On April 6-8, I spent my days at the Pittsburgh Fiber Festival.  I met so many wonderful people and found new to me yarn vendors as well as some of my favorites.  This Yarnbyrds truck caught my eye as soon as I entered the convention center.  What a dream to own such a business.  The inside of the truck was amazing.

 

They carried some sock yarn that I hadn’t seen before.  Here’s a sock yarn by Night Owl Fibers in a colorway called Flip Flop Fun.  It is bright and summery and a joy to knit.

 

As you can see, I also purchased the new Addi FlexiFlips.  Unfortunately, as I tried to knit with them, I got frustrated and returned to my traditional rosewood double pointed needles.

I also found this Fibrelya Sock Star Sock yarn.  This self striping yarn is packaged in 2 equal cakes, each starting at the same point in the stripes.

It’s the first time, I’ve seen either of these sock yarn brands.  Both are Merino and Nylon mix yarns.

Moving through the convention center over 3 days, I had time to visit each booth more than once and really narrow down my choices before I making my purchases.  This mini yarn bowl by Ridgetop Pottery was a must have.  It’s just right for the mini skeins that are included in the gradient kits.

 

I had a lovely visit with Paige the owner of Good for Ewe yarns.  After debating over the many wonderful colroways, I decided on 5 skeins (820 yards) of Claddagh in the colorway Natural.  I want to design an original item with this lovely yarn.  Any suggestions? Mitts? Scarf? Cowl?

 

My big splurge at the Festival was a no-brainer.  I visited Glenfiddich Wool and purchased their kit for the Swoncho which included their book with many variations of the Swoncho.  These woman were lovely.  They invited me to sit down and read through the pattern to be sure I understood just how simple a knit the Swoncho is.

I chose this lovely forest green.  It will be perfect for Fall.

 

 

I also met with my friend from North Light Fibers and I’m excited to let you know that I will be offering kits with my Island Crossing Mitts pattern and a skein of their wonderful Water Street DK yarn.  Stay tuned for the date that they’ll be available on my website.  If you receive my newsletter, you’ll get the first news of the availability.

This was my first trip to the Pittsburgh Fiber Festival and if you have an opportunity, I recommend attending.  In addition to the festival, Pittsburgh has many wonderful places to visit, lovely hotels, and terrific restaurants.