Ready, Set, Apply!

YarnCon 2024 Vendor Applications are open!

We are excited to announce that vendor applications are open, and will be accepted until November 30, 2023! You can find the application here: https://forms.gle/LSudtAManuMTp6BQ7 and you can find the vendor guideline here: https://tinyurl.com/29yt234u (please read these first!)

The ballroom at the Plumbers Union Hall full of YarnCon vendor booths and shoppers. The room is full of happy people and so much yarn.
YarnCon 2023 Ballroom

There has been a bit of confusion concerning adding pictures to the application under the “Internet Presence” question, which you can’t do in the form. What we’re looking for is links to your online presence (your website, Facebook, or Instagram pages) that have pictures of your wares, and of your booth. If you need to email images after submitting your application, please send them to info@yarncon.com and let us know your business name.

Finally, some good news that I am sure vendors at YarnCon 2023 will be delighted to hear: The City of Chicago heard everyone’s complaints about the permit process this year (and by process, we mean some stronger words) and has simplified the system. YarnCon will apply for the permit once we have our vendor list, and all vendors will be covered by our permit. None of you will need to apply for a permit; you will just have to submit the tax forms we will provide you with as the show approaches. Normally I wouldn’t bore you with permitting information at this point, but given how, um, difficult the situation was this year, I thought everyone should know in case they were hesitating to apply on that account.

If you have any questions, please contact us at info@yarncon.com. Both Sara and I will see your emails, and it helps us stay organized. As much as we love you, please send YarnCon related questions there instead of to our personal DMs, emails, etc. Thanks!

Vendor Applications Are Coming Soon!

Hello Friends! We are getting a lot of questions about YarnCon 2024, mostly from folks looking to apply to be vendors, so I wanted to give everyone a quick update.

First, the dates will be a little different for 2024; YarnCon will still take place in April, but on April 20-21, 2024 instead of the first full weekend. A total solar eclipse is coming our way, and we aren’t far off the path of totality! As much as we love yarn, and we obviously do, we also don’t get to see a total eclipse* with any regularity, so Team YarnCon is going to be traveling to nearby locals to enjoy this event. Curious about the eclipse? Here is a link with information about it: https://science.nasa.gov/eclipses/future-eclipses/eclipse-2024/where-when/

And of course the main question we have been getting is when are applications opening up? We are finalizing details with the Plumbers Union Hall, and hope to have the application ready to go next week. The best way to make sure you see the notice to start applying is by signing up for the mailing list. You can sign up at the bottom left on the homepage of yarncon.com. We will also make announcements on Facebook and Instagram.

Thanks for all of the enthusiasm for YarnCon! Stay tuned for more updates soon.

2nd Floor Ballroom during YarnCon 2019

*Do you suddenly have “Total Eclipse of the Heart” stuck in your head like I do? Did you grow up watching music videos? I have a treat for you: https://youtu.be/fsgWUq0fdKk?feature=shared

YarnCon 2023: Live and in person!!

We are so excited to return to an in-person show for the first time since the before times. We’re ready to welcome more than 50 independent artisans back to our much-loved Plumbers Union Hall and revel in the joy that is YarnCon.

Speaking of revelry, allow us to introduce the YarnCon Symposium! We’re so happy to bring this longtime plan to real life in 2023. All of our classes and workshops will take place March 30-31 at the Symposium (which will be held at the Crowne Plaza hotel), followed by an opening party on Friday night. The classes are posted, and registration is now open.

Special keynote speaker at Friday night’s shindig: Safiyyah Talley, aka The Drunk Knitter! We are thrilled to welcome Safiyyah to YarnCon and can’t wait to hear her thoughts on the State of the Skein. Tickets to the Friday night event are $25.

Our amazing YarnCon marketplace will open to the public on Saturday, April 1, at 10am. Admission is free! The first 50 shoppers through the door both Saturday and Sunday will snag a coveted

On your marks…

Just kidding! No need to race to get your vendor applications in. Sara and Natalia took a weekend off to re-work the application process, and we hope it will be a better fit for all of us as we grow.

Natalia and Sara in front of the Sandpiper, home of the Hoof to Hanger Fiber Mill.
Natalia and Sara in front of the Sandpiper this summer,
home of the Hoof to Hanger Fiber Mill, a 2019 sponsor.

As many of you who applied to vend at YarnCon in the last few years know, we filled up in record time, and many of you who planned to apply never got a chance. That was never our intent, so this year we are changing how the process works.

Applications will go live on October 1, 2019 at 10am Central Time, and will close on October 8, 2019 at 10pm Central Time. There are no bonus points for being the first, but we will not take applications after they close.

Edited to Add the application link: https://forms.gle/2G6tADKn1eCPe1S58

YarnCon has always been a juried show. We will judge all the applications according to our posted guidelines, and send our acceptance and rejection emails on October 15, 2019. You will be able to find the application on the homepage of our website. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at info@yarncon.com. If you want to be on the vendor mailing list, please sign up on the homepage.

We will also make an announcement about workshop proposals in the near future, so stay tuned! There’s also a sign up for the teaching mailing on the homepage.

Check out our Vendors!

Are you getting excited about YarnCon? It’s a week and half away, and maybe you want to check out our vendors in advance of the show? You can always check out our Vendors page to see who is coming this year, but if looking at the logos is a little hard on you, or you just prefer a written list, we made a table for your use.

[table id=6 /]

We hope that helps! Don’t forget, we will have vendors on three levels this year! You can find them on the ground floor, in aroma distance of the Dark Matter Coffee and Tea bar (and hot cocoa if you are so inclined); in the main hall on the second floor; and in the balcony. All three areas are accessible by stairs and elevator, and there is a ramp to the ground floor area.

Ch-ch-ch-Changes

Every year we try something new to make each YarnCon better than the one before. Some changes are in the inner workings, and hopefully you won’t even notice. Others we really want you to notice, and this year’s change is one of those.

A view of the main hall and balcony from the stage.

We are a small, but growing fiber festival, and this year we received more applications than we thought possible (thanks for the love!) Although we still had the sad job of turning a lot of really great artists down, we decided to try to add a few more this year, meaning this year we will have the most vendors ever at YarnCon! (I mean, just look at this list! (https://www.yarncon.com/vendors-2/ ) But, where will we put them all?

The balcony (accessible by stairs and elevator) is hopping with shoppers.

So glad you asked! Now you can shop in the main ball room on the second floor, up in the beautiful balcony in the ball room, and downstairs in the hall with the coffee bar. What? Coffee and more yarny goodness? You read that right!

The Coffee Bar, and some of last year’s organizations spreading the word. If you could turn your gaze to the right, you would see vendors this year!

Stop by the bar* for some delicious Dark Matter coffee, or choose from a fine selection of teas or hot cocoa, and then check out the vendors and guilds in the room! You can also have your yarn wound into a cake for you for instant yarn gratification, and then sit and start swatching. All of this in one room!

And just outside this room, we still have tables and chairs so you can enjoy a tasty lunch from some of our food trucks, and play with your new yarn. You will also find the YarnCon Merchandise table, Operation Chemo Comfort, and don’t forget the raffle tickets!

Speaking of don’t forget, we still have spaces available in a few of our classes, but tickets are selling fast! You can find more information about our brilliant teachers, and what classes are still available here:
https://www.yarncon.com/classes/

*Did you know JFK had a drink at that very bar? He did! Yarn, coffee, and some history. We have it all!

10-Year Celebrations and Other Thoughts

A lot can change in ten years.

Ten years ago, I was single. Childless. Spent my disposable income on, well, yarn.

Flash forward to now:  I’m happily married. We have three children. I still love yarn, but disposable income and free time to knit are largely things of the past (and, I hope, the future; this too shall pass).

Ten years ago, there was no YarnCon. Can you even imagine?

And yet in 2017, we’ll celebrate our tenth show. So much can change.

This month, in preparing for a knitting/dry-felting class I’m teaching at my children’s school, I visited one of our longtime YarnCon vendors, Esther’s Place. I needed some wool for the kids to use in needle felting, but really I wanted an excuse for a quick trip out of the city on a gorgeous spring day.

Mother and daughter team Donna and Natasha have transformed a lovely Victorian house in Big Rock, IL, into a colorful playhouse for fiber fanatics. Lush roving dyed in every shade and whimsical felted creatures are all around. I was drawn to the curly fleece locks dyed like little rainbows. My three-year-old instantly spotted the needle-felted Star Wars figures. It’s a fun place.

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And guess what? Esther’s Place has been around for a decade. Another ten-year celebration! In fact, this weekend they’re hosting a Farm Days Open House to commemorate. If you’re in the western Chicagoland suburbs (and even if you’re not), head out to Big Rock this weekend for some fibery farm fun.

donna_natasha

Donna Lehrer and Natasha Lehrer Lewis


Newsflash: Kids Love Wool

Armed with a pound of roving dyed in 16 distinct colors, a bulk order of felting needles and foam pads, and a basket of cookie cutters, I made my way to the Chicago Free School, where two of my kids attend.

We talked briefly about how felting works: how the wool fibers are built to cling to each other, and that with a little help from an absurdly sharp and skinny needle, we can mold and sculpt the wool into shapes.

They loved it. They dove right in.

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There’s something about working with your hands, feeling the fuzzy wool and blending different colors together, and yes, stabbing something with a sharp object, that kids just GET. (Incredibly, in a room of kids ranging in age from 7 to 13, we only had one pricked finger.) As someone who works in the fiber world, I’m so gratified and rewarded at how excited these kids are about working with wool.

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We started out with simple cookie cutter shapes this week, and next week we’ll explore creating landscapes on flat felt “canvases,” as well as sculpting 3D objects and figures.

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Such a fun time.

Have you taught kids to knit, crochet, spin, or felt? How did it go? Let us know in the comments.

 

 

 

 

Vendor Spotlight: A Riot of Color, Brew City Yarns

Welcome to YarnCon week! Are you as excited as we are?

While the blog will be packed full of info this week, we wanted to introduce you to two more vendors you’ll see this weekend. Last year’s attendees will almost certainly remember Susan of A Riot of Color, with her space-age purple spinning wheel! A Riot of Color returns this year (we can’t vouch for the wheel), with her palette of wild and fun hues. Susan will be teaching classes in Playing With Color and Spinning for Kids as well, so you can get a close-up view.

Brew City Yarns makes their YarnCon debut with another wild range of saturated color with a pop-culture twist. Their rotating monthly themes keep things lively!


riotofcolor2A Riot of Color
http://ariotofcolor.etsy.com/

What would you MOST like YarnCon shoppers to know about you?
We dye vivid colors that make your heart sing!

Any special or featured products you want to share?
We will have Four Elements kits — four mini skeins inspired by earth, air, fire, and water — perfect for color work, and kits to make “My Head’s in a Whirl” hats, a two-color worsted hat with a horizontal cable brim.


Brew City YarnsBrew City Yarns
http://www.brewcityyarns.com/

What would you MOST like YarnCon shoppers to know about you?
Brew City Yarns is a family business that specializes in hand-painted artisan yarns. Each month we release a new theme of yarns that includes full skeins and mini-skein sets. Past months have included: My Little Pony, Star Wars, and Disney Villains. Our April theme is inspired by the Welcome to Night Vale podcast.

Any special or featured products you want to share?
Because we carry so many yarn bases, from laceweight to bulky, if you see a color you would like made on a certain base, we will ship it to you for free if ordered at YarnCon. There are also many fiber and kits that we keep exclusively for fiber shows.

 

Vendor Spotlight: Deitricks’ Alpaca Ranch, Esther’s Place

We welcome back two returning vendors in today’s post!

Deitricks’ Alpaca Ranch brings their own naturally colored alpaca fiber in all the pettable forms you can think of; yarn and fiber, along with plenty of finished items.

If you’ve never tried needle felting (and especially if you have), the Esther’s Place booth is always a fun hangout. Loads of demos, kits, and felting tools for all skill ranges, plus fiber in every shade for concocting your own creations.


Dietricks' Alpaca RanchDeitricks’ Alpaca Ranch
http://www.deitricksalpacaranch.com/

What would you MOST like YarnCon shoppers to know about you?
We are a family farm currently home to 70 huacaya alpacas (and growing!), raising our own luxurious alpaca fiber. We are dedicated to bringing the most environmentally friendly/sustainable fiber to our clients in all natural colors; we don’t dye. We offer our own farm-raised fiber made into yarn, roving, felt, fiber batts, hand woven rugs, hand knit hats, gloves, scarves, cowls, raw fiber and more!

Any special or featured products you want to share?
Yarn! Yarn! Yarn!

 


Esther's PlaceEsther’s Place
http://www.esthersplacefibers.com/

What would you MOST like YarnCon shoppers to know about you?
Great selection of hand dyed merino top roving..hand blended batts and needle felting kits and supplies!! Free demos…a fun booth to visit!!

Any special or featured products you want to share?

Needle felting kits and supplies of all types:

esthers2

Vendor Spotlight: Resheeped 4 Ewe, Mondo Mojo

Resheeped 4 Ewe is a new name on the vendors list, but the wares — and the face behind them — will be familiar to longtime attendees. Formed by Carmen of The Green Yarn Company, Resheeped 4 Ewe continues to offer reclaimed yarns that might otherwise have gone to waste. Carmen’s added new products to the lineup, too, including her own handspun!

Mondo Mojo debuts at YarnCon with glass buttons, some of which are truly tiny works of art. Like little jewel decorations for your own handcrafted beauties.


Resheeped 4 EweResheeped 4 Ewe
http://www.resheeped4ewe.weebly.com/

What would you MOST like YarnCon shoppers to know about you?
Resheeped 4 Ewe is a company started up by Carmen Ballman after The Green Yarn Company closed. Carmen brings customers the same great recycled yarns and fair trade items as before, but now offers hand-spun and dyed yarns, along with a few of Carmen’s favorite yarns.

Any special or featured products you want to share?
Reclaimed and then hand-dyed 100% wool sport:

reseheeped2

My own handspun (shown here in Mesa):


Mondo MojoMondo Mojo
http://www.mondomojo.net/

What would you MOST like YarnCon shoppers to know about you?
I make glass buttons.

Any special or featured products you want to share?