Greetings from sunny Orlando, Florida! I’m writing to you from our hotel room; staring out at the lovely palm trees and pool below. Dave, Clover and I arrived safely yesterday and have been partaking in CHA-ness ever since.
The view from our room
The Crafts & Hobbies Association’s Summer trade show is much smaller than the one in the winter. It seems as if there are about 1/4 of the vendors here as the one I attended last January in Anaheim, giving the convention a much more intimate feel.
Last night I had the pleasure of speaking on a panel with painting veteran Donna Dewberry, TV icon Carol Duvall, and fellow I Love to Create-er Kathy-Cano-Murrillo. It was so much fun! We got into an impassioned discussion about future craft trends, current economic challenges and the great debate between the value of “in-person”, shop-based craft groups vs. the newer, thriving internet community. I really appreciated that we could all have very different opinions and present them respectfully, while genuinely enjoying each other’s company. All of the women on the panel (as well as moderator Terry O.) are very impressive, interesting ladies who I felt honored to be amongst.
Kathy, Carol & Donna backstage, waiting for the panel to start. We missed our cue to go on stage because we were all gabbing so much. Oops!
After the session was over, Carol & I slipped away for a drink. We chatted family, business and I just basically soaked up as much of her wisdom as possible. With 58 years of industry experience under her belt, she’s still as quick, witty and sharp as ever…not to mention she can order one heckuva martini. I totally wanna be her when I grow up! It was a lovely way to end an exciting day.
Dave came along too, loaded up with diaper bag and stencil kit giveaways
The three of us (me, Dave & Clover) walked the floor, saying hi to a few friends and meeting a few new ones. Lion Brand has some nice, new eco- yarns (stay tuned for future reviews) and Provo Crafts has a couple of really exciting new products including the Yudu screen printer and the Gypsy, a handheld electronic designing device. I’m looking forward to playing around them in future months!
My favorite stop though, was at the always beglittered, I Love to Create (formerly Duncan Crafts) booth. I may be slightly biased, but seeing all of their new products always makes me smile. Kathy was there, showing off her Crafty Chica line; my pal Traci Bautista was playing with these really cool, pump spray paints; and fellow CRAFTED co-host Patti Donham decoupaged jewelry. It was good times!
At the I Love to Create booth with Alyson Dias & Crafty Chica
I may try and stop by again tomorrow to get my hands dirty but today, with baby girl attached, was just about soaking up all of the crafty goodness!
If you’d like more, up to the minute scoop on what’s-a-happenin’ at CHA, follow @vickiehowell and @ilovetocreate on Twitter. Oh, and while you’re in the Twittersphere, you can also do a search for #CHASummer for even more updates!
It's almost July and that means it's time to debut YarnYAY!’s Fall/Winter Designer in Residence - the amazing, vibrant, and talented, Toni Lipsey aka @tlyarncrafts ! We're big fans of her work in both the crochet and Tunisian crochet realms and couldn't be more thrilled to have her on the design team for the season.
✨This means that, as of our July box (on sale now) YarnYAY! subscribers will receive one of her patterns, designed especially for us! 🧶
Welcome Toni, we’re thrilled to have you as part of the team! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Dear community,
The majority share of the knitting, crochet, and crafts industries, and the community that supports them, are women and non-binary folk with uteruses. After yesterday's devastating supreme court decision, essentially removing women's constitutional rights over our own bodies, need to support one another. We need to love each other enough to not give up. I see you. My heart is with you.
Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be on a Zoom action-meeting run by a major women's healthcare organization. We feel powerless, but one of the suggestions they gave for things we can do is to donate to grass-root organizations that focus on women's healthcare clinics.
𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗼𝗻, 𝟭𝟬𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱-𝗻𝗲𝘄, 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗬𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗬𝗔𝗬! 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗼 𝗯𝗮𝗴𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 @keepourclinics It'𝘀 𝗮 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.
(Go to the link I’m my @vickiehowell bio to shop).
With love,
Vickie
#yarnyay #roevwade #1973 #womensupportingwomen...
If any women or non-binary people with a uterus who are attending @hhamericas and need emotional support after today’s devastating Supreme Court ruling, meet-up at the seating section on the show floor next to the stage, after the Indie Magazine Panel at 1pm. 💗 #roevwade...
I may try and stop by again tomorrow to get my hands dirty but today, with baby girl attached, was just about soaking up all of the crafty goodness!
