I took a much needed day off from work last Friday and headed off to the Knit and Crochet Show. I didn't take any classes... just went to shop, take in the atmosphere and spend the day with my friend Jane. The showroom floor was certainly smaller than my first show in 2007, but probably about the same as the one I attended in 2008 (last year they moved the Summer show to New York). The vendors were many of the usual suspects, with a few new ones tossed in and a few others noticeably missing (no Webs booth this year!).
I was very selective and limited my purchases to those that I really wanted or were terrific deals...
I bought the Kusha Kusha scarf kit at the can't-leave-without-buying-something Habu booth (the scarf sample is hanging in the center of the picture below). The "kit" consists of 2 cones of 1/20 silk stainless steel and 1 cone of lace merino, of which I picked out my own colors (purples, of course).
My only other yarn purchases were a couple of deals that were too good to leave behind... A single skein of Mountain Colors "Mountain Goat" in a beautiful fallish colorway called Sunburst. Sure it's just one skein, but it was in the clearance bin... how could I resist? It'll work up into a cowl or something small. I also grabbed two hanks of super soft Peruvian Alpaca that were a mere $11 each, one in black and one in a "stormy skies" colorway.
I also picked up a beautiful coral pendant, which I forgot to photo ... as well as a little birthday gift which is currently in the hands of the USPS on it's way to the recipient.
TKGA hosted a hat silent auction to raise money for charity on Friday. I didn't bid, but snapped a few photos of my favorites...
Kate Lemmers' was my favorite design (I'm trying to find out if she has the pattern available for sale) and Kaffee Fasett's was, well, funky of course..
I couldn't resist snapping a shot of this cutie...
These are a couple of my favorites from the CGOA contest. The bag only nabbed an "honorable mention," but I voted for it for the Attendees Choice award. The train blanket was absolutely stunning...
At the 2008 show I met a wonderful lady and blogged about her and her unique Koala Caddie yarn aprons. Mary and I had got to chatting about business and I mentioned Etsy as an outlet for her product. She hadn't heard of the site before and was going to check it out. Flash forward two years... she was back at the show and I was happy to see the hustle and bustle at her booth, as well as an expansion to her product line. While I was admiring her great work, she was busy attending to customers. I certainly didn't expect her to remember me or anything, so I continued to walk along until I heard someone yelling my name. When I turned around it was Mary, with a huge hug and thank you!
Mary was so excited to see me and I was so excited to learn that I had left such a great impression on a fellow crafts-business-women! Truly a heartwarming moment. Mary told me Etsy was working out great and she had sold 60 Koala Caddies in one year alone thru the site. She now sells pick-up pillows (small magnetic "pillows" to help you easily pick up dropped pins, scissors, etc) and personal pillows (pictured above right). The personal pillows are the perfect size for traveling and I plan to get a custom doggy fabric one from her soon!
In between the shopping, Jane and I sat down to lunch and a little knitting time. She had been asking me to teach her how to knit socks for awhile, so what better time than a knitting show, right?
Jane knits and crochets, but this was her first time working with DPNs, so I got her started and off she went... knitting round and round on her very first sock! I managed a couple of rounds on my Duckies as well (maybe this will get my sock mojo flowing again).
Jane finished up the ribbing and is well on her way thru the stockinette leg... I think she'll be calling me to help turn a heel soon!
A day off from work with great friends and fiber... what could be better on a Friday in July?
