Smitten with Seattle

I just got back from an amazing trip to Seattle on Monday! My primary reason for the trip was Urban Craft Uprising, the big craft show last weekend where I had my first-ever craft show experience as a vendor. The show—and the whole trip, really—way exceeded my expectations. I was lucky enough to have my mother-in-law Bonney and my sister-in-law Jenna along with me, so we made a mini-vacation out of it that turned out to be a crafter’s dream weekend.

Among other things, we paid a visit to Schmancy, the vinyl and plush toy store in downtown Seattle, where Plush You! is held every year.

Kristen Rask is the owner (and one of the organizers behind Urban Craft Uprising)—she really has a gift for finding talented artists and bringing them together in successful ways. A true curator!

I’ve blogged about Schmancy before, but this was my fist time to visit in person. My wallet was definitely lighter by the time I left the store.

Next we were invited for a special visit to Cascade Yarns by Shannon, the lovely lady who provided yarn for my book and my installation this year.

It was pretty unreal to see the place where all of the gorgeous yarns come from. Since their products are so popular, I was expecting a big company, but in actuality they have fewer than 20 employees, and we even got to have lunch with the wife of the founder of Cascade.

Everyone there was so nice, and many of them had made Mochimochi toys! Tammy had a pair of Bed Bugs right on her desk.

Shannon was kind enough to take us on a tour of the warehouse, where each color of every yarn they make is on glorious display.

I probably said “Oooh! Look at that color!” about 50 times as we went through each aisle. Even Bonney, of the world’s biggest stash, was in awe.

We might have even gotten to take a few samples home with us…

And finally, Urban Craft Uprising was an incredible experience! The many talented vendors, the nearly 10,000 visitors, the awesome playlist that Moxie (president of UCU) put together to make the whole place happy… And here’s what my little table looked like!

My sister-in-law (who was a huge help at the event, along with my MIL) took some way better pictures that I’ll post soon.

I was a bit nervous to get out there in front of the general public with my silly knitted stuff, but everyone was so nice and enthusiastic!

I left out a ton of stuff that we did in Seattle, but this blog post would take me all day if I included everything. I love Seattle and I can’t wait to go back!!