Free access to vendors selling yarn, fiber, tools, bags, tea, soap, and more! Bring the entire family!

Vendors start selling in our outdoor booths and covered pavilion at 11am, stop at 4pm, rain or shine!

Hey fiber friends!

We are in the last few days before IKS and we wanted to make a few final notes and reminders to everyone coming to attend.

1. Allegheny Rivertrail Park: Don’t get confused about the location, there are other places that sound similar. Here’s a Google link just to be sure: https://maps.app.goo.gl/1CuEkAgtZKYyZDPy9
2. This year IKS is mostly in a covered pavilion with some outdoor booths. No indoor spaces. The forecast has been pretty erratic and changing daily (and different for different websites) but the general consensus is unseasonably warm with misty/light rain (about a half inch over the entire day). Our outdoor booths don’t have paved areas but there is good paved areas to get to the covered pavilion and the area in general has good drainage. Please dress and plan accordingly.
3. Parking: We have lots of nearby parking that is shared with the park, some overflow parking, and in worst case there is parking in downtown Aspinwall (and it is free on Sundays).
4. Bags: Remember to bring your re-usable bags. If you don’t have one, need more bags, or just want to help support IKS, we will have some special IKS bags for sale for $8 (that can hold at least 10 skeins of yearn).
5. Give/Take Table: Back by popular demand is our Give/Take Table. Got yarn/fiber/tools/bags you don’t want anymore? Want some free stuff? Feed or raid the table for free!
6. Scavenger Hunt: Also coming back is the scavenger hunt for kiddos. Give them a reason to look closely at all the booths too. When they finish it up, they can even get a fun fiber art prize!
7. Costumes: It’s the day before Halloween and everyone needs more time to wear costumes. Feel free to dress up…or not.

We are looking forward to seeing you all in just a few days!

David here was worried about Pittsburgh’s new plastic bag ban, so he helped us order a re-usable solution. We now have these collapsable bags that will be for sale at the show for $8 including tax. These bags are durable, fold up to be pocket sized, and can fit approximately 10 skeins of yarn (100g). Come find the main IKS booth to buy one!

We are 15 days away from IKS this year and we are super excited to get everyone together to see our wonderful new space, but one thing I have to admit…it’s a little tricky to find.

Google and Apple Maps give a pretty good directions if you search for Allegheny Rivertrail Park, but I wanted to share some photos on what you might want to look for when you arrive.

There is only one entrance to the park with lots of wonderful banners surrounding this tunnel but…

It’s a little hard to see from the road…

If you are coming from the EAST (likely coming off route 28 with the Aspinwall exit), it’s going to look like the photo below (see the banners on the right side of the road?). It will be right BEFORE a traffic light so pretty easy to get to.

If you are coming from the WEST (from the Waterworks shopping area), it’s going to look like the next photo. Note that it’s near impossible to see the banners because of the traffic pole… Trust me, it’s there on the left, just AFTER the light.

Once you get in, you will cross a railroad and then see the road in the photo below. Immediately to the left there will be a ton of parking, but keep going…there should be more parking (depending on when you arrive and how busy we get). As you keep going…

You will then see the road turn to the right (shown below). Take that turn to the right (see the little sign?, and then…

Oh man, keep going still? Where is this thing? It’s actually not that far, but look, more parking! Ok now just a little further and then…

There it is! Well, this photo doesn’t have any booths, but when you get there we should have booths! Note there’s even more parking there, and some to the right that isn’t pictured.

Finally know that there is a ton to do in this area too! In the park there is a fantastic outdoor cafe called Farmer X Baker who will be open during our show. Additionally there is a wonderful playground for the little ones and some great spots to relax, knit, and watch the river flow. Aspinwall (back on the other side of that train track) is also full of great shops and restaurants, so come on down and make a day of it!

Do you love IKS? Well IKS is the way it is thanks to the tremendous work of all our volunteers. Like previous years volunteers will get a special colorway of yarn or fiber dyed by Hipstrings just for volunteers! If you want to be a part of IKS sign up here (https://forms.gle/YEDoZNcFKbypHeVA8) before October 15th.

Thanks so much for your patience while we handled a ton of behind the scenes magic for making Indie Knit and Spin happen!

Vendor spotlights will be coming soon, but I wanted to post a list up front so you can be just as excited as we are for the this fall’s vendors.

Vendors include: HipStrings, Oink Pigments, Shirsty Cat Designs, Bewitched Pigments, Flower Hill Fleeces, Abeille Voyante Tea Co, Tika Bags, Ex Libris Fibers, PhiFiber, Tamarack Farm, Dusty Tree Soap | Dyeworks, Roving Acres Farm, The YarnSmith, Foster’s Fibers, Lostinhue, Ursula’s Alcove, Huetiful Stitches, Knitterly Things, and Gwen Erin Natural Fibers.

Put it on your calendars! Sunday October 29th from 11-4 at the Allegheny RiverTrail Park in Aspinwall.

Time to dust this thing off and see if it still works.  Check check, one two…

HI! What a few years it has been, but we are ready to announce the triumphant return of Indie Knit and Spin!  This October 29th, be ready to join your favorite indie vendors in celebrating all things yarn and fiber.

After almost two years of searching for the best venue we have finally landed an agreement with the Allegheny Rivertrail Park!  ARP is a beautiful combination indoor and outdoor venue that is walkable from beautiful, downtown Aspinwall.  Not only that, but it is just a bit off an exit from Rt 28, a short sprint away from the Highland Park Bridge, accessible by bus, AND you can even get there by boat!  We are still working out some details but today we would like to start accepting vendor applications here.  Note, if you would like an outdoor spot you will have to bring your own tent. 

We are so excited to be able to do this again and can’t wait to see you all this fall!

Firstly let me apologize for the radio silence. While we had an absolutely fantastic show in 2021 we’ve run into more than a few hurdles with trying to get a show running in 2022. The key issue so far has been trying to find a location within the city that could both fit our ever growing audience and wasn’t so expensive that we would have to charge admission (and this was even before inflation really hit the area).

Nova Place was our first experiment with going over the river (even though it was just a little bit) but while the space was a huge success, the location proved to be an issue for many (there was quire a few twisty roads there). So now we are looking for a new home, but we still want to stay accessible to as many people as possible. This means changing something, but we haven’t completely decided what.

So please be patient. If you have any ideas, suggestions, concerns, or just want to reach out, feel free to email us at indieknitandspin@gmail.com or comment here.

In the meantime we will keep our previous show information up so you can continue to shop from our previous wonderful vendors. Also be sure to attend the many other fantastic shows in the Pittsburgh area.

See you soon,

-Nik

We are looking forward to seeing so many of you tomorrow. Some final updates:

• Masks are required.
• Road Construction: Unfortunately Federal Street is still closed and Google doesn’t seem to know yet. Please take East Commons and drive the large square around to the front of Nova Place. If in doubt, try navigating to the Children’s Museum first and then continue around West Commons to South Commons. You can also park in Red Lot 6 if you fancy a walk.
• Early access passes will be available at the door for $5 cash or you can purchase online through the EventBrite App.
• Looking to avoid the crowds but don’t want to pay for early access? Come by after 3pm for a typically slow time.

To help everyone plan their visit we are uploading the latest vendor map for IKS! You will note there are two elevators from the garage: Plaza and Central. Prior to 12 noon please use the Plaza elevator to gain access through the northern Plaza door entrance.