Wow, here we are one week since we got back from Stitches West and what a great time we all had! At first, we weren't planning to be at Stitches this year since things have been jumping around the shop so much. However, when Coats and Clark asked us to help out at their booth, we jumped at the chance to see everyone and build on our already great relationship with them. Coats and Clark distribute our Stitch Nation and Rowan products so, of course, it was really easy to jump in and lend a hand!

We had a much smaller booth this year so we were able to visit a lot more with our out-of-town customers and touch base with some of our current vendors, as well as building new relationships with new vendors (stay tuned on that)! Our friend Kirsten of Muench Yarns was just a couple of booths down from us and hanging out with her was a blast! It's always a delight to see her! :)

We also got to see our good friends from Skacel and make some really amazing new friends from Webs!! The first day we arrived, we had to drive through a real big snow storm over the High Sierras and, alas, we were late! In jumps Cliff from Skacel and some really spectacular folks from Webs to help us unload and set up the booth! Thanks just doesn't seem like enough as we would have been sitting on our boxes in the aisle greeting customers and trying to direct traffic around the huge palettes of yarns without all of their help!

We were up and running by show time and got through the night in true JBW style but a HUGE thanks goes out to everyone who helped out...THANK YOU!!!



We had a visit from Alana Dakos of Never Not Knitting and that was so awesome! I was actually star struck which was kind of funny but Alana cruised right through my stammering without missing a beat! In my defense, she startled me and well-what's a knitter to do but stammer and sputter...ha ha! I went over (after recovering a bit) to her booth and got a great picture of her by her pattern display.


I have to say, she is one of the nicest people you will ever meet and of course her patterns are fabulous! I just finished my Autumn Vines Beret and have had nothing but compliments when I wear it!

There was so much to do and so much to see that it is impossible to mention it all here, but let me tell you, it was a lot of fun!!

I am so excited about some of the new things that we will be adding to our inventory over the next year as a direct result of this trip. It's going to be hard not to blurt it out over the course of these months...hee hee...I know I am a real stinker!!

So that's about it for now, but as always happy knitting and crocheting!

Jeanne

The clock is ticking! Remember that you can turn your fiber arts hobby into some cash for college! Any student who can knit or crochet and will be attending an accredited institution Fall 2011 is eligible for the Beans For Brains Scholarship! This award is made possible by Jimmy Beans Wool as well as many other contributor from the fiber arts industry. Submissions are due no later than April 1st, after which finalists will be chosen for five $3,000 scholarships based on merit. To learn more and apply visit the Beans For Brains Scholarship page. If you know any hardworking knitters and crocheters with dreams of going to college, be sure to share the Beans For Brains Scholarship with them via Ravelry or by posting a flyer at your LYS (flyers are available at the Beans For Brains Scholarship page)! Help us help the next generation of fiber artists achieve their goals of higher education!