Get The TechniqueI was lucky enough to make the trip out to Anaheim for CHA's Winter Trade Show. We try to have one member of our department go out each year to see what's new in the craft world. With hundreds of the top craft merchandisers represented, we can be sure to find the best materials for each project we create. Athena went last year, and posted about an exciting new tool that she found. Below you'll find a slideshow of some highlights from this year's show, including a few GIANT knit animals!
1 The Anaheim Convention Center
2 The Convention Center is surrounded by tall palms- not something I see in New York!
3 The Lion Brand Booth at the Convention- Did you see the story on Lion Brand in our January issue of Living?
4 Some sweet little knit animals
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6 Ssssssnake!
7 The animals are all tucked away, waiting to be displayed the following day. They were all handmade by the staff of Lion Brand- you can see the staff and read all about them in the January issue of Living
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9 Ta-da! I wonder how long that snake is?! The yarn lends itself to the animal textures so nicely- the snake scales and markings, the lion's mane, and the giraffe's spots transformed into argyle.
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12 I love the eyebrows on this guy!
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14 The DMC needlework booth- I love these beautiful undersea panels.
15 Simple stitching makes this a very believable coral.
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17 Metallic fabric and threads evoke a shimmery squid.
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22 This plastic craft lacing by RexLace reminded me of friendship bracelets and keychains of my childhood.
23 It seems they have a lot more colors these days. Maybe I should revive my old hobby?
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From: becca l. | 3/12/10 at 10:59 am
I love that plastic stuff--we called it boondoggle for some reason. Is that what it's called? Anyway, I have great memories of it. Any way you crafty geniuses can revive it into modern crafting?
From: Cindy Lietz, Polymer Clay Tutor | 3/12/10 at 2:34 pm
Thanks for the peek into CHA. I was really hoping to be able to attend this year. It is the place to be if you're in the craft business, that is for sure. Hopefully next year.
From: Mieko | 3/12/10 at 7:33 pm
Those giant knitted animals are incredible! That trade show sounds like a lot of fun!
From: Bukola | 3/13/10 at 12:29 pm
Those animals are so cute! Looks like you had fun.
I was wondering if you guys know that some of your posts don't show up in the bloglines reader? In fact about half your posts don't. They get this kind of fatal error message:
Fatal error: Class 'Zend_Gdata_Photos' not found in /mnt/stor4-wc1-dfw1/412162/thecraftsdept.marthastewart.com/web/content/wp-content/themes/default/functions.php on line 79
Hopefully you see this and you guys can fix this.
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From: Charlene Austin | 3/14/10 at 8:19 pm
Great photos! I was at the CHA tradeshow this year too. It was my first and to be honest it's kind of a blur. I am still amazed at the size of it and the product. So much to take in. Bring Martha with you next time...lol.
From: Provo Craft Demo Cricut Expression Electronic Cutter with Joyce Chow | 5/14/10 at 6:23 pm
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