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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!

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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?

Stitch Your Favorite Fruit on a Sweater

The other day I saw a post from Pinterest about trends for summer and it said one of them was “cultivating whimsy.” 

Well, I don’t know where Pinterest has been all this time, but we’ve been cultivating whimsy here at Craft Gossip for a long time. I love sharing projects that are a little different, things that make you smile when you see them, and will make you smile when you knit them and wear them or use them. 

Such it is with the Tutti Frutti tee knitting pattern from Bea Creative Knits. 

This cute little baby tee is worked top down in the round with contiguous shoulder construction to shape the sleeve caps. There are short rows for the neckline and folded hems with picot edging at the hemline, neckline and edges of the sleeves. 

All of this would be great on its own, but then there’s the addition of a super cute fruit icon, which is added with duplicate stitch. There are a lot of options, including strawberry, banana, orange, cherries, watermelon, lemon, blueberries, kiwi, peach, dragon fruit, apple and pear, so it’s likely you can add on your favorite fruit. 

It is offered in eight sizes, to fit a bust measurement ranging from 28-30 inches (71-76 cm) to 56-58 inches (142-147 cm). The design is meant to be worn with around 6.3 inches/16 cm of negative ease, but you can choose the fit you prefer. There’s also optional bust and waist shaping included in the pattern if you want to make it even curvier.

This is considered an advanced beginner or intermediate project because of all the skills involved, but it’s sure to be a lot of fun even if some of these techniques are new to you.

Grab a copy of the pattern for yourself form Bea Creative Knits on Etsy. 

[Photo: Bea Creative Knits]