TNNA 2007

I was fortunate enough to attend The National Needle Arts Association trade show again this year in Columbus. It was, of course, overwhelming and fun, and for a few days afterward, every time I closed my eyes I could still see miles and miles of the most colorful yarns you can imagine.

Awesome People We Talked To

If you're a little introverted and need a friend to pave the way to talking to famous folks, you need a Wendy. My BFF Wendy was very excited to meet some of our favorite folks, including:

Amy Singer (from Knitty, of course!) I had met Amy at the TNNA trade show last year, and she was distressed to learn that I had been stalking the Yarn Harlot instead of her. I assured her that, of course, I stalked everyone equally, depending on how how close they travelled to Cincinnati. We got copies of No Sheep For You signed on Saturday, and my book has a map to Toronto and an invitation to visit. Road trip anyone?

We also got to hang out with Jillian Moreno for a bit on Sunday. She's the editor of Knitty Spin, if you didn't know.

We also met THE Claudia (not her sister) of Claudia Hand Painted Yarns. This was exciting for both of us since Claudia's sock yarn is definitely one of our favorites. Not only did we get a picture, autographs, and hugs, but we also convinced Lori (our shop owner) (Hi, Lori!) to order some sock yarn and silk lace yarn for the store. Sweet! I can't wait till, umm, December, to buy some of that sock yarn.

I also got to meet and talk briefly with Cookie A of the amazing Pomatomus sock pattern on Knitty. I got to tell her that her pattern is brilliant and that I can't wait to try more of them. I think she thought I was silly to ask for an autograph, but anyone who can write sock patterns like she can is my hero.

Oh! I almost forgot. A lady at the Mango Moon booth recognized me as Stalker Brooke from the Yarn Harlot's blog. I'm so proud.

Excellent Yarns Coming Soon

Along with the Claudia's lace and sock yarns, Lori allowed us to help make choices regarding some other great yarns for the shop. Here's a list of some of the yarns I'm really excited about.

Malabrigo, tone-on-tone worsted weight AND lace weight yarns.

Paca Peds, superwash alpaca sock yarn. (20% alpaca, 65% superwash wool, 15% nylon)

Schaefer Yarns Anne, 560 yards to a skein of this colorful sock/lace weight yarn.

YarnPlace, the distributor of the cobweb weight yarn I bought Memorial Day weekend. I think Lori ordered Touch for the store.

So, lots of sock yarn and lace yarn will be arriving soon.

Cool Swag We Stuffed In Our Bags

Magazines, from left to right:

Crochet, July 2007; Knit 'N Style, August 2007; Vogue Knitting, spring/summer 2007; KnitSimple, spring/summer 2007; Knit.1, summer 2007; and Adorn, summer 2007.

Books, from top to bottom:

1. The Kid's Knitting Notebook, by Cindy Craig. Not only is this a great introductory knitting book for kids with instructions and patterns, but it also includes pockets for notes and swatches, places to journal, and checklists to mark knitting progress. I got my copy signed for my niece, who has already asked when her aunt is going to teach her how to knit.

2. Knitting With Gigi, by Karen Thalacker and Mindy Dwyer (signed). This is a cute picture book with some beginner knitting patterns to get kids started knitting.

3. No Sheep For You, by Amy Singer (signed). Since Amy is allergic to wool, she's compiled a ton of information about other fibers to knit with, including bamboo, silk, hemp, and cotton, as well as a bunch of sophisticated patterns to knit with these alternatives to wool yarns.

4. Knits From a Painter's Palette, by Maie Landra (signed). All of the designs in this book are knit from Koigu wool yarns. Wendy went to get her book signed while I sat and watched all of our bags. She came back telling me to hurry and go get my book signed, because everyone who got a book got a FREE SKEIN of Koigu sock yarn. She told me later, between peals of laughter, that she'd never seen me get up off a couch so fast. Well, wouldn't you?

5. Knitting Never Felt Better, by Nicki Epstein (signed). Comparable to her Knitting On, Over, and Beyond the Edge books, Nicki has come out with a book of knitting patterns/swatches for felting. The book features stitch patterns and colorways that are pictured both before and after felting. We may have the privilege of having Nicky come to our shop to do a book signing and a class. That would be pretty sweet!

6. The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits For All Seasons, by Julie Carles and Jordana Jacobs (signed). This is the fifth book by the Yarn Girls. I'm going to have to pick up their Knits for Older Kids book some time.

7. Romantic Hand Knits, by Annie Modesitt (signed). Turns out Annie is an Ohioan, too, and she was happy to talk to folks from her home state. She seems like a great lady, and she has some amazing and creative ideas. I'm looking forward to getting into some of these designs.

8. Maryjane's Stitching Room by Maryjane Butters. This was a freebie from Potter Craft with great ideas for knitting, crochet, embroidery, sewing, and other needle crafts.

9. Twist and Loop, by Annie Modesitt. Another freebie from Potter Craft, this Annie Modesitt book is full of knitted jewelry patterns using wire and beads. I don't know how much of a wire&bead knitter I am, but this is a fascinating book to look through.

10. Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby (signed). I'm SO excited about this book... I already have a pattern picked out for the Claudia Hand Painted silk lace yarn that Lori ordered. I need to pick one for the cobweb lace I bought at the fiber festival.

Yarn and Random Goodies, from left to right, sort of:

On the far left are a bunch of samples from Louet. The brown yarn at the bottom is 100% alpaca DK from Kraemer Yarns. Right above the alpaca is my FREE KOIGU. Did I mention I got FREE KOIGU? I'm convinced there's no better way to start off a no-sock-yarn-buying challenge than to get FREE KOIGU the first weekend. Hehe. Above the FREE KOIGU are a couple of yarn samples. The one on the right is from Material Whirled. They had some crazy skeins in their booth, including yarn spun with Easter grass and little toy chicks, yarn spun with ladybug beads, yarn spun with fake flowers, and all sorts of other awesomeness. Check out their website for other examples. Then we all got a free pair of size 9 needles from Clover, and some samples of Soak wool wash.

Phew!

All of that and I got to hang out with Wendy, Lori, Lori's sister Kari, and Kari's friend Jen for the weekend. TNNA is definitely one of the greatest perks of working for a yarn store.