A Fall Filled with Fiber Fun…
Mimi’s Needle Basket carries lots of great things, such as ChaiGoo interchangeable needle sets, Wool Tree Mill lucets — and Fix-A-Stitch, of course!
They recently shared with us Mimi’s fall fiber fest schedule:
- October 4-5 Yarnosphere – Expo Arts Center at Bixby Knolls, 4321 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach, CA
- October 11-12 Vista Fiber Fiesta – The Fiesta will take place at the Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum, 2040 North Santa Fe Ave., Vista, CA. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.
- October 25 Ventura Harvest Festival – Where: Studio Channel Islands Art Center, 2222 Ventura Blvd., Old Town Camarillo When: Saturday, October 25, 2014 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The festival will be on the grass, adjacent to Studio Channel Islands Art Center, and close to the very popular Camarillo Farmer’s Market. There will be hand-made items, equipment and materials for sale, along with demonstrations of spinning, weaving and other fiber crafts.
- November 2 Torrance Fiber Fest – Torrance Cultural Arts Center Adjacent to 3341 Torrance Blvd., Torrance CA. The entrance is from Madrona Avenue. Free Parking, Admission $10 (cash only) includes 10 door prize tickets* Show Schedule: 11:30 – Lunch service begins 12:00 – First Door Prize Drawing* 2:00 – Fashion Show 3:00 – Last Door Prize Drawing* followed by the Silent Auction
If you’re in the area, we do encourage you to stop by and say hello! And if you’re not in this neck of the woods, what fiber festivals are you looking forward to this year? Let us know, and we’ll spread the word!
Billy, the Goat of Many Colors
One of the things that I really loved at The National NeedleArts Association’s recent Summer Trade Show was a yarn sculpture by Tisha Thompson (Tisha Handmade) of Mill Valley, CA.
This is Billy, the Goat of Many Colors, and the yarns used are from Be Sweet. Tisha gives a behind-the-scenes peek at how he was made here.
I wanted to buy him (if Tisha would even part with him!), but there is just no place for him in my home. It is as large as one of my Great Dane dogs!
Where to buy our new bags!
We had a wonderful time at The National NeedleArts Association’s Summer Trade Show in Indianapolis. Our new limited-edition keychain zipper bags, specially designed JUST for Fix-A-Stitch by Chic-a, were quite the hit! Not only do they keep your Fix-A-Stitch set safe and sound right on the strap of your favorite knitting bag, they’re also handy to link onto your purse to hold mints, shopper loyalty cards, etc.
Supplies are limited, so ask your favorite local yarn shop to order some today! Retailers that are already carrying these darling bags in-shop (and in some cases, online) include:
- At Home Store
- Black Locust Farm
- The Black Sheep
- Crafty Needle
- Haus of Yarn
- Knitting to Know Ewe
- Loop
- Personal Threads Boutique
- Stitch Diva Studios
- The Woolery
- Yarn Expressions
Mrs. Kellogg goes to Washington (State)
I recently had the good fortune to go the Sewing & Stitchery Expo in Puyallup, WA, with my friends Mary Ann Donelley, Kathi Mundt and Cheryl Churchill. While we waited at the airport, I taught Mary Ann how to knit.
Okay, so I have a loud voice. And our plane was delayed. So one by one, I was approached by people who wanted to learn how to use the Fix-A-Stitch to repair their stitches. Since I was on my way to a sewing expo, I didn’t have a sample to demonstrate … so I kept ripping down on Mary Ann’s new scarf. But of course, since I used Fix-A-Stitch to make the repairs, it doesn’t show.
While Mary Ann was getting started, she dropped one of her cast-on stitches. No surprise that I easily picked it back up using Fix-A-Stitch. Watch for a new video about how simple it is to make that repair, now that we have Fix-A-Stitch!
At the expo itself, I made new friends and saw old ones:
• In my classes I was very impressed with Nancy Zieman of Nancy’s Notions. She believes in keeping things simple. After the talk, I learned she’s a knitter — and samples of Fix-A-Stitch are on their way to her.
• It turns out that the lace Fix-A-Stitch is PERFECT for threading both the Baby Lock 10 needle embroidery machine and their Crown Jewel long arm.
• A seminar on “365 Days of Notions” introduced me to so many wondrous things to add to my own collection that I had to leave my shopping list with The Pine Needle so they could ship it all to me. I’m especially excited about a light table I can use for my appliqué work, as well as my piles and piles of photo negatives that still need reviewing and culling.
There were many wonderful vendors at the Expo. I was delighted to see Great Yarns there — they always have amazing knitted items to drool over (oh, how I wish I had time to knit!). And of course, Makers’ Mercantile was there with all of their wonderful offerings.
In the non-knitting department, I visited with friends from ThimbleCreek (I hope Joe has time to get us a newsletter this week, now that the show is over), and made friends with Bobbi Bullard. After listening to her speak, I was certain we have a connection, which it turns out we do: We were both raised in Atlanta, Georgia … about the same time … and even have some mutual acquaintances.
One of the most impressive speakers I’ve heard in a long time was Tula Pink, a young (32) fabric designer with enough stage presence to be a stand-up comic. She kept us enthralled for over 2 hours. When Mary Ann went to get a book signed for her daughter, I was able to move in close enough for a photo.
At the airport on our way home, I spent some delightful conversation with Jiordan Castle, a young writer now living in San Francisco. I gave her a card, and hope she will be in touch so we can continue our discussion of books and movies and other fun stuff.
Fix-A-Stitch goes to Stitches West
With Santa Clara being practically in my back yard (well, an hour away, but that’s California for you), I knew that my trusty camera and I had to stop by last weekend at the Hyatt Regency, where Stitches West was taking place.
As many of you remember, Fix-A-Stitch was first announced and demonstrated at the Adela’s Yarn booth at Stitches 2011. In honor of that, I spent a few hours each day at Stitches West 2014, demonstrating Fix-A-Stitch to customers who stopped by the booth. One morning when I couldn’t make it, Lily Chin did the demo for me using our lace weight Fix-A-Stitch (thanks, Lily!).
I was thrilled to see the Stitch Diva herself, Jennifer Hansen, and the always delightful StevenBe. Liz from Fine Points was there, too. There were just too many great shops and folks for me to count. I did so much oohing, ahhing and chatting that my photos were kept to a minimum! Still, here are three I thought I should share with you:
The Yarnover Truck team has such an interesting concept. They bring the yarn to you, whether you’re in an area with no local yarn shop (LYS) or just want to have a “yarn tasting” party and/or knitting class with friends. It’s a shop on wheels, really.
I hung out in the skacel collection booth for a while, where Marcy, left, and her sister Carma were such gracious hostesses. It’s also always special when I have time to chat with skacel’s Michelle Hunter, aka Knit Purl Hunter, maker of the most fantastic instructional online lessons for knitters.
Last but not least, my good friend Joanna Reyes (far right) brought her lovely daughter, Elise, to help out at the Chic-a booth. Joanna and I have a fun announcement coming up later this spring — but for now, I’m sworn to secrecy.
So there you have it. I love when a yarn show is nearby without the hassle of packing and jet lag. All that notwithstanding, though, I’m looking forward to heading east in May, to The National NeedleArts Association’s Summer Market in Indianapolis! Ask your yarn store to check with us about the newest offering from Fix-A-Stitch.
Meet our TNNA booth neighbor, Chic-a!
At the recent The National NeedleArts Association (TNNA) show in San Diego, we had the good fortune to be exhibitor neighbors with Jay and Joanna Reyes, the proprietors of Chic-a.
According to their website, “Chic-a was founded in 2007, when Joanna Reyes realized there had to be a better solution to storing ongoing knitting and crochet projects. Ziploc bags kept breaking, and the designs of existing bags were impractical for knitting and crochet. What she wanted was a knitting project bag that would last for many projects, would be practical, and yet be fun to carry around. Using her many years of sewing experience she designed and crafted the Quick Draw Project Bag. The immediate popularity of this bag confirmed the demand for her fusion of practical and fun. She continued to develop products to meet this demand, and out of this, Chic-a was born.”
We can attest that they’re wonderful people with wonderful products. Their bags can hold your latest yarn projects — and, of course, your Fix-A-Stitch sets!
Here they are setting up the booth.
Doesn’t it look wonderful? So nice of them to incorporate the Fix-A-Stitch pink (I guess it’s Chic-a pink, too)!
Some bags on display.
Success in San Diego
Bonnie and Donna headed to the San Diego Convention Center last weekend to take part in the annual Winter Trade Show put on by The National NeedleArts Association. At their booth, they met with dozens of knit and crochetwear designers, retailers and distributors who either were introduced to the Fix-A-Stitch tool on the spot — or were coming back for more!
Here’s a look back at the weekend through the lens of Bonnie’s camera (and a few through Donna’s camera, too):
