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?