TNNA

Blog Week Day 6: Views of Others, Views of Yourself 5KCBWDAY6

Write about another knitter or crocheter that you admire.

After TNNA a few weeks ago, I was overflowing with admiration for my fellow knitting and crochet designers. Most have families, many have day jobs, and all have obligations, but they still manage to produce beautiful, quality patterns for others to enjoy. It takes a lot of dedication and love of the craft!

I was at the show exhibiting through my print pattern distributor, Stitch Sprouts, so I got to chat and hang out with several other Stitch Sprouts designers. Since I can’t pick just one, I’m going to show you my favorite designs from a few of them.

First up, Corrina Ferguson of PicnicKnits. She designs, among other things, stupendous lace shawls. I’m in awe of this one in particular, which I got to see in person at the show:

This is Biellese (Ravelry link):

Next there’s Katherine Vaughan. She has a great mix of accessories, baby knits, and garments in her portfolio. I got to see this lovely tank top design at the show before its official release (it’s since gone live on Ravelry–check out May Dance!):

Heather Zoppetti, the creative wizard behind Stitch Sprouts, is also highly talented designer (although I honestly don’t know how she finds any time to do it–I think maybe she’s figured out how to clone herself).

Here’s one of her new designs, Tulsi. I love the colorwork:

The other cool thing is that this hat is knit in a brand-new yarn, Stitch Sprouts Yellowstone (DK weight, 80% wool, 20% silk). I got to fondle it at the show and let me tell you, it’s dreaaammmy. I may, without admitting anything, have picked up a few skeins for a colorwork hat/mitt design of my own.

Finally, there’s Mindy Wilkes. Mindy specializes in clever lace shawls, and I love that she doesn’t just stick to one weight of yarn. Harvest Moon, one of my favorites, is knit with a worsted weight yarn, Tosh Vintage (which, if you’ve been following this blog for a while, you know is probably my favorite yarn ever):

In the interest of space, I won’t gush about all of the Stitch Sprouts designers (although I will mention that Andrea Rangel, Stephannie Tallent, and Lindsey Stephens of Poetry in Yarn all have some awesome designs I got to ogle at the show too). But let me just say that I left the show feeling inspired (and frankly, a bit humbled) by all the talent.

WIP Wednesday: Blanket and TNNA prep

The baby blanket is almost done! It looks a lot better now that it’s not so scrunched up on the needles:

I ran out of yarn a few days ago and ordered a couple of skeins from Knit Picks on Monday with express shipping. Imagine my shock when they were on my doorstep yesterday. Their warehouse is in Ohio, only one state away from me, but still–that’s some lightning fast shipping!

I think I might do another repeat of the border pattern to echo the motif and break up the swath of stockinette, but I haven’t 100% decided yet. I’ll probably try it–I can always rip it out if I don’t like the way it looks. (It’s a lot less daunting to rip out sections at this point than it was earlier, when there were 600+ sts!)

I’m also deep in planning for the TNNA summer show this weekend. Like last year, I’m part of a rotating exhibit of designers through my print pattern distributor, Stitch Sprouts. I’m really excited that the show is in Indianapolis this year, only about 45 minutes away from me. It means I can haul my 7-month pregnant self there without too much difficulty.

I wanted a good way to display some hats on a table in my booth, but I forgot to order early enough to get cute hat stands from Etsy or eBay (I blame pregnancy brain). So yesterday I went out and got some inexpensive paper towel holders, styrofoam balls, fabric remnants, and ribbon. Following parts of a few different tutorials I found online, I came up with this:

I think they turned out pretty cute!

TNNA Wrap-Up!

Whew, it’s been a hectic week. But I promised a TNNA wrap-up post, so here you go. :-)

We arrived in Columbus on Saturday morning and located the convention center. It’s huge inside, and luckily very well air-conditioned, because it was hot outside.

The show was movie-themed this year, so the entrance looked like this:

It wasn’t cool to take pictures of most of what was on the show floor (which makes sense, because a lot of companies promote new products at TNNA that aren’t ready for the public yet). But I did get a picture of my booth setup:

The other half of the booth was an overview of my print distributor, Stitch Sprouts. Isn’t it great??

I had a fantastic time meeting and networking with tons of people, hanging out with my fellow Stitch Sprouts designers, and walking the show floor. One of the neatest things (which I didn’t expect) was seeing several of the designs I’ve done for yarn companies on display in their booths!

Here’s my Clifden Cardigan at the Universal Yarns booth:

I also got to check out an upcoming book from Cooperative Press that includes one of my patterns. The book looks awesome. Expect to hear more from me about that later.

I hadn’t been to Columbus for about five years, and I have to say that the city was much more cosmopolitan than I remember! The main street going right by the convention center had great restaurants, neat boutiques, and of course the famous Jeni’s Ice Cream shop (it’s as good as everyone says it is).

On our last day, we ventured over to the North Market a few blocks away from the convention center, where I got (no lie) the best waffle I’ve ever eaten in my life. It has ruined me for all other waffles.

All in all, I’m so glad I went to the show this year. The best part was meeting tons of people in real life who I’d only talked to online. In my experience, knit/crochet designers and yarny people are generally fun and friendly, and this was no exception.

And next year the TNNA summer show is in Indianapolis, practically on my doorstep! I’m definitely planning to be there. :-)

WIP Wednesday: Stuff I Can’t Show You Edition

I’ve been hard at work on a secret, very large, commissioned project. Since I can’t actually show you what it is, here’s a teaser pic:

As you can see, it’s got lovely squishy garter stitch and a texture pattern, and it’s in one of the nicest yarns I’ve had the pleasure to work with. I’m sad I have to wait to share it until the pattern is released!

To distract from the lack of actual WIP pictures, I’ll show you the other stuff I’ve been working on: re-blocking samples for TNNA this weekend. Our cross-country move last summer was not kind to my poor sweaters and accessories.

Hats blocking using my preferred balloon-in-a-mug method

My Hipster Stripe and Put Together samples drying on the blocking boards

Pile of blocked sweaters awaiting transport

I’m still nervous about the show, but as you can see, things are coming along nicely. My next post will probably be a TNNA wrap-up, so wish me luck!

FO Friday: Worsted Weight Europos Scarf

I finished my scarf! Here it is blocking:

I learned from the first (DK-weight) sample that this pattern pulls in a lot, since it’s basically 1×1 ribbing with regular increases and decreases thrown in. So I was rather aggressive with the blocking this time, knowing it will spring back a certain amount when it’s unpinned.

Quick specs:

Pattern: My own Europos Scarf

Yarn: Malabrigo Rios, one skein in Vaa. Rios is in the running for my favorite yarn ever. It’s as soft as butter, but fairly hard-wearing thanks to the twist.

Notes: I luurve this pattern. It’s just interesting enough to not be boring, but it’s easily memorized. Perfect travel knitting. It pretty much lived in my purse for the past week. This pattern played really well with the variegated quality of the yarn, too. It was so nice to not have to worry about pooling.

In other news, the Bevin sweater re-knit is nearly completed too! Just a few ends to weave in and blocking left.

Now, maybe you’re wondering why I’m spending all this time and effort reknitting samples when I could be working on new designs. The truth is, I have an exciting month ahead of me. My wonderful print pattern distributor, Stitch Sprouts, offered me the chance to share time in an exhibitor booth at the TNNA summer trade show!

For those of you who don’t know, TNNA is an abbreviation for The National NeedleArts Association. Their annual trade shows are a big deal–loads of knitting and fiber related businesses, yarn store owners, and very well-known designers attend. I’m feeling a little bit out of my depth, to tell the truth, but I’m slowly getting a handle on everything I need to get done in order to have a successful booth.

Stay tuned for more preparations!