A Look Back at TNNA

For all the years (now more than five!) that I’ve been part of the knitting world I still haven’t made it to any of the major conferences or conventions in the world of knitting and needle arts. I really wanted to go to TNNA — The National Needlearts Association — summer meeting this year. It’s held annually in June in Columbus, Ohio, and it is the place to learn all about what’s new that’s going to be hitting the yarn shops for fall and winter knitting. For someone who knits and writes about knitting for a living, it’s also a place to meet up with other designers and make connections in the industry.

There were a few reasons I didn’t end up going (and it happened that my daughter’s first-ever performance in front of people, at her preschool’s end of the year party, was that weekend, so I’m glad I was home) but I really, really want to and intend to go to at least one of the shows next year (there’s a winter one in California, which sounds pretty nice).

But thanks to the Internet, all of us who weren’t there can get a little taste of what the convention was like. My go-to source for these sorts of things is Clara Parkes, who runs the excellent Knitter’s Review and just logged her 13th TNNA. I know she’s on the lookout for the best yarns because reviewing yarns is what she does, so I know if she mentions something in her roundup it’s going to be a big deal in the coming months.

She noted that novelty yarns are coming back, but they’re better this time because so many are made with a higher percentage of natural materials than those all-synthetic yarns we had the last time novelties came around. Color is also a big story, as it has been all year, with more indie dyers in attendance. One yarn she talked about that I’m excited to try: Koigu Bulky! It looks like a beauty.

Have you ever been to a big yarn show or industry event? Spill it!

A few years ago I wrote a post that was full of patterns for knit mushrooms, but I don’t think I ever did a post that was knitting patterns with mushrooms on them, so today’s the day.

I love the Fungi Beanie from Jacki Bean, which calls for worsted weight yarn and uses duplicate stitch to add the mushrooms and other details. I think the colors she used for the design are tonal/multicolor so it doesn’t use as many colors as it looks like, but you can use whatever red, green, brown and white yarn you have in your stash for those details.

How about some mushroom socks? The Magic Toadstool sock form Stone Knits includes a ring of mushrooms around the leg, contrasting heel and toe and a little more colorwork at the toe for extra cuteness. As shown it uses four colors and comes in three sizes.

Or there’s the Fairy Ring Socks from Katie Green, which have mushrooms of two sizes on the legs, plus a bit of wavy grass. They have a contrasting cuff, heel and toe and some colorwork flecks in the body of the sock as well. This one is available in eight sizes to fit everyone from a baby to an XL adult.

This trippy cowl from Hunt Hand Knits looks like a lot of fun to knit. The Fungus Among Us Cowl is shown using four colors of DK weight yarn, though you can do it with as few as two if you’d rather.

Stitch some mushroom mittens with this cute pattern from Holly C Watson. This design uses three colors, and it’s shown with a self-striping yarn on the mushroom caps, which makes the colors change without you having to do any work. The pattern is charted but it’s a pretty easy repeat. The mittens are one size.

If you don’t feel like knitting mushrooms but still want to give your project a touch of the forest, the Toadstools Cardigan from Julie Taylor may be what you’re looking for. It’s stitched as a plain cardigan worked in DK weight yarn and sized for newborns up to 4 years old. The mushrooms are added with embroidery and the pattern includes the design, which you can trace onto water soluble stabilizer to stitch the mushrooms onto your sweater. Or anything else you want. You can find this pattern on Ravelry.

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