Knit & Knag Designs

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.