Columbus, Ohio is the place to be in late June, if you’re in the yarn industry. Every year TNNA hosts its big summer show there, and it draws yarn companies, designers, needle manufacturers, publishers and just about everyone in the industry that can make it will be there.
It’s a chance for everyone to show what is new in the industry, and a chance to see a lot of fabulous new products in person. Often before they make it into the LYSs.
I was there with Cooperative Press, exhibiting the new books, including a preview of my new book – Ancient Egypt in Lace and Color – as well as Shaping Shawls.
Shannon Okey of Cooperative Press was walking around wearing one of the designs from my new book, and I had a few that I kept cycling through over the weekend. This green one is called Fields of Malachite.
I had a chance to hang out with some of the fabulous dyers I’ve worked with, both on past and future projects. For example here is Sarah and Sam of Cephalopod Yarns and Kim of Indigodragonfly.
Of course we managed to not make the weekend all work and no play….. here are a few of the lovely authors from Cooperative Press – from left to right Heather Ordover, Stephannie Tallent, Andi Smith and me. This picture is from the event organized by the lovely people of Craftsy. I can’t say enough about how fabulous it was – a great chance to meet other designers and get to know them in a relaxed setting.
There were a few other lovely get togethers too that should not be forgotten. Marly Bird hosted her amazing Yarn Thing Designer Dinner. Fabulous as always. Another lovely way to get to spend more time with both designers and sponsors over dinner. Here’s Elizabeth Green-Musselman and Amy Detjen enjoying themselves.
So what did I find that was new and exciting at TNNA, you ask? Well…. there were a lot of hand dyers there. Some that I have worked with before, and some new friends that I’m excited to work with in the future.
Mira of Baah! Yarn had a booth full of amazingly bright colours, and this hot pink is right up my alley. I definitely see a hot pink lace shawl in my future.
Zen Yarn Garden and Anzula are both old favourites, but they too had some new stuff. Zen Yarn Garden has a number of one of a kind colour ways dyed with a different technique than the yarn I’ve used before from them, so I’m excited to try that. And as for Anzula, they have a lot of bases I’ve never tried, so it will be fun to explore these – lace weight, fingering weight and DK.
I did also manage to pickup some Anzula Haiku yarn (bamboo/merino, light fingering) for a double-knitting project. Really looking forward to that one too. It’s a shame I have to finish what’s on my needles first. 
Other new things to try are Holiday Yarns, the Rowan fine lace, Creamy from Kollage and a lovely, fluffy yellow yarn from Skeined Alive.
Finally, I also picked up a few different types of needles to try. Hiya hiya has three different kinds (regular, sharp and bamboo) that I’ll try shortly, and Boye has a new line of upscale needles called Artisan Tools. I’m particularly excited to try their square needles. I tried on the show floor, and they seemed really nice, so I’m sure knitting a whole project with them will be fun.
As summer is upon us, it is once again time for the cottage season. As I was making the bed last weekend at the cottage it occurred to me that I have never shared this blanket with you:
This is a crocheted blanket in blocks, made from worsted weight acrylic yarn. I think I bought one of every colour in the store and went from there. I can’t remember the exact details since I made this back in 94-95, but in any case the blanket has held up remarkably well over the years. For the past several years, the blanket has lived at the cottage. The cottage is a small log house, and the bright colours of the blanket work quite well with the log walls, I think.
Most of the squares (actually they are more like rectangles, but let’s not be picky) in the blanket are solid colours, but there are a few patterned ones, including the bumblebee square, one with an ‘a’, and one with a decorative ‘X’.
It’s amazing how much use we’ve gotten out of it, and still do. And it’s nice to think back on when I made it, and remember all the work that went into it. Handmade blankets are the best!
This is one of the things I really love about summer…… knitting on the lake.
Announcing the Mystic Fire Mystery Shawl knitalong!
Have you ever found yourself staring into a fire, captivated by the dancing flames? There is nothing more mesmerizing than a bonfire during the summer evenings. The flames take a hold of your imagination like nothing else, and as you enjoy the fire in the cool summer nights, the warmth envelops you like a cozy shawl.
Mystic Fire is a triangular shawl that draws its inspiration from the dancing flames in the summer bonfires. My shawl is knit on 4.5 mm needles (US7), using 115 g (one skein) of Divine fingering weight yarn from Hazel Knits [75% superwash merino, 15% cashmere, 10% silk – 400 yds/366 m per 115 g] in Carnelian.
Finished (blocked) size: width: 148 cm [58″], height: 72 cm [28″]
SIGN UP FOR KAL
The pattern will be made available for a knitalong, starting June 20, 2012.
It will be distributed to the members in three consecutive pieces, once a week on Wednesdays.
The last part of the pattern will be released on July 4.
The knitalong is available at a discounted price of $6.00 CDN if you join prior to the release of the first clue. After the first clue has been released, signups will remain open but the price will increase to the regular pattern price of $8.00 CDN. All members of the KAL will have access to the clues as well as the complete pattern in one nice set at the end of the KAL.
It’s summer and I guess I must be in the mood for some colourful shawls. And as you all know, colourful shawls start with colourful yarn.
Just a week and a half ago, I got this wonderful package from Hazel Knits:
The left skein is divine in the colour way Carnelian, and the right skein is piquant lite in the colour way hoppy blonde. The divine yarn (which really lived up to its name, by the way) has already been knit up into a new shawl design.
I also got a delightful package from Tanis Fiber Arts containing the following beauties:
That’s two skeins of red label cashmere/silk single in orange blossom and poppy that will be combined into a new design.
Do you notice a common theme here? Orange. I don’t know how that happened. Maybe there’s something in the air? But in any case, I’m getting ready for some happy, orange knitting!
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