Scenes from TNNA

I've been back home from TNNA for two days, and already my memories of the weekend have taken on the candy-colored hyperreality of an especially lucid, potent dream. The things I'm remembering can't be true, can they?

Did I really sign previews of my little book? Did I really sit under an umbrella and chitchat with Clara Parkes? Did Annie Modesitt and Janel Laidman really give me copies of their new books?Did I even go at all?

I would say no, except the pile of stuff still waiting to be sorted indicates otherwise.



I have no photographs, as there were advance warnings that anyone snapping a camera on the show floor would be flogged with iron rods and dragged naked through the streets of Columbus. I had to resort to making little notes and sketches, which it is my pleasure to share with you now.

I wish I could have taken you all with me, but there was only one bed in my hotel room and I snore, so you would not have got much sleep.

This is me at TNNA.



Here is me with my fun friend Carol Sulcoski and her fun friend Laura Grutzeck. They wrote Knit So Fine.



I got to meet Jess and Casey! I got to meet Mary-Heather, too, but she moved before I could finish the picture.



This is a diagram of our dinner table on Friday night. (I had a salad and Yarn Harlot put a sock in my mouth.) You can see actual photos at Anne's blog.



At the Interweave Press booth I finally got to meet Anne Merrow, who is the editor of my little book.



And I got to meet Eunny Jang who edits Interweave Knits.



Jeane Hutchins, the editor of PieceWork, showed me the advance copy of the article I wrote about my Grandma for the summer issue. I was happy I could express my appreciation in person.



On Saturday morning I signed previews of my book, it was fun!



At TNNA when you are not working you can wander around the show and collect free samples, but you have to be pretty good at sweet-talking the vendors. I wasn't very successful at first.



Here is something I noticed about three famous people I met at the show.



I had male bonding with Drew Emborsky, the Crochet Dude.



I ate miraculous Jeni's Ice Cream with Stephanie Pearl-McPhee and Sandi Wiseheart. Mine was Belgian Chocolate. Sandi is even nicer in person than you would think. You should meet her.



I walked around the show for a little while with Stephanie. It took us two hours to move fifteen feet because some people recognized her and wanted to say hi.



Some of the vendors were wicked nice to me.



I kept meeting cool people and being geeky at them.



Really geeky.



There was terrific yarn everywhere! And I got some!



Abby Franquemont even gave me some yarn she spun herself. I loved watching her spin; she's so masterful the fiber and the spindle are like extensions of her hands. She has very graceful hands, like little white birds that dance together in the air.



I hated to leave but at some point you just have to go home or your head will explode. Thanks, everybody, for making the new boy feel so welcome. I can't wait until next time.

Listen to This

A couple of weeks ago I had a long, jolly chat with David Reidy (the sexiest male voice in knitting podcastery) and the interview is included the latest episode of Sticks and String. I've been listening to Sticks and String for a long time, so it was funny to tune in as usual and hear myself. The segment is so well-edited that I sound almost coherent.

David, it was great talking to you. Let's do it again, next time in Australia, preferably when it's February in Chicago.