I secured my place in line around 8:30 in the morning with the show set to open at 10. It didn't take long for an impressive line to form behind me. Only the first 100 people in line get a swag bag, so competition is fierce.
Last year was so bitterly cold that I made sure to bundle up this time. Waiting in line was a cinch this year. Even though I got there so early I was still number 43 in line. I enjoyed the yarn ball on my little ticket. They also passed out hot drink samples and mini Luna bars to those of us in line.
After a wait in the cold it was quite nice to get my swag bag and filter inside. You'll get to see the contents of the bag at the end of this post. As you can see from this picture, one of the best things about being there early is having plenty of room to explore all of the booths before things get too crowded.
I was able to revisit several booths I've seen at past shows and others in the area as well as chat with the lovely talent behind them. Yarnarchy's booth is always filled with such beautiful yarn. Are you sad that you missed out? Never fear! I have a special coupon code just for you, generously offered by Yarnarchy. Just use code "illuminate" in the Yarnarchy Etsy store and receive 10% off through February. Wow!
10% off gorgeous colorways is a very good thing.
Later on I was lucky enough to catch up with Craftwich Creations. Monica always has the best crocheted outfits ever as well as awesome wooden crochet hooks.
Don't you just love that some of the hooks are on necklaces? Make sure you read to the end of this post for a chance to win a special prize from Craftwich Creations!
Wanna know the coolest thing ever? Monica was kind enough to introduce me to a good friend of hers... Laurinda Reddig! Monica and Laurinda work together on cool crochet kits that you can see in this picture. Laurinda's book Reversible Color Crochet is a big hit right now, so she was at UCU to do a book signing. She was wonderfully warm and friendly. How lucky was I to run into someone so accomplished?
After my fun at Craftwich I paused to admire the beautiful colors over at the booth for Pacific Fabrics and Crafts.
Spincycle Yarns was another gem, and quite busy as you can see in this picture.
By this time the show had really picked up and folks were bustling about all over enjoying themselves.
No visit to UCU would be complete without a trip to the Yarnia booth. Yarnia is a major organizer of the whole event! Such fabulous yarn cones were available.
All in all the entire show was very enjoyable indeed, the perfect place to get some holiday shopping done! Are you ready to see what I got in my swag bag? Here we go...
My swag bag contained a small wooden parachute man, a card, a postcard, a purple hat with a flower on it, a novelty shirt, a bookmark, a soap sample, pencils, and some screen cleaners. Wow! All that just for waiting in line.
Remember that Craftwich Creations prize I promised you? Here it is! It's a novelty crochet hook in size K. Wanna snag it for yourself? Be the first person to email me at illuminatecrochet@gmail.com with the subject "I'm a knotty, knotty hooker!" and the hook is yours!
Urban Craft Uprising never fails to amaze and delight. I missed this year's summer show but I'll definitely have to catch it in 2015. Who's coming with me?
What fun! Someday I'll visit a show like this. Found your site through Crochet Concupiscence.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting! Yeah, I try to go to as many craft fairs in the area as I can possibly get to.
DeleteSorry to have missed this, but your blog really captured the event. Great reporting!
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
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