Hindsight

I still say attending a conference is enlightening, educating, inspirational, and just downright fun. I took four classes over three days at Stitches. I learned a TON of new stuff:

• What to Look for in a Yarn with Lily Chin. Why do certain yarns behave the way they do? How to manage yarn problems. Fiber content and its characteristics. 
• Entre to Entrelac with Gwen Bortner. I finally mastered Entrelac and came away with a finished class project.
• Lace Basics with J. C. Briar. I learned different types of lace, fiber content for lace, basic stitches for lace, and chart reading. Came away with a class sample that will become a lace scarf.
• Picking up Stitches with Kellie Nuss. I learned how to pick up stockinette and purl edges. I learned how to pick up vertical and horizontal edges and came away with a sample of them all for future reference.

I met other well known knitters at book signings and even at breakfast! Teachers have to eat too.

A word of warning, however. When it comes time to enjoy the Market portion of your conference, be prepared.

• Find a small rolling shopping cart that is easily maneuverable in crowds. Carrying bags full of wool, especially plastic ones, will not be comfortable after awhile.
• Or don't buy yarn.....yeah, right.
• SET A BUDGET. (Really. You will thank me later.)  It's far too easy for shopping to get out of hand. Try (the operative word here is "try") not to purchase yarn without a plan. Yes, it's pretty and soft and colorful, and yes it wants to follow you home, but resist the urge to overspend.
• Do take a vendor's business card and make note of what you liked at the booth. You can always contact them later. If they will allow it, and not all do, take a picture of the booth for reference.
• Take name, address and phone on return address labels for door prize entry slips. Writing that information over and over gets boring very quickly.
• Do take a contact card (just your name, address, phone, and e-mail) in case someone wants to contact you later.

In hindsight, I would readily have taken my own advice, but this was my first conference and quite a learning experience.

Next Newbie advice: Prepare for conferences and set a yarn budget.