I tried on several styles. It was very hard to choose. There was everything from boots and tennis shoes to maryjanes and mules.  My favorite was actually the flat rubber soled zip up boots, but in my size, I wasn't diggin' the color and pattern quite as much....so I bought what you see above. I might love these even more than my wackiest Chuck Taylors, and let me tell you, that's saying something.

One of my knitter friends saw these later and assumed they were paint on fabric, but they are not. They are actually applique and embroidery.

I am in a deep state of Love.
I usually toss out the extra shoe, as I only wear one....but I love these so much, I am sticking a glass jar in the extra shoe and I'm going to use it as a vase or pencil holder or something cool.  

Ok. On the very next aisle (this is only aisle number two mind you), we discovered Tim Arnold's work at Saw Dust Co.

Never in my life have I had a proper sewing basket.  In fact, what I use now is an actual woven basket (duh) where pins and needles fall through the cracks, and my poor loved ones step on them. (so we can say this purchase was for them, not me...right?? LOL)  This sewing box is gorgeous gorgeous wood. Get a load of it.  And that lid?? It is two layers of veneer...and sandwiched in between them is a layer of magnet. Your pins and needles and scissors will stick to the lid, on either side. How freakin' cool is that?!!

I also bought a little organizer tray from him.

Simple. Done in the Shaker style. And just gorgeous. I can already see about 20 different uses for it, from make-up and toiletries to pens and pencil to craft supplies.

Next I bought some olive oil hand cream.

I needed this lotion because boy, my hands were dry! Just ask anyone that spends that day there. You always feel dehydrated at Stitches (actutally, I have this crazy belief that all of the yarn and fiber soak all of the moisture out of the air...hahahaha).  I also chose this lotion because it actually uses the same olive oil I use in my kitchen for finishing dishes or making salad dressings... from nearby McEvoy Ranch!

Last year, I had a really good time visiting with a lady in a charming booth that was full of every possible knick-knack that had a sheep on it.  Just like last year, I still didn't get her name, and go figure, the receipt is handwritten out of a stock receipt book and does not have her shop name on it. I think from looking at the map, she might be "Williams Wool and Weavings" from Washington state, and there is no website listed. Anyhow, she's a doll and her booth is like being a fiber themed vintage thrift shop or something. It's great. Last year I bought 2 pairs of sheep themed socks and a few cotton dishcloths that she had made by hand on a knitting machine. This year I bought two cotton dish towels for the new kitchen, one goat, one sheep.

Next stop:  Nifty Thrifty Dry Goods. I barely made it into the booth as I was in my wheelchair and it was packed...and honestly, that is good thing, because I could do some serious damage if I was in that booth long enough. Every single thing in there is charming and also charmingly presented. Definitely Nifty (maybe not so Thrifty, but hey...LOL)

The white buttons will be converted onto some barrettes or pony-tail holders. The green buttons are going onto the brim of  hat.  I'm not sure what is going on with the big plastic button that looks like it has metal rings inside of it, but it's crazy cool, and will probably go onto a hat or be turned into a brooch of sorts. And the pendant...well...I think it's just so neato. Vintage lace in a modern soldered glass setting? I love it.

My last beautiful disaster of the day was right near the end (which would have been the beginning if we weren't going backwards).

In the back there is a turquoise ring from "Wendy Lee - Petroglyph" (no website). She had a booth full of all sorts of interesting foreign vintage items, especially from the east. The ring I picked up has a very high gallery setting which allows me to hide something secret underneath (which I do with almost all my rings, and I also have several lockets for the same reason as well...but that's another post.)

The other two pieces were made by my new best friend Harlan Simon (actually, he's not that new to me...I bought something from him a couple of year ago, too).  The pieces I bought are both vintage glass cabochons that he set in silver. The bracelet is f$%#ing AMAZING, and the ring...OH MY GOD THE RING (does it not match the shoes in photo #1, or what?!!).  It's a huge chunky statement piece and I think you are going to be seeing it on me LOTS. I lllllllllllllllooooooooooooooovvvvvvve it.

I really tried to resist these pieces of jewelry, but he worked with me on the price, and I am honestly just infatuated with them both pieces (and him a little bit too).  He is a flirt of salesman, reminding you how fabulous you are so therefore you need fabulous things (paraphrased LOL). 

He told me that when he bought the cabochon for the ring, it reminded him of Jospeh Stella's Brooklyn Bridge...

....which to me, means that Harlan "just sold me a bridge in Brooklyn" (and Harlan could probably sell ice to an eskimo, too.  hahahahaha)

So.
There it is. The non-yarn booty. I'm proud of it all, although it was indeed a little much, and I will be behaving myself for a few months in order to make up for it ;-)

Tomorrow?  The yarn.