Positive Yarn

I spent Valentine’s Day weekend with my husband and kids, but I did so at a very special place: The Sixth Annual Pittsburgh Knit & Crochet Festival. While I frolicked among the fibers all day Saturday, my family checked out fun stuff to do in Mars, PA, a Pittsburgh suburb that hosted the Festival at the Four Points Sheraton.

The weather leading up to the weekend was concerning for many, but by Thursday the snow had tapered off and I for one can attest to a trouble-free, two-hour drive to the event. Besides, you know that a little snow isn’t going to deter yarn fanatics! They attended in full force, and from what I could tell, enjoyed every minute of it.

I actually took more than 100 photos while I was there, and I promise to include exhibitor photos and details in my next post. For now, below are just a few photos I snapped of the sights and sounds of the Festival.

And last but not least, for those of you who live in the vicinity of Western PA, mark your calendars for the 2011 Festival: Feb. 11-13! Learn more at PghKnitAndCrochet.com.

Please note: All photos copyright 2010, Heather Gooch. Please credit accordingly if you link to them!

This trio of friendly faces greeted attendees at the registration desk all weekend.

Once you registered, you could leave your coat in the capable hands of the Hog Heaven Rescue Farm volunteers. The $1 fee helps the farm continue to rescue, rehabilitate and foster hoofed animals that have been neglected and abused.

Led by Hog Heaven co-owner Regina Martin (far right), the coat check team pulled double duty as yarn winders for attendees. Cash donations were appreciated as the ladies made unruly fiber ready for your next project — while you waited (or shopped)!

Five-time Super Bowl Champ Randy Grossman (who happens to be the super husband of Festival Organizer Barbara Grossman) was on hand in the Cascade Yarns’ booth to sign Steelers hat patterns. Shannon Dunbabin kept the autograph line flowing smoothly — not only for Randy, but later in the day for Melissa Leapman’s book signing event.

The Mesa Creative Arts Center’s Brad and Kate Silberberg were on hand to help attendees with a fun make-and-take, the Necklace of Many Colors.

Constance Bailey, left, and her cousin Veronica Snyder take in the fiber fun at the Festival on Sunday morning. Many attendees made sure to wear their creations at the show… and while Constance’s shrug is truly beautiful, my only regret is that I didn’t get a shot of the purple jacket she wore on Saturday!

Sponsored by Pat Catan’s Craft Centers, the Warm Up America! lounge at the Festival was a great place to relax, catch up and stitch a while for a wonderful cause.

Festival Organizer Barbara Grossman gave a special “goody bag” to the Saturday Luncheon guest whose birthday was the most recent. Lucky gal!

Speaking at the Luncheon was Nora Bellows, whose 100+ bags on display as a Trunk Show was truly a treat … as was her witty, down-to-earth presentation on how she became a respected designer in the fiber industry. Here, she shows the audience her very first felted handbag.

These ladies were on hand to raise awareness (and donations) for Team Knitsburgh, part of the Stride & Ride program for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. They told me about the Victory Lap taking place May 15 at the Pittsburgh Zoo, which sounds like a lot of fun!

At the Butler County Spinners & Weavers Guild booth, Christine Williamson was one of the members who demonstrated spinning techniques.

Jay van Wagenen spread the word to attendees not only about the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh, but about its sister organization, Fiberart International, which is hosting an exhibition in town April 16-Aug. 22.

The Medina Needlework Guild’s 28th annual Needle Art Show at the Brunswick Library is currently under way, and I think it’s going pretty well. Both my girls took first place in the junior category — although I must admit, they were the only entrants this year in the junior category. I won a third-place ribbon for my over-one pincushion rendition of a day lily, so I’m pretty psyched. Evidently, the round robin that a fellow EGA member entered won second place, and the judges decreed that all six of us who participated in a stripe of the final sampler will get a ribbon, too. Photos coming soon, I promise.

I had to get up early this morning to be a hostess with two other members, Jeanne and Jan. When I left the house, the rest of the family was sound asleep — even the cat. (The dog awoke to “walk me to the door,” but my hunch is that she, too, soon after drifted back to her natural state: zonked.) But Hubby and the girls came to the library right as my shift ended to take a look around, take in the fact that both girls are official blue-ribbon stitchers, and then take me to lunch.

Over Happy Meals, I asked my husband if it was OK for me to drive up I-71 to Cleveland to explore the Original Sewing & Quilt Expo going on at the IX Center. I think he was just glad I didn’t ask him to go with me! So once again I was on the road, ready to absorb the new trends and techniques going on in the sewing world.

The show did not disappoint. While I am woefully limited in my machine sewing skills, I found plenty of hand sewing-focused vendors to suit me. And the aisles hawking all that the Janomes, Berninas and Husqvarna Vikings, just to name a few, got me feeling pretty inspired, too.

Because classes were signed up for in advance, I didn’t get to check out any of the seminars. I did, however, get to see a stunning New Designer fashion show, as well as a display of 2008 Hoffman Challenge Dolls & Clothing, “From Knock-Out to Knock-Off: Gorgeous Gowns from the Silver Screen,” “5 x 4: Quilt Artists Meeting Their Challenges” and Robert Kaufman Quilt Quest 2008, among other fantastic sights. These displays travel to all the Sewing Expos around the U.S.: Atlanta and Tampa, FL have already taken place, but coming later this year are programs in Worcester, MA; Chantilly, VA; Kansas City, MO; Minneapolis and Chicago.

I also met some really wonderful people, such as Judy and Peggy at Shaffer’s Countryside Quilting, Sue and Honor at Sue’s Sparklers, Cindy and her team at Quilter’s Fancy, and Barb and Joe at Barb Originals.

More about my experiences at the expo, as well as photos of my make-and-takes, are coming later this weekend. Right now, though, I’m signing off from my computer to play with all the cool things I bought! (OK, photos coming of that, too!)

It’s getting to be old news, but it’s being reiterated nearly every day: Cheap is chic these days. In a CNN article this morning, even upscale consumers are finding that it’s much cooler to talk about how financially savvy you are than how financially sound you are — or as a consumer psychologist and professor quoted in the article puts it, “We have moved from an era of conspicuous consumption to an era of considered consumption.”

Now while no one in your core customer base will likely ever utter the words “Look at this $250,000 watch I got for $7,500″ (yep, that’s part of the article), it does make sense to appeal to their bargain-hunter side in your marketing program. Take a look at your inventory: What types of “champagne” projects can you get them to make on a “beer” budget? Is it time to promote a luxurious-looking shawl pattern, for example, that can be made up with lower-end fibers and still look great? To promote practical gift-making ideas, like a set of embroidered tea towels? To host a student fashion show where your classes can ooh and aah over their latest jewelry creations on display? Maybe turn up the upscale quotient of these programs by adding in a ritzy refreshment table, offering sparkling grape juice and chocolate-covered strawberries (which, if you do yourself, isn’t going to take as big a bite out of your budget as you might think).

On the evening of the event, have employees wear their most dazzling outfits — an old bridesmaid’s dress or a fancy sweater, just something that sparkles and isn’t something they’d otherwise wear to work. I recall a friend of mine who worked in a jewelry store when we were in college. For three days a year, she and the team wore tuxedo shirts and ties for a special “black-tie” sale that focused on selling their bridal sets and high-end jewelry. They stayed open late, and she said there was a unique energy that week — customers looked forward to the sale not only because of the good prices, but also because there was so much “special” stuff going on, with the extended hours, refreshments and gala atmosphere.

Perhaps you can also start helping customers pamper themselves for less with a display of eye mask patterns, sachets, manicure bags and other spa-like treasures that they can easily embellish themselves. With extras being fewer and farther between these days for many of us, make sure your customers know that your shop can still be their respite.

Potpourri

I want to recognize an organization called ZeroLandfill, which according to this Akron Beacon Journal article is “distributing 4 tons of samples from local architectural and interior design firms” to artists and art educators in Northeast Ohio. The program is considered “upcyling” because the art community can find treasure among what otherwise would have been considered trash in a landfill. The program might be expanded into other communities soon. Visit www.zerolandfill.net for more information.

I also just joined an online group called The Warm Fuzzy Brigade, which promotes needlework philanthropy. Bonnie Dillabough just founded the group and is looking for additional members to discuss projects, upload photos and generally, as she puts it, “create a movement that will warm our world.” As you may have read in my previous post, I’m on the hunt for good causes my local chapter of the Embroidery Guild of America can do a project for next season. Bonnie has a whole list of philanthropic needlework projects here.

I’m anxiously awaiting Nov. 5 for two reasons. One, the election will be OVER and I won’t have to lay eyes or ears on another campaign commercial for a while. But two, and perhaps more important to me personally, it’s when the November meeting of my needlework guild takes place.

I have been a member of the local guild for three years and counting. I am the official photographer and newsletter editor, so I can’t afford to miss a meeting. Not that I’d want to — I love being around other stitchers, whose experiences and skills shape their projects into true works of art.

However, because I am one of only about five members under the age of 50, it’s sometimes hard to keep up. After a day of work and chasing my kids, it’s difficult to find time to sit down, find my place in my sampler and get a few stitches done before sleepiness gets the better of me. Still, I believe everyone should MAKE the time for their passions, be it for family time or a hobby. I attend the monthly guild meeting even if it cannot be at a less convenient time, because I know when I’m there, I’m at my happiest.

And so I plan and I plan, for in seven days I need to have 22 more beads stitched in neat little crescent shapes, plus a completed felt Christmas ornament to donate to the Head Start program. Then there’s my younger daughter’s Christmas stocking, which I am gunning to have hanging on the mantle this year so all four of ours are handmade. I am 80% done, which if experience tells me anything means the last 20% will be completed around Dec. 23 in a round-the-clock effort.

But that’s OK, because there won’t be any campaign commercials to distract me.