Vogue Knitting LIVE Recap!

 Los Angeles—September 2011

A second whirlwind weekend of Vogue Knitting LIVE is now over, and we are just as thankful of our attendees and excited about the event as we were in January!

On Thursday, September 22, nearly one hundred staff, teachers, volunteers and support arrived at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Los Angeles to get everything ready for the show we had been planning for almost a year. Early Friday morning, hundreds of students, including a very advanced 12-year-old knitter, took their places in the more than 50 classes and lectures taught by the elite luminaries of the knitting world, such as Meg Swansen, Nicky Epstein, Sally Melville, and many, many more. Classes ranged from knitting techniques to garment design to yarn dyeing—each one more interesting than the next!

On Friday night we opened the Marketplace in a special preview for those who purchased our elite packages. They were treated to champagne and snacks and had a chance to walk the red carpet and meet Deborah Norville, host of Inside Edition, and a knitter as obsessed as we are. Right after that, we opened up our regular preview; knitting goodies were flying off the shelves!

The Marketplace opened to the knitting public on Saturday morning, and while classes were happening upstairs, shoppers were browsing more than 75 booths filled with yarn, needles, notions, accessories, and books. Just outside the Marketplace, demonstrations were held all day, and an exciting yarn tasting allowed attendees to try out a few stitches with more than 30 new yarns on display. Non-stop fashion shows in our Runway Tent showcased the best designs from our sponsors’ yarn lines—about 270 fabulous looks in all! And those who couldn’t knit or crochet were enjoying free lessons with Vickie Howell from TV’s Knitty Gritty at her Beginner Lounge! One special first-timer was a little boy brought by his dad, a truck driver, who knits to fill waiting time.

Our Gala Dinner Saturday night was the highlight of the show for many who attended. After a Vogue Knitting Fashion Show featuring our top designs of 2011, we were all honored to be treated to an inspiring presentation from legend and master knitter Kaffe Fassett, who for more than 30 years has been wowing us with his signature color creations.

For me, the highlight was to meet so many of our readers. Special thanks to those who flew in from Australia, the UK, Chile, and Tokyo—it was an honor to meet you! I connected with people I will be in touch with for a long time to come, and I reconnected with knitters, teachers, and old friends. It was truly a very heartwarming experience.

There was so much going on all the time, and we, and lots of our attendees, kept posting on Facebook and Twitter so everyone could stay involved. We hope those of you who followed along from home will make it to our next show, in New York on January 14–16. We have some exciting teachers we’ve added with even more class offerings, and we’re working on some special surprises that you’ll hear about in the coming weeks. Registration is already open and, like last year, our classes are filling up fast. We look forward to you joining us!

—Trisha Malcolm
Editor in Chief, Vogue Knitting