I'm really just interested in the marketplace -- what's it like at Stitches West? Any advice for knitters driving to the show?

I've been to the Knitting & Stitching Show in London (at Ally Pally) a few times and I love love love it. Hoping that Stitches West will be the same.

Where do we find info about it?

Here is some info:

www.knittinguniverse.com/flash...ts.php

I used to always go to the "opening" day (usually Thursday) with my best friend, Jane. We'd make a day of it...morning lecture, catered lunch, afternoon class, evening expo preview. It was totally worth the price for us. However, we nearly always found a sell-out problem with the classes we wanted (and ended up always crashing the ones we wanted anyway ;-) ). This was back when it was in Foster City and later in Oakland.

Later a good friend became a knit and yarn designer and I got to know a bit more about the "inside" story on how Stitches is run (and the nearly ridiculous politics), and my tolerance for it has changed. However I have to say that several yarn producers I know (such as Louisa from La Lana in Taos) find Stitches West to be the only Stitches show they are willing to do. Best return for the effort (in other words, the shopping frenzy is best at Stitches West). So if you like that sort of thing, the expo is pretty impressive. San Jose is about the same size as the Olympia in London, and it will be packed with yarn and knitting notions and books and...well...you'll see. Bring lots of money (most vendors take plastic, but offer deals for cash).

I'm planning to go to TTNA in January instead this year. Its not easy to get a ticket (that same designer friend got me mine) but its where the yarn stores go to buy their stock and its even more over the top than Stitches. Just what I need, more yarn ;-).