TNNA 2010 - part 3

So here is more on TNNA goodies.

Gadgets

I had gotten a chance to stop by dellaQ booth and buy their awesome circular needle case. I don't know about you, but I have my Addi circs still in their original packaging stored in a gallon Ziploc. I am always searching for the correct size like a mad woman. So finally I decided enough is enough and I bought this case. I had bought a similar case for my crochet hooks (crochet roll) last year and absolutely love it! I never have to search for anything and I can always grab it and go.  It goes well with my favorite large knitting bag from the same company. That bag is very cool.

Then I stopped by Lantern Moon. Faina and I had a very nice talk with the owner. She was offering some new needles and had great plans for their future products. I can't wait. I had shared with her that the small silk taffeta knitting bags she sells are absolute hit with my girls. The colors the bags come in are just sensational. I ordered those bags for my kids last year, and they just loved it. The girls feel inspired to knit when they have these beautiful bags to store their knitting in; they are just like Mommy.  Sometimes they even use these bags as purses when we go out!

This year the girls got clam shell cases. They come in sets of three. You can use them for your little notions we all carry around.

More on Yarn

I took a class at TNNA on dyeing yarn. I have long admired hand-dyed yarn and wanted to learn how to do it myself. I am not a huge fan of the variegated yarn, but I love the monochromatic yarns. The class I took was good -- hands on. Though my results were not necessarily what I had imagined. I wanted to dye my yarn in a "happy" orange, but it turned out to be more golden, fall looking orange. It still looks OK, but it was not what I was going for. I guess I cannot expect to be an expert at my first try! Here is the result.

It has a golden orange and a bit of apple candy color in it. Eventually, I'd like to make a shawl out of it.

The second dyeing attempt was a bit worse.  My daughter called it a tie-dye (!), even though it was just painted flat on the knitted fabric. Hmm. Maybe I stick with designing. But the yarn dyeing in a hanks I might try again. This flat knitted fabric is machine knitted with two yarns held together, so if one wants to make socks out of yarn dyed this way, you will end up with matching socks. And that's nice.