TNNA Show -- new stuff!

I got to go to the TNNA convention this weekend because I was helping out an exhibitor on Saturday. It was massive, and I was too overwhelmed to take notes, so I will just do a few quick highlights here:

-"Famous" knitwear designers I was close enough to touch: Lily Chin, Stacy Charles, Nancy Thomas, Melanie Falick and Teva Durham. Also Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching (and her mother, who was just as sweet as can be). Falick and Durham were signing autographs, however, I didn't know this, so didn't have my books with me.

Yarn highlights:

By and large, I was just wandering aimlessly and fondling yarns as they struck me, so I'm sure I missed tons of new things, and I'm sure I'm identifying things as new that are simply things I haven't seen before.

-Southwest Trading Company has introduced a fun fur like yarn made of bamboo, in shades that complement their regular bamboo line. This is nice because it doesn't feel all plasticy like synthetic eyelash yarns. They also have a self-striping yarn called "Karaoke" that comes on cones and that is lovely.

-Lily Chin now has a line of yarns--I couldn't get close enough to her booth to really investigate them though.

-Alchemy yarns--just wow. I don't think anyone in Columbus carries these, but they are amazing. Beautiful colors, and fantastic silks and silk blends. Same for Art Yarns.

-I wanted to ask Lion Brand about their future in cotton yarns, but they were slightly understaffed once I reached their booth. I did get quite a surprise when I saw two cashmere blend yarns at their booth. They weren't super super soft, but they were nice. No word on price or availability.

Books & Patterns:

-The Knit Whits and Pick Up Stix booths had great displays. Both of them do really cute kits.

-I still don't get the attraction to the Bagsmith purses (they're cool, I just don't see myself carrying them) but they were mobbed and had many new designs.

-Rowan 38 looks great. And Martin Storey has a fair isle sweater and purse in one of the new Jaeger books that I just loved.

-Wrap Style from Interweave Press looks to have improved upon the photo problems that plagued Scarf Style, and the patterns look great too. There's also a really wonderful bi-color alpaca sweater coming out in the Fall Interweave that had great shaping. I might have to spring for the yarn it called for, because it was beautiful and amazingly soft.

-Celebrity Scarves 2 has David Arquette on the cover. Apparently he really does knit.

Tools:

-Knit Couture (who I was helping out) has a really cool toolkit that includes all the notions knitters need. I'm getting this for anyone who I teach to knit from now on I think.

-I saw the most amazing Rosewood needles on the new product display. They were incredible. And beyond expensive (up to $75.00 a pair!!) but wonderful. I can't recall the manufacturer.

-Namaste needles is producing Pyrex needles that are really cool.