It's time for the DIY TRUNK SHOW!

So, 3 years ago, I did my very first Big Craft Show. It was the DIY Trunk Show in Chicago, Illinois. I was making jewelry at the time and did the show as the "Crafty Librarians". I had beautiful items from several librarians from across the country! It was a great show! AND!! (this is the most important thing!) . . .

I LEARNED HOW TO KNIT AT THAT SHOW! :) The local Stitch n Bitch group was giving lessons up on the stage in the Auditorium. Our spot was very near there and since it is was quiet at first (and, a fellow librarian was there helping me) I went up to get my free lesson. They provided acrylic yarn and metal needles. They showed the cast on and then the knitting. I was all thumbs, seriously. I never thought I would get it! I felt like an idiot and was sure the girl trying to teach me thought I was too. BUT . . . when I got home I went out and bought some purple yarn (they had given me yellow, not really my favorite color) and started knitting. I just knit and knit and knit . . . I ended up knitting a long rectangular object that today most resembles a table runner (yes, I do still have it!).

THAT was the beginning. I jumped into knitting full speed ahead and by the next year at the very same show (2005 DIY Trunk Show), I was there with HAND KNIT items. Lots of them. AND, I wore the SWEATER that I knit. My enthusiasm was probably just a little toxic as I told *everyone* who would listen that, why, yes, I did knit my sweater, AND I LEARNED HOW TO KNIT AT THIS SHOW!" ;) You can actually see me and my racks of scarves in this picture. (The picture is actually from the 2006 show!)

But, you say, don't you spin now more than knit? Well, yes, I probably do. BUT, had I never learned to knit . . . I wouldn't have come across the YARN WENCH. In the summer of 2006, a fellow librarian forwarded a link to her Pirate Yarns. I was definitely intrigued as at that time, well, I was a horrible yarn cheapskate! First, I didn't like wool and tended to stay away from it. Second, I wouldn't spend more than $3-5 on a ball of yarn. Horrible! Anyways, I bought one of Lynn's Pirate Yarns, THIS ONE as a matter of fact, and I was hooked! It was SO SOFT! (I didn't know wool could be so soft!) and I just became entranced by her art yarns! Now, I still use the occasional craft store yarn, but using handspun has definitely spoiled me and I do prefer it over any other kind!

Then, she started selling handdyed fiber, and of course the wheels were turning . . . if I could buy the fiber and spin my own, then I could sell the yarn AND the knit items WITH MY OWN yarn! It just sounded so fun . . .

And, so, that's what I did. I took a class last December and bought my wheel December 17, 2006. I haven't even been spinning a year and yet I feel like I've been doing it forever! I DO love it, and, really, when you think about it, IT'S ALL THANKS TO THE DIY TRUNK SHOW!

:)

So, please consider stopping by! It is SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17 from 10am-6pm at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, 1419 W. Blackhawk, Chicago, IL. For lots more information and a list of vendors, CLICK HERE.