Skip to main content

VK Live Chicago #2

Welcome back! There were so many local yarn stores with booth space at the show who allowed me to take photos, so I wanted to be sure to share them here on my blog.

Wool and Company: In addition to having lots of lovely yarns, they had a Knitter's Pride needle tasting in their booth!


Windy Knitty: This is a great shop in Andersonville with an amazing selection of yarns. They stock local yarns from Lorna's Laces and Fleur de Fiber, plus plenty of other hand-dyed yarns, luxury fibers, as well as the bigger brands such as Berocco, Cascade, Noro and Rowan. The staff is very friendly and knowledgeable, too!


Nina: Another great Chicago LYS; this one is located in Wicker Park, and they feature a well-curated selection of luxury fibers. Their booth looked great; a large portion of which was devoted to the amazing yarns of possum-y goodness from Zealana!


Knitche (Downer's Grove, IL): I thought their booth was absolutely lovely, and I'm looking forward to taking a yarn field trip someday soon to visit their shop!

Something that sets VK Live apart from other shows is the emphasis on displaying the craft as art. This year, they had MochiMochiLand's amazing Gnomes vs. Snowmen installation on display:

I was also in awe of this crochet installation by Ashley V. Blalock:

Finally, I had a nice chat with Gwen Kinsler, who just published a fascinating book focused on fine art crochet pieces (which I will be reviewing in a later post):


This is the last yarntastic show for 2013, and a great note to end on, I think!
Labels:

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 11, 2013 at 9:29 AM

    Wow, I am also stunned and in awe of the Ashley V. Blalock crochet installation. I can't quite tell from the picture - are all the pieces crocheted together? Or are they separate pieces just connected by the installation hardware? Either way, it's gorgeous. Thanks for sharing so many lovely photos!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Easy DIY: Beaded Vintage Snowflake Ornament Kits from Solid Oak Inc.

I was really excited to step outside of my comfort zone and try something new as part of my "Christmas in July" theme this month. The kind folks at Solid Oak Inc offered me a chance to review one of their Nostalgic Christmas beaded crystal ornament kits I couldn't resist. My tree is already full of ornaments I've inherited or been gifted from other family members and friends,  so these pretty crystal beaded ornaments will fit right in I think! I was super impressed with  this compact little kit , which includes everything needed to create three gorgeous vintage-style ornaments - just add a pair of round nose pliers (I found mine on Amazon for less than ten bucks).  The instructions had some fabulous tips for newbies like me; for example, it recommended sorting the beads and laying them out in order on a towel or beading mat to prevent them from rolling away. That may seem obvious, but I was totally ready to start beading on my kitchen table without a
1 comment
Read more

What If I Didn't Add Heels?

Last weekend, I finished the first sock with my Waterlilies yarn , and just for yuks, I tried it on even though it was basically just a tube sock. Much to my surprise, it fit really well, even without a heel. Who knew? So, that got me thinking: what if I just didn't add the heels?  I never thought a tube sock would actually fit nicely, but I genuinely like the fit, so...why spend time to add the heels? As the saying goes, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.... Let's say I decide not to add heels once the second sock is done - there will still be placeholder yarn for the afterthought heels, as you can see above, so should I leave it in and just weave in the ends? Or should I remove it, put the live stitches back on needles and at least graft them together using more of the Waterlilies yarn? I plan on mulling all of this over as I knit the second sock, and I'd love to hear your opinions of what you think would look best (or if you think this whole "n
3 comments
Read more

Overdyeing A Finished Knit

Even after just a few years of knitting or crocheting, you're bound to have some finished projects lying around that never get worn or used. After 10+ years of crafting, I have more than just "some" or "a few"....and with my ongoing quest to declutter my house this year, I've become obsessed with going through these forlorn projects and making some Big Decisions. Sometimes, they are perfectly fine and just need a new and loving home. Other projects may have not turned out quite right: there might have been some mistakes in the knitting that I thought I could live with, or the yarn was gorgeous but not well-matched to the pattern, or my  taste has drastically changed since I finished making the project...in any case, why on earth did I keep knitting?! Who knows, but I don't feel good about gifting anything that falls into this category to someone else. These projects have been relegated to the "frog pile" (or should I say, frog pond?), to b
Post a Comment
Read more