Don't Let Knitting Side Quests Stand in Your Way!

February 15, 2026

Recently, a coworker of mine at my day told me that she loved listening to my adventures in knitting. She called them my "Side Quests". I absolutely loved this as I often feel as though my adventures are quests because I am always in some sort of pickle. Just not the dill kind.

My most recent adventure was to Vogue Knitting Live! in NYC. This event did not disappoint! I was only there for 1 day and I wish I had been able to stay the entire weekend. It was at the beautiful New York Marriott Marquis hotel in Time Square.

Side quest 1: Getting There

I only live 3 hours from NYC so I decided to take the Amtrak train. We left on time but then, we were delayed for about 45 minutes in New Haven due to mechanical issues. By the time I arrived in NYC, this only gave me around 25 minutes to get from Penn Station to the hotel. This was 12 blocks. Have you ever sped walked through NYC in the blistering cold? I do not recommend.

Side quest 2: Checking into the event

After having just about run 12 blocks in -5 degree F weather, I finally made it to the hotel. Phew! But when I got there, the first floor was NOT the lobby. WHAT?! There was a sign by the elevators that said to check in on Floor 7. So I took the elevator to the 7th floor. Was this the correct floor? Nope! I found someone with a badge and asked where to check in. She said floor 4. So I trekked down 3 flights of stairs to what was the Hotel Lobby. This was not where you checked into the event. I stopped another person who said that the Registration table was on the 6th floor. So I flew up 2 flights of stairs and finally found the right place. To say I was sweaty is an understatement!

But I made it to my first lecture with 5 minutes to spare!

Side quest 3: Trying not to fan girl too hard

I took a lecture with the beautiful and talented Lavanya Patricella. She spoke about how to choose the right colors and textures when working a brioche or textured knit. She work is spectacular! She was incredibly inspiring and I wanted to jump head first into Brioche knitting. If you have ever heard me speak of this technique, you know this isn't my forte. She really inspired me to try something new.

After that, I took a class called Mark or Break Garment Skills with the incredible Kate Atherly. I was a total fan girl when I got to her class and had to hide my excitement to share the same space with this absolute knitting legend! I spent the next 3 hours with Kate learning about garment knitting and all the things that you can do to make your knitted garments work for you.

MIND BLOWN

After spending 4+ hours learning from these ladies, I was ready to knit my little heart out. I wanted to just sit on the floor and knit until my fingers fell off. But THEN the marketplace opened up.

Side quest 4: Try not to spend too much money

The marketplace was 2 floors full of amazing vendors. Of course I planned out all the vendors I wanted to see. The first of which was called The Golden Purls, a yarn store that was Golden Girls themed. This was my first stop before it got too crowded. I also stopped at Amy's Trinket Shop, Cape May Fibers, and Circle of Stitches amongst many others.

Side quest 5: Getting Home

After spending too much money, it was time for me to head back to Penn Station to get on my train home. When I got to Penn Station, I was alerted that a tunnel from NJ was closed so all trains were routed through just 1 tunnel causing a huge delay for all trains coming North. Well guess where my train was? You got it! Coming North. I sat in Penn Station for about 3+ hours waiting for my train. I finally boarded and got home close to 1am.

Moral of the story? Don't let things stand in the way of you achieving your goal. There was nothing that was going to stop me from experiencing all that was Vogue Knitting Live. Not train delays, not blistering cold weather, not sweaty armpits or anything else.

Take this advice into all of your projects to tackle. Dropped a stitch? No worries. Just pick it up and keep going. Need to frog a portion of your WiP? Do it and keep on going. Don't let the side quests discourage you or stand in the way of completing your projects.

Always remember:

There are no mistakes. Only design elements.  

Peace, Love and Knitting,

Maria

Pictures from Vogue Knitting Live