TNNA--The Long Beach Report

I just returned from sunny Long Beach where I taught a beginning rigid heddle weaving class and also a class to shop owners about how to add weaving to their shop inventory.

TNNA (The National Needlework Association) is a trade organization that sponsors classes for yarn shops, as well as trade shows for manufacturers and distributors of supplies and equipment. TNNA is where your local shop goes to purchase wonderful new stuff for their shop. Some trends I detected: novelty yarns—aka eyelash yarns—are out; plied yarns are in. Gorgeous colorways in natural fibers with space dyed treatments were prominent (watch for Handwoven’s upcoming feature on space dyed yarns), as were fibers for spinning and felting.

Knitting needles galore—Stephanie, my Schacht sales colleague was gaga for the new line of Jul needles featuring silver accents. It also seems that knitters are looking to spinning as a way to make their own unique yarns. If you haven’t discovered spinning yet, keep your eyes pealed for Maggie Casey’s new book “Getting Started Spinning” (Interweave Press). It is a handsome book and Maggie’s straightforward writing and instruction will be just what you need if you want to learn to spin. I also think I felt a little “weaving buzz”. Could it be that knitting shops are discovering that weaving is another way to use yarn?