Midwestern Knitters, Check Out Annie’s Craft Festival

A brand-new, one-of-a-kind craft festival is being presented later this month in the Annie’s Craft Festival, taking place in Fort Wayne, Ind., October 30 through November 1.

The weekend will include classes taught by industry greats such as Lily Chin (I took a class from her at TNNA this year and it was awesome!) and Edie Eckman, as well as an evening with New York Times bestselling author and creator of Hallmark’s Cedar Cove series, Debbie Macomber; a playful Crafts & Cocktails Halloween Party; free make-and-takes; a measuring station and a “stitch doctor” among other attractions.

The festival is hosted by Annie’s, one of the largest and most diverse sources of craft designs, instruction and supplies in American and producer of the TV show “Knit and Crochet Now!” It will include knitting, crochet, quilting, sewing, beading, card-making and paper crafts to cross-stitch, floral crafts, painting and more.

There will be giveaways, free classes, a product runway with prizes and all sorts of other fun stuff.

“There is no other show like this, serving enthusiasts across the breadth of the crafting world,” Annie’s executive VP Michele Fortune says. “We couldn’t be more thrilled about the quality and variety of teaching talent, marketplace offerings and social activities being offered at this festival.”

The festival will be held at the Grand Wayne Convention Center located in downtown Fort Wayne. The Hilton Fort Wayne, which is connected to the Grand Wayne Convention Center, is offering festival attendees a discounted room rate of $124 a night. A limited number of VIP packages are also available.

I’d love to know if any of you attend and what you think of it!

[Photo via Annie’s.]

Next Pattern:

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.”

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them.

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits.

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves.

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit.

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy.

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]

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