Back from TNNA!

TNNA is The National NeedleArts Association, a trade show where manufacturers display their new wares so LYSs can purchase them wholesale, and designers like me wander around, drool and pet, and ponder the design possibilities of the new merch. It happens twice a year, in January on the west coast, and in June in the midwest. So off I went last week to do some PR for The Secret Language of Knitters and to do some legal fondling.

New yarns, yum.

While it is a trade show rather than a retail show, which means you can’t really buy stuff on the show floor, there is a hoobie on Thursday called Sample It! in which some of the wholesalers bring some goodies to sell outright. I always try not to get carried away, but this time two yarns followed me home, and what could I say?

This is Flat Feet from Conjoined Creations I could not get over how clever this yarn is – it is a hand dyed yarn that is sold in flats rather than skeins – you just pull off the waste yarn, grab the real stuff, and knit from the flat, which unravels as you go. No knots, no skeins to wind, and because it is hand dyed each flat gives a unique pair of socks. The flat is divided in the middle so that if you want a long sock you can go toe up and knit until you run out without having to split a skein. It came in oodles of colors – I bought this one for a friend to try since my sock yarn stash is ridiculous, but I couldn’t stand not to buy one. I am sure she will give me a review.

Then I bought a skein of Sterling from Kraemer Yarns. It is about a fingering weight and has merino, silk, nylon, and silver content. Real silver. Which gives you some subtle sparkle without any of that “Yeesh I am knitting with Lurex and should be shot” sort of guilt. The yarn company had a garment made of this yarn on the runway at the fashion show on Thursday night and I was impressed – I didn’t think there was such a thing as sparkly yarn that was not obnoxious, but I was wrong. Of course the Kid already bogarted this skein – and she wants socks. Only my daughter would use silver yarn for actual socks…

On Saturday I taped a segment of Knit and Crochet Today! a newish show seen on various PBS stations. I hear that several new markets will be picking up the show when the new episodes are released in the fall of 2008, so if you don’t get it yet, you might soon. Anyway I was hanging out in the waiting area with Kaffe Fassett, and tried really hard not to act like a stalker. He has some new yarns coming out which will make your brain melt in delight at the color ranges. I am pretty sure that I did not sound like a total idiot, which is always a relief. Then it was back to the market to schmooze and drool some more.

I want to take a moment to thank all of you who stopped by to see me on Sunday at the book signing. I was having a real Sally Fields moment when I realized there were actually people waiting in line to get a copy! After that, some friends and I went off to Roscoe’s Chicken and Waffles where I enjoyed the house specialty, chicken and waffles. It was delicious if a bit hard on the arteries – I ate half of the plate and stopped in self defense.

One of the things I liked about the Long Beach convention center is that if you walked outside, there was an actual view of something pretty. There were also several other restaurants in walking distance, and if I had been so inclined, a ferris wheel across the street!

Happy to be home, trying to get back on the right time zone, and really trying to get through the mounds of notes I took about who to contact about what, when.