fibers west...the goods.

these days seem to be flying by in a blurr! i've been having a few late night craft sessions, and i'm feeling it this morning, let me tell ya. oh well. there's always more coffee :) and hopefully i'll be able to sleep in on april 1st. :)
but i and some close friends went on a trip last weekend... and i bet you'd like to know about it... so i thought i'd share with you some of the yarny goodness that came home with me!
this was my very first fiber festival. very very first. i was in yarn heaven! honestly. and not just from being at fibers west, but also from hopping around from store to store the day after.

the first store we hit up was maiwa. i had known this was here, as granville island used to be my weekly destination for groceries and really anything else... (oh the memories of living a stone's throw away from granville island... le sigh) but surprisingly, i wasn't really into the knitting thing nearly as much as i am now, so i had forgotten about the store! shame! but imagine my delight when i walked into this:

such a beautiful store! and the service was amazing. i didn't buy anything (i know... shock!) save for a small bottle of eucalan. but the girl who was working (i so wish i had caught her name) opened up this cabinet and i was introduced to qiviuk.

Source: maiwa.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

 this is the softest most luxurious yarn i have ever set my eyes on. or petted. holy hannah it was ah-mazing! to quote: "qiviuk is the softest natural fibre in the world. it is the downy-soft underside wool from the arctic muskox.  it is eight times warmer than wool and is extraordinarily lightweight. it doesn't scratch or shrink in hot water."
i was told that to obtain this fibre, they have to pluck the hairs by hand from the muskox.  and at $98 for a skein i am not surprised it was kept under lock and key.
of course, i was just too wrapped up in this fibre to remember to take any pictures, so the picture i do have is from maiwa's website.

the other uber wonderful yarn store we hit up was urban yarns. i have wanted to check them out in forever, and let me tell you i was not disappointed.  it's so beautiful! for real.

honestly, why didn't i splurge, and i mean really splurge on this yummy goodness when i was single and living in kitsilano? i had so much moola to burn then, sigh... oh well. i did pick up some goodies though. wanna see?

the tin is for my knitting notions :)

the tin i got from paper-ya on granville island, the eucalan from maiwa, the buttons from fiberswest, and my sweet business card holder is from shannon! see her post here on these little gems. jane also made the best bags to hold our loot in too!

this is luvinthemommyhood's pic. my bag has a grey yarn ball on it. thanks so much jane!

this fibre you've already gotten a sneak peak of... it's the baby alpaca from knitopia. shannon and i snagged an amazing deal and are splitting a bag so we can both knit up annie.

i couldn't wait to wind this gorgeous skein! (seriously, i was winding it frantically on the ferry with the help from sarah). i picked this beauty up from urban yarns. they were honestly so super helpful. i was debating getting it because i had already spent more money than i'm used to on yarn. the girls were so super friendly, and even brought up projects on ravelry. i am specifically using this skein for the honey cowl. i didn't realize you could knit it with only one skein (of course it makes sense) but i can wrap it twice and just have a narrower cowl. i was sold. thanks girls! the colourway? plaid blanket.

 and oh yes. i scored a couple of skeins of malabrigo sock yarn. weee! i love it. i'm thinking maybe a summer top for this? not sure yet though. any ideas will be most welcome! (i'm looking at 880 yds of sock yarn)

i'm super excited about my goodies:) but i know that i would have been just as happy if i hadn't brought home anything. the trip with the ladies was just so much fun! i know we're all excited to go back again for knit city!

it's funny. we remember to take pics of yarn, but we forgot to take lots of pics of us. haha something we'll have to remedy next time. i blame it on yarn highs :)
and this isn't the whole of our group.. we dearly missed some of the ladies who couldn't make it. but next time, we'll be hauling 2 vehicles, and we'll be having twice the fun. at least.

a huge thanks to shannon, jane, arika, and sarah for the amazing company that you are! i am counting down the days until we can do this again xo

have you been to fiber festivals before? do you make a big trip of it and bring your friends? are you lucky to not have to travel too far to go to them? i'd love to hear of your experiences! coffee is on, and i'm sewing up another baby blanket for all sprung out. it's a crafting day again today... come and chat! i've got coffee ;) xo