Saturday 26 March 2016

Yarn Love! International Trade Fair for Handcrafts and Hobbies

Happy Easter Weekend everyone! 

I hope you have wonderful days with your loved ones ahead of you (and some time for crochet!).

The last weekend was spent in Cologne at the International Trade Fair for Handcrafts and Hobbies. You might recall my blog post about it from last year. This year, I wasn't a visitor. Instead I worked for Stylecraft as a translator (German to English). 


I arrived on Friday morning and fortunately the wonderful ladies from Stylecraft spotted me straight away. The show opened at 9am but we could go in earlier. It was quite lovely to walk past the stalls without visitors there. The Stylecraft ladies took me into their team straight away and I had such a lovely time! Plus as a yarn addict it is very cool to see the new yarns and colors (not just from Stylecraft) ahead of their release. Ladies and Gents - I can tell you: Some wonderful yarn-y goodness is on its way to us! Can't wait!


Just as last year, there was soo much too see! Yarns, fabric, buttons... A crafters wonderland really. I kinda wish, I could have stayed there over night and play with all these things!! On the other hand... I wasn't too sad to put my feet up in the evenings either. ;-)

There were a lot of interested retailer at the Stylecraft stall and I really hope that some German retailers will stock the yarn as well soonish! I wish there was a store in Dortmund which stocked it, so I could just pop in whenever I need yarn instead of ordering online and waiting for the delivery! Oh well... till then I should use up my stash I guess (Hello, I am Anne and I am a yarn hoarder/yarn addict).


What really caught peoples eyes was the Frida's Flowers Blanket. Or rather blankets. There were 3 (!) Frida's Blankets on the stall. One in each recommend yarn. They each look wonderful but also very different depending on the yarn. The stitch definition is best with the cotton but the lightest version is the Special DK. I will crochet the blanket with cotton myself.

While waiting for retailers to come (they came in waves!), I managed to crochet two quick Elise Shawls with the Stylecraft Cabaret yarn. I am no big fan of glitter but the sparkle in this yarn is actually quite nice and great to work with! There was quite a bit of frogging involved though because it seems I made mistakes whenever I put the work down to do something else :P I finished the two shawls by Sunday evening though.  


I kinda hope that Stylecraft needs a translator again next year... :D I had great fun!

So now off to get some pattern translating going!

What is on your hook this weekend?

Take care
Anne


11 comments :

  1. Wow! How exciting! Perhaps you can visit your local yarn shops as a representative for Stylecraft to see if they will stock it for you - show them the amazing things you and Michelle have made with it - perhaps leave a sample of something that they can decorate their shop with if they choose to stock it or maybe a little motif to remind the shop owners to order some - maybe a string of bunting with each motif made of a different Stylecraft yarn... How did you manage to get the translating job? Did you apply or did they come across your pattern translations for designers? In any case, you seem to have found a new niche for yourself - it is amazing where crochet can take you!
    Thanks for sharing the show with us - I love hearing about the different events around the world. Happy crochet! xxx

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    1. P.S. on my hook this weekend is a silk mohair scarf - onto the last stripe...

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    2. Fingers crossed that some of the Retailers who showed interest at the show will actually stock Stylecraft! It is quite funny: The Netherlands are flooded with Stylecraft retailers but there are almost non in Germany!

      The job happened by chance. Michelle and I contacted Stylecraft to ask if they needed help with the new CAL and they when I noticed that I live close to Cologne they asked if I could translate for them! :) I would like to do more crochet translations in the future! :)

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  2. Replies
    1. I totally understand why! I wish I could have played with ALL the yarns!

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  3. Looks like a marvelous fair to be at, lucky you! =D

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    1. A very special fair! I feel very lucky to have been been able to be there!

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  4. Hi Anne! Brilliant, what a great thing to do! Glad you had such a lovely time, hope you managed to see some of the other yarns at the visit? I really love that Stylecraft Tartan blanket (love at first sight)!!!
    Hop over to my blog so you can quickly download 2 crochet shawl patterns for free before they put the price back up!

    Ingrid xx
    Myfunkycrochet.blogspot.be

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    1. Yep I got to see (and touch) other yarns too! Sooooo many pretty yarns around!

      The Tartarn blanket certainly made it only my to do list straight away as well! I really need to order the pattern with one of my next yarn orders!

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  5. What an amazing opportunity! Sounds like a wonderful day and I loved looking at your pictures :) In awe of you managing to crochet TWO of those shawls!! Looking forward to seeing more :) xx

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    1. I most certainly had a wonderful time there! Crocheting two shawls in three days was challenging but I really wanted to see how the yarn works up!!

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