Seventh Annual Knit & Crochet Festival Draws Crowds

Like most runway shows, guests in the audience oohed and ahhed over the fashions as the models paraded through the crowd. Unlike most other fashion shows, many of the onlookers were madly knitting and crocheting away.

“Oh, I am going to make that one,” one woman exclaimed as a model in a multi-colored cardigan walked by.

Those around her laughed, as if she had said out loud exactly what they all felt.

 The fashion show Friday evening kicked off the l held at the Four Points Sheraton, North in Cranberry. For the first time, the show expanded to a Friday, with a few classes being offered in the afternoon prior to the fashion show.

“People kept begging us for an extra day, so we decided to give Friday a try,” said Barbara Grossman, festival organizer.

Friday night also featured a sneak preview showcasing a few of the vendors.

Getting the crowd into party mode was the over-the-top and well-loved designer and Minneapolis yarn shop owner, StephenBe (real name Stephen Berg), who was the master of ceremonies for the fashion show.

StephenBe sported his own black sweater design with chains hanging off the front and back.

“I found some leftover chains, so I just wove them in. Don’t you love chains?” he asked, swirling so the chains twirled around him.

The audience cheered in response.

The models, who are students at the Pittsburgh Art Institute, seemed to have as much fun as the audience.

“When they saw the fashions, many of them wanted to keep the garments,” Grossman said.

 The move to a three-day event also allowed Grossman to create more room for the “other” fiber arts.

“This is really for all fiber artists, not just knitters and crocheters," she said. "We have weavers, spinners, felting – and we wanted to include more classes for all fiber arts."

There were more than 200 people in the crowd Friday night, but that was just a small portion of the roughly 2,000 people who visited the show over the weekend. For many of them, the festival is an annual event.

“We have knitting groups, mother-daughter teams and all sorts of friends who come,” Grossman said. “We also have folks who only see each other here once a year. We have become friends with some of those who attend now.”

Knitters and crocheters come from all over the Tri-State area, and many of them make it a weekend event by staying at the Sheraton or other nearby hotels. The weather also cooperated for the out-of-towners. Last year, the show was held the weekend after the “big snow.”

This year, dry roads and warmer temperatures allowed safe passage for those who traveled to to the show.

Several well-known yarn companies such as Cascade Yarns and Coats and Clark sponsored the event. Local craft store Pat Catan’s also sponsored a Warm Up America Lounge where knitters could take a break from shopping to knit or crochet a square for blankets to be donated to local shelters.

 Nicky Epstein, the internationally-known knitting and crochet book author, taught four classes, signed books and hosted the Barbie Doll Fashion Retrospective, which featured 100 dolls wearing Epstein’s creations. More than 50 other classes teaching crafters skills from the basics to the more complex also were offered at the show.

 As the crowds checked out the 50 or so vendors, the oohs and ahhs continued as many bought supplies and one-of-a-kind yarns and kits. It also gave vendors an opportunity to reconnect with customers, show off new creations and find out their customers' wants and needs.

“I sold out of all my ‘Pittsburgh’ gold right away,” said Joe Antal, owner of Oasis Yarn from Berea, OH, as he showed off his other hand-dyed yarns.

Local yarn sales representative Andrea Marquis demonstrated her new Jul no-sew buttons at the Knit One booth.

“These will make it so you never have to buy a button again,” she said, attaching a button to a handmade cowl.

“That’s pretty awesome,” said her onlooker, “I’m going to come to the shop and buy those.”

The Knit & Crochet Festival ended Sunday afternoon, but fiber artists can look forward to Grossman’s retreats. She hosts a Spring Knittreat in March in Deep Creek, MD, and the Fall Knittreat in November at the Bedford Springs hotel in Bedford County.

For more information about the retreats and to receive Grossman’s newsletter visit www.knnittreat.com or www.pghknitandcrochet.com.