Tales from TNNA

I had the privilege of tagging along to TNNA last weekend in my unpaid role of LYS consultant. Highlights for me were:

• Lorna's Laces new yarn Swirl DK and Swirl chunky. (These aren't on the web anywhere yet!) It's a lovely wool, silk plied blend. The different materials take the dyes on differently, and since the different fibers are in different plies, the color swirls...
• Cherry Tree Hill's merino lace-weight buttons of yarn. Cute, cute, cute. I just kept petting them...
• Alchemy, Alchemy, Alchemy. Let me count the ways I adore Alchemy... The fibers, the colors, the patterns... My only problem with alchemy is that their yarns are so fabulous, I just stash them -- no project seems worthy! Their new Haiku and Monarch were to die for!
• The upcoming book Big Girl Knits. There are a ton of new books out and more coming. All have something new to contribute -- but this one is a doozy! A must have for all the big girls out there! I chuckled all the way through the introductory chapters. (Their 3B system for identifying flattering patterns is a keeper!) Even if you aren't a big girl, the sections on measuring, fit, short rows, and diatribe on the necessity of a good bra are useful for all girls!
  
• Tilli Tomas' pre-beaded yarns. Really, I'm not a bling kind of a girl. And using standard beading techniques doesn't sound too bad. I'm not a novelty yarn type either -- but these are the kind of novelty yarns I could go for... Yum!
  
• The bags! While I'm not a novelty yarn type of girl, I am a bag type of girl. Much to my sweetie's confusion, I don't think you can have too many knitting bags. Offhand Designs has some scruptuous new fabrics and a great new bag (eve) coming. It was the first time I'd seen Lexie Barnes bags in person. While not as scruptuous as Offhand Designs, her bags are playful, practical, and the weather friendly fabric makes them an attractive choice for winter. And the last bags to die for came from Della Q. Her bags aren't as roomy as as Offhand designs and Lexie Barnes -- but cute, cute, cute and a good price! I think I may need bags from all three makers!
• Curious Creek wasn't at the show, but I went to an open house at their house/studio. Luscious fibers, and great colorways. I often see ways to tweak variegated colorways -- but not with these. They were spot on.

As you can tell, on this post, I learned how to add links to my rambling. Next post -- I'm going to learn how to put pictures in!

The Beginning of an Era

So - I've started it! I read blogs obsessively, but now I'm going to dip my toes into the fray. Previously I always figured that I'd rather knit than write, but the Lure of being a part of it rather than an observer is too strong. Also I've got plans to enter the knitting olympics and I'd like to have somewhere to post those cool buttons Jenla has made. (Of course, I have to figure out how to do that...)