I am in recovery.
I have had an amazing weekend at TNNA in Columbus with Unicorn Publishing promoting ‘Knitted Cats & Kittens’. TNNA stands for The Needle Arts Trade Show and is a showcase for the latest needlearts industry trends, ideas and products. Friday is set up day and at 5pm there is a huge Sample Sale. I arrived at 8pm... grrrr...
However my lovely friends at Millamia, Helena and Max, made sure that I didn’t miss out and here is my haul... two hanks of the fabulous Lorna’s Lace's ‘Haymarket. A beautiful Blue Faced Leicester wool in gorgeous colours with a lovely cowl pattern. Also a lovely shawl pattern from Julep B with a supersoft ball of Silky Alpaca Lace from Classic Elite Yarns. While I was chatting to people on the stands I also managed to bag a ‘left over’ kit from the fantastic Swans Island for the Olivia Cowl using two hanks of thier gorgeous Ecowash DK yarn... all Beautiful!
I have to say I was nervous about flying 4,000 miles (two flights) on my own but I did end up where I was supposed to be... and with my luggage. After I arrived at the hotel I went to the bar and ordered a G&T and sandwich with chips... first difference between the UK and US... chips are crisps. It was a very odd feeling to be sitting there looking at the street below realising how far from home I was and although it was 9pm in Columbus that is 2am in the UK.
The show itself was FANTASTIC! I was based on the Unicorn stand but every so often went on a wander round to see all the beautiful yarns, patterns, bags... and more. As well as all the knitty goodies on show the show was full of Knitterati - the celebrities of the knitting world. Just one stroll down an aisle found Martin Storey, Ericka Knight, Nicky Epstein, Brenda Dayne (Cast On podcast), Carol Feller and Stephen West. No photos to prove that I’m afraid, I was too starstuck!
It was lovely to see some familiar faces there, including Helena and Max from Millamia showcasing their lovely yarns, including some new shades which is really exciting. Erika Knight was also there with new shades to add to her gorgeous yarn range so hopefully you will see all of this in the shop shortly.
On Sunday I had a book signing. Everyone was really lovely and gave me fantastic feedback about the book. A lot of store owners already had the book in their shop and Unicorn made sure I had time to talk of everyone so I found out alot about US Yarn Stores and their customers. The names of the stores were really imaginative, Knitsch has to be my favourite.
The best thing about the show was how insiring everything was, everyone you spoke to said the same thing, I came away buzzing about new ideas and now all I have to do is find the time to do them!
Happy Knitties
