Koigu....Prism. ...Alchemy....Lana Grossa.....Colinette.....we came, we saw, we bought! The annual TNNA market is a chance to see old friends like Linda at Blue Sky Alpacs and make new ones, like Laura at Prism Yarns. We took the show by storm; we didn't even make it one time around the convention center before sitting on the floor amid hundreds of skeins of Koigu Premium Merino yarn (we bought 35 colors!). Two days later we were exhausted and exhilerated by our myriad purchases.
What excited us most? The fabulous ponchos that every vendor seemed to be wearing. No ordinary ponchos, these were made of ribbon and other novelties, knit with dropped and open stitch work. They were gorgeous! And shawls ran a close second; again made of luscious and unusual yarns. What excites us about these? Even beginning knitters can make a work of art! After all, a poncho is just two long rectangles folded and sewn together! Look for a class this fall on making a poncho that you will love forever.
What else impressed us? Rowan outdid themselves; their Fall line is filled with the softest mohairs and wools in deeply hued tones, and their Fall book is just lovely. We bought their Miss Bea books that feature adorable children's clothes (again, ponchos feature heavily!.
We stopped dead in our tracks at Prism Yarns and left ourselves in Laura's hands; she took EXCELLENT care of us and we are breathless in anticipation of receiving their gorgeous yarns in early Fall. Laura dyes each skein of yarn herself; single skeins contain metallic, eyelash, glitter and the like; you can work these into scarves, wraps or dressy sweaters. Look at how fabulous Adrian looks draped in Prism:
We listened to our customers who sought out cool knitting bags and will now be carrying Susan Todd designs. These retro-cool bags in a market and project style will fly out of here, we predict.
And we bought Effectiveness by Design patterns, Wool in the Woods throw and scarf kits, Cherry Tree Hill novelties; we added a new line for us, Lana Grossa, which is known for high fashion yarns and trendy pattern designs. And just before we left we discovered Kollage; a small company known for hand dyed novelties; we are exploring a trunk show option with them this fall!
Keep reading the blogs to see when all this fantastic inventory arrived. We drove from the airport to the store to ready our bins and shelves......we hope you will LOVE our choices.
I was so excited to hear about your report from what sounds like being a kid in a yarn candy store! I am so happy to hear that you are ordering a bunch of Koigu because I really want to knit Charlotte's Web and need to see the colors and put them next to each other to see what I want. I will keep reading the blog to see when you expect it in.
And I want to order some Berocco Suede for the shawl... also I want some Noro Kochoran in I think it's either 21 or 31 (or maybe I'm totally wrong altogether) but it's got purples and blues and grey and some green for Sundby in Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton's book. I think I will need to come for a visit soon. I miss you already. But there's tons to do in the house - boxes boxes everywhere. I just started a blog too (about knitting, moving, life in general) and in it I say that I can't find a yarn store close enough anymore and that I need to open my own! Perhaps a Woolwinders in VA? ;-)
Monday, June 14, 2004
