Mandy Moore's Blog, page 35

TNNA: the knitting industry’s trade show…UPDATE!

Jillian and I have just returned from our annual trek to TNNA’s trade show, this time in Washington, DC. Jillian used to live there a very long time ago, and I’ve never been, so it was an interesting venue for us to explore.

Every year, we gauge what’s out, what’s in and what’s growing in popularity. This time, without question, the most popular trend was gradients. Gradients in every form, from sets of single-color skeins that make up the gradient to super-long-color-change skeins (first popularized, I believe, by Tina Whitmore of Freia Fibers).

Here’s a sampling of the new products released this year:

Indigo-dyed yarns at Ancient Arts

 

Adorable sheepies showing off the color range at Kraemer Yarns

Really cool laser-cut tapestry looms at Purl & Loop

Delicious colors of Manos Alegria

A soft rainbow (timely!) of Gems, from Louet North America and Fresh Stitches

Another delicious rainbow from the folks at Wonderland Yarns

And finally, the new speckled yarns, Splatter Shot, from our friends at Lorna’s Laces

There was also a lot of this going on…which helps you understand that, although it’s a work event, we also love seeing our fiber friends. There is a lot of hugging at TNNA.

Jillian, Stefanie Japel and Liz Gipson

Clara Parkes, Jill Draper, Miss Jillian again and Laura Nelkin

WWW: WWKIP, Indy PopCon, Icelandic Yarnbombing (the greatest ever?)

This coming weekend it’s the Indiana PopCon pop culture convention. Designer Joan of Dark – of the famous Baker Street Neil Gaiman scarf – is speaking at the event about her experience getting her Geek Knits book published, Saturday 3pm.

This weekend it’s World Wide Knit in Public Day. What are your plans?  I’ll be at Shall We Knit in Waterloo, for our annual shenanigans. I look forward to seeing pictures on Twitter and Instagram.

Although not specifically a WWKIP event, I’m rather amused by list of events at the Wildfire Adventure Camp event this weekend in Kent, U.K… Advertised as summer camp for adults, one of the activities scheduled is “naked knitting”. I just hope that there’s lots of sunscreen available.

Just the greatest. Love the faces! Photo from Prjónagraff á Blönduósi, Facebook.

Yarn-bombing Iceland style. Of course Icelandic yarnbombing features gorgeous colorwork and excellent sheepy details! The Facebook page of this group is absolutely amazing.

From James’ Global Knitting Party blog.

A familiar story, no less wonderful for it: knitting as a way to fight depression. The chef and cookbook author is touring the world – travelling 15,000 miles with yarn and needles in hand, telling the story about his fight with mental illness. Lots of great photos on the blog.

TNNA – The Spinning

 

Look my book!

 

I got back from TNNA last night, it was a whirlwind of fiber, yarn and lots and lots of  hugs. I’m going to show you a few of the spinning things I saw, but I sure didn’t take as many photos as I thought I did!

The first place I went when we got to the show was the Storey Publishing booth to see my upcoming book  Yarnitecture! Here I am giddy with a mock up of the book and my editor Gwen Steege. The book is at the printer right now and will be available in September. You can pre-order on Amazon right now. Squee!

 

 

 

Spinning and Weaving FTW!

 

The Spinning And Weaving Group are the people who bring us Spinzilla every year. They have plans to make Spinzilla even bigger and more fun. They elected a new president this year, Rita Pettys of Yarn Hollow,you can see her waving from the booth.

Spinning and weaving were hot at the show, in large part to this dynamic group. Knitting stores are continuing to add both spinning and weaving to their offerings as their customers ask for them and apparently, people are asking. We aren’t surprised are we?

 

 

Frabjous Fiber Colorshift and Merino/Tencel

 

Frabjous Fibers added Merino/Tencel to their fiber line, a blend that not many companies carry. The also have gorgeous gradients called Colorshift.

 

 

 

 

Sweet Georgia’s wall of color!

 

 

Lots of companies are listed in the show guide as having spinning fiber, but no company brings it like Sweet Georgia. They have a whole wall of spinning fiber in all of their glorious colors. They show all of their colors on all of their bases. I visited this booth a few times just to stare and sigh.

 

 

 

 

 

Dragonfly Fibers rich and sexy spinning fiber.

 

Dragonfly fibers has Polwarth/silk and a Merino/ silk fiber, this picture is not great, but that fiber in Kate’s rich colors made me want to roll all over it like a happy puppy.

 

 

 

 

 

Spinning equipment companies were there too. Schacht, Louet and Ashford all had booths. I didn’t get photos of any of them because I was too busy touching, touching, touching. Schacht had a line to try their new Flat Iron wheel. They announced the price at $795. Schacht reported that shops were interested in looms this year, more than spinning.

Between fiber, fiber equipment and yarn the Louet booth was always hopping, but I did finally get my hands in their fiber sample book. I had forgotten how much I love their dyed Corriedale – it’s so soft.

 

That’s the quick and dirty spinning report. I’ll go into a lot of these fibers deeper as I get samples to spin.

Save

Save

Pinwheel Shawl KAL

A Knitty, we are big fans of the “deceptively simple” – a piece that looks effortless to wear. A piece that seems to be simple in construction but has a clever twist. A piece with a clever variation that makes you look at something in a whole new way.

Laura Barker’s Pinwheel shawl, from our most recent issue, checks all three boxes. It’s a large rectangular shawl, worked from the center out – so no pesky purling! – and which allows you to show off a gradient yarn. And she provides a neat way to pin it so it drapes like a vest – ideal for summer-time, when you need a bit of warmth, but don’t want a big heavy thing around your neck.

If you’ve been thinking about working it, Laura is launching a KAL for the summer, starting June 18th. She’ll be hosting the KAL in her Ravelry group, and will be providing guidance, tutorials, and cheering along as you go! She’ll tackle the casting on, working and reading the lace chart, and working the clever and lovely attached edging.

The project is suitable for knitters with a little experience with lace and working in the round. In fact, it’s an terrific project to take your lace skills to the next level, learning some new tricks along the way.

WWW: Study of knitting as a way to alleviate arthritis pain; a pleasant little ditty; a knitter’s life commemorated

Image courtesy the Ottawa Citizen.

A research group at the University of Ottawa’s School of Rehabilitation Sciences, led by Lucie Brosseau, is examining the impact knitting has on pain and stiffness caused by osteoarthritis. Can regular knitting help relieve pain and morning stiffness associated with the ailment? A local knitting group, the Pacesetters, is participating by keeping records of their yarny activity, and the level of pain they experience.

Found on the US Library of Congress website: a musical score for a 1917 composition entitled “Knitting”. Written for vocals and piano accompaniment, it’s a catchy little ditty. I was amused to find that even a century ago, they were referring to knitting as something grandma would do…

“This war has brought a custom back, that seems to be most fitting.

It was the vogue in grandma’s time: it is the art of knitting.”

So great!

Love this: Linda Barks has created a full knitted town, for a local children’s playgroup. The level of detail is fantastic: there’s a supermarket and a farm and buses and even an airport.

In which a knitter realizes a terrible truth: that you rarely actually get a lot of knitting done at a knitting retreat! There’s always lots of learning and socializing and fun, but somehow not many rows actually get worked…

I wish I knew more about this story. It’s a wonderful idea, very moving: a church on the Isle of Wight, UK, has curated an exhibition of the knitting work of a late resident of the area. It’s a fundraiser for the hospice in which Margaret Palmer spent her last days. Called ‘Casting On — a life in yarn’, the exhibition featured more than 50 pieces, including the project she was working on when she died, still on the needles.

What Is the Next BFL?

Huckleberry Knits Targhee/Silk

For a long time everyone was spinning Merino. Now BFL seems to be the undisputed Queen of  the most popular commercially prepped fiber contest. I thought Polwarth was going to take over, then everyone was spinning Targhee, now Corriedale and Falkland seem hot.

I am so thrilled that there are so many choices of commercially prepped and beautifully dyed fibers. And the blends, don’t get me started! The fiber festival shopping days are just getting started, what are you seeing out there? What were the last 3-5 commercially prepped fibers that you bought?

My five are: Superwash BFL top, Targhee/ Silk top, Falkland, Yak/Silk top and Eider.

What do you think is going to be the hottest fiber to spin this year?

WWW: On the UFO, Leeds Wool Festival, Knitting Mathematics workshop

I’ve written before about the use of fiber arts in the teaching of mathematics, and the links between math and knitting. Oh how I wish I could take this course, “Knitting Mathematics” presented by educational organization Math for America.  The group is focused on supporting teachers of mathematics and science at all levels in the US, and this particular workshop is all about how fiber can be used an way to teach mathematical concepts in an innovative and interesting way.

An unfinished Cezanne. Image courtesy the museum.

Not Strictly Knitting, but entirely relevant to my knitting experience – and everyone else’s, I suspect. A new exhibition at The Met Breuer Museum in Manhattan explores the UFO in art: the unfinished object. This NPR piece shows some of the pieces, and discusses the inspiration for the exhibition and significance of the pieces and their incomplete state which offers “glimpses into the creative process and sometimes reveal artists’ anger or despair”. (Been there!) Fascinating and actually a huge relief.

Also Not Knitting, but wonderful anyway: a short video depicting the process of couture hat-making.

This Saturday is the Leeds Wool Festival, held at the Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills. If you’re in the north of the UK, it sounds like a fantastic day out. The setting is fabulous: the museum, on the site of an old textile mill, has a remarkable collection of antique industrial textile machinery.

Love this: over 300,000 hand-knit and crocheted poppies were installed in the grounds of the Royal Hospital Chelsea in London, as part of the Chelsea Flower show. The poppy is traditionally a symbol of remembrance for those who have lost their lives while serving in armed forces, and this gathering forms a remarkable and moving tribute. Crafters from around the world — of all ages, countries and religions — contributed, to commemorate those who have served in all wars, in history and in current times.

Faintly not-safe-for-work, in that a couple of the topics discussed relate to sexuality… a Guardian article talking about the role of the internet in finding community and support. Very happy to see Ravelry mentioned! (Less happy about the mis-identification of crochet as knitting in a photo caption…)

We’re Going to TNNA – What Do You Want to Know About?

We’ll be touching all of the things!

Amy and I will be attending the summer TNNA show in a a couple of weeks. TNNA is the The National Needlearts Association trade show, the show that shops, designers and publishing types attend to see what’s new in our fuzzy world. The summer show has everything new for fall knitting (and spinning and weaving and stitching).

I’ve been in our wonderful, crazy industry for more than 25 years and I think this may be my 20th TNNA. I’ve gone as an exhibitor, an author, a shop, and a publisher. My question for you, Knitty readers, is what do you want to know, what tidbits of information, photos, giveaways do you want Amy and me to bring back?

Things like, what’s the hottest color for fall? Who had the busiest booth? What’s more popular this year spinning or weaving? What was our favorite new yarn? What was the most gorgeous knitting bag we saw? Who has new styles of needles?

What are you curious about?

 

Obsession Thursday: continuing to heal

Last time I wrote, I told you about my upcoming surgery of a womanly sort and how that would affect Knitty’s next issue.

Since then:

– surgery went off very well

– took 2 hours longer than expected because my surgeon needed to consult during the procedure to make it as minimally invasive as possible

– I believe I asked the recovery room nurse to marry me after she gave me 4 perfect orange popsicles, one after another…just what i needed after having that tube down my throat (ack)

– some very lovely people visited me in the hospital (I just stayed overnight) and I felt very loved

– home the next day, feeling surprisingly good, but moving slow

– the usual post-general anesthetic symptoms gone in a few days (yay!)

– soon feeling almost zingy!

– and then the real zinger: a pinched nerve in my neck from all the proneness (since sitting up was not very comfortable the first few days)

So that last bit, that was actually probably the worst part of my recovery. I took myself back to the ER when I started to feel severe pain in both my arms, 5 days after surgery. All sorts of tests confirmed I hadn’t had a heart attack or stroke, and they sent me home. With no idea what was wrong. Oh, joy.

Cervical radiculopathy. I’ll say…it’s radiculous!

And then, Dr Mom diagnosed me. Pinched nerve. It was exactly that. Stretching my neck in a specific direction reproduced the pain. So gentle long stretches in the same direction finally relieved the pain. I’m continuing to do the stretches and the pain is gone, but my neck STILL feels like I let a tractor run over it. (I didn’t.)

For those who told me that a hysterectomy (total, laparoscopic, btw) would be an easy recovery, I thank you. You were right. It definitely was even easier than when I had my gall bladder removed. I find that surprising and a huge relief. Yay, modern medicine! Boo, neck nerves.

Anyway, Knitty production has resumed, albeit slower than usual. We will be bringing you a fabulous First Fall issue around the middle of June, as we predicted. Jillian and I are heading to TNNA in Washington, DC, next weekend (already? holy cow).  If you have a yarn shop, please stop us if you see us on the floor. We have a little something to give you.

Giveaway! The Knitter’s Journal by Jane’s Knitting Kits

The Knitter’s Journal: From Swatch to Stash

The women at Jane’s Knitting Kits worked for a whole year to make this wonderful knitting journal. The Knitter’s Journal:From Swatch to Stash has project resources like body measurements and yarn requirements, pages to develop your own designs,  pages to catalog stash and needles and it’s hardcover. You can peek at sample pages here.

 

They have generously given us a copy to give away to one KnittyBlog reader. Need a little more organization in your knitting life? Leave a comment below.

 

Leave a comment on this post between now and midnight eastern time, Tuesday May 31st. One comment will be chosen at random to answer a skill testing question. If the commenter answers correctly they will win the Knitter’s Journal.  Giveaway value $29.95.