Vogue Live...and I'm Alive!

Hey gang. Vogue Live has nudged me into writing. Despite the hideously cold weather, it was warm in the New York Hilton and I managed to hobble my butt into the city because I couldn't miss this event. Never mind that my back is now shot to hell.

So, was it good? Yeah, past good. Spectacular. As a born-in-Manhattan kid, I swear Vogue couldn't have picked a better location. And a better faculty. I was impressed with the organization and the wonderful horde of volunteers, who deserve cookin' kudos for standing all day helping people find their way.

As you know,  I'm not a big lover of classes. However, in August I decided to give Vogue Live a shot. After all, it's important to be open to new info, even though I've been knitting for 38+ years and have mastered knitting to the point where I don't need help. That remains true--I didn't learn anything at Vogue Live. That said, I would highly recommend it to knitters who want to try new techniques. You can't beat the discipline of sitting in a class with an experienced instructor and doing something you've never attempted before.

What Vogue Live did for me was give me the opportunity to meet readers, meet new people, and meet designers/writers whom I've always admired. Meeting Deborah Newton, who was one of my early inspirations, along with Kristin Nicholas, was wonderful. (Kristin, sorry I missed you.) Deb's a real person, no knitting diva. Ran into Franklin briefly, met his significant other, and we had a few yucks. Haven't seen him in two years, so it was good to give him a hug and kiss. I heard from people that his classes were outstanding.  And then there were people like Vinnie and Monique, who I hung with at the cocktail party. My kind of people.

The marketplace was expansive--two floors of vendors. The lighting wasn't great but that didn't stop people flooding in. One of my friends, who is a yarn rep, told me that the vendors made tons of bucks. I didn't buy anything, since I'm basically broke and have a houseful of yarn anyway. What I liked about the marketplace was that Vogue allowed yarn companies to display their goods. That was always my bitch about Stitches--no yarn companies. I don't go to TNNA, so I want an opportunity to check out the yarn companies' lines. Universal Yarn and Blue Heron, two of my faves, were there, along with Lion Brand, whose new line is impressive.

Vogue is doing this again in LA next September. If you can afford it, do it. Even if you just go to the market and hang out, it's worth it.

So, next post over the weekend, I'll fill you in about the past three months. Writer's block is gone. Plus, readers have been poking me to write. So going to Vogue Live got me back into writing action.

Later, skanks.