Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

And what else did I see at TNNA? Wholesale yarns: Aalta Yarn . A vendor out of Pennsylvania. Several good, solid bases for sweaters. And she has nice gradient cakes for shawls. Alexandra's Crafts . A hand-dyer from Oregon. She also carries spinning fiber and a nice travel lazy kate. Ancient Arts . I knew this hand-dyer from advertising and patterns in Interweave Knits. They have a wonderful range of beautiful colors upstaged by colorways based on cats and dogs. Anzula . Hand-dyed yarns in luxury bases. Proof that cashmere goes with everything. Baa Ram Ewe. Anglophile knitters, rejoice! This vendor proudly "celebrates Yorkshire and its rich woolly heritage." They carry locally-sourced and spun yarn, as well as patterns that will make you look like you belong on BBC America. Baah Yarn . Hand-dyer from southern California with a nice range — self-striping, speckled, variegated, solids, and kettle-dyed effects. They also have special monthly colors. Bellatr...

Late last year a took a big step in my professional development and joined The National Needlearts Association by becoming an affiliate member. TNNA is the national-level trade organization. It is best known for hosting a winter trade show and a summer trade show. This is where shop owners often go to see the latest products. It is how they decide whether to carry yarn from Trendsetter or Prism ; wheels and looms from Ashford , Schacht , or Kromski ; notions from CocoKnits , or patterns from Stitch Sprouts . TNNA also organizes Spinzilla and Local Yarn Store Day . Membership is $195 per year. And for a designer/teacher like myself, joining also meant acquiring some letters of recommendation and copies of my published designs. It wasn't a five-minute process. And then I needed to decide how to make the best use of my investment. Recognizing that I need to write a book (actually, probably more than one) on versa lace, I decided to attend the summer convention in Cleveland,...