Stitches West, America’s largest knitting consumer show, attracted over 14,000 fiber enthusiasts to the Santa Clara Convention Center on February 17-20 for the seventh year. “It is the place to be” for fiber friends with over 230 booths featuring mountains of stunningly colorful yarns, classes on site, workshops, patterns, buttons, a runway fashion show, supplies and even computer teaching guides. Knitters-novices and experts-embroiders and quilters, gather together for the latest information in their chosen fields.
Vendors from all over the United States and overseas, presented their wares. Kevin Scarlett, a partner of Wagtail Yarns, Childers, Australia, (www.wagtailyarns.com.au) traveled 24 hours to get to this event. In their first year they only had a 10×10 booth with 300-400 skeins of yarn. At this seventh year they had a 30×10 booth and 4,000 to 5,000 skeins of yarn. Unique in their line is their Angora goats, which produce Kid Mohair yarns and Cashmere goats producing Cashmere yarns.
Windy Valley Muskox (www.windyvalleymuskox.com) produces yarn from their farm in Alaska. This is a rare yarn, an undercoat of the Muskox, called Qiviut in Eskimo (pronounced kiv-ee-ute). It is one of the most luxurious fibers in the world and hypoallergenic.
Locally, Purlescence Yarns, (www.purlsecenceyyarns.com) of Sunnyvale, has been at this event for five years. Besides yarns and spinning wheels, they teach students to spin their own yarn and have the only spinning wheel mechanic in this area, important to readjust newer spinning wheels and fix antique wheels.
Stitches Knitting Expos take place all over America and are sponsored by XRX, Inc, home of Knitter’s Magazine & XRX Books. (www.knittinguniverse.com)
For all of the passionate fiber friends and fiends please know that the next Stitches West at the Santa Clara Convention Center will be held on February 23-26-2012.
