Knitting

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TNNA Conference Yarn Report

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Knitter’s Review visited the TNNA early June in Columbus Ohio. ” TNNA stands for The National NeedleArts Association, and twice a year they host a conference where store owners, manufacturers, designers, publishers, and industry folk come together to learn, schmooze, and sell. Besides the marketplace, [tag]TNNA[/tag] also offers a fantastic array of classes, as well as various other programs and a fashion show.”

Knitters Review reports on several new yarns soon to be available.

Pam Allen now works at [tag]Classic Elite Yarns[/tag]. Pam helped to develop the Alpaca Sox yarn which is composed of 60% alpaca, 20% merino, and 20% nylon.

[tag]Knit One, Crochet Too[/tag] previewed its new sock yarn, Soxx Appeal. A truly springy and subtly textured sock yarn, Soxx Appeal is made of 96% Merino, 3% nylon, and 1% elastic, and comes in a host of variegated colors.

Among the numerous new hand-dyers at the show, the level of quality and innovation varied dramatically. The new yarn darling had to be [tag]ShibuiKnits[/tag], based in Portland, Oregon. They had seven yarns on display, each developed with specific intention and taking into consideration how its weight, fiber content and quality, twist, and ply would work in conjunction with the other yarns.

Vermont-based organic yarn vendor [tag]Vermont Organic Fiber Company[/tag] had two new yarns on display. Although this company is relatively new to the handknitting yarn market, they’ve been selling organic wool to the textile trade since 2000 and are making impressive inroads.

Visit [tag]Knitter’s Review[/tag] for the whole story!

Comments

  1. Did you go to the TNNA event? If you saw the fashion show one of my shawls was featured. You can see it on my blog (turquoise fleece shawl) which is my own technique using a felted fleece and freeform crochet and knitting embellishments. Check it out and let me know what you think. Thanks.

Have you read?

Pencil Knitting Patterns

Getting ready for back to school makes me think about pencil crafts, so let’s take a look at some pencil themed knitting patterns! 

I recently made a pencil on a circular knitting machine, and it was a fun, quick, easy project that uses little bits of leftover yarn (and if you don’t have yellow you can make it a colored pencil using whatever color’s your favorite). And if you want to make a bigger version check out this pattern from Orange Olive Road on Etsy.

If you want to knit a pencil pillow by hand, check out Sketchy, available on Ravelry from Shana S. Cohen. This one uses worsted weight yarn and has two size options and the choice to make a pencil with an eraser or a colored pencil. 

Pencil scarves seem to be the most popular kind of pencil knitting pattern, and there are lot of cute ones. This one from Cosy Craft UK mostly uses garter stitch, with some welts to add texture and what looks like an I-cord edging. It calls for DK weight yarn. 

If you want to go all garter stitch try this version from Emsley Co Creations, which uses five colors of DK weight yarn and just a little shaping to make the point of the pencil.

There’s also this fun, mostly stockinette so it looks like it curls a bit, pencil pattern that looks like it’s worked in chunky yarn from Little Knits Studio. This one uses just a little garter stitch and easy shaping for the point. 

If you don’t want a pencil scarf, how about some pencil socks? The No. 2 Pencil Socks from The Yarn Enabler are available from Ravelry and use five colors of sock yarn. They feature wide ribs to mimic the texture of a pencil and have options to be worked from the top down or the toe up. 

Needs Sharpening by Alexander Walker is a free pattern on Ravelry that uses five colors of sock yarn to make a sort of shortie sock. The little bit of black at the tips of the toes inspired the name. These, too, can be worked in either direction and are available in three sizes.