Saying Yes to the Scary Thing: See You at Vogue Knitting Live 2026
At the end of January, I’ll be exhibiting at Vogue Knitting Live (VKL) at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, from January 30–February 1.
I’ll have a booth filled with knitting kits—each one carefully developed, refined, and customer-tested over the past year.
But the real reason I want to share this story isn’t about the booth, or the kits, or even the show itself.
It’s about saying yes to something that feels terrifying—and doing it anyway.
The Moment That Changed Everything
In 2023, my friend Verna and I were strolling the VKL marketplace floor.
If you’ve been, you know the feeling: aisle after aisle of yarn, tools, patterns, and possibility.
We turned a corner and found a small booth stacked high with boxed knitting and crochet kits. They were beautiful. People were snapping them up as fast as the vendors could ring them through.
Verna turned to me and said, simply,
“You could do this.”
The idea hit me like a physical wave. My throat closed up. I actually lost my voice.
We wandered away, and it wasn’t until we were sitting in the nearby lunch area—eating those very glamorous, hotel-packaged chicken Caesar salads—that I could speak again.
“WE'RE going to do this,” I finally said.
“You and me. Together.”
This time, she was speechless.
After a long pause (and a lot of mental math, fear, and excitement), we agreed.
Why Doing It Together Mattered
Fast-forward to VKL 2024, and that decision changed everything. Sharing a hotel room by night and an 8×10 booth by day could have been stressful—but instead, it was grounding. We respected each other’s space. We laughed. We ate together. We showed up for one another. And most importantly, we succeeded together.
That experience taught me something I carry into my business—and my life—every day:
you don’t have to do the scary thing alone.
From Goalpost to Reality
For me, VKL was always the goalpost. Not because it’s flashy (though Times Square certainly is), but because it represents stepping into the fiber world as a peer. Not just a knitter. Not just a designer. But a business owner confident enough to take up space.
This year, our booth will feature more kits than ever before—each one shaped by real customers, real feedback, and real hands at work. These kits exist because I said yes when every instinct told me to stay small.
An Invitation (for Knitting—and for Life)
If you’re reading this and feeling that familiar flutter of fear—about knitting your first pair of socks, teaching a class, submitting your work, starting a business, or simply calling yourself a knitter—I want you to know something:
That fear isn’t a stop sign.
It’s a doorway.
If you’re coming to VKL, I hope you’ll stop by the booth (700) and say hello. And if you’re not, I hope this story nudges you toward your next brave step—whatever that looks like.
Sometimes all it takes is a quiet moment, a trusted friend, and the courage to say:
“We’re going to do this.”
