Saturday, May 9, 2009

Show and Tell

I realized I was the only one on the Malice panel who hadn’t been to a craft show. I was going to rectify it by going to the Knit Guild and Crochet Guild show that’s in Portland, Oregon next weekend. But buying plane tickets at the last minute is ridiculous. With two weeks advance purchase, a ticket was around $200. But with just one week in advance it was double that.

I found out The National Needlecraft Association has a show in the fall which ought to give me plenty of time to get a good deal on a plane ticket.

One of the reasons I wanted to go was that was to see all the specialty yarns. You can read about them in magazines and see photos online, but it isn’t the same as seeing them in person and being able to touch them. In the crochet mystery I’m about to begin both Molly Pink and I are going to upgrade our yarn experience. So far, I’ve stuck to craft super store kinds of offerings. Now I want to try cashmere and high end blends. I want to see how different it is to work with expensive yarn.

The same information will help with the knitting story I’m working on. Working with two pointy things still feels much more awkward than just using a hook, but I’m getting the hang of knitting. I picked up some knitting books and seem to be able to understand the patterns - at least in my head anyway.

I am looking forward to finishing the little coin purse I started, though I still don’t get what the big deal is about knitting. Crocheting feels more natural, is easier and faster. And it’s easy to rip out your mistakes. The hooks are shorter than needles and easier to carry.

But I like having a craft challenge. I like the idea of learning something new.

How about the rest of you? Have you learned anything new lately and how do you feel about it?

9 comments:

Sheila Connolly said...

Ooh, knitting with cashmere! Makes me think of a cat kneading something. It must feel wonderful.

For Sarah Atwell's third Glassblowing mystery, Snake in the Glass, I went to some gem shows. Would you believe you can get tired of looking at gems? All those pretty sparkly things just kind of run together after a while. Too much!

Next I have to figure out how to make cider.

Betty Hechtman said...

Sheila, I can believe the gems would run together after awhile. I think when you see too much of anything at one time, it ceases to seem special.

Making cider should be interesting. I assume that is for your orchard series. Good luck.

Linda O. Johnston said...

Despite being a delighted blogger on KillerHobbies, I haven't dealt with the fun stuff of learning more about a craft lately, Betty. But I am having a great time looking into different kinds of animal rescues, and that's definitely an area I'm enjoying learning about.
--Linda

Dru said...

I learned how to machine stitch a quilt sandwich and finally learned the preferred method of pressing seams (machine-pieced vs hand-pieced).

Betty Hechtman said...

Linda, learning is always good. It doesn't have to be about crafts. It's just great to keep broadening your horizons.

Dru, you piqued my curiosity. What is a quilt sandwich?

Monica Ferris said...

I am learning to crochet, and feel approximately like you do about knitting only in reverse. To me, knitting is easier and more natural. I guess it all depends on what we learn first.

Unknown said...

Betty, I wish I could go to TNNA, but I'm not a member of the association. Have a great time!

ALmost went to the Gem show in OC today, but laziness won out.

Betty Hechtman said...

Monica, I guess whatever you are used to is easier.

Marylyn, I don't think you have to be a TNNA member to go to the show. I got the impression you had to be a member to be an exhibitor.

Dru said...

Betty a quilt sandwich is the top quilt block that is pieced, the batting (cotton or lite loft) and the backing all stitched together to form the quilt.