Getting Stitched on the Farm

Reality Strikes

Back to reality after a really busy weekend in Indianopolis at the TNNA show. I spent a large chunk of time in the Westminster Fibers/Nashua Handknits booth talking with yarn store owners. There are still new stores opening throughout the country which meant that there were many questions from people who weren’t sure how much yarn to order and lots more. I love the enthusiasm of a new store owner – they are envisioning their space, their clientelle, and how they are going to develop their business. It’s infectious.

Besides selling my Julia Wool/Mohair/Alpaca, I also sold lots of the other Nashua yarn qualities that my friends Linda Pratt and Susan Mills have developed. (Susan, Linda and I worked together at Classic Elite Yarns for several years.) They’ve got a great new kid mohair at an excellent price and a pretty brushed alpaca that looks to be nice for shawls and scarves. There are many other new yarns so check your LYS late this summer. I delivered three stitchery new kits to JCA and they hung them nicely in their booth. I have three more to finish - gotta keep stitching.

Because I have only been to one Needlework Trade Show in the last six years, there were lots of new faces to meet. I had lots of fun talking face to face with Amy Singer from Knitty.com. We have been corresponding because of the felted tea cosy I did for Knitty but it really helps to meet in person. She is a totally wonderful person. I got a copy of the new book she did with Jillian Moreno called Big Girl Knits and she even signed it for me. Thanks Amy.

I also got to meet Ann and Kay of Mason-Dixon Knitting which was another thrill. I don’t buy many knitting books but I did buy theirs and to have it signed is even better. I think it’s nice that they are branching out into quilting because the cross-over possibilities of combining many crafts is limitless.

I spent a nice bit of time speaking with Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching fame and even met her totally lovely mom. Jenny’s passion for her business is fierce and it is amazing what she is doing to get new people into embroidery. I hope I get to speak with her again sometime.

Melinda Barta (author of Hip to Stitch) and Jeane Hutchins (Editor of Piecework) previewed the July issue featuring Paisley Shawls and Suzani embroidery. I’ve got a project in it and it looks great. I love the historic pieces they feature – it helps to connect me to stitchers from centuries ago. That's the cover above - look for it in the beginning of July.

There were lots of other authors to meet including the wonderful Teva Durham of Loop-de-Loop fame, Clara Parkes from Knitters Review, my fellow Storey authors – Candi Jensen, Edie Eckman, and Margaret Radcliffe, my old friend Melanie Falick from Stewart, Tabori and Chang, all the girls from Soho Publishing, Interweave Knits, and Knitters. I visited with many yarn company personnel and got to catch them up on what I am doing now. It’s too bad everyone doesn’t get together at another time of year but that’s the way it goes. E-mail sure does help me to remain somewhat connected.

Gotta do some wash, pick up the mess and rest a little - I'm exhausted.