The survey further identified six cluster groups of crafters, based on attitudes and activities, that range from enthusiasts, who participate in all kinds of different crafts, to specialists who craft mainly to create gifts. These six cluster groups represent major segments of the industry and are also fun for comparison.

But what it really amounts to, said Anderson, is that "it adds up one crafter and one project at a time to become a $30.6 billion industry."

The survey reinforces what many in the industry already believed, said Ghezzi, "the craft industry remains vibrant and strong across all broad craft categories. It once again confirms our belief that the enormous breadth and appeal of crafts continues to grow as more and more consumers discover the personal benefits of crafting."

In fact, she says, with a 58 percent rate of household participation, "more individuals participate in crafting than many other leisure activities, including gardening (36 percent), playing computer games (13 percent), reading books (37 percent), surfing the Internet (27 percent) and dining out (48 percent).

That's not to say the industry has not undergone a lot of change in recent years.

CHA itself was created in 2004, growing out of a merger of two other large trade organizations, the Hobby Industry Association and the Association of Crafts & Creative Interests. That reflects other differences.

As Bill Gardner, editor of Craftrends magazine, said in this month's magazine, "In my 20-plus years, we've evolved from 'cutesy' just-for-fun projects to more sophisticated dedicated end-use projects, such as fashion, home decor, gift and keepsake items. We've seen the knitting/crochet category through its ups and downs, and we've seen scrapbooking take the industry by storm."

The way the industry has looked at itself has changed, too, he said. "We've evolved from billing creativity as a money-saving hobby to calling it a stress-releasing activity to hyping its family-values appeal. Heck, we've even gone from calling it crafting to calling it creativity."

This year's convention, which brought together more than 1,100 exhibitors and more than 8,000 attendees, was also reflective of the state of the industry. It was billed as the biggest and best show yet.

(Interestingly, of those exhibitors, at least 58 exhibitors were Utah-based companies; Utah is considered a major player in the crafts field, especially in the scrapbooking area.)

Ed Barlow, a futurist who conducted a convention session on the place of crafting in a rapidly changing society, noted several reasons for its increasing popularity.