TNNA 2008 Report

It was awesome!

Imagine a giant convention center filled with yarn... pure insanity. Even my dreams have been infected with the enormity of it all.

I'll do my best to share my experience, but just know that I was half in shock the entire time. Be prepared for a random collection of witless thoughts.

Also, I'm only going to say nice things, because the show was a lot of fun for me!

Famous people: I spotted a few... Kaffe Fassett, Cookie A, Jess and Casey from Ravelry. I heard stories of more, but that was it for me. I mostly stared from afar, and especially loved seeing Kaffe knitting.

I actually spoke to Jess and Casey. I was feeling shy but I did it anyway and of course they were super nice. And cute. They gave me two enamel pins - one of the logo and one of their dog Bob. Love it.

I went to a couple of book signings... Mary Beth Temple (Secret Language of Knitters) and Share Ross (Punk Knits). Both were lovely and warm and friendly people and free books are cool.

I got to see some yarns in person that I've been curious about. Like the new 400 series of Dream in Color. Or Lorna's Laces green (as in "eco") yarns. I've only seen them online until now. There are more, of course, but my head hurts trying to remember.

Free stuff? Yes, some. The aforementioned books, assorted wool washes, color cards and sample skeins. I was pretty shy about asking for things, to be honest.

I have a new stash of Schaefer sock yarn to play with, and as soon as I finish the Monkey socks and the other socks I forgot about, I'm casting on!

Speaking of Schaefer yarn, a highlight for me was hanging out with Cheryl and Laura, catching pearls of wisdom as they dropped from the sky. Priceless!

There was a rule about not taking pictures inside which I obeyed, though I wish I hadn't. I'd love to show you what I'm talking about already.

What I learned: Yarn is great. Knitting is great. Knitters are great. Needlepoint looks interesting sometimes. I love yarn. A lot. Yarn people are mostly very nice. I am often socially awkward. I like looking at yarn. Yarn is nicer in person than on websites. Lots of yarn is overwhelming. I have a lot of yarn. I like getting more yarn.

I think I held my breath while I wrote this entire post. Breathing now.