TNNA Update

Hi folks,

Long time no blog. Sorry about that! In order to redeem myself, allow me to blab about my adventures last weekend at the National Needlework Association's trade show for yarn stores, held in sunny but chilly (argh) San Diego. My first time in San Diego and it's chilly. Go figure.

First off: TNNA is sharing the convention center with Mary Kay Cosmetics. Fortunately they were waaay on the other side of the building. Those perfectly-put-together women had me a little frightened. Too many diamonds - or maybe they were swarovsky crystals?

Secondly, the personality highlights. TNNA is always fun because you get to meet someone (usually multiple someones) cool or funny or bizarre. I was fortunate enough to meet Norah Gaughan, author of the amazing book Knitting Nature. I've been a fan of hers since the early 90s. Brilliant knitwear designer. She was lovely - and giggled a lot. I then stole a fleeting glimpse of knitting legend Kaffe Fasset, master of color and geometric patterning. He walked by the Fiesta Yarns booth while I was sitting down discussing my order. Obviously in a hurry, HE LOOKED AT ME. Can you stand it? Yay! I feel special. I of course spent lots of time sitting down with Kirstin Muench, owner of Muench Yarns and the superest duperest person in the yarn world. While discussing the new offerings from GGH (which her company distributes), the one and only Nicky Epstein (designer/author/teacher/speaker) interrupted our conversation briefly and politely. To apologize for the interruption (which was maybe 10 seconds long), NICKY EPSTEIN HUGGED ME. OMG. How can I stand it?? After recovering gracefully, I was later introduced to Vicky Howell, host of Knitty Gritty on the DIY channel. She was at the SWTC booth promoting her new yarns (um, her face is on the label. what gives?). She was very nice but had to run off to join her friends. Meanwhile, in the Interweave Press booth (the people at Interweave are SO NICE), I glimpsed Lily Chin. She looked at me - and then looked away. She probably could sense I was not a big crochet fan. So shoot me!

Thirdly, here's some scoop about what's coming for the store... boatloads of stuff from Muench/GGH, including a beautiful 100% silk plus a lofty, yummy cotton blend that feels like a Debbie Bliss-style cashmere blend but is not. Two hand-dyed yarns are coming from Fiesta... a new sock yarn made from alpaca and tencel, plus perennial favorite La Boheme (a mohair/rayon multi-strand yarn that's been around a long time). New for me from Claudia Handpainted Yarn comes their laceweight 100% silk... 1100 yards on a skein! Amazing stuff. Speaking of laceweight, you can expect a 2 ply cashmere/silk blend from Jade Sapphire and Zephyr from Fiddlesticks Knitting, a great silk and wool blend that's a favorite among lace knitters. I'm very excited about the lace-weight additions to my inventory. I'm also adding the popular sock yarn from Mountain Colors called Bearfoot, a bunch of fun little accessories from Lantern Moon including the coolest-ever dp sock needles, bags & totes from Timeless Totes and Namaste', and a beautiful selection of hemp yarn from Hemp For Knitting,

Last but not least is a small yarn company worth lusting over: the Fibre Company in Maine. They specialize in hand-dyed luxurious super-soft natural fiber blends that make you pee in your pants. The colors are mostly-solids (no multis) in extremely rich, subtle hues. Upon first examination the yarns may not look so special - but once you spend time with them, caress them, stare deeply in to their eyes, you will fall in love. It is inevitable. You will be assimilated. The yarns I'm bringing in are Terra, a blend of merino, baby alpaca and silk (kettle dyed) with the look of handspun, and the most ultimate yarn on the planet, Road to China. Get a load of its heritage: 65% baby alpaca, 10% cashmere, 10% camel, 10% soy, 5% yak. It is TDF (to die for).

More later...

ps: I almost forgot to mention... I brought back sample skeins of many of the yarns mentioned above! Pay us a visit at Knit Night tomorrow night (Thursday) for a first-hand glimpse!