My Quilt!Knit!Stitch! Recap
In my previous post I wrote about how doing new things can be challenging. Well I challenged myself by proposing and getting accepted to teach at my first in-person fiber arts show. Quilt!Knit!Stitch!, held April 10-12 2026 in St. Louis, is a new kind of fiber arts show that included all three subjects in one place! I hope this is a trend that will grow as I love making and teaching all of these subjects.
Da hubs and I left the truck camper at home this trip and flew to St. Louis instead. It’s been a while since I’ve had to stuff so much into two bags. Truck camper living has spoiled me in that regard.
Our first two days were spent relaxing and sightseeing. We checked another national park off the list and got to pet a Clydesdale horse on an Anheuser Busch tour!
Friday, April 10, was all about checking in, paper work and walking the show floor.
It was also wear the rainbow day at the show and my me-made quilted shoes fit in perfectly. I may even have a chance to teach you how to make your own pair at the International Quilt Show in Houston this fall. Stay tuned as we work out the details.
Here is the list of me-made items I’m wearing in the photo above:
- Earrings and necklace made with the flower and bee pattern from Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray. This is my go to book for teaching quick embroidery programs at libraries.
- Tote bag featuring a pocket made from a block from Paper Piecing All Year Round by Mary Hertel. One of my favorite books for teaching paper piecing.
- Quilted shoes I made in a class at Cotton Candy Fabrics with Joan Radell of Bucklebee Bags.
Saturday, April 11, I had two classes – beginner socks and colorwork. Unfortunately, my first class didn’t run but I was able to take advantage of a last minute opening on the show floor’s open studio. It was a demo area broken up in to four sections – Quilt, Knit, Stitch and Create. There were teachers showing attendees how to use clothing patterns, knitting chunky blankets with their fingers and quilters piecing with machines and by hand. This pivot allowed me to promote my afternoon and Sunday classes as well as answer questions. One attendee even got a personal lesson in how to cast on socks two at a time toe-up and cuff down!
I had time to participate in the fashion show and since the dress up theme was patchwork I wore me-made Simplicity 8133 View D with a pocket in a different fabric from the skirt and show badge holder with one of the butterfly charm blocks, a paper pieced pattern, by Lillyella. But I am also wearing the earrings again, the Emmylou Shawl from the Interweave book Classic Knit Shawls, Treeometry socks and of course my quilted shoes.
My afternoon colorwork class went well. A few students tried new things and others improved their technique. We started with Mosaic, followed by Intarsia and Stranded. We used the March, June and August blocks from the free Berroco Mystery Blanket Knit A-Long.
On the last day of the show I taught the Minilopapeysa Keyring a free pattern by Rod Prjónar. These ladies made the cutest tiny sweaters and learned the basic recipe for top-down circular yoke sweaters. I hope they try the big people version and let me know how it goes.
Pictured above you can see we ended class with one last sleeve to complete but they got the gist.
All in all, it was a great experience that I look forward to doing again. Stay tuned because I will be posting about more show appearances this fall.
Have you attended a fiber arts festival? Do you have a favorite? Let me know in the comments.
Happy stitching,
Coach Dawn
