CHA at Craft Critique

CHA is this weekend in Chicago. What is CHA you ask? (Okay, maybe you already know, but I didn't when I first heard about it.) It is the big trade show for the Craft and Hobby Association. This is the show where manufacturers unveil all the new products you'll find in craft, scrapping, and fabric stores throughout the year.

Check out the posts over at Craft Critique in the coming week. Several reporters will be giving sneak peeks at all the new products. Sarah predicts:

Japanese Kawaii (cute), and for winter... I predict some Scandinavian or Russian designs. Also fairy tale stuff; like lil' red riding hood and humpty dumpty maybe? Owls are still going strong, but add more woodland creatures to the mix please. And maybe some 80's goodness; neon, checks, rubber, lace, rainbows, unicorns, graffiti... I mean hells bells, where is the Electric Boogaloo paper line I have been searching for???

I hope she's right! I'm still in love with Japanese Kawaii and I adore woodland and folktale stuff. I hope to be able to go to CHA sometime. It sure would be great to get an insider's view!

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Some beautiful handmade things found their way into my home recently. These are some lovely table runners my mom found in Hungary on a recent Presbyterian Church mission trip to help the Roma people (commonly known as Gypsies).





They are so nice! All the stitching is hand done by local Hungarian women. A large portion of our heritage is Hungarian and we have very few things from the old country.



Mom and my dad would have looked up the old village where her grandparents lived, but land reformers changed the names of all the villages. Mom and Dad didn't really have that much time away from their mission group anyway.



Meanwhile, the Susie Can Stitch family is going on a mountain vacation. We'll be hiking and horseback riding, learning geology, identifying plant and bird species, resting our aching feet, stargazing, reading, watching for elk, moose, bears, bighorn sheep, and the elusive mountain lion. I'll be back in about 2 weeks.