Autumn Brings Fibre Festivals! The Big City Creative Festival!
A direct opposite to the Woodstock Fleece Festival.....is the big city "Creative Festival" held in the Toronto Convention Centre.
To get to the Creative Festival from Milton....you either have to drive the dreaded 401 (you never can actually say how long it takes to get into downtown Toronto - anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours or more!) or you get dropped off in the drop and go parking area of Go Transit, you get on the train, you get our knitting out and you enjoy the ride!
What would you choose?
I was there early...had time to sit and knit while everyone was lining up. I had bought my ticket on line, handed in my receipt upon arrival and had my hand stamped to show that I was "official". It was still rather early so I had time to sit and knit while everyone was lining up. Ha ha ha....they make you line up for the free bags that they hand out - once the bags are gone....you can wander in direct from the e ticket booth right into the show....something to remember for next year!
This show is 5 days of workshops, 3 days of retail show, jam packed full of everything a sewer, quilter, felt maker or knitter might want....and top it all of with BLING!
The Creative Festival swings with the tide of what is popular right now...and it seems to me that jewellery making, and Swarovski Crystals in particular are HUGE in the craft market right now. It doesn't matter what your passion is - add some Swarovski Crystals for a bit of sparkle to brighten up even the darkest day! They had a huge display of bits and bobs....and they were running free hands on demonstrations, as well as classes that you could have signed up for to make lovely accessories.
A friend of mine did two Swarovski classes....and I am disappointed that I didn't join her. Lesson learned for next year! I see bling in my knitting future! :)
I had two main stops in mind for the Creative Festival.....
My first stop was the Crochet Crowd booth. If you aren't familiar with the Crochet Crowd....check out the Crochet Crowd web site and Facebook page! Wow, what an energetic guy Mikey is! Since his first appearance at the Creative Festival in 2010, crocheters have been looking forward to his amazing displays and yarn bargains!
This year the theme was "Tangled and Stranded in Madagascar" and I have to tell you....it was way over the top! What a fun booth! Fans of the Crochet Crowd send in their crochet creations following submission guidelines. The creations are entered in a contest to win prizes and are displayed at the Creative Festival. Submissions are sold at the show with all proceeds being donated to a charity. This year the charity was The Humane Society! How cool is that!
The other display I wanted to check out was the "Yarn Tasting" booth sponsored by Coats/Westminster Fibres (Coats being the parent company, and Westminster Fibers being the distributor of various yarns including my favourite Rowan).
I have to say, a much more subdued scene here....with classy displays of "sample" yarn to be picked up, fondled and "tasted"!
These photos were taken early on Friday morning.....by the end of the weekend I would think that this booth might be strewn with bits and pieces of yarn "tastings".....lots of needles were on hand...lots of balls of yarn....I wanted to sit right down and cast on myself!
I met a friend for lunch.....she was doing workshops all day! Wandered around a bit more....then at about 3:00 I was done! The Skywalk always seems to take longer going to the show than on the return....so when I made it back to Union Station, I grabbed a coffee and snagged a seat....and waited for the first train back to Milton...where I knew there would be a car with the hubby and two white fur babies waiting for me.
Home and Heaven,
Happy Knitting,
Anne
To get to the Creative Festival from Milton....you either have to drive the dreaded 401 (you never can actually say how long it takes to get into downtown Toronto - anywhere from 40 minutes to 1.5 hours or more!) or you get dropped off in the drop and go parking area of Go Transit, you get on the train, you get our knitting out and you enjoy the ride!
What would you choose?
 |
| The train hadn't even left the Milton station and my needles were out! It didn't seem to take long and there it was...the CN Tower in the distance! Yes Anne, you are in the BIG CITY NOW! |
I was there early...had time to sit and knit while everyone was lining up. I had bought my ticket on line, handed in my receipt upon arrival and had my hand stamped to show that I was "official". It was still rather early so I had time to sit and knit while everyone was lining up. Ha ha ha....they make you line up for the free bags that they hand out - once the bags are gone....you can wander in direct from the e ticket booth right into the show....something to remember for next year!
This show is 5 days of workshops, 3 days of retail show, jam packed full of everything a sewer, quilter, felt maker or knitter might want....and top it all of with BLING!
The Creative Festival swings with the tide of what is popular right now...and it seems to me that jewellery making, and Swarovski Crystals in particular are HUGE in the craft market right now. It doesn't matter what your passion is - add some Swarovski Crystals for a bit of sparkle to brighten up even the darkest day! They had a huge display of bits and bobs....and they were running free hands on demonstrations, as well as classes that you could have signed up for to make lovely accessories.
A friend of mine did two Swarovski classes....and I am disappointed that I didn't join her. Lesson learned for next year! I see bling in my knitting future! :)
I had two main stops in mind for the Creative Festival.....
My first stop was the Crochet Crowd booth. If you aren't familiar with the Crochet Crowd....check out the Crochet Crowd web site and Facebook page! Wow, what an energetic guy Mikey is! Since his first appearance at the Creative Festival in 2010, crocheters have been looking forward to his amazing displays and yarn bargains!
This year the theme was "Tangled and Stranded in Madagascar" and I have to tell you....it was way over the top! What a fun booth! Fans of the Crochet Crowd send in their crochet creations following submission guidelines. The creations are entered in a contest to win prizes and are displayed at the Creative Festival. Submissions are sold at the show with all proceeds being donated to a charity. This year the charity was The Humane Society! How cool is that!
 |
| Mikey himself leads crochet workshops right there in the booth in his circle of upholstered shoe chairs - I kid you not! Here's a photo I borrowed from The Crochet Crowd Facebook page! |
The other display I wanted to check out was the "Yarn Tasting" booth sponsored by Coats/Westminster Fibres (Coats being the parent company, and Westminster Fibers being the distributor of various yarns including my favourite Rowan).
 |
| Here's an overview of the booth....Red Heart, Schachenmayr, James C. Brett and Rowan |
These photos were taken early on Friday morning.....by the end of the weekend I would think that this booth might be strewn with bits and pieces of yarn "tastings".....lots of needles were on hand...lots of balls of yarn....I wanted to sit right down and cast on myself!
I met a friend for lunch.....she was doing workshops all day! Wandered around a bit more....then at about 3:00 I was done! The Skywalk always seems to take longer going to the show than on the return....so when I made it back to Union Station, I grabbed a coffee and snagged a seat....and waited for the first train back to Milton...where I knew there would be a car with the hubby and two white fur babies waiting for me.
Home and Heaven,
Happy Knitting,
Anne
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Felt as if I was there. Neat post.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next year will be the year we go together :)
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