The CGOA/TKGA convention in Oakland, CA was a blast! Going there was even more fun. We took Amtrak. It sounds ordinary but, you see, we have this regular Stitch and Ride thing sponsored by Amtrak. Lindsay (ahh, wonderful lady), who works for Amtrak, helps organize a very enjoyable riding experience whenever we have a convention like Stitches West or the one this last weekend.

We get to ride in the first car with fellow addicts and get a chance to win prizes donated by LYSs in the area. I actually won a prize, a Stitch Diva scarf pattern and yummy yarns. We had a celebrity, Nancie Wiseman, who signed books and also donated a prize. Time passed by really fast and before we knew it, it was time to disembark.

From Amtrak, we transfered to BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and got off in Oakland.

The Convention itself was smaller than Stitches West and not as overwhelming. I liked it. I hung out and had lunch with 2 Auburn knitters, Julie and Sue, whom I met in the train. I regret that I didn't get their last names and more info so we can get in touch but I know they'll be taking my beginning crochet class in May at Frog Pond Knits. Looking forward to that.

As far as purchases, I bought 2 spindles, a Little Si from Cascade spindles and a beautiful handcarved one from Carolina Homespun. I bought some spinning fibers and yummy yarn from Angora Cottage. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

My handpainted rovings are now available. These are Merino/Silk blend, each one weighs 4 oz. Check out my introductory pricing. Anyone interested in purchasing them, click on this link.
My rovings page

It has been sunny the past few days here in Sacramento. Last week, I was able to dye a whole lot of Corriedale rovings. Here's a sampling.

The whole bunch went to Babetta's Yarn store in Carmichael. If you're in the area, drop by and take a look at all that glorious color. When I went for a visit, Babetta has added more shelves. That means more yarns for me, he, he.

The TKGA/CGOA Knit and Crochet convention is this coming weekend, starting this Thursday to Sunday. It's being held in Oakland, CA. Of course I'm going. Wouldn't miss it, like I tell my husband. It's a once a year thing. But then, there's Stitches West also. So I lied. It's a twice a year thing (not counting the numerous fiber fairs and craft fairs like Lambtown, etc, etc).

This Saturday, I'm taking Amtrak along with the other knitter and crocheter ladies and gents. It's a 2 hour commute to Oakland but we get to sit and chat and knit (or crochet) without having to drive or worry about parking. And sometimes, you get freebies from some of the local yarn stores. No worries, no hassle. Way too much fun, if you ask me.

Another upcoming event is the Open House at West Valley Alpacas on May 7th.

Cool.

Every knitters' dream....

...is to own a yarn store. Admit it. We spend all this money buying yarns and patterns. My dream is to live in one. Anyway, I've heard this comment thousands of times," Ah, I wish I owned a yarn store. I'd have all these lovely yarns at my fingertips. All mine! Whenever, whatever I want to knit, just grab any yarn from the shelves."

But you have to sell them to make money to buy more yarns. And you have to man the store, deal with the customers, be open 7 days a week. You can't knit anymore. You can't go to conventions, Stitches, meetings. You can't take vacations. Unless you have trusted and knowledgeable employees, you can't leave the store. Forget about Sundays, Saturdays, holidays. You stay open.

Okay, I'm getting to my point. My post about the one store NOT participating in the Sacramento Yarn Crawl. I found out why. Family owned and operated store, and I mean, family operated. No hired help and still manage to provide excellent service. Well, it just so happened that the Yarn crawl falls on 2 of the days they close the store to have their annual FAMILY picnic. A well-deserved break.

And I for one, will stop harping as to why they can't participate. Geez Louise, one store of out 13. "What's the big deal?", as my teenager would say. I'll go visit the store when they're open.

And speaking of vacations, I hope you enjoy your cruise, Danielle (Knitique)! Don't worry, your store will still be here when you get back.

Party!!!!

As part of the charitable projects we're doing at the Sac Knitting guild, we knit 7- inch squares that we put together into lapghans for the Veterans' hospital. I've knitted/designed 2 of the squares and I'm making them available in pdf format to anyone who might be interested. One is an Hourglass Square (no picture avail right now) and the other, the Bell Rib Square (pictured on the left). Use them for your charity work or as gifts. The patterns are copyrighted and may not be re-sold. These are free. Click on the links on the left sidebar.

Colors! I have been busy handpainting my rovings again. An entire batch was snagged by Frog Pond Knits. Let me tell you, I can't keep up!--lol! It seems that there's a sudden increased interest in handspinning, both with a drop spindle and wheel.

In the coming month of May, we will do a yarn crawl which covers the Sacramento area and the vicinity, up to 30 or so miles away. There will be about 12 yarn stores participating including the 5 or so we have in Sacramento. I do believe even the Stockton and Lodi stores, Davis, all the way to Auburn and Rocklin, Grass Valley and Placerville, are all included.

It saddens me though, that one of our local stores will not be participating. I do love the store and the people that work there but the decision to not join the "Crawl" is a turn off to some of the knitters I've talked to lately. I surely hope that this doesn't cause the store to lose business. Our knitting community here is getting bigger and news spreads fast. We need to help keep these LYS's open, ALL of them.