Hugs & Chugs

WHAT a long month this has been.

Tomorrow would be 4 weeks from when I left on May 20 for my teaching extravaganza, culminating with the TNNA Convention in Columbus, OH.

It was VERY hard to be away - yes, indeed - but it was a good trip for many reasons.

#1 - Money
Yes, this is my job, and earning 5 months of mortgage by working for 4 weeks is a decent trade off. Our mortgage is very low, by the way...

#2 - Inspiration
I find so much to excite me and make me think when I'm on the road - plus I just crave the "white line meditation" time that driving gives me.

With a good amount of non-expectant thinking time, good thoughts, intricate plans, seem to sift up to the top of my head where I'm able to pluck them when I need them.

Thinking time is precious, I'm lucky I can get mine in a car.

#3 - Visibility
This sort of goes with #1, but when folks know I'm out there teaching, my book and pattern sales do better and folks want to take more classes. When I go through months of not teaching I feel rusty, and scared to get 'back on the horse' - but after these 4 weeks of interacting with all types of students, shop owners and fiberistas I'm feeling in good form.

Breathing aside, it was a perfect trip. Oh, and that incident of getting a speeding ticket a mere 35 miles away from home. Damn.

I'd obviously jinxed myself when I bragged to Cecil at Buffalo Gold that I'd gone 4,000 miles without a ticket.

I don't speed much, I'm a cruise control gal, but I was SO eager to get home last night I slacked off and now I will pay. Damn. Teaches me a lesson, that's for sure!

Waking up in my own bed - heavenly! This morning Max and I rode our bikes over to Lookout Park, then met Hannah and Gerry for Breakfast at the Louisiana Cafe.

We arrived first so we played a new game, "That's not Hannah..." snapping surreptitious photos of folks at the door who were NOT Hannah.

Afterward G & H went to the library, Max and I rode home, but I was smacked by a car (young driver, she didn't see me) and fell. Boom.

I'm absolutely fine! Minorly scraped leg and arm, that's all. A little jittery, but fine.

Max was scared, but handled it well.

Most shaken up was the driver, and all in all I think it was a pretty good, inexpensive lesson for her.

She gets the fear of god put into her, and no one was hurt badly - we all need an accident like that when we're young drivers. I hugged her, she cried, we both felt better.

I will definitely need a new basket on my bike, though.

But it's nothing that a little Jeni's ice cream - brought home in dry ice - won't cure...

Hmmm, could it be THAT was why I was speeding last night?


TNNA REDUX
As I drove away from Columbus, Jeni's ice cream firmly wedged in the back seat and happy memories of hugging everyone and their cousin dancing in my mind, I realized that I'd left out mentioning some of my favorite things from the show in my post yesterday.

Here are some amazing things from TNNA that I was too tired / frazzled / burned out to mention in my post yesterday.

Abundant Yarns Dyeworks
One of my favorite yarn shops in Portland went all TNNA-boothy this time and had some BEAUTIFUL stuff to show off! Between them and Knit Purl with their ShiBui yarns in the same town I have a very hard time choosing. So I won't.

Miriam Felton (Mim Knits)
I hadn't had a chance to see a lot of Miriam's patterns and shawls up close and personal - they're LOVELY! I absolutely fell in love with this red one - stunning. The girl designs and knits as well as she cooks, baby.

Kitchen Sink Dyeworks
Mercedes has more cool, neat-o ness and Moxie than one girl should be able to hold, and I am STOKED to use her new yarn. I've been a huge KIVA micro loan supporter for years, and was so thrilled to see her choosing them as a recipient of a portion of proceeds from her new yarn. Mercedes has excellent taste and color sense - I want to see EVERYTHING she does - now!

And, more to the point, she had the foresight to provide keychain / beer bottle openers with each skein of yarn. The woman reads minds...

Malabrigo Sock Weight Yarn
I'd heard about it, but hadn't played with it yet - but the Malabrigo sock yarn is stunning, lucious and very well dyed (of course!) I'm looking forward to using a nice amount of it in a design for History on Two Needles (a sort of tank/wrap based on a South American sculpture) and cannot wait to get it in my hot little hands!

Glow In The Dark Yarn
When I travel I bring things home for the kids; T-shirts, pins, just silly stuff. What was the thing Max was most excited about in my bag last night? This Nightlights Glow In The Dark yarn from Woolstock Yarn Shop in Maryland.

I hadn't seen it before, I'm giddily excited to play with it, and Max has made me promise to make him a mask. Fair enough! It's supposed to be machine washable - I'll report on how it does. This is going to get a LOT of attention in our house!

Mango Moon Elements & Zing String
One of the happiest yarns I've played with recently was Mango Moon's Dharma, and when I stopped by their booth what did I see but a really cool beaded hold-along string that I may be able to use for further projects. It's not as bling-y as what Tilli Tomas, Artyarns or Trendsetter is doing, it's chunkier and more low-glitz, but it fills a niche that's open right now (and works beautifully with their existing yarns.)

Nicky Epstein
I love Nicky. Is there anyone I love as much? Hard to say. Just getting to spend 20 minutes with her for coffee and a short walk made my weekend. And she gave me a scarf. Nicky loves me, too!

Pam Allen
Okay, I may just love Pam as much as I love Nicky. Oy. So many fabulous friends, so many choices! I never get enough time to spend with Pam. One of these days we're going to have to do a trip together so we can get good and sick of each other.

Pam's doing stellar things at Classic Elite, I have to get my hands on the Chesapeak yarn - it looks amazing!

I love how CE's working with Jared (one of my favorites) and Veronik Avery (an ALL TIME favorite designer of mine!) and it was thrilling to get to see them all in one place.

Veronik's Yarn, St. Denis Nordique, is a beautiful, lovely-feeling workhorse of a yarn that I MUST find some great place

Mission Falls 136
This is what everyone's been waiting for - a lovely Mission Falls yarn that is machine washable! I KNOW I will have some place for this in my future!

I know I'll get more notes to myself in the near future - I'll do continuous updates of TNNA stuff that I've thus missed. Oy.

TNNA Reflections

I love going to TNNA because it's one of the few chances I can meet with sister designers, teachers and yarn company folks in a working environment. It's true that I usually need more than a few days to collect myself and rest up from the walking, but this time around I was sensible about my shoes and I have no residual knee or foot pain. I love my Keens and Bżrns, they are saving my arches!

I see shop owners more than any other segment of the knitting/crochet world, aside from my actual students and knitters, but I don't get to see other designers or yarn company folks as often as I'd like. So even when a show is a little slow, or I'm exhausted (both happened this time) it's a good decision to go to TNNA.

Like many folks, I just about broke even this show. Times are rough, edging onto hard, but worse things have happened and in my heart of hearts I think a dip in the economy won't hit knitting as hard as it might other industries. It was delicious to be in a warm place, though - very enjoyable - and makes me appreciate my own cold home all the more. That sounds tongue in cheek, it's not - I really do love it here!

We yarn folk are in a unique business - we can fulfill simple dreams, which are all that some of us are able to cling to when larger dreams go into hibernation. A new house, a more exciting job, a cool new car - these are all things that may have to wait for better times. But a new scarf or sweater is do-able, and in the long run may bring a deeper satisfaction.

The sense of joy when a student mistresses a new technique is so strong because it comes from some internal place where we cherish learning. And not just a new technique, but this satisfaction is also found when a new pattern is tackled, a new yarn is discovered, or an old friend/ pattern/ yarn is revisited.

This is what will carry the knitting world through rough times, and perhaps even allow many of us to thrive. Well, a girl can dream.

Emotionality
I suffered an emotional setback at this TNNA, I had a rough day on Sunday which ended with a minor meltdown. Even more embarrasing, I melted in front of folks I treasure - so messy, so troubling.

I'm thinking the culprit was mental & physical exhaustion, the kind wishes of so many folks plus my inability to process them as easily as I would have liked. I wonder if there's some kind of mental digestive aid, like Tums or Beano, that would allow one to take in so much worry and love and concern from others without choking on it.

Like a kid who keeps a brave face until the moment when she stubs her toe, I was getting along fine until I sat down to dinner and put a very spicy samosa in my mouth. The burning caused me to lose all ability to hold back my tears (spices affect me so deeply, I have such a Methodist mouth.) I did have the presence of mind to get to my car before I entirely lost it, and that made the entire rental worth it.

I'm so grateful to Amanda from Lorna's Laces for understanding. Oh, heck, I'm just in love with all of their yarns anyway - Beth and Amanda are just the icing on the cake!

Local Teaching
While in San Diego I taught at the Grove, which remains one of my favorite yarn shops. The stock isn't extensive, but it's VERY well selected and there is something there for everyone. No, what I love about the shop is the spirit of the place - all the books, all the other cool stuff (clothing, trinkets, jewelry) and I especially love the women who run the shop.

Here are two students from my first class - both wearing knit or crochet skirts. Cynthia, on the left, is evidently stunned by Julia's prowess in knitting her Habu skirt (tens of thousands of stitches, we're told...) Cynthia worked up her own beautiful skirt from a pattern in Interweave Crochet. I love knit and crocheted skirts (I'm designing one right now in Skacel Trekking for IC myself!)

It's always good to spend time with Susan, I only wish the timing hadn't been such that I had to run back to the convention center to grab my suitcase before the management shut the doors and turned off the lights. But the rushing took it's toll, and as afternoon eased into evening and I found myself mentally and emotionally exhausted, and thus the aforementioned melting.

Luggage seemed to be a leitmotif of this trip. I've developed a new strategy for dealing with the crowded, bumpy rental car bus and my bags. When I fly I have so many suitcases (samples, teaching stuff, etc.) but I just HATE lugging, pushing and pulling them, one by one, up onto a rental car bus and then off again.

So this time I parked in short term parking across from my terminal just long enough to check in and check my bags. Then I returned to the car rental counter and took the bus back to the airport with only my carry on stuff.

It took longer, and cost me $3 in parking, but saved me a wrenched back and sore arms.

Thankfully, now that I'm back in the Great Frozen North I'm not melting as easily, and that's a mercy.

The flight back was wonderful - I was bumped up to First Class (the reward for so much flying over the past 2 years) and thoroughly enjoyed my free gin & tonic. The view looked better, too - flying away from the sunset was pretty.

Yesterday Gerry and I - and about 1,500 of our closest friends - stood outside the Riverview Theater hoping to get in to watch the inaguration. We didn't make it in, so we drowned our sorrows in coffee and breakfast at the Louisiana Cafe then returned home to watch the big event in the privacy of our living room. It would have been fun to have been in a crowd, though...

Looking Ahead
The Stitch Coop, the group of designers with whom I've joined forces (we're in the market for a Fortress of Solitude) is moving along well. Shannon's had such a great idea, and the members of the coop continue to come up with remarkable ways to market and present our patterns.

It was very exciting to see yarn shop owners stirred by the idea of presenting a hundred patterns and earning money on pattern sales with no initial outlay of funds. Shannon explains it much better than I am in her current blog post.

It looks as though we may be welcoming some yarn companies into our fold, which is brilliant. That's still in the works, as details become firm they'll be posted at the Stitch Coop website.

New Yarns & A New Book
I picked up some balls of new yarns - well, at least new to me - that I'm anticipating using in my new book.

I've made the decision to keep the process of researching, writing and creating the book entirely transparent, discussing the whole thing on my blog as I work through it. I'm hoping it will be interesting for my readers, and will allow me to avoid the annoying phrase, "secret project" that creeps into so many designer's blogs. I have to keep some projects quiet, but I want this one to be more visible.

I'll be self publishing - I had a wonderful discussion with Cat Bordhi about this at TNNA - so I have no overseer to get upset if I publish sketches or swatches en route to the finished design. The working title is History on Two Needles (or HOTN, which may or may not end up being the actual title.)

The premise of the book is the use of paintings, sculpture, mosaics and other artwork as a jumping off place for modern hand knit designs.

I had the idea several years ago, based on an assignment I was given in a design class in grad school. In that class we tackled the same concept, but without the knitted angle.

If I accomplish my goal, the modern designs won't look 'costumy,' but they will reflect the general feeling of some garment or detail in the chosen work of art.

For example, here's this statuette from the Museo Civico in Bologna reinterpreted as a ruana and ribbed top. I've received permission from the Museo to use the piece, as well as permission from several other museums.

Some of the artwork I want to use is available through Wikimedia in the public domain or through creative commons - that's going to be an interesting part of the process to wade through and learn about!

I collected many balls of yarn on Monday at TNNA to swatch up and - hopefully - use in the book. I'll be writing about them as I swatch them up, some of them are incredibly interesting!

The first step is to do the swatching and get a sense of what each yarn can do. The second step - which pretty much runs neck in neck with step 1 - is to determine what type of yarn I'd like to use for the various designs.

The actual designs will - if all goes well - organically just come together as I work through yarn choices and ponder my chosen artwork images. Yeah, right.

Well, that's the plan. Now let's see if I'll be able to deliver!

Stuporvision

A shot of Columbus in the rain, after a few G&T's, stumbling strolling back to the hotel. Quickly. Because I had to pee.

Thank god for the lobby bathroom at the Hyatt. Aren't you glad you left early, James?

TNNA Redux
I had a hell of a time. Yes, I did, an I'm not ashamed to say it. Haircut and all, I was a friggin' derelict. I haven't had that much fun in Columbus since I was 20. At least I'm legal now.

Max just asked me how old I am for a class project on finding averages & means. I told him I was 25. He doesn't believe me.

The Potter Party on Sunday night was amazing fun. Then again, I have fun just about everywhere I go. I had several G&T's, my drink of choice for a warm night, and bonded with new friends (whose booth I TOTALLY missed) and with some old, good friends.

The Lorna's Laces girls are wild women - be warned...

Favorite part? Whenever they called a winning number for a raffle I'd squeal and yell, "Oh my GOD!" I kept changing my location around the room. Hi, I'm 4.

Next favorite part? When I convinced Amanda to yell, "BINGO!" when the final number was called. Meet my friend, Amanda - she's 4, too!

Third favorite part? Engaging in some rather - ahem - salty dialogue with a few guys & a girl from the Vermont Organic Fiber Company.

I thought they were the AV guys because I'd MISSED THEIR BOOTH (what a fool I was) but they were incredibly cool. We had a Tony Soprano-off (which continued pretty much the entire evening, and was a magnificent way to relieve a little stress.)

This was after we'd compared our adorable kids' photos on our ipods. Techno-geeky proud parents showing photos of their 4-year old children.

Then on to the Tip Top bar for more drinks (I had iced tea) and the aformentioned stumble back to the Hyatt.

Passing through the bar on my way to the elevator (funny how that route goes, huh?) I spied Eliot from Artyarns and sat with him and Joanna [friendly neighborhood yarn rep] & her husband. A G&T and a bit of conversation later (Eliot, you ignorant slut...) I was finally, to bed, to rest from my 4 maniac days of yarn-walking.

The yarn booth reps rush over when someone is mauling the fibers to see if they can gracefully extricate the fingers from the yarn. I always say, "I'm not a yarn shop - I'm just a designer!" because I'm not a potential sale - and that really IS the biggest reason to have a booth at TNNA!

However, it's nice when they stop, look at my name and (if they know me) ask me if there's a yarn I'd like to swatch up. That means so much, and I put those companies in the front of my to-be-swatched basket when I'm trying to come up with new ideas.

At times this weekend I would see a yarn I really, really liked, but just didn't feel that I had the mental energy to schmooze a swatching ball out of the rep (not to take away - usually they'll send a ball to me after the show and I'll find a way to use it in a pattern or book.) I'm usually better at this, but just seemed to be lacking the "Hi, I'm Annie - I love your yarn!" patter this time around.

Best Stuff I Saw
This can in no way be a totally complete list. Bear in mind I was in a fog this TNNA. I had 3 classes, 2 book signings - those take a lot of energy and focus.

Because of this blog & the kindness of knitters, there were myriad lovely folks stopping to give me a pat or some encouragement. If they got weepy, though, I stomped on their foot. Be warned. And Thank You - everyone!

Prism Arts
Perhaps my favorite yarn at the show was Lotus (wool/bamboo/silk), which was dyed extraordinarily well. I stroked, loved it, made a fool of myself, and slunk off without the courage to ask for some. Alas.

Artyarns
I am thrilled that Iris has added beads to the Silk Rhapsody (one of the nicest knitting experiences one can have, and the main yarn in the back cover sweater for Romantic Hand Knits) Serendipitously, I had added some beads to my own ball of SR when working up a little bag, so Iris was able to use the bag as a sample!

Tilli Tomas
We know I love these yarns. I love them. Mwa. I kees you, you magnificent yarn! I'll be playing with some new spun silk, Plie & Demi PliŽ, later this evening. I'll be taking the phone off the hook.

Yarn Place
I hadn't used these yarns before, but I fell in love with their Bel Canto DK and Vivace. I truly am a sucker for a multi color ply. I cannot WAIT to get some of this on my needle!

Trendsetter Yarns (Lane Borgosesia)
I adored Harmony (wool/polyamide/polyester) - it's a really lovely blend - not too novelty-y for me (I'm so square) but with lots of zing. Just lovely. I was also transported by their yarn, Tonalita (wool/acryllic) - I love the colors and the way it's dyed. And I left my hat at the booth. Damn.

Needful Yarns
Their wool/silk/cashmere Feeling was extraordinary, as was their new Kaleidoscope (which is rather bulky as it's a chained yarn, but had a light feeling)

Crystal Palace Yarns
I fell in love with Taos (wool) and Kaya (wool) - I really dig the blending of the yarns. Very nice. They also had a yarn, Maizy (corn & elastic nylon) that will be a fun yarn to use for a variety of projects. Very pretty.

I LOVE Southwest Trading's AMaizing - it's the yarn used on the cover of Romantic Hand Knits - but this may give it a run for its' money! It's a trifle thinner.

Lorna's Laces
Shepherd Wooltop - Just being around this stuff makes me happier than is legal in 4 states.

Mountain Colors Yarn
I stroked and stroked their new Mountain Goat yarn until David from Unicorn Books across the aisle came over to see if I was alright. Yes, indeedy. I'm fine.

Cherry Tree Hill
The Supersock Dk that they had was really stunning - great colors - and lots of good "guy" colors!

The Alpaca Yarn Company
They were presenting a new yarn, Paca-peds, which is an alpaca/wool/nylon blend - great for sox, and beautifully dyed! And Superwash!!

Ecolution Pure Hemp
Lanaknits has it all over them on color choices, but I liked Ecolution Pure Hemp's selection of twine thicknesses, and will be asking for some to work up a series of hemp hats (some wired, some not...) which should be easy care and fun to wear. I like twine.

I think Lanaknits is the place to go, though, for cutting edge colors and really nice blends of hemp and other fibers, as well as pure hemp!

Alchemy
There were amazing colors and fibers at this booth - great textures and lovely yarns. Unfortunately, I've found that it's hard to get swatching balls sometimes from them, which is understandable (I'm sure everyone and their sister wants several!) so I don't work with this yarn as much as I'd like.

I am working up a shawl right now for VK in their Wool/Silk blend Sanctuary - it's going to be gorgeous

The Cascade Yarn Company
I really liked their new Dolce (alpaca/wool/silk) and Cash Vero (merino/acryllic/cashmere) - they seemed to have a lovely hand, but I'd really like to knit some up to see how they "play."

Back in St. Paul
Now I'm home - home to my husband who looks great (and apparently walked quite a bit yesterday up Grand Ave during the Grand Old Days celebration with his walker) and to my kids, who are beautiful and loud. Life is good.

I can tell he's glad I'm here - 4 days just about taxed his resources.

He didn't want to drive much while I was away, but we live near a CVS so if we need milk, etc., the kids can run up and get it. Thank heaven. And we have friends. It's hard for me to reach out - it's harder for him to do so.

Of course, into each life a little rain must fall - and when it rains on me it tends to pour. I'd love to see my horoscope for this day, but so far this has happened to me:

1. A beautiful yellow-ware bowl that I bought several years ago, and was worth $300 on Saturday, was broken into 300 pieces on Sunday. By Max. By accident. Geeze, I loved that bowl. Here's a photo of Max & Bowl in happier days.
   
   
2. Two bags in my suitcase - a small manicure case and a larger matching bag - were missing from my luggage when I got home. This has been the cursed luggage trip.
   
   The damage? Oh, only the Alchemy yarn that I was supposed to be making this shawl out of, that's what was in the bag. I've written to VK for more yarn, let's hope it's not too much of a nightmare. I've filed a report with NW, but I'm not expecting a lot.
   
   
3. I discovered that my beautiful Motobecan bike was stolen during the Grand Old Days celebration when Gerry and the kids were out for a walk. The question about who left the gate open is up in the air, but I'm going with Hannah because Max has the bowl on his ledger right now.
   
   Damn. I'd only ridden it half a dozen times, but I loved it. Damn.
   

Everytime I go to TNNA I seem to lose something. I was so proud that I had my phone, ipod, glasses - EVERYTHING when I left the hospital. So I guess they made up for it at home and at the airport.

And now I just feel - tired. I'd love to snooze for a week, but I'll be knitting for this evening. I did get a nap today (yay!) and Gerry was feeling well enough to take Max to baseball this evening. I hope Maxie did well!