2009 Knit-out at the MOA

Knit Out and Crochet 2009
Saturday, February 14 & Sunday, February 15 Craft Yarn Council of America's (CYCA) third annual Knit & Crochet event at Mall of America®, February 14 & 15, 2008 promises to be the largest gathering of knitters and crocheters ever!Please check back soon for more details!Saturday, February 1410 a.m. - 5 p.m.Best Buy® Rotunda, Sears Court, Bloomingdales Court, Macy's CourtSunday, February 1511 a.m. - 5 p.m.Best Buy® Rotunda, Sears Court, Bloomingdales Court, Macy's Court

60 East BroadwayBloomington, MN 55425For a map and direction to the Mall, visit:http://www.mallofamerica.com/mall_directions.aspx

CELEBRITY CORNER MEETDebbie Macomber, NY Times best-selling women's fiction and "Knit-Lit" author, along with your favorite knit and crochet designers.

SCARF CONTEST: The "Neck's" Best Thing! Design and create an original knit or crochet scarf. Win great prizes. Contest is open to all ages. See DETAILS below!

PLUS: FREE Beginner Knitting & Crochet Lessons Technique Demos - Fun tips, tricks and project ideas Super Seminars - Tickets required (See details below)

Meet the Authors and Editors Yarn "Doctors" - Knit and crochet experts answer your toughest project questions

"The Season's Best" Fashions Dog Gone Cute & Crazy Cute & Crazy Kids Fashions

Bring your favorite projects to Show & Share Special Projects for: KRAFTY KIDS, TWEENS & TEENS

DISPLAYS o GIVEAWAYS o DOOR PRIZES

Hospitality Suites for evening get-togethers at Knit-Out hotels (See Hotel Packages below)

Join with other knitters and crocheters for aSPECIAL VALENTINE'S DAY DINNER WITH MORE GIVEAWAYS & PRIZESTickets will be required. Details will be available shortly.

Sit, knit, crochet, join: Warm Up America!Bring one or several 7" by 9" crocheted or knitted sections to join into an afghan. Help us complete afghans for people in need in the Twin Cities. (See www.WarmUpAmerica.org)

Meet & Greet Authors & Editors*You never know who you will meet at Knit-Out. Look there's Carla Scott, editor of Knit Simple and executive editor of Vogue Knitting. She's talking to Brett Bara, editor in chief of Crochet Today and host of the popular PBS series, Knit and Crochet Today. I wonder what fashion trends they're discussing? Over there are some of my favorite bloggers-Sandi Wiseheart, editor of Knitting Daily, and Liz Shaw and Zonte Hou, editors of the Lion Brand Yarn podcast. Did I just see Nicky Epstein?? Her Signature Scarves book is amazing. And there's Edie Eckman author of The Crochet Answer Book and Margaret Radcliffe, author of The Knitting Answer Book. I heard Edie's latest is Beyond-the-Square Crochet Motifs. I'll have to check it out! Plus, I'm finally going to meet Judith Durant, who wrote the One Skein Wonder series. I anxious to see her latest: Luxury Yarn One-Skein Wonders. I can't wait to see who else is planning to be at Knit-Out. *This list will be updated, so please check back again soon!
Demos & Super SeminarsA complete list of demos will be posted in early December so you can plan in advance. In addition, we are pleased to introduce a new series: Super Seminars. These will be small, in-depth two-hour seminars. There will be modest registration fees for these seminars and they will be held in a meeting room to ensure that students can focus on specific techniques with a wonderful roster of teachers. Complete seminar details will be posted in early December.

The "Neck's" Best Thing Contest InfoEnter the 2009 Knit-Out & Crochet The "Neck's" Best Thing Scarf Contest benefiting the Orphan Foundation of America's Red Scarf Project and you could win exciting prizes. ALL scarves collected will be donated to the Orphan Foundation. The Foundation's purpose is to help students who have aged out of the foster system and been accepted to college or trade school. The Orphan Foundation is helping those young people who are trying to better themselves by providing funding and scholarships, matching them with mentors, and sending care packages to them. In the care packages, students receive a hand knitted or crocheted scarf, a personal gift that shows these students that someone cares. To enter the contest, drop off your scarf at the Knit-Out Information Booth located in the Mall Rotunda no later than 1 p.m. on either Saturday or Sunday and complete a brief registration form. (There will be two separate judgings-one on Saturday and one on Sunday.) Winners will be announced at approximately 3 p.m. on both days. Winners do not have to be present. If you have completed a scarf and prefer not to enter the contest, scarves can be dropped off at the Information Booth at anytime during Knit-Out hours. Guidelines for Knitters & Crocheters ; Be creative! Experiment with stitch patterns, colorwork, embroidery, applique?s, ribbons and other embellishments or any other special design element.

Scarf Size: Up to 60" long and 5" to 8" wide. Scarves should be long enough to be wrapped around the neck, with tails long enough to be tied in the front.

Style: Think unisex collegiate. Ask yourself if your son, brother, and/or husband would enjoy receiving the scarf.

Yarn: Preferably DK, worsted weight, or light bulky yarns. No lace-weight, super-chunky, or mohair yarns as there are too itchy. The yarn should be soft.

Color: Red! However, this could mean burgundy, cherry, russet, red stripes with other colors, or multi-color hues including red. Other unisex colors, including black, navy, teal, olive or gold are also welcome.

Finished and tagged: Yarn ends should be securely sewn in. For a personal touch, attach a tag saying "Handmade for You" with your first name, city, and group affiliation, if any. Donors have also included washing instructions, messages of encouragement, gift cards, burger bucks, books of stamps, etc. For more details, visit: http://orphan.org.

Join the Party in Bloomington!We hope you plan to spend the weekend or an evening in Bloomington, MN, home of Mall of America. To make your stay as economical as possible, the Craft Yarn Council has negotiated reduced rates at two area hotels--the Country Inn and Suites and the Courtyard Marriott. Both are within walking distance of the Mall and provide regularly scheduled shuttle buses to the Mall and to and from the airport. Plus, each hotel will have a special hospitality room set up for Knit-Out visitors throughout the weekend stocked with light refreshments. Here are the details.

HOTEL PACKAGESCountry Inn and Suites, Mall of America, 2221 Killebrew Drive Bloomington, MN 952-854-5555. Newly renovated, Country Inn and Suites is again offering a special Knit-Out package of $99/night - Standard room with 2 queen beds (based on a single /double occupancy) or $109/night - King Suite including a king bed, separate living room with sofa sleeper (based on a single/double occupancy). The hotel has a pool and fitness room. To make reservations, you can go online to:www.countryinns.com/knit www.countryinns.com/knit or call the hotel directly 952-854-5555 or the Central Reservations at 1-800-456-4000 and ask for the Knit Out group rates. Rates include a free breakfast. Last year, the Country Inn and Suites room block filled quickly so make your reservations as soon as possible.

Courtyard Marriot-Bloomington, MN, 7800 Bloomington Ave. So., Bloomington, MN 55425, 952-876-4221. The newly renovated Courtyard is offering the special single/double rate for either a queen/queen or king-size room of $99. The rate includes deluxe accommodations, complimentary use of the indoor pool and 24-hour fitness center. To take advantage of this Knit-Out rate, log on to : http://cwp.marriott.com/mspcy/knitout/ or call the hotel directly at 952-876-0100 and ask for the Knit-Out & Crochet group rates.

CHECK BACK FOR MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE CELEBRITY CORNER, DEMOS & WORKSHOPS AND PROGRAM TIMES
NO RETAIL SALES BUT LOTS OF GOOD STUFF!