So, the whole light-up crochet hook thing seems to be on the rise. I got some from friends who got them in their goodie bags at Stitch'n'Pitch and don't crochet. I thought the idea was great, because I like to crochet in the car while my husband drives and this way I don't need a light on when it gets dark. Brilliant.
Then while I was at TNNA, the company rep pointed out that they are also great when you are working with dark yarns, because it helps you see the stitches. Well THAT was an amazing discovery, as I'm in the middle of a black-yarn heavy project and am sick of sitting under a bright light all the time.
So, while I was at the LYS last week, I picked up an F hook. Last night at SnB, I had forgotten my normal F-hook in the car, but realized I had the Crochet Lite F hook in my bag, so I pulled it out to give it a try for the first time.
That lasted for about 3 seconds. The clear plastic shaft that forms the hook part gets gradually larger toward the handle, so an F-hook STARTS as an F-hook, but it only remains an F for about 1/4 of an inch. After that, it goes up in size to, I'm guessing, about an I. So, unless you form all your stitches riiiiiight up against the hook and hold your yarn extremely close to the stitch so you can YO, your stitches will end up being as large as if you were working with a much larger hook. I assume it's because the handles all have to be a certain size to accomodate the batteries, and they didn't think to resize the opening to the handle and just figured they could taper the hook part because the engineer had never crocheted before. The larger hooks don't seem to have this problem, but I have an F and a D that are basically useless as an F and a D. I might be able to get away with using them for a pattern that uses a larger hook with a thin yarn, but other than that, they are pretty much useless.
So, take caution when buying these and look at the hook shaft. If they are still tapering by the time they reach the handle, they aren't the size they claim to be. If they've evened off before then and are straight by the time they reach the handle, you should be good to go. It's a shame, because the idea of these is brilliant.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Monday, June 18, 2007
Progress
We have been rather busy around Chez Spiff this weekend. Adam traded in the Blazer for a Camry on Saturday. His brother was in town for a class reunion, and he and sister (who graduated the same year) decided to skip out and come party at our house. (Or, you know, eat pizza and chat.) And then yesterday it was Father's Day, which meant church followed by copious amounts of napping.
I managed to be productive none-the-less. I have reached the halfway point on the second project and am waiting on the last of the yarn to arrive before I can finish. So, I picked up project three and am about to finish the first of 3 patterns that that entails. Project three moves along much faster than project two, so I'm feeling less worried about the deadline now.
Today's schedule is comprised of grocery shopping, crocheting, feeding children, school, crocheting, making dinner, family home evening (we will be playing "cardboard games" tonight, per Kai's request), with a bit of crocheting to round it all off.
I managed to be productive none-the-less. I have reached the halfway point on the second project and am waiting on the last of the yarn to arrive before I can finish. So, I picked up project three and am about to finish the first of 3 patterns that that entails. Project three moves along much faster than project two, so I'm feeling less worried about the deadline now.
Today's schedule is comprised of grocery shopping, crocheting, feeding children, school, crocheting, making dinner, family home evening (we will be playing "cardboard games" tonight, per Kai's request), with a bit of crocheting to round it all off.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Oh, the gifties!
I've been having some lovely yarn days these past few days. Two days ago, I got the box of yarn from Cascade for the afghan for Lark:
Squooshy, yarny goodness delivered right to my door! The ease! The convenience! The sheer magnitude of 24 skeins of yarn in one massive box!
Abby, ok, ABBY, the 2-year old who is obsessed with my knitting and crochet, went into spasms of giggles and gleeful squeeling. She is 2, guys. I am sensing a stash addict emerging. Kai was excited, too, but more because it's fun to get stuff from the UPS man. Abby was in total bliss over the yarn. She was standing on the chair next to the table while I checked the color numbers and snagged two hanks and started waving them around over her head and squeeling, "Look, Mommy! Look at the yarn! Are you making something for meeEEEEEeee?!"
So, yeah. Abby will get the afghan when it's done and photographed and returned. Green and brown aren't exactly little girl colors, but she is always just desperate to get something I made, and it's been a while.
Then, yesterday, I got the box of yarn from Patons for the kitchen set. This one came in an itty-bitty box, but was still just as thrilling to get.
Paton's Grace in Champagne and Cardinal. Oooh-la-la. This arrived during Quite Time, so Abby doesn't know about it yet, and so there were no hysterics when it arrived.
Also, the day before yesterday, I received my box from my No Sheep for You partner.
Elsebeth Lavold's Cotton Patine in a lovely purple. I love EL's yarns, and hadn't used this one yet, so it was quite a treat. She also included some lovely cube beads and two little green kitty face beads. The latter are totally becoming stitch markers! For me! For me! The former, I'm going to incorporate into some wire jewelry, I think. I got Annie Modessit's wire jewelry book at TNNA and there are quite a few designs I've been wanting to try. I've done a bit of wire crochet, but haven't tried any wire knitting yet.
So, THANK YOU, NSFY pal! It was a lovely suprise and completely perfect! :)
Then, to top off the Week of the Yarn, we had knit club last night, and Linda totally spoiled me for my birthday. She gave me two of the light up crochet hooks from Crochet Lite that I'm totally in love with. (Not only are they great for using in the dark, but when working with dark yarns, too. I tried to find an F at the Fiber Factory for the pillow covers I'm making, because black Cotton Fleece is so difficult to see, and it was the only size they didn't have! Oh noes!) And then, to top it off, two hanks of Misti Alpaca Chunky in a sort of pea soupy/lime color.
Oh man, can I just remind you all how much I long for sheets made of alpaca and a maid to clean them for me? I believe that it is the fiber used to make the angelic robes of the saints. (Some might think cashmere or silk, but I think God is more frugal than that. Why pay the big bucks when alpaca is so fabulous and affordable?) I keep holding the hanks against my head and smooshing it. You know what it feels like? Boobs. I'm going to say it. Hanks of Misti Alpaca Chunky have the same smooshability and softness of boobs. Resting your head against one is like being 4 again and snuggling against your mom when you get a booboo.
They should use that as a marketing point somehow. I wonder if describing a yarn as boob-like would increase sales to men? They'd want it packed in brown paper bags for the trip home so no one would know they'd bought the boob yarn.
And in the interest of full disclosure, Linda told me they had other colors and she wouldn't be offended if I swapped it out. While the lime is LOVELY, I thought I'd take a look, because it was kind of pale for coloring, and I wanted to see Tempe Yarn and Fiber now that it is in its new location. So, I packed up the girls and we went over and they had some RED that was amazing! So, I ended up switching colors after all, because I figured if it was for my birthday, I was definitely going to use it on ME and the red looked better against my skin. So, THANK YOU, LINDA for thinking of me and for the smooshy goodness of alpaca!!
Squooshy, yarny goodness delivered right to my door! The ease! The convenience! The sheer magnitude of 24 skeins of yarn in one massive box!
Abby, ok, ABBY, the 2-year old who is obsessed with my knitting and crochet, went into spasms of giggles and gleeful squeeling. She is 2, guys. I am sensing a stash addict emerging. Kai was excited, too, but more because it's fun to get stuff from the UPS man. Abby was in total bliss over the yarn. She was standing on the chair next to the table while I checked the color numbers and snagged two hanks and started waving them around over her head and squeeling, "Look, Mommy! Look at the yarn! Are you making something for meeEEEEEeee?!"
So, yeah. Abby will get the afghan when it's done and photographed and returned. Green and brown aren't exactly little girl colors, but she is always just desperate to get something I made, and it's been a while.
Then, yesterday, I got the box of yarn from Patons for the kitchen set. This one came in an itty-bitty box, but was still just as thrilling to get.
Paton's Grace in Champagne and Cardinal. Oooh-la-la. This arrived during Quite Time, so Abby doesn't know about it yet, and so there were no hysterics when it arrived.
Also, the day before yesterday, I received my box from my No Sheep for You partner.
Elsebeth Lavold's Cotton Patine in a lovely purple. I love EL's yarns, and hadn't used this one yet, so it was quite a treat. She also included some lovely cube beads and two little green kitty face beads. The latter are totally becoming stitch markers! For me! For me! The former, I'm going to incorporate into some wire jewelry, I think. I got Annie Modessit's wire jewelry book at TNNA and there are quite a few designs I've been wanting to try. I've done a bit of wire crochet, but haven't tried any wire knitting yet.
So, THANK YOU, NSFY pal! It was a lovely suprise and completely perfect! :)
Then, to top off the Week of the Yarn, we had knit club last night, and Linda totally spoiled me for my birthday. She gave me two of the light up crochet hooks from Crochet Lite that I'm totally in love with. (Not only are they great for using in the dark, but when working with dark yarns, too. I tried to find an F at the Fiber Factory for the pillow covers I'm making, because black Cotton Fleece is so difficult to see, and it was the only size they didn't have! Oh noes!) And then, to top it off, two hanks of Misti Alpaca Chunky in a sort of pea soupy/lime color.
Oh man, can I just remind you all how much I long for sheets made of alpaca and a maid to clean them for me? I believe that it is the fiber used to make the angelic robes of the saints. (Some might think cashmere or silk, but I think God is more frugal than that. Why pay the big bucks when alpaca is so fabulous and affordable?) I keep holding the hanks against my head and smooshing it. You know what it feels like? Boobs. I'm going to say it. Hanks of Misti Alpaca Chunky have the same smooshability and softness of boobs. Resting your head against one is like being 4 again and snuggling against your mom when you get a booboo.
They should use that as a marketing point somehow. I wonder if describing a yarn as boob-like would increase sales to men? They'd want it packed in brown paper bags for the trip home so no one would know they'd bought the boob yarn.
And in the interest of full disclosure, Linda told me they had other colors and she wouldn't be offended if I swapped it out. While the lime is LOVELY, I thought I'd take a look, because it was kind of pale for coloring, and I wanted to see Tempe Yarn and Fiber now that it is in its new location. So, I packed up the girls and we went over and they had some RED that was amazing! So, I ended up switching colors after all, because I figured if it was for my birthday, I was definitely going to use it on ME and the red looked better against my skin. So, THANK YOU, LINDA for thinking of me and for the smooshy goodness of alpaca!!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Who has got the button?!
Buttons are crazy expensive. $3.50 doesn't sound bad until you need 9 of them. I tried contacting a wholesaler even and that was only slightly better, because they have better buttons, so their wholesale prices were about as much as the plastic round ones at Joanns anyway. I wish I'd know this when I was in college, because I would have taken some classes in button design and manufacture. (I don't know that Smith offered it, but maybe I could have found it at UMass through the 5-college exchange?)
I found some yesterday at Fiber Factory that are smaller than I wanted, but will work in a pinch. I wish the wire crochet buttons I attempted would work, but like Jenny said, when the wire is thin enough to work with, it's not durable enough to hold it's shape. I'm still thinking of getting some round, flats in the wood department of Michael's and having Adam drill holes in them for me. A layer of spray sealer and voila--button!
The nonstop work on the projects caused a bit of tendonitis or bursitis or just general wrist pain the other day, and I had to go get a wrist splint. I've been taking it slower and it seems to have left me for now. I need to get cracking, though.
I remembered to take Kai to her class yesterday. I had to speak with the TA afterward, because apparently, she just had melt-down after melt-down the whole time. Her cousin was in the class with her, and I drove her home for my SIL, and the whole way, she was telling me in great detail what Kai had done wrong and I couldn't get her to stop. By the time we dropped her off, Kai was feeling pretty low, and I spent the rest of the day pumping her up again. I thought she was cool again, until she wandered out of her room after bedtime and I sent her back telling her we'd had a great day and it was time for bed, and she turned around and said, "Mom. I had an awful time today." *sigh* Being 4 is hard.
I found some yesterday at Fiber Factory that are smaller than I wanted, but will work in a pinch. I wish the wire crochet buttons I attempted would work, but like Jenny said, when the wire is thin enough to work with, it's not durable enough to hold it's shape. I'm still thinking of getting some round, flats in the wood department of Michael's and having Adam drill holes in them for me. A layer of spray sealer and voila--button!
The nonstop work on the projects caused a bit of tendonitis or bursitis or just general wrist pain the other day, and I had to go get a wrist splint. I've been taking it slower and it seems to have left me for now. I need to get cracking, though.
I remembered to take Kai to her class yesterday. I had to speak with the TA afterward, because apparently, she just had melt-down after melt-down the whole time. Her cousin was in the class with her, and I drove her home for my SIL, and the whole way, she was telling me in great detail what Kai had done wrong and I couldn't get her to stop. By the time we dropped her off, Kai was feeling pretty low, and I spent the rest of the day pumping her up again. I thought she was cool again, until she wandered out of her room after bedtime and I sent her back telling her we'd had a great day and it was time for bed, and she turned around and said, "Mom. I had an awful time today." *sigh* Being 4 is hard.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
Slacker, slacker
I know I haven't come through on the photos, but what can I say? I've been a bit over whelmed. I would love for this to be a blog that is updated daily with photos and quips and information, but srsly, this deadline is looming in a big way. And if my priorities are really family/life/work, then blogging about those things is going to be the least of my worries when things are nuts. I don't have to have the most spiffilicious craft blog on the planet. It's mainly for my own records anyway.
I've been crocheting at least 6 hours a day for the last week. The projects I'm making for the book are very time consuming. I'm so very pleased with how they are turning out, but man are they taking a long time. I'm leaving the afghan for last, not because it's the biggest project, but because it's on a large hook and should go faster than the smaller projects I have planned that require construction time, too.
The bathmat is done. I have to weave in 2 ends and that's it. I've started on the pillows, and they are the project that is taking so much longer than I had planned that I'm getting nervous. But I am making progress and I'm hoping that by the time I run out of the yarn I have, the yarn Brown Sheep is sending me will have arrived.
I know I've gushed about it on my LJ, but allow me to gush here, too: Yarn companies? Are sending me yarn. For free! To use for the projects I'm making for the books! That little lesson was the best thing I heard at TNNA. Yay, yarn for free! Patons, Brown Sheep, and Cascade are all graciously providing yarn. So, go buy lots from them for supporting designers!
Anyway, enough for now. Back to hooking.
I've been crocheting at least 6 hours a day for the last week. The projects I'm making for the book are very time consuming. I'm so very pleased with how they are turning out, but man are they taking a long time. I'm leaving the afghan for last, not because it's the biggest project, but because it's on a large hook and should go faster than the smaller projects I have planned that require construction time, too.
The bathmat is done. I have to weave in 2 ends and that's it. I've started on the pillows, and they are the project that is taking so much longer than I had planned that I'm getting nervous. But I am making progress and I'm hoping that by the time I run out of the yarn I have, the yarn Brown Sheep is sending me will have arrived.
I know I've gushed about it on my LJ, but allow me to gush here, too: Yarn companies? Are sending me yarn. For free! To use for the projects I'm making for the books! That little lesson was the best thing I heard at TNNA. Yay, yarn for free! Patons, Brown Sheep, and Cascade are all graciously providing yarn. So, go buy lots from them for supporting designers!
Anyway, enough for now. Back to hooking.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Yarny goodness from TNNA
Michelle wanted to see pictures of what I picked up at TNNA. I will take those today and hopefully have them up by tomorrow. I wasn't allowed to take photos at the event, because there was quite a bit of stuff that hadn't been "released" yet. And some of that stuff I have samples to play with, but some of it they weren't even giving away yet. So, I'll tell you about those first and you can start seeing pictures tomorrow.
First of all, SWTC has some gorgeous yarns coming out. One is called Yin/Yang. The Yin yarn is a standard yarn in some lovely colors. (I didn't get a handout on the yarns so I can't tell you what the content was. Darn!) It looked like a merino, but since it's coming from SWTC, I'm guessing there is some soy or corn mixed in. Anyway, as I said, lovely colors, very soft, nice handle and drape. Beautiful. The Yang version is the same as the Yin, but it has sequins. And I know what you're thinking--AHH! NOVELTY YARN! But no! The sequins were small enough and placed well so that it wasn't sequin over-load. The plan with the yin/yang combination is that they can be used together so you can make a sweater in mostly Yin, and then use the Yang as accents and not have to deal with attaching sequins yourself. I would give you a link, but this yarn is so new it's not even on the website yet.
Along the same lines, The Alpaca Yarn Company had this beautiful yarn called Glimmer. I'm trying to remember now if it was a lace or a dk weight, but the thing about it was that it has a strand of holographic fiber spun with it. And some yarn companies who shall remain nameless *coughcoughLionWoolEasecoughcough* have used this poorly in the past. The holographic strand is too thick and ends up being glaringly obvious to the eye and pokey against the skin. Glimmer's holographic thread is so thin that the samples they had knit up for display looked like they'd been danced upon by Tinkerbell. They had a very understated sparkle to them that looked like pixie dust. I was completely smitten with that yarn. It's perfect for evening wear items or a formal piece or a out-on-the-town item for people who still want to shine, but don't want to look like they coated themselves in Elmer's glue and rolled around in the glitter. And the best thing was that because the thread was so fine, it didn't interfere with the softness of the alpaca.
First of all, SWTC has some gorgeous yarns coming out. One is called Yin/Yang. The Yin yarn is a standard yarn in some lovely colors. (I didn't get a handout on the yarns so I can't tell you what the content was. Darn!) It looked like a merino, but since it's coming from SWTC, I'm guessing there is some soy or corn mixed in. Anyway, as I said, lovely colors, very soft, nice handle and drape. Beautiful. The Yang version is the same as the Yin, but it has sequins. And I know what you're thinking--AHH! NOVELTY YARN! But no! The sequins were small enough and placed well so that it wasn't sequin over-load. The plan with the yin/yang combination is that they can be used together so you can make a sweater in mostly Yin, and then use the Yang as accents and not have to deal with attaching sequins yourself. I would give you a link, but this yarn is so new it's not even on the website yet.
Along the same lines, The Alpaca Yarn Company had this beautiful yarn called Glimmer. I'm trying to remember now if it was a lace or a dk weight, but the thing about it was that it has a strand of holographic fiber spun with it. And some yarn companies who shall remain nameless *coughcoughLionWoolEasecoughcough* have used this poorly in the past. The holographic strand is too thick and ends up being glaringly obvious to the eye and pokey against the skin. Glimmer's holographic thread is so thin that the samples they had knit up for display looked like they'd been danced upon by Tinkerbell. They had a very understated sparkle to them that looked like pixie dust. I was completely smitten with that yarn. It's perfect for evening wear items or a formal piece or a out-on-the-town item for people who still want to shine, but don't want to look like they coated themselves in Elmer's glue and rolled around in the glitter. And the best thing was that because the thread was so fine, it didn't interfere with the softness of the alpaca.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
TNNA, baby!
Well, THAT was an experience!
I got to Columbus in one piece and settled in to the hotel no problem. When I arrived, there was a massive mixed-flower bouquet, candle, and jar of bubble bath waiting for me from Adam. (Did I mention I was traveling on my birthday? He's such a sweetie.) I had dinner in the hotel restaurant and took a piece of cake back to my room to snack on later. And then ate it right away. *ahem* It was my birthday, people! Cake!
The mall was right next to my hotel and I had had plans to go get a new shirt to wear to TNNA the following day, only to find that the mall closed at 7. (My flight arrived at 7:15.) Seriously. Columbus is the state capitol and everything was closed by 7. Made. No. Sense.
I called Jamie and talked to her while I finished putting the lining in my bag and sewed in the handles. I think I finished at about 11 and tried to go to sleep then, but didn't actually fall asleep until 1. Curse you, time change!
At 6 am, someone dropped a breakfast tray in the hall and I couldn't fall back to sleep. So, I gave up at 7 and got up and got ready. At which point, I realized I'd forgotten to bring socks. I got myself together, took my bag downstairs and checked it at the front desk and asked if they knew where I could buy socks.
Sure! But none of the places open until 10!
Le sigh... So, I went out and got a taxi and headed over to the convention center in sneakers with no socks and a boring ole v-neck shirt. Oh, the humanity!
But wait! I had been dropped off at the wrong corner of the convention center and had to walk through the building and found an Ohio State Spirit shop! And they were open! I scored myself a sweet pair of bright red knee socks with large, white Os all over there. Sha-weet! I said a silent prayer of thanks that my pants were long enough to cover my socks completely and made my way to the convention itself.
Oh. My. There was a wall of fiber. A wall of yarn, mine for the stroking. And then there was a long double row of tables with mini-exhibits of different products and yarns. So many things to touch... But I was hungry and needed fuel and there were mini hoards around both of these exhibits, so I grabbed myself a smoothie and sat down at a table and was soon joined by a handful of women from a yarn shop in Indiana who were there to order. The owner didn't seem like she knew what to make of me, but I had a nice time chatting with her sister, who came with her every year for the heck of it.
When 10 rolled around and the doors opened, the mini-hoards made their way in and I took the opportunity to go through the mini displays and grope yarns and poke at gadgets, then I headed in to the event.
If I had to estimate, I would guess the floor space at about 2 or 2 and a half football fields large. Having never played football, I can't be expected to be completely accurate about that, but that's what it seemed like to me. Half of the space was for needlepoint things and the other half was for yarny things, with a few booths from each discipline mixed in on the other's side.
The first booth I sidled up to was the Mission Falls 1824 booth. It was staffed by an older man who looked like he was still getting settled, so I almost passed it by. But I went back and stepped in and had a looksie at the back wall of yarn and mentioned to the man that I was a designer. His response was, "Oh! Well, grab a ball and see what you can make of it!"
!!!!!
Crack to addicts, people. Crack. To. Addicts.
I made my way down that aisle, which happened to also house SWTC, who had a 6-stall space set up with GORGEOUS displays and holy dookie this amazing yarn they are coming out with that has SEQUINS, but they aren't insane sequins, and they also sell a version of the yarn without the sequins, so you can use the sequined version as just an accent if you want. I told them the lady who approached me that I was from Mesa and we chatted a bit and I handed her my flyer with my designs on it and she got very excited about one of them, and took it over to another lady who also got excited about it and came over and said she wanted to buy the pattern and she'd send me the yarn when she got back to make it up for them in Karaoke.
!!!!!
15 minutes into the event and I've learned that I can get whole skeins of free yarn AND I've sold a pattern.
I thanked them muchly and exchanged info and then moved on to the next booth that was taken by Conjoined Creations, which is a yarn producer in Cave Creek. So I said hi to them, too, as a valley local and we talked. They had some gorgeous yarns and when I told them I was the head of the Mesa Stitch'n'Bitch, they offered to come over and sell us some of their discontinued yarns and seconds. Yay!
From there I moved on a bit more methodically through the yarn side of the room, stopping to see who had crochet pattern support and offer my flier to all who would take it. The smaller yarn companies were very open to crochet submissions, and the large yarn companies were very eager to provide yarn support for any patterns that were to be published in a book or magazine. Both bits of information were excellent to hear!
I saw amazing things. Wonderful yarns that are coming out that have a "normal" yarn base, with a bit of sparkle or sequins or beading. They weren't "novelty" yarns, but they added a bit of sumthin-sumthin to the projects. I touched acrylics and acrylic blends that felt like fine merino. (There is no reason for acrylic to be harsh and scratchy and plasticy in feel. That is all the result of yarn companies pandering to the tastes of knitters of the 30's and 40's for whom rough, coarse wool meant projects would be durable, and they created their acrylics to appeal to people who thought things had to be coarse to be long wearing. They are FINALLY catching on to the fact that people really aren't interested in that any more and want SOFT and durable yarns.) I saw a lot of yarns with soy and corn components to them. Lost of exotic fibers; yak, qiviuk, buffalo, all trying to increase their footprint. (Did you know that buffalo doesn't felt OR stretch?!)
I saw Amy Butler bags suitable for knitting projects, a new bag from Namaste that looks like a yoga bag, book mock-ups (Saw the Crochet Me book!! It is BEAUTIFUL!), lots and lots of product distributors who appeared to be selling the same sets of things. Clover has these cute little "critter" pouches coming out that are rubbery animal shapes that have a zipper around their equator. They killed me.
Just before my meeting with Nicole from Lark, I found a book distributor that was giving away free books! Well, that just opened a whole new door of possibilities. ;)
I meet with Nicole and it was very positive. We talked about what was missing from the crochet books on the market and how gaps could be filled (more intermediate and advanced, kthx!) and she picked my brain on resources and what I saw as the up-and-coming trends. She then told me how to pitch my own book proposal to the company and asked if I had any ideas. I didn't have anything, like, OMGEXCITING in mind. I'd been thinking about it, but nothing wonderful had been cropping up for me in the last week or so.
But that changed later in the day...
Anyway, we ended the meeting and I went on my way for a few minutes before spotting a knit designer and had my first gap-jawed celebrity spotting of the day. Then I had to call Amanda, at which point I turned into a stupid, giggling 13-year old for about 10 minutes. It was the first time in 4 hours when I didn't have to be "on" and the whole "holy crap, I can't beleive I'm at TNNA!" swept over me in a big way.
When I was finished gushing, I pulled myself together and headed back out onto the floor. I stumbled upon Kim Werker doing a book signing and stopped to say hi real quick. She was at the book with the woman who taught Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning and I got a little geeked out by her, too.
Moving on, I found myself at a book signing for Annie Modesitt's new book, but had to run off before I got a copy, because I had my meeting with Kim. Still, slack-jawed gawping occured from my spot in line while I was there.
I so need help.
Kim and I went out to the coffee klauch and got some food and I met 2 other designers (Amy Swenson & Robyn Chachula) in the line. Kim and I sat and chatted for a while and then headed back in. She was in high demand, so I said goodbye and went to check in with some people she recommended that I go name-drop with. Oh, but before that, on the way in she sidled up to a group of 4 people and introduced me.
And, folks, they were... huge. I got a "hi, nice to meet you" out, but all 4 of them were people I'd seen on TV or recognized from multiple author-bios on various books. Big books. Books with major publisher backing and signing tours. I nearly shriveled up into a little piece of fluff before bursting forth into a burst of gushing and twittering and self-idiot-making. Luckily, we moved on tout-suite before I was given the opportunity to either shrivel or burst. I left Kim at the Interweave booth and went and made a few contacts she had recommended.
I had enough time to make it to the last of the yarn booths that were intermingled with the needlepoint booths before moving outside to catch the cab back to the hotel.
So, what was my overall impression?
People in the knitting/crocheting/yarn world? They are nice. Now, this might seem like an odd revelation. I mean, knitting and crochet is inherently a kind thing to do. Taking the time to make something by hand, for yourself or for someone else, is an act of kindness. But it's never really sunk in for me before this even how open and kind and helpful the people in the industry are. I was at the Karabella yarn booth(s)... Ok, now if there is a yarn company out there that says high-end, New York Couture to me, it's Karabella. I started by speaking to a rep, who was very New York Chic, but insanely nice, offered yarn support anytime, willing to chat with this new-to-the-industry designer, and then waves... oh my gosh, I'm going to type this... Berta Karapetyan over to show me the sweater she designed in the company's yarn. And Berta then went on to whip out her brand, spanking new book, and flip through it with me and show off little details and yarn choices.
Ok, I'm there in my boring, v-neck t-shirt, sneakers, red Ohoi State fan store socks, a bag bulging with freebies, hair that's all out of sorts because I forgot my products at home, clutching my little "I'm a designer, Love me!" flyers in my hand, and
Berta Karapetyan
Is flipping through her book with me and talking to me like I know what the hell I'm doing there.
A few minutes later, I was walking down the aisle again and feeling a little misty about it all, to be honest.
To see someone like (yes, I'm typing it again) Berta Karapetyan so excited and eager to show off what she's done to a little fledgling designer like me and to realize that all around me everyone was behaving this way was just overwhelming.
Because design isn't supposed to be that way. It's supposed to be competitive and cut-throat and you guard your techniques and you scoff at those beneath you, right?
I just didn't know how to process all this. Jane freakin' SOWERBY was at a booth near there chatting with a lady about lace like they were long-time knit club pals.
I had the owner of Alpaca with a Twist turn into a giggling 16-year old as she told me about Kim Werker buying a crocheted shawl off of her at an event to publish in Interweave Crochet!
The freebies were great. It was nice to get away. But the number one BIG THING that I took away from this conference is the realization that industry people WANT designers to be successful. They want you to be doing good work and they are open to seeing your ideas and willing to support you on the way. It's not an imposition to contact publishers and yarn companies with patterns. They are hungry for it. It all sent my brain to swirling, to be honest.
And then, it was time to leave. And leave I did. But the story does not end there. I made it to the airport about an hour before they started boarding (I could have stayed longer!) and called Adam and talked for a bit. He had to go to a homeowner meeting and I started flipping through a magazine.
And WHAM! It hit me. A book idea slapped me upside my skull. I whipped out my notebook and in about 5 minutes, I'd jotted down 18 projects. By the end of my first flight, I'd gotten it up to 22. When I think about it, I can see the photography and layout in my head. (I know not to get married to that, though!) The projects include a few beginner, but for the most part they are intermediate and advanced projects. I know what yarns I want to use for about half of them. But, it's big and I still have a few things to learn about the process of designing a whole book on my own before I take this to a publisher.
I arrived home sore from the knees down, with bruises on both shoulders and my left inner-elbow from carrying a couple of VERY heavy bags all day, tired like whoa and badly in need of a shower, but I am so very, very glad I went.
So, yeah. I VERY nice 36 hours.
I got to Columbus in one piece and settled in to the hotel no problem. When I arrived, there was a massive mixed-flower bouquet, candle, and jar of bubble bath waiting for me from Adam. (Did I mention I was traveling on my birthday? He's such a sweetie.) I had dinner in the hotel restaurant and took a piece of cake back to my room to snack on later. And then ate it right away. *ahem* It was my birthday, people! Cake!
The mall was right next to my hotel and I had had plans to go get a new shirt to wear to TNNA the following day, only to find that the mall closed at 7. (My flight arrived at 7:15.) Seriously. Columbus is the state capitol and everything was closed by 7. Made. No. Sense.
I called Jamie and talked to her while I finished putting the lining in my bag and sewed in the handles. I think I finished at about 11 and tried to go to sleep then, but didn't actually fall asleep until 1. Curse you, time change!
At 6 am, someone dropped a breakfast tray in the hall and I couldn't fall back to sleep. So, I gave up at 7 and got up and got ready. At which point, I realized I'd forgotten to bring socks. I got myself together, took my bag downstairs and checked it at the front desk and asked if they knew where I could buy socks.
Sure! But none of the places open until 10!
Le sigh... So, I went out and got a taxi and headed over to the convention center in sneakers with no socks and a boring ole v-neck shirt. Oh, the humanity!
But wait! I had been dropped off at the wrong corner of the convention center and had to walk through the building and found an Ohio State Spirit shop! And they were open! I scored myself a sweet pair of bright red knee socks with large, white Os all over there. Sha-weet! I said a silent prayer of thanks that my pants were long enough to cover my socks completely and made my way to the convention itself.
Oh. My. There was a wall of fiber. A wall of yarn, mine for the stroking. And then there was a long double row of tables with mini-exhibits of different products and yarns. So many things to touch... But I was hungry and needed fuel and there were mini hoards around both of these exhibits, so I grabbed myself a smoothie and sat down at a table and was soon joined by a handful of women from a yarn shop in Indiana who were there to order. The owner didn't seem like she knew what to make of me, but I had a nice time chatting with her sister, who came with her every year for the heck of it.
When 10 rolled around and the doors opened, the mini-hoards made their way in and I took the opportunity to go through the mini displays and grope yarns and poke at gadgets, then I headed in to the event.
If I had to estimate, I would guess the floor space at about 2 or 2 and a half football fields large. Having never played football, I can't be expected to be completely accurate about that, but that's what it seemed like to me. Half of the space was for needlepoint things and the other half was for yarny things, with a few booths from each discipline mixed in on the other's side.
The first booth I sidled up to was the Mission Falls 1824 booth. It was staffed by an older man who looked like he was still getting settled, so I almost passed it by. But I went back and stepped in and had a looksie at the back wall of yarn and mentioned to the man that I was a designer. His response was, "Oh! Well, grab a ball and see what you can make of it!"
!!!!!
Crack to addicts, people. Crack. To. Addicts.
I made my way down that aisle, which happened to also house SWTC, who had a 6-stall space set up with GORGEOUS displays and holy dookie this amazing yarn they are coming out with that has SEQUINS, but they aren't insane sequins, and they also sell a version of the yarn without the sequins, so you can use the sequined version as just an accent if you want. I told them the lady who approached me that I was from Mesa and we chatted a bit and I handed her my flyer with my designs on it and she got very excited about one of them, and took it over to another lady who also got excited about it and came over and said she wanted to buy the pattern and she'd send me the yarn when she got back to make it up for them in Karaoke.
!!!!!
15 minutes into the event and I've learned that I can get whole skeins of free yarn AND I've sold a pattern.
I thanked them muchly and exchanged info and then moved on to the next booth that was taken by Conjoined Creations, which is a yarn producer in Cave Creek. So I said hi to them, too, as a valley local and we talked. They had some gorgeous yarns and when I told them I was the head of the Mesa Stitch'n'Bitch, they offered to come over and sell us some of their discontinued yarns and seconds. Yay!
From there I moved on a bit more methodically through the yarn side of the room, stopping to see who had crochet pattern support and offer my flier to all who would take it. The smaller yarn companies were very open to crochet submissions, and the large yarn companies were very eager to provide yarn support for any patterns that were to be published in a book or magazine. Both bits of information were excellent to hear!
I saw amazing things. Wonderful yarns that are coming out that have a "normal" yarn base, with a bit of sparkle or sequins or beading. They weren't "novelty" yarns, but they added a bit of sumthin-sumthin to the projects. I touched acrylics and acrylic blends that felt like fine merino. (There is no reason for acrylic to be harsh and scratchy and plasticy in feel. That is all the result of yarn companies pandering to the tastes of knitters of the 30's and 40's for whom rough, coarse wool meant projects would be durable, and they created their acrylics to appeal to people who thought things had to be coarse to be long wearing. They are FINALLY catching on to the fact that people really aren't interested in that any more and want SOFT and durable yarns.) I saw a lot of yarns with soy and corn components to them. Lost of exotic fibers; yak, qiviuk, buffalo, all trying to increase their footprint. (Did you know that buffalo doesn't felt OR stretch?!)
I saw Amy Butler bags suitable for knitting projects, a new bag from Namaste that looks like a yoga bag, book mock-ups (Saw the Crochet Me book!! It is BEAUTIFUL!), lots and lots of product distributors who appeared to be selling the same sets of things. Clover has these cute little "critter" pouches coming out that are rubbery animal shapes that have a zipper around their equator. They killed me.
Just before my meeting with Nicole from Lark, I found a book distributor that was giving away free books! Well, that just opened a whole new door of possibilities. ;)
I meet with Nicole and it was very positive. We talked about what was missing from the crochet books on the market and how gaps could be filled (more intermediate and advanced, kthx!) and she picked my brain on resources and what I saw as the up-and-coming trends. She then told me how to pitch my own book proposal to the company and asked if I had any ideas. I didn't have anything, like, OMGEXCITING in mind. I'd been thinking about it, but nothing wonderful had been cropping up for me in the last week or so.
But that changed later in the day...
Anyway, we ended the meeting and I went on my way for a few minutes before spotting a knit designer and had my first gap-jawed celebrity spotting of the day. Then I had to call Amanda, at which point I turned into a stupid, giggling 13-year old for about 10 minutes. It was the first time in 4 hours when I didn't have to be "on" and the whole "holy crap, I can't beleive I'm at TNNA!" swept over me in a big way.
When I was finished gushing, I pulled myself together and headed back out onto the floor. I stumbled upon Kim Werker doing a book signing and stopped to say hi real quick. She was at the book with the woman who taught Teach Yourself Visually: Handspinning and I got a little geeked out by her, too.
Moving on, I found myself at a book signing for Annie Modesitt's new book, but had to run off before I got a copy, because I had my meeting with Kim. Still, slack-jawed gawping occured from my spot in line while I was there.
I so need help.
Kim and I went out to the coffee klauch and got some food and I met 2 other designers (Amy Swenson & Robyn Chachula) in the line. Kim and I sat and chatted for a while and then headed back in. She was in high demand, so I said goodbye and went to check in with some people she recommended that I go name-drop with. Oh, but before that, on the way in she sidled up to a group of 4 people and introduced me.
And, folks, they were... huge. I got a "hi, nice to meet you" out, but all 4 of them were people I'd seen on TV or recognized from multiple author-bios on various books. Big books. Books with major publisher backing and signing tours. I nearly shriveled up into a little piece of fluff before bursting forth into a burst of gushing and twittering and self-idiot-making. Luckily, we moved on tout-suite before I was given the opportunity to either shrivel or burst. I left Kim at the Interweave booth and went and made a few contacts she had recommended.
I had enough time to make it to the last of the yarn booths that were intermingled with the needlepoint booths before moving outside to catch the cab back to the hotel.
So, what was my overall impression?
People in the knitting/crocheting/yarn world? They are nice. Now, this might seem like an odd revelation. I mean, knitting and crochet is inherently a kind thing to do. Taking the time to make something by hand, for yourself or for someone else, is an act of kindness. But it's never really sunk in for me before this even how open and kind and helpful the people in the industry are. I was at the Karabella yarn booth(s)... Ok, now if there is a yarn company out there that says high-end, New York Couture to me, it's Karabella. I started by speaking to a rep, who was very New York Chic, but insanely nice, offered yarn support anytime, willing to chat with this new-to-the-industry designer, and then waves... oh my gosh, I'm going to type this... Berta Karapetyan over to show me the sweater she designed in the company's yarn. And Berta then went on to whip out her brand, spanking new book, and flip through it with me and show off little details and yarn choices.
Ok, I'm there in my boring, v-neck t-shirt, sneakers, red Ohoi State fan store socks, a bag bulging with freebies, hair that's all out of sorts because I forgot my products at home, clutching my little "I'm a designer, Love me!" flyers in my hand, and
Berta Karapetyan
Is flipping through her book with me and talking to me like I know what the hell I'm doing there.
A few minutes later, I was walking down the aisle again and feeling a little misty about it all, to be honest.
To see someone like (yes, I'm typing it again) Berta Karapetyan so excited and eager to show off what she's done to a little fledgling designer like me and to realize that all around me everyone was behaving this way was just overwhelming.
Because design isn't supposed to be that way. It's supposed to be competitive and cut-throat and you guard your techniques and you scoff at those beneath you, right?
I just didn't know how to process all this. Jane freakin' SOWERBY was at a booth near there chatting with a lady about lace like they were long-time knit club pals.
I had the owner of Alpaca with a Twist turn into a giggling 16-year old as she told me about Kim Werker buying a crocheted shawl off of her at an event to publish in Interweave Crochet!
The freebies were great. It was nice to get away. But the number one BIG THING that I took away from this conference is the realization that industry people WANT designers to be successful. They want you to be doing good work and they are open to seeing your ideas and willing to support you on the way. It's not an imposition to contact publishers and yarn companies with patterns. They are hungry for it. It all sent my brain to swirling, to be honest.
And then, it was time to leave. And leave I did. But the story does not end there. I made it to the airport about an hour before they started boarding (I could have stayed longer!) and called Adam and talked for a bit. He had to go to a homeowner meeting and I started flipping through a magazine.
And WHAM! It hit me. A book idea slapped me upside my skull. I whipped out my notebook and in about 5 minutes, I'd jotted down 18 projects. By the end of my first flight, I'd gotten it up to 22. When I think about it, I can see the photography and layout in my head. (I know not to get married to that, though!) The projects include a few beginner, but for the most part they are intermediate and advanced projects. I know what yarns I want to use for about half of them. But, it's big and I still have a few things to learn about the process of designing a whole book on my own before I take this to a publisher.
I arrived home sore from the knees down, with bruises on both shoulders and my left inner-elbow from carrying a couple of VERY heavy bags all day, tired like whoa and badly in need of a shower, but I am so very, very glad I went.
So, yeah. I VERY nice 36 hours.
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